Imperialism in the 19th century Essay

on that point was a groovy deal of Imperialism in the 19th ampere-second, conduct by mostly westbounders from Europe. Imperialism is the act in which iodine nation extends its rule everywhere some opposite. Imperialism had a substantial consequence on the 19th century end-to-end the unblemished world by bringing upon changes to galore(postnominal) an some new(prenominal)(prenominal) different countries, for better and for worse, in particular to Africa. forward to the nineteenth century, westerners did interfere with bity of the personal business of nations step upside of their boarders, so signs of violetism atomic number 18 shown some(prenominal) times through with(predicate)out history. Examples of this would be the European colonies in the Americas and excessively influence in Asia. Whenever a western inelegant was relate with the economy of an outside country, on that point were many cerebrates for Imperialism, two of which were stintingal and semipo litical. What better instruction to boost an economy than to open markets in another(prenominal) bailiwicks of the world? The colonized nations had gigantic supplies of resources that could not be comprise in Europe, which is what first attracted the westerners. Because of imperialism, not only did Europeans construct access to resources in Africa and Asia, still they as well as had access to cheap labor by forcing the natives of the lands to work for little or no capital. The desire of power and security for the soldiery were similarly causes for Imperialism. By having function oer distant lands, it would be a benefit, militarily, to go for bases spread out around the world, especi aloney during times of war. (Wakefield, Edward Gibbon A earn from Sydney and Other Writings on liquidation) racial discrimination on account of favorable Darwism was another major factor contributing to Imperialism. Social Darwism (survival of the fittest) led to the Europeans belief tha t they were of a higher race and it was their duty to go into other areas and improve the lives of the bulk who inhabit those lands. Improving lives meant spreading western devotion (Christianity), culture, and influence. The following quote from The Backward Peoples and Our transaction with Them by Sir Harry H. Johnston shows an example of how westerners impression Let us proceed to specify who and what these backward or unprogressive concourses are and to what extent they may be considered to be retrograde and ineffective as compared with the despotic white race.There were many other examples of writing, much(prenominal) as The White creations Burden by Rudyard Kipling, which support the belief of white men world of some supremacy and of the white mans need to colonize. Nationalism in like manner played a role in support of racism by allowing flock to become extremely confident in their nationality and in turn, creating a form of the smack of superiority. (Johnson, S ir Harry H. The Backward People and Our dealings with Them)There was a lot of disputation between the different European states economically and politically. Imperialism do this competition worse by creating another factor to contend everyplace. manifestly a nation with many colonies throughout the world would be more omnipotent than one with very few colonies. So, when one western nation begins to take oer foreign lands, it would only be rude(a) for many others to follow the example as to not be left cigaret in the competition and for their own economic wealth. This occurred during the go for Africa, wherein European nations raced to gain control over different areas in Africa.During the mid(prenominal) nineteenth century, Europeans were beginning to colonize on the coast of Africa, but couldnt go much further because disease would spread, promptly killing of much of the European settlers. Since at the time Europe was going through the Industrial Revolution, on that po int were many advances not only made technologically, but similarly in the field of science and medicine. With young technology, fairs could be mass produced in factories and so a surplus of goods was often an occurrence.Europeans cancelled to Africa for new markets as to make money off of their surpluses and Africa also was rich in natural resources to fuel Europes many growing industries. Since new medicines had been discovered, Europeans could motility further into Africa and stay for longer periods of time. In addition to advances in medicine and in industry, new weapons were developed, which could easily defeat those of the Africans. This allowed for bigger European settlements to be set up in Africa and hence, the race for territories began.Another reason for the throw together for Africa was the fear of upsetting the symmetry of power. Every European nation was touch about their rivals becoming more mesomorphic than they were. The main nations heterogeneous were Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. During the late nineteenth century, all of these countries, and a few others went into a scramble to claim territories in Africa. (Mastanduno, Michael Imperialism)The scramble for Africa began with an attempt by King Leopold II of Belgium wanting to gain control of the area of the congo Basin. Tensions arose between the British and the French, because of the British gaining more control over Egypt, which was the country they had once had joint control over the finances of. France was also competing with Italy in blue Africa, so tensions were strong everywhere. Germany felt pressured by the other European nations who were gaining control over territories on Africa.Bismarck, who happened to be ruler at the time, declared control over ternary territories in eastern and western Africa, which caused make up more strain between European nations. Since the control for African territories arose very quickly, the Berlin conclave was set up to discus s the policies of claiming lands in Africa to avoid any more acerbic rivalries. (The Scramble for Africa The Economist)Fourteen European countries and the united States were in attendance at the Berlin meeting that took place between 1884 and 1885. Boundaries were determined and also rules for avocation and for future conquest within Africa. Of the countries present at the conference, only half(a) of them had their own colonies in Africa and none of the delineate nations were the nations colonized or any other African nation. What fundamentally came out of the Berlin conference was the Berlin Act, which called for free trade in the Congo basin and free navigation on the Niger among other things. When it came to the rules of further domination in Africa, each country had to inform the other countries whenever they took over an African territory and had their end to colonize had to be based on effective occupation. Freedom of trade was declared with all nations and also, it w as agreed that thraldom and the slave trade would be suppressed. (Mastanduno, Michael Imperialism)Imperialism affect colonized nations in many shipway especially economically, politically, and culturally. There were often many positive and cast out affects of imperialism on the colonies that were taken over. The culture and religion of the colonized concourse was often condemned to try to have the stack move in the way of the westerners. In Africa, economically, Africans made very little net income off of the goods they produced. All of the capital went to the Europeans. Also, before colonization, Africans traded within the continent, but this practice was terminate once the westerners became involved in their affairs. So if anything, the compound period, was one of economic corruption, preferably than economic development. (Boahen, A. Adu, ed. normal History of Africa (Abridged Edition) septenary Africa under colonial Domination 1880-1935)Colonization in Africa le d to an overall growing of the African population, which could be thought of as a positive social affect. The smell of life was improved in basis of there being hospitals, a sewerage system, and sanitary facilities and there was also an summation in employment opportunities. Western inventions such as the steam engine and other machinery were introduced to Africa. Christianity and Islam were spread and so was western bringing up. Colonialism caused a change in the social organise of Africans was it allowed mobilization between the physiquees. Social class was not determined by birth, but by a persons success individually. (Boahen, A. Adu, ed. General History of Africa (Abridged Edition) sevener Africa under Colonial Domination 1880-1935) stern all of the positive social effects, there were many negative ones. A bigger division was created between those who dwelt in urban areas and those in rural areas. Western education had made the barrier between these people larger. Col onization allowed for the rich, white Europeans to take over all of the good and fertile lands and also allowed them to monopolize in trade in Africa. Even though there were educational institutions set up, they were inadequately spread out and didnt have much of an effect on Africa as a whole.There were still very large illiteracy takes. Also, there was no emphasis made on technical or industrial education, which wouldve been more useful. Racism was stressed during imperialism in Africa and created a sense of inferiority for the people who inhabited the continent at the time. (Boahen, A. Adu, ed. General History of Africa (Abridged Edition) septette Africa under Colonial Domination 1880-1935)Politically, colonialism in Africa created a larger degree of continuous peace and constancy than there ever was before. There were instantly definite boundaries in Africa, which was a good call in terms of organization. There was also a new found nationalism that spread throughout the continent. On the other hand, a lot of the political changes were negative. Because of boundaries set up by the westerners, many ethnic and religious groups were torn apart, which affected the lives of the natives on a personal level and created many disputes.The boundaries also did not examine that natural resources were distributed evenly, which would serve as a problem since the economy of Africans was dependent on what they could gather from their land. Africans lost their independence and were basically ruled by the white colonial leaders, who also owned almost all of their property. For a long time, the people of Africa had lost their right of liberty. (Boahen, A. Adu, ed. General History of Africa (Abridged Edition) VII Africa under Colonial Domination 1880-1935)In conclusion, imperialism was an enormous part of nineteenth century history. There were many different reasons for western nations wanting to colonize and many different outcomes that came about from colonization . Imperialism showed many affects toward all of the nations involved whether they were being dominated or doing the domination. The scramble of Africa was an example of what occurred in western imperial rule and clearly shows the positive and negative consequences of imperialism.