Beginning in the 1850’s, European states engaged in an intense scramble for overseas territories. This “new imperialism” led Europeans to carve up parts of Asia and nearly all of Africa and create colonial empires. Within these empires, European states exercised complete political control over the indigenous societies and regularly redrew political boundaries to meet their needs. During the scramble for new markets and territories, the indigenous peoples were often subjugated, dominated and marginalized. In return, countries in Africa and Asia gained the technology and capital that, over a period of time and development, improved their quality of life. Justifying imperialistic actions often caused tensions in political, economic, and social spheres of influence during late modernity.
By the end of the nineteenth century, those who desired to validate imperialism and the colonial regimes it fostered in Africa and Asia found pseudoscientific validity from the concept of Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism maintained that only societies that moved aggressively to adapt to changing circumstances would survive and prosper in a world governed by the Darwinian law of “survival of the fittest” (SAY, 1105) Some people, however, were uncomfortable with such a brutal view of the law of nature and sought a moral justification that appeared to benefit the victim. Here again, the concept of social Darwinism pointed the way. By bringing the benefits of Western democracy, capitalism and Christianity to what they considered the “tradition-ridden societies” of Africa and Asia, the colonial powers were enabling primitive peoples to adapt to the challenges of the modern world. (SAY, 1107) Buttressed by such comforting theories, sensitive West...
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...n economic one. As the case of Lenin and the Bolsheviks showed, economic concerns were inevitably tinged with political overtones and questions of national grandeur and moral purposes as well. In terms of British rule in India was concerned, economic wealth, national status, and political power went hand in hand with the possession of a colonial empire. In the years leading up to the First World War, the Western imprint on Asia and African societies, for better or for worse, appeared to be a permanent feature of the political and cultural landscape. Ultimately, the fundamental weakness of imperialism was that it was ultimately based on the self-interests of the citizens of the colonial powers, not the colonizers. The ultimate result was to deprive the colonial peoples of their intrinsic value and the right to make their own choices about their own destiny.
To begin, British Imperialism had many political effects on India’s people throughout the years. The forcefulness of Europe’s invasion brought plenty of fear and destruction among the government, which in the following years would become run completely by British officials. According to document two, “The Indians have no control whatsoever over their own taxation...The entire civil government is now carried on by men who live lives quite remote from the people they govern.” According to Dr. Lalvani in paragraph twelve, Imperialism brought Indians together. He states, “perhaps the most innovative of all was the bringing together of several different states into one unified India.” That may have been the result in sight, but the truth is, as shown in document one, when Gandhi states, “For a hundred years, you have done everything for us. You have given us no responsibility for our own
In the past, lives were controlled by European imperialism the practice of a country extending its political power, over conquered territories. The country and the lands it controls were called an empire. The empire enforced its rule on people of different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and different political systems. The empire had one supreme ruler; sadly, the conquered territories lack effective representation in the empire’s government. Therefore, the conquered countries natural raw natural resources were exploited and their economic growth suppressed. This was evident in Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and North America countries.
Throughout history, many powerful nations interfered with nations that were weaker than they were. This form of sabotaging a nation is economic, political or cultural life is called as imperialism. Imperialism is often separated into two sects. The first one is old imperialism, which was the period from the 1500s to the 1800s, where European nation started to colonize many areas such as the Americas, and parts of Southeast Asia. On the other hand, the new imperialism was the period between the years “1870-1914”, where Europe became more focused on expanding their land into Asia and Africa. Imperialism had many pros and cons. In addition, it also had many causes led by the feeling of nationalism.
Imperialism also had an everlasting positive effect on India through its modernization. For instance, British colonizers develope...
Conquest and colonization has always played a role in the history of European powers. Throughout the centuries many different European empires have attempted to make their mark on multiple different continents. Some have found success, while others have failed. One case in particular, in which European nations could not quite find stability, was in North America. Factors such as the American Revolution, U.S. westward expansion, and the Monroe Doctrine pushed European nations out of North America. Afterwards, the late 19th century marked the beginning of New Imperialism. As New Imperialism began, Africa became important to European nations in their “Scramble for Africa”.
Following World War II, the concrete nature of imperialism, or the subjection of people or groups based on a social, economical, or racial hierarchy, was seemingly in decline. For instance, India and Pakistan had both gained their independence from Britain in 1947 (p.761), and the French, though unwillingly, gave up their colonies in Vietnam (p.754), but with the development of the Cold War there became a need to ideologically separate the free “First World”, which was made up of western Europe and the United States, from the communist “Second World”, which was primarily made up by the Soviet Union. This separation unintentionally formed yet another hierarchy, and further perpetuated imperialistic notions. While the Soviets attempted to continue political imperialism in surrounding states to form a political and economic buffer from democratic nations, which due to globalization, or the mass integration of cultural and economic practices, would have been necessary to accomplish, many nations, such as the U.S., who subscribed to these democratic beliefs still counterintuitively practiced imperialism in their attempts to forcefully liberate communist nations based on the notion that their free way of life was superior to other’s communist status quo. Therefore, imperialism continued to surface through the dualist political line drawn by the Cold War, but also later through a need to stay competitive culturally and economically in a growing global community in states both subject to past colonizing nations, as well as the nations who relinquished their control over them.
First, let us examine how the West justified imperialism. Ideologically, they used Social Darwinism, “The White Man’s Burden”, masculinity versus effeminacy, “whiteness” versus “darkness”, and the civilizing mission (Age of Imperialism I, 31:57). Social
Imperialism was a time period in which more developed nations colonized less developed nations. The developed nations took advantage of the less developed nations resources, people, lands, and much more. Many countries lost their freedom and independence due to imperialism, however, they also received new technologies and innovations.
Although there are many other important factors, the main cause of the rise of imperialism was most certainly economic. The Age of Empire, by Eric J. Hobsbawn, provides an interpretation of New Imperialism. Hobsbawn calls imperialism “a natural by-product of the international economy” (Sherman pg 177). He is basically saying that imperialism is dependent on the rivalries of competing industries, which continually drive the international economy. Hobsbawn also dictates the need for external markets. The Industrial Revolution created many products that needed markets, thus creating a need of colonies. Hobsbawn believed that the overproduction of the Industrial Revolution and the Great Depression could be solved. He also realized that many businessmen knew that they could make a large profit off of China’s large population. For example, if every one of the three hundred million Chinese purchased one box of tin-tacks the businessmen knew that there would be a huge profit, consequently increasing the desire for colonization of weaker countries.
In the early 1880’s, the powers of Europe started to take control of regions in Africa and set up colonies there. In the beginning, colonization caused the Africans little harm, but before long, the Europeans started to take complete control of wherever they went. The Europeans used their advanced knowledge and technology to easily maneuver through the vast African landscape and used advanced weapons to take control of the African people and their land. The countries that claimed the most land and had the most significant effect on Africa were France, England, Belgium, and Germany. There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa. One of the main reasons was that the Europeans believed that the more territory a country was able to control, the more powerful it could become and the more powerful it would be seen as by other countries. Other reasons for the desire to control African land included the many natural resources that could only be found in Africa, such as diamonds, gold, and as time progressed, rubber. It also provided new markets in surrounding places so that manufactured goods could be sold for a larger profit. The Europeans had many motives for imperialism in Africa. Yet the true motives were often shielded as they tried tom present themselves as humanitarians when in reality they were making Africa a terrible place to live with brutality and harsh treatment of the African natives. The ways of the Europeans had many physical and emotional costs for the people of Africa. The imperialism process also took a toll on the people of Europe. The European imperialistic colonization in Africa was motivated by the desire to control the abundant natural resources an...
There were two different time periods where Imperialism occurred. The first wave of imperialism, called the 'Old' Imperialism, lasted from around 1500 - 1800. The 'New' Imperialism lasted from around 1870 - 1914. The three main differences that we will discuss today are the differences in economics, politics, and the motive behind all of this.
New imperialism was the mid nineteenth and twentieth centuries cultural equivalent to a modern day mafia, its roots entangled in the economic, cultural, and humanistic aspects of life. The sole objective of the nations entailed the exploitation of their controlled state. Gestating from the change in control of Asian and African nations to the Europeans by means of political deviance, malicious sieges, and strategic military attacks. The juxtaposition to the modern equivalent endures as the aforesaid is sheltered by the fairytale that these nations were in need of aid and by doing so the Europeans were the good guys. The ideas of new imperialism are greatly influenced by those of the enlightenment. Taking place during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the enlightenment was an intellectual movement with the goal of social progress (Genova, 1/11). Armed with scientific thought and reason, enlightenment thinkers set out to explore the fields of science, economics, and human nature. Brilliant minds such as Voltaire, Kant and others all across Western Europe collaborated to further knowledge. The enlightenment laid the foundation on which new imperialism sprung, embedding the ideas of an incessant need to explore not only the scientific world but the physical world as well. The enlightenments goals and ideas significantly influenced new imperialism, because the enlightenment created a need for new means and a purpose to accrue them.
In order to understand the dynamics of each nation’s different fate through western imperialism, it is important to discuss what western imperialism is and it how came about. Over the course of history, we’ve seen many empires rise and fall through certain time periods. Imperialism is the practice of which powerful nations or peoples seek to extend and maintain control or influence over weaker nations or peoples . Western powers such as the British already had great advantages in this procedure by the 2800’s. One of the reasons why they had an advantage of imperialism is because they led the world in technology. Technology is a valuable asset for a nation to grow and a great resource in taking over other nations. This procedure of western imperialism was designed more towards the underdeveloped world which led to the domination and exploitation of Asia.
Africa’s struggle to maintain their sovereignty amidst the encroaching Europeans is as much a psychological battle as it is an economic and political one. The spillover effects the system of racial superiority had on the African continent fractured ...
Colonialism as an aspect has defined the foundations of many of the modern nations of our time. The mark of many age old nations reflects on the development of many older tribes and cultures. Most notably, Africa and various coastal South American nations are the most evident definition of colonialism. Starting at around the 16th century, colonialism involves the...