19th Century American Imperialism
explanatory Essay
1207 words
Assignment Name: Malik Muzammil Ali Khan Student Number: 412998 Date: 18/09/15 Course: Economic History and International Relations Course Code: CH2201 Tutorial group: 1 Imperialism and Colonialism By the late 19th century Europe had established itself as far superior both economically and militarily compared to the rest of the world. The scientific revolution and the industrial revolution helped Europe with advancements in technology and made the other countries around the world no match for the European states. The European powers had already started international trade with other countries around the world. This ended up being vey profitable for them as it helped develop their economy even more. The European countries then began to …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Explains that imperialism caused its fair share of problems. the european powers did not always treat the countries they conquered very nicely.
- Cites engerman, s.l., sokoloff, k. l. (2005). colonialism, inequality, and long-run paths of development.
- Explains that knutsen, t.l., a history of international relations theory. isbn: 0 7190 4930 9.
- Cites time's greatest events: 100 turning points that changed the world: an illustrated journey.
- Explains the editors of encyclopedia britannica. south african war british-south african history.
- Explains ward, j.r., the industrial revolution and british imperialism, 1750-1850.
- Explains that europe had established itself as far superior both economically and militarily compared to the rest of the world. the age of imperialism began in 1870.
- Explains that the european imperialist powers did some positive things in their colonies, such as building infrastructure for their own purposes, and creating systems of governance that many colonies continued to use after the british left.
This ship, however, not only set sail for scientific reasons but also for the needs of the empire. The French had just lost Canada and they along with the British were looking for a new island which captain Cook discovered, known as Australia. This is just a small example of how the British slowly kept on gaining more and more territory around the world. By 1850, the British controlled Canada, Australia, India and the southern part of Africa. After the start of Imperialism they expanded their empire even further. At its largest in 1920, the British Empire controlled Canada, parts of Honduras, Jamaica, British Guiana, Egypt, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Rhodesia, the Indian Empire, Australia, and more (Atlas of British …show more content…
They did end up doing some positive things in their respective colonies. The British for example created lots of infrastructure in almost all of their colonies. The infrastructure they built like bridges and roads and railway networks were for their own purposes as they used the new infrastructure to transport soldiers in times of war and anything else that they needed from one end of the country to the other could be brought back with relative ease. Even though the building of the infrastructure was for selfish purposes, the British left all of this behind when they departed and their colonies gained independence. Not only did the British establish infrastructure in their colonies, but also created systems of governance that many of the colonies continued to use even after the British left. They introduced efficient civil service, an effective legal system and also abolished slavery (Engerman & Sokoloff, 2005). Having read and analyzed the provided literature, it can be concluded that Imperialism began for a number of very important reasons. It came up with a few benefits but mostly caused damage to the rest of the world apart from Europe. Many of the former colonies are still dealing with the long-term effects of Imperialism
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- European Imperialismanalytical essayEuropean expansion was almost a certainty. The continent was relatively poor place for agriculture, which pushed Europeans outside of Europe in search of new soil. Different countries sent explorers, like Columbus and Magellan, to find unknown trade routes to India and Asia. They stumbled onto new sources for raw materials and goods and Europe was suddenly substantially profiting. The exploration of Africa, Asia, and South America provided new wealth. It increased the standard of living for Europeans, introduced them to spices, luxurious goods, silver, and gold (class notes). Later revolutions and reformers throughout the 19th and 20th centuries transformed European society and continually provided the continent with new interests, experiences, and ideas. As a result, Europeans developed new technology, which enabled them to explore unknown territory and expand their influence overseas.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that european expansion was almost a certainty. the continent was poor for agriculture, which pushed europeans outside of europe in search of new soil.
- Explains that european imperialism began in the 14th and 15th centuries. it was venerable to invasion, divided into states, and had a strong freedom of thought.
- Explains how early european expansion focused on establishing trading posts in different countries, instead of taking over the land and adding empires like later imperialism.
- Explains that europe experienced an imperial lull from 1700-1870 in which many countries lost empires and ceased to acquire new land. the industrial revolution gave europe a huge advantage over other parts of the world.
- Analyzes how "new imperialalism" brought new attitudes and theories about new european expansion. the theory of the three g's, gold, god, and glory motivated society to believe "new imperialism".
- Analyzes how the impact of the war and other factors caused many countries to withdraw their influence from the colonies.
- Explains how different countries pulled out of their colonies in different ways, such as britain withdrew their influence peacefully and granted india independence in 1947. france had to deal with nationalist movements by force to restore their land.
- Argues that european imperialism had an immense influence on the world for five centuries. it made countries greedy for power and promoted non-western people to be racially inferior.
1681 wordsRead More - Imperialism Dbq Essayanalytical essayImperialism had some positive effects regardless of how strict and unfair it was. Some positive effects can be seen in documents 2 and 7, which talks about what the mother nation gave to their colonized nations. These oppressors built them roads, canals, railways, and gave them education. They also introduced to them telegraphs, newspapers, and overall made them economized. Another positive effect can be read on documents 1 and 5. These documents show how both the oppressors and oppressed benefit from getting new resources such as raw m...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that imperialism is when a mother nation takes over another nation and becomes its colony for political, social, and economic reasons.
- Analyzes how documents 1 and 5 show how imperialism should work over politics and their benefits over the colonies. documents 3, 8, 10, and 12 show the unfair way that the englishmen treated their colonies, which can be described as one of the negative effects of imperialism.
- Analyzes how imperialism had positive effects regardless of how strict and unfair it was. documents 2 and 7 talk about what the mother nation gave to their colonized nations.
- Analyzes the negative effects of imperialism on africans and asians. the mother countries destroyed ethnic groups and causing civil wars between smaller nations.
- Explains that modern imperialism was never good, creating the oppressors and oppressed system of the mother and colonized nations. it changed the modern world plenty and made it harder to live during that time.
676 wordsRead More - Imperialismanalytical essayImperialism is often excused as a way of liberating people from tyrannical rule or by introducing the policies of a “better” way of life. It is based on the ground of a variety of causes running the gamut of economic pressures, greed, security, power, prestige, religion, and many other effective measures that can be taken given the circumstances. Arguments about the roots and virtue of imperialism can be put into four basic groups. The first is whether or not imperialism is economically beneficial. The second relates to the social aspect of imperialism and the natural desire to rule others. The third is protection and security, building up military powers around the world in order to help the main country when trouble erupts. Finally, the last is morals and their religious aspects. Because imperialism has its basis on power, it is often considered morally reprehensible. The thirst for power drove the European nations into a frenzy to control the continent based solely on the false belief that they were superior, thereby inflicting numerous evils upon both the African land and its people.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that imperialism is based on economic pressures, greed, security, power, prestige, religion, and many other effective measures that can be taken given the circumstances.
- Explains that imperialism did benefit a small and favored group, but never the entire nation.
- Explains that imperialism has created an unsafe increase of markets and has jeopardized the entire affluence of nations in stimulating the strong resentment of other nations.
- Explains that britain's interest in africa was for the survival of their empire, and creating more colonies was the way to expand their trade.
- Explains that south africa's port at cape town was an essential stop for all people en route to india. when gold and diamonds were later discovered, britain fought and annexed south africa. the european powers really had no interest in external affairs.
- Explains that the french were the first to begin the annexation of africa, because they wanted to restore their lost sense of national pride. an economic slump in europe in the 1880s caused markets to become even scarcer.
- Explains that imperialism is a natural struggle for survival. those endowed with "superior" qualities were "destined" to rule over others.
- Explains that british colonial acquirements from 1870 to 1900 amounted to 4.75million square miles, which contained 88million people.
- Explains that france acquired a huge empire in north and west africa consisting of algeria, morocco, tunisia, mali, and many other areas in western africa.
- Analyzes how the british practiced imperialism in africa out of fear of losing their empire. they created buffer zones for the main european powers and created barriers against other european nations.
- Analyzes why the british practiced imperialism in africa from 1869 to 1913. they kept up the claim that germany and france forced them to do it so they could keep their empire.
- Explains that britain, france, germany, italy, japan, and the united states conquered and annexed in the name of civilization.
- Opines that imperialism was not economically beneficial, did not protect the “main” country by creating barriers, nor spread christianity in mentionable portions.
1349 wordsRead More - Extent Europe Benefitted from Colonizationexplanatory essayThe Colonies provided marktes for European finished goods. This was a great benefit for them. Britain had markets in India and had largely monopolised markets where there was British influence.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that european success and prosperity today can be taken back to their participation in colonization in the later years of the 19th century.
- Explains that britain's industrial revolution gave them a greater advantage in development in europe in the late 18th century. the colonies supplied european countries with raw materials like gold, rubber, tea, cotton etc.
- Explains that many european countries invested in the works of their colonies because of the long depression. trading companies managed the trading activities of raw materials.
- Explains that the colonies provided marktes for european finished goods, which was a great benefit for them. the colonies were joined to their "motherland" when it came time for armament.
- Explains that european countries gained strategic points in which they could control a certain area against each other. with tensions of ww1, this was essential.
- Explains that colonization in africa resulted in medicinal discoveries like the discovery of quinin which could cure tropical diseases.
- Explains that the more colonies you held, the higher prestigious status you had. britain held the most colonies in africa and asia, italy and germany were newly unified states and wanted a place in the sun.
680 wordsRead More - imperialismanalytical essayHowever, imperialism did not come without its benefits. They increased the literency rate, improved the medical care and brought better methods of sanitation.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the industrial revolution put european powers ahead of other nations in terms of technology. nationalism played a major role in sending europeans overseas.
- Explains that european powers had little interest in africa prior to the 1870s due to diseases such as malaria, which killed many europeans, and the resistance they faced against natives.
- Explains how europeans colonized africa using multiple wars, persuasion, force, and bribery to convince african officials and landowners to sign agreements giving them economic and political rights.
- Describes the treatment of africans during this time as exceptionally cruel, as seen in the congo river basin, ruled by the belgium king leopold ii as his private possession.
- Explains that india's state before the europeans colonized was worse and the treatment towards them was significantly less severe. the east india company became the most powerful authority in india around the late 1700s.
- Explains that the east india company exercised commercial colonialism and built forts managed by indian soldiers who were in the european armies, called sepoys.
- Explains that after the rebellion was suppressed and the british parliament took control of india for the east india company, the government established a full colonial rule in india.
- Argues that china never became a colony, but the large increase of opium in 1790-1832 brought generations of addicts and social instability.
- Explains the treaty of nanking, signed in 1842 to end the war, was the first of many unequal treaties the chinese government was forced to sign to foreigners.
- Analyzes the impact of british imperialism on african societies. the british believed africans to be primitive, so they refused to recognize their customs and traditions.
- Explains that european paternalism affected most africans, even those in the government. for an african to succeed, they had to conform to the europeans' ways.
1373 wordsRead More - Secularism And Imperialismexplanatory essayImperialism has not always been a positive development for the world. There have been times where there were many negative aspects. The first is the force that was used to conquer or seize these lands. The Europeans would go into places such as the Aztec empire and kill and conquer there land while destroying whatever
In this essay, the author
- Explains that european exploration and imperialism was a major development in the 1500s and continued shaping the world throughout the 1700s.
- Opines that imperialism has not always been a positive development for the world. the worst part of the development is maafa, which is known as the african holocaust.
- Explains that imperialism is when a country starts to expand its power and spread its ideas and culture to new land. the exploration of europe started in the mid to late 1400s when portugal sent sailors down the coast of africa.
- Explains that western expansion had a huge positive impact on the european culture. they started to form new colonies in africa, asia, and the americas.
- Explains that europe benefited from this in many ways. the first way is through economic growth. with all the new trade routes developed and all new cultures introduce this became a great haven for trade.
- Explains that secularism was a positive development because it allowed people to think outside the box.
- Explains that the world as a whole has benefited from this time in history. the united states of america has gone from non-existent country to world power in less than two centuries.
- Opines that although there were negative aspects to the exploration of europe, the positives outweigh the negatives. because of this development, our world has made as many advancements as we have.
729 wordsRead More - Roanoke Colony Essayexplanatory essayGreat Britain had economic interests in the Atlantic colonies since the 16th century. Through many laws, acts and conquests, Britain sought to control and influence the colonies. Britain ultimately failed in this endeavor. Though the British government could divide and allot the land as they pleased, they could not control it effectively. By the end of the French and Indian War, they had lost all of their ability to control the Atlantic colonies.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the massachusetts bay company took over the dorchester company in 1628. the puritans adopted the colony as a religious refuge.
- Explains that england merged all new england colonies into the dominion of new hampshire in 1686, which included new york and the two jerseys by 1688.
- Explains that the writs of assistance allowed the british government to enforce trade even more. james otis, a massachusetts lawyer, was ardently critical of these laws.
- Explains that the aftermath of the french and indian war, while not directly caused by great britain, was significant.
- Explains that britain had economic interests in the atlantic colonies since the 16th century. they could divide and allot the land as they pleased, but they could not control it effectively.
- Explains that the navigation acts of the 1650s and 1660s were written to limit colonial trade and expand english trade.
- Explains that the royal proclamation of 1763 established four new "governments" namely quebec, east and west florida and grenada.
1227 wordsRead More - Causes And Effects Of Imperialismanalytical essayThe age of imperialism brought about the colonization of smaller weaker countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East by the major powers of the world, most notably Britain and France. These colonized countries were used for the benefit, mostly economic, of the mother countries for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. As time went on problems facing the colonial powers toward the end of the 19th century sparked a rapid change of decolonization. Although the decolonization was a major victory for countries seeking independence, in many cases these the damages of colonization caused many issues. The newly independent nations faced countless challenges such as continued interference from colonial powers, neo colonialism, social issues within the state itself, and most notably economic instability.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the age of imperialism brought about the colonization of smaller weaker countries in africa, asia, and the middle east by the major powers of the world.
- Analyzes how european governments justified their actions of imperialism through the argument that they were in reality helping these developing countries. decolonization was more or less inevitable as there was increased tension between the native countries and the colonial powers after world war
- Analyzes how decolonization was detrimental to the african economy as described by nkrumah. european governments demanded only raw materials from african countries.
- Explains that the european governments used tactics to divide the native peoples in india during britain rule.
- Analyzes how decolonization reached asia, specifically vietnam, where ho chi minh wrote a declaration of independence from the french. the french robbed the vietnamese of their resources, bled them dry, and divided them into three distinct political regimes.
1136 wordsRead More - Imperialismargumentative essayEconomic interests, political and military interests, and humanitarian and religious goals were all reasons for New Imperialism. The economic result of imperialism would grant manufacturer’s access to natural resources allowing them to expand their markets across the globe. Colonies helped expand Europe’s population, which helped support the economy. New steam ships and naval vessels needed places worldwide to pick up and exchange supplies. Some land and knowledge was used only for prestige of having more than another country. Many people, such as missionaries, doctors, and colonial officials believed it was their job to spread Western ideas including medicine, law, and Christian religion. They showed their compassion in distributing their ideas beyond the sea to their “little brothers” in distant countries. European countries often used Social Darwinism as a reason to improve weaker countries and peoples. Industrialization was successful because diverse lands were unable to unite which ...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that imperialism in european countries was a turning point in the world and its future.
- Explains that economic interests, political and military interests and humanitarian and religious goals were all reasons for new imperialism.
- Explains that european countries used colonies, protectorates, and spheres of influence to control the countries they were imperializing.
- Explains how colonized people were effected by the new imperialism lifestyle, and how western-style democracy influenced japan.
- Explains that nationalism is a person's extreme devotion or pride for their country. it led to the armenian genocide and the boxer rebellion.
- Compares the industrial revolution and the new imperialism eras, in which people were forced to leave their customary ways of life and adapt to a modern lifestyle.
- Analyzes how the choices of past imperialistic countries directly affect today’s imperialism and trade routines.
- Explains that imperialism notes: building overseas empires & the partition of africa.
1230 wordsRead More - Japanese Imperialism Essayanalytical essayIts monarchy has led them to success with nationalism and patriotism, and even some of their own thought that ruling over more countries (particularly India) would make them “the greatest power in the world” (Roberts, p. 225). They were interested in imperializing and having control over others, to spread their beliefs and government across the seas. All they needed was “food, raw materials and cash” while they supplied “minerals and capital and sold services” and traded their goods with Europe (Roberts, p. 50). Trading with other countries and having to rely on Britain for large goods further pushed them as a clutch for some countries to continue their own rule. Queen Victoria, who ruled over Britain, believed that they could not be defeated; the thought of it did not even exist, which brought forth a very arrogant political party. They believed that to follow their type of rule will guarantee results of overall success and power against other countries (Roberts, p. 108). For example, the British antagonized the Egyptians by decreasing employment rates and raising taxes without the possibility of Egyptians becoming part of their own office. With the lack of the people representing themselves, the power of a foreign nation continued to dominate and further influence the colony’s
In this essay, the author
- Explains that imperialism has influenced colonial territories to better themselves or to further the mother country's realm of power. japan and britain were two imperial systems that countered each other in many facets but also had strikingly similar qualities.
- Explains that the japanese empire was an inspirational country to other asians that spearheaded the fight against the european imperialism.
- Analyzes how the british empire was a powerful imperial system but for different reasons. its monarchy led to success with nationalism and patriotism, and even some of their own thought that ruling over more countries would make them "the greatest power in the world."
- Explains that japan and britain were strong and relying on one another to continue their reign. both had communication and influence with the world because of trade.
- Explains that japan's nationalism and pride are amongst the main reasons why they were so powerful and influential compared to other imperialist systems.
1089 wordsRead More