The Giving Side of Imperialism

Starting from the early 1800’s, a new concept of foreign affairs was introduced regarding the continents of Africa and Asia: new Imperialism. The dominating imperial nations of the 19th and 20th centuries were the developed countries of Europe, namely Great Britain. In a short span of less than 100 years, European powers changed the face of the Eastern hemisphere. The impact of this new imperialism has faced major controversy between historians in an attempt to classify and weigh its pros and cons. It order to make an accurate description of the effects of imperialism, it is necessary to take in account both its positive and negative impacts by comparing the political, economical, social, and cultural effects. Walter Rodney claims that imperialism was a “one-armed bandit” that did nothing for the benefit of its subjects, leaving behind only negative impacts. While Rodney’s claim is true in the sense that there were many negative impacts of imperialism, he has failed to create a chart to weigh the credits and debits. When one takes into account the political, economic, social, and cultural changes in Africa and India, the apparent beneficial impacts for the colonies allege that Walter Rodney’s description of imperialism as an “one-armed bandit” is invalid.

Imperialism is a process in which an imperial country dominated over a subject state. The imperial nation is able to take over due to advanced industrial economy, strong government, and superior military. Due to a weak or non-existing government and primitive military and economy, the subject states are easy to dominate. Along with their untapped natural resources, these states make an ideal target for the industrial powers. Beginning in the early 19th century, a concept of new...

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