The technological developments of the first half of the twentieth century, the wave of new imperialism and industrialization, and the conflicts occurring on a global scale, including World War I and World War II, created a global environment that fostered further interaction and conflict. Between 1900 and 1945, the relationship between the West (North America and Europe) and Africa continued to be based on the colonialism established earlier while the relationship between the West and Latin America continued to be minimal and mostly based on economics as opposed to politics; however, the relationship between the West and Asia changed as it grew more and combative. The West and Africa maintained an imperialistic relationship through the first half of the twentieth century. Historians consider the first half of the twentieth century to be the era of classical colonialism in Africa. France acquired Morocco in 1912 while Italy acquired Libya in 1911. The West exploited its African colonies economically by forcing them into subservient roles where their economies focused on the production and export of raw materials. This not only gave the West an inexpensive and malleable source of raw materials, but also a monopoly over manufactured good as their colonies represented an outlet to purchase Western products. The West also exploited Africans through forced labor on plantations and mines in which the Europeans paid the Africans negligibly or not at all and placed them under harsh working conditions. Despite the innovations in modern medicine occurring in the early twentieth century, such as the creation of aspirin and the discovery of Vitamin D, the presence of Europeans only served to worsen public health in Africa as migrants spread ... ... middle of paper ... ...Latin American economies, these economies collapsed when the Great Depression occurred and the value for exports decreased exponentially. Following in the same suit as Germany, Italy, and many other Western countries, the Latin American countries, including Argentina and Brazil, developed authoritarian forms of government when their economies collapsed. The West and Latin America experienced continuity throughout the early twentieth century as their relationship remained indirect and economically based. The societies of the first half of the twentieth century all saw an increase in their interactions and as a result, their conflicts. The West, in particular, continued to control Africa imperially and interact with Latin America indirectly and solely economically, but its relationship changed with Asia when conflicts arose between Japan and India and Western nations.
Europe, in the late 1800’s, was starting a land grab on the African continent. Around 1878, most of Africa was unexplored, but by 1914, most of Africa, with the lucky exception of Liberia and Ethiopia, was carved up between European powers. There were countless motivations that spurred the European powers to carve Africa, like economic, political, and socio–cultural, and there were countless attitudes towards this expansion into Africa, some of approval and some of condemnation. Europe in this period was a world of competing countries. Britain had a global empire to lead, France had competition with Britain for wealth and so did other nations like Germany and Russia.
After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union opposed each other over the expansion of their power. The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe became the East nations, and the United States, centered on NATO formed the West nations, dividing the world in two. Belonging to neither the East nor the West, developing countries were called Third World nations and became a stand-in for wars between the East and West (Gaddis, The Strategies of Containment 70-78).
One of the primary major world events that took place in this decade was World War I. This began in 1914 when Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated. The U.S. didn’t get involved with this war, however, until 1917 and stayed involved until it’s ending in 1918. Increasing technology contributed heavily to the fatalities of this war with the inventions of deadly explosives, steel tanks, and poisonous gas (SF Timeline). This double front war for Germany was finally held at a standstill in November of 1918. A peace treaty was signed on June 28, 1919 at Versailles, France, ending the devastating four- year war in Europe. Another important world event that heavily affected the future of the world was The Bolshevik Revolution.
Advancements in technology and science contributed to one the most gory and bloodiest war in the annals of human existence. These new technological advancements revolutionized how people regarded war. War was no longer where the opposite forces fought in a coordinated battle. War evolved into game of cunning strategy where the side with the bigger, powerful, and smarter toys played better. This led to a fierce competition where each side tried to create the smarter machines and better weapons, leading to deadly mass killing weapons in the process. One weapon or machine was created and an even better one was made. New developments such as machine guns, poison gas, tanks, and new strategy to thwart trench warfare affected how WWI was fought and it came with catastrophic results.
This was the first truly global conflict in a century that the world had plunged into since the Napoleonic wars with the invasion of Egypt. From India to Argentina had the world been swept by one single conflagration. This war that started in Europe went global because was a conflict between global empires, which locked in a fratricidal conflict with each other, are going to h...
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”.
Throughout the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, almost every country in Africa was imperialized by other countries in Europe. To imperialize is to conquer another country, whether it be in the means of politics, economics and/or culture, and control that land. The aftermath for the imperialized country was either beneficial or harmful. The amount of African countries that a European country imperialized varied. Great Britain imperialized fifteen countries in Africa, including Egypt in 1882, Sierra Leone in 1808, and the Union of South Africa in 1910. Although Great Britain’s reasons to imperialize were selfish, Britain helped each country progress afterwards.
During the late 1800s and 1900s in various societies, imperialism played a major role. Imperialism consists of a country's domination of an economic and cultural life in another country. Within the 1800s and 1900s, Europe became a large-scale global leader. Europeans set up colonies all over the world, specifically Africa, India, China, and Japan. Imperialism is viewed through two different major points such as the imperialist and colonialist.
Africa is a land of riches like no other, so as expected, European countries would have some sort of desire to conquer properties in whatever way they did. As stated in African Colonies and their Exports Chart, countless of natural resources are found in different areas in Africa. Not only does the data show plenty of resources, but also a variety (Doc D). This confirms that Africa is a wealthy land that Europeans grew fond of and hoped to take over. Specified in Imports and Exports Graph, following the 1900’s, after the conference to divide up Africa was held, Britain decided to use Africa’s natural resources and specialize in many industries. The imports doubled from 4 million pounds, while the exports boosted from 2.5 million all the way to 21 million pounds (Doc. E). With this lucrative increase in trading and selling, it is fair to conclude that not only were resources a factor of beginning imperialism in Africa, but also a successful result.
In conclusion, during the 15th and 16th centuries Europeans visited the Atlantic Coast in the African states to observe for gold and silvers. They took advantage of the Africans to get their desires when the Africans acknowledged them to be equal which drove into Africa’s downfall.
...erty, social unrest, drug addictions, and government bankruptcy when foreign exploitation emerged. In spite of this, China by not being able to withstand western influence incorporated imperialism and obtained a modern military and technology from the favored nations. Albeit, the western powers forced imperialism to East Asia differently than the rest of the world. Modern East Asia still emerged with parts of its ancient culture still intact. The unequal treaties, extraterritoriality, and other forms of discriminatory decrees created the Westernization of China, Japan, and Korea and gave these nations hope for the future that Western dominance would soon pass.
With Europe in control, “the policies of the governing powers redirected all African trade to the international export market. Thus today, there is little in the way of inter-African trade, and the pattern of economic dependence continues.” Europeans exported most of the resources in Africa cheaply and sold them costly, which benefited them, but many Africans worked overtime and were not treated with care.
At the end of the nineteenth century, a new trend among the larger countries came about; imperialism. This is the process of one country taking charge of another country. Imperialism is made up of three main processes. The first process is military force, in this process a country will send military troops into other countries to physically implement new rules and behaviors when necessary. The second aspect of imperialism is global trade. The United States of America is always looking for new ways to bring in money, so by imperializing other countries and using the newly acquired land and goods, the superior country would make a profit. The last tool of imperialism is diplomacy (the making of deals without violence). From 1895 to 1945 imperialism
During the 19th century, Europe found a way to use Africa for its own growth and power. Using Africa for their resources, the Europeans colonized Africa without a second thought. European imperialism in Africa had a negative impact because of social disarray, cultural loss, and death it caused. As the Europeans started to invade Africa and split up the land, they paid no attention to the already existing natural boundaries. Over time, villages with different cultures had set these boundaries.
An overwhelming majority of African nations has reclaimed their independence from their European mother countries. This did not stop the Europeans from leaving a permanent mark on the continent however. European colonialism has shaped modern-day Africa, a considerable amount for the worse, but also some for the better. Including these positive and negative effects, colonialism has also touched much of Africa’s history and culture especially in recent years.