Britain the Imperialistic Power

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One of the most prolific imperialistic powers was Great Britain. The British Empire stretched across the globe. There were British colonies in Africa, India, China, and the Americas. “The sun never sets on the British empire”, is a well-known quote that illustrates the stretch of the vast empire. This paper will analyze the positives, negatives and the overall influence of the imperialistic empire. Influenced by the Industrial Revolution, imperialism enabled countries such as India access to advanced technology and innovation, which in turn made is possible for them to become major players in trade. In addition to increased trade, British influence also prevented the political and social system of their colonies from crumbling within. However, there were still negative aspects of the British rule upon the different peoples. Moreover, each different colony the British ruled longed for a sense of nationalism and hence the revolts and turmoil.
To fully understand the influence Britain had over its colonies, imperialism itself must be defined. Winfried Baumagart explains the social conception of nationalism and the “white man’s burden” which is to not only expand into foreign lands and establish rule, but is also to culturally educate the people. This is the definition of imperialism; however, there is more to imperialism as he goes on to explain. The significance of trade, missionary activities, technological advancements, naval developments, and exploration are all highlighted as important factors of imperialism. This allows a grading criterion for this paper to be established. Questions such as what advancements and how trade changed with British influence can be evaluated. Including all of these factors in imperialism opens up a ...

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...lourish in the times they did and established the countries assets, which those countries still rely upon in modern society.

Works Cited

Baumgart, Winfried. Imperialism: The Idea and Reality of British and French Colonial Expansion,1880-1914. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1982
Keay, John. The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company. New York, Scribner Press. 1994
Fay, Peter Ward. The Opium War: 1840-1842.Chapel Hill. The University of North Carolina Press. 1998
Marshall, Peter. "The British Presence in India in the 18th Century." BBC News. BBC, 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 04 May 2014.
"Economic Reasons for British Imperialism in Africa - British Colonization of Africa." Economic Reasons for British Imperialism in Africa - British Colonization of Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
"Foreign Imperialism in China." Alpha History. N.p., n.d. Web.

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