European Imperialism: Reading and Analysis

European Imperialism

Many countries in history expanded and developed massive empires through a policy of imperialism. Imperialism occurs when a stronger nation takes over or dominates a weaker nation or region by using political, economic, or military force to do this.

The period between the 18th and 20th centuries in European history is known as the Age of Imperialism. The most active European countries in terms of imperialism were Britain, France, and Germany. In the late 1800’s, economic, political, and religious motives prompted these nations to expand their influence over other regions, each with a goal to increase their power across the globe.

The Industrial Revolution of the 1800’s created a need for natural resources to fuel newly invented machinery and transportation. Resources like coal, iron, and rubber were in high demand. Some nations did not have enough raw materials to support their industrialization and looked to other lands to find them. Expanding outside of its borders also allowed a country to enter foreign markets for the purpose of selling industrial goods. Traditional industries became displaced as manufacturing and markets moved to foreign countries. One such company, the British East India Company, became highly profitable by obtaining natural resources in India and selling goods in markets throughout the world. Imperialism is not only political and economic, but also cultural. When European powers took over foreign lands, they felt superior to the natives. They looked down on indigenous civilizations and felt that they needed to bring western culture and “civilize” and educate the “savage” population. This led to racial segregation in some areas. Religion was an important part of imperialism as well. Christian missionaries looked to convert native people to Christianity and also called for an end to slave trade in hopes Africa could also become part of western civilization. Imperialism was also influenced by nationalism, a sense of pride in one’s country. People were proud of their growing countries and their accomplishments. A famous saying from that time was, “the sun never sets on the British Empire”, meaning that the British empire was so vast that there was always a territory that had sun shining on it. This created a sense of competition among European countries to show off their power and prestige around the world. This competition ignited already heated tensions between European countries and conflicts began to spread. Imperialism had a devastating impact on millions of people across the globe. Innocent people across Asia and Africa in particular endured untold suffering at the hands of invading European powers. Imperial control of Africa increased rapidly between 1870 and 1895. The continent was divided up among the European powers at the Berlin Conference with little regard to the people on the continent. This was called the “Scramble for Africa”. People across the African continent formed resistance movements against the western colonizers. Many were people of independent states who wanted to remain independent. When the British tried to colonize southern Africa, they were met with resistance from the Kingdom of Zululand and its army. When the King of Zulu did not comply with British threats of war, the British invaded. The war resulted in several violent and bloody battles and ultimately ended in British victory and dominance of the region. In some areas, local kingdoms were aided by European countries to fight against other European countries. Ethiopia’s Emperor Menelik II was aided by Russian and French military to defeat the Italians, resulting in the recognition of Ethiopia's independence. India was known as the “Jewel in the British Crown'' because of how profitable the British East Indian Company was in obtaining and selling raw materials from the region. People were angry at the British reforms, taxes, and unfair treatment placed on them. In 1857, an Indian rebellion called the Sepoy Mutiny broke out against the British East India Company. This would lead to many other rebellions throughout the continent. The rebels gained control of several important cities and eventually led to the dissolution of the British East India Company. India was administered by Great Britain, and though they did not hold constitutional power, Indians were promised rights similar to Britains’.