Whose Imagined Community

Another essential example is mercantilism which was dominant during the Age of Exploration. Mercantilism is a system that relies on the colonies existence to make the mother country wealthy. Nations increased

The first positive impact European Imperialism had on the world is education. Before European colonization and the introduction of Western education, traditional educational systems still existed in Africa The average African child was taught basic survival skills necessary to survive in the traditional society. They were taught how to fish, trade and crafts, etc. (Education Western Africa.) Although already knew

Between 1870 and 1920, the European nations took the use of imperialism due to economic, political, and social forces to control the less-developed locations of the world. Economical forces used the need for raw materials for a reason to take locations. Social forces such as racism, thinking that themselves, the Europeans were better than whomever they were taking over. Political forces used militarism more often than not to take the less-developed locations of the world. The use of economical, political, and social forces were all important during the rise of imperialism during the 1870s through 1920s due to the humanitarianism (used in both political and social forces), racism, and the market through world trade with the need for militarism.

One of the beginning examples was the Alamo. Mexico was having trouble inhabiting their territory, so they, “...decided to offer cheap land to new settlers…” ( Roden, 269). These “new settlers” they were trying to attract were gringos, or americans. After this happened, “...citizen’s of the United States had already begun into Texas…” (Sumner, 329). This was a bad idea because these americans believed opposite of Mexico. America brought slaves and the protestant religion. Because of this there was lots of conflict. Eventually the Texans got sick of Mexico and rebelled. After seeing the way the Americans took land from Mexico, they should have kicked out of California and all the other places we had inhabited in Mexico. It was only a domino effect that we took California. Even the Texans predicted it, “California will, probably, next fall away from Mexico…” (O'Sullivan, 323). Mexico obviously was looking ahead, and what was coming for their country, proving O’Sullivan correct again, “...Mexico never can exert any real government authority over such a

How a country is designed and subsequently populated will have an indelible impression on the joint psychology of that country's population. The people's understanding of themselves as a country will also affect how that nation presents itself to the rest of the world. Much of this will have to do with the country's concepts of nation, nationalism, and community. A nation is a socially-constructed concept dealing with the country itself as well as the population in the lands of that country. Nationalism, on the other hand, is a political principle which deals with the joint consciousness of that nation, including their shared targets of antagonism and satisfaction (Gelner 2006). All countries are affected by their concepts of nation and nationalism, and also by their sense of constancy and community. The history of any given nation will have an indelible impact on the way that the nation constructs itself and develops in the present and also into the future. This is particularly true of a nation which has a history filled with negative perception and has tried to evolve from that primary function. Every nation will invariably develop a unique culture which will be born of the ethnicity and religion of the people who inhabit a given community. Australia has become linked to the concept of an imagined community. Social critic Benedict Anderson coined this phrase by defining an imagined community as one in which there is not innate sense of

Imperialism brought great new philosophies and inventions to underdeveloped countries that had yet to be modernized. For example, in Africa the amount of local war reduced, the average life span increased, and there was an economic expansion. Another example is in India where the third largest railroad was built.

Despite being arguably the most powerful nations in the world, European nations such as Great Britain, France, and Germany in the late 1800s could not ignore the colonial ambitions presented to them. All around the globe, once independent and peaceful countries became battlefields of war and conquering due to European invasion. The reasons for these aggressions varied immensely, with some seizing new territory with intentions to accomplish any given set of goals. Countries in frequent cases found use in a region’s natural resources that could be used to manufacture goods or create new markets. On the other hand, some leader’s motives to expand were simply fueled by nationalism, with their nation adding new areas to build upon their empire and gain more power. Some even developed the size of their land to openly promote their culture, ideas, and technology. Although all of these purposes may seem like they could be beneficial to both parties involved, the concept of Imperialism proved to be quite harmful to the colony nation. European imperialism throughout Africa and Asia was more negative because of economic, political, and social factors.

     One country that had imperialism was India. By the mid-1880s, the British East India Company controlled three fifths of India. The cause of British domination was that the land was very diverse and the people could not unite and that the British either paid

Countries in the 19th century experienced a flourish of imperialistic growth. The size of the country and amount of power it held tended to hinder a positive or negative or even neutral reaction to this influx of cultural and economic expansion.

Imperialism made countries want to aspire to increase wealth and power by making other territories be under their rule. Countries competed for overseas territories in search of raw materials and market for their goods. It created rivalry in

There were many large-scale transformations that the European empires generated. One of the many examples of the transformations would be the fall of the Native American civilizations. When the Europeans started to build their empire, the Native American population started to fall. Another example would be that the European and African peoples started to construct new societies within the Americas. Silver mines in Mexico and in Peru started the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean trade. The Europeans also exchanged plants and animals with the Americas

For example it provided political unity to India which had been torn by dissensions and strife before the arrival of the western powers.France had attempted to unify Indochina through growth and a government . This was made possible due to the creation of railroads, as well as other means of trans­port and communication, and press. The introduction of the French language which was a means of unifying the colonies and the French Imperialists through communication among the country because it was extremely mixed in language because of the many regions that France had united and as well as a system of administration through­out the country. This unity helped path the way for the growth politics amongst people and ultimately motivated them to over­throw the colonial and imperialist ruler of france. The French colonialism and imperialism was responsible for the introduction of western ideas like nationalism, democracy, constitu­tionalism and other things that they taught/showed the natives in Asia and Africa. The French tried to implant their ideas and institutions in their colonies and thus uncon­sciously let loose liberal forces in the countries of Asia and Africa for example Vietnam and

The definition provided in The American College Dictionary from 1964 says “a group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule.” I never really viewed community in this manner. Many of us think of the word “community” as a group of people who live near each other. We forget that a community is actually just a group of people with common interests or characteristics who often happen to live near each other. Communities can be bound by race, religion, economic standings, political standings, and most commonly, location. Frequently, communities fall into more than one of these categories.

Lastly, print capitalism lead to the idea of a nation as an imagined community because it creates a sense of solidarity through its inequality and injustice. Solidarity can be seen through war tributes and holidays in which an entire nation participates. Additionally, through the use of language, it is a powerful means that is used to unite a nation. It suggests a community between its contemporary society and its dead ancestors. Language arts such as poetry, songs, and national anthems for example, create a simultaneous imagined community of selfless voices.

Human beings naturally are social creatures. In order to survive, humans have since been working together. People rely to each other in order to remain alive, whether it be with finding food, building houses, or with finding jobs. There is one famous quote by John Donne that says “No man is an island”. Humans have this need to belong in a group. This need for co-existing is what lead people into forming nations. Nations are groups of people who have a very strong bond of identity; may it be with having the same ethnicity or with having the same interests. One known description of a nation is Benedict Anderson’s (1983) conception of nations as imagined communities. They are imagined “because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion” (Anderson, 1983, p. 15). By belonging in a certain nation or growing up in a certain environment, one develops their own national identity. There are a lot of factors as to how you can identify to a certain nation. Certain factors would be your language, ethnicity, culture, relationship to your land, your religion, spirituality, views with politics, or your land’s geography. As social beings, having a group you identify with has a very great effect on you. However, there also are