Although imperialism helped the colonized people by improving the economy and the lives of the people, for the most part imperialism hurt the colonized people because the people were forced to grow cash crops which led to death by starvation.
First of all, imperialism improved the lives of the colonized people by aiding economic growth. The imperial powers prompted industrialization in the colonies, which is the development of advanced technology, leading to modernization in the colony. This is the change to a more modern, a more advanced country with new technology and better standards of living. These improvements then led to an increase in self-sufficiency, being able to maintain the colony’s economy by itself. In addition, industrialism
For example, the British colony of Hong Kong prospered greatly. Under imperial rule, the city became a center for manufacturing, trade, and banking. However, when Hong Kong was nearing its return to China, thousands of people left the colony, fearing communist rule of businesses. (Hong Kong Reading). Through imperialism, British rule encouraged industrialization and modernization which led to visible growth in the economy as the city is described as a trade center and important in manufacturing and banking, which suggests that the industries and businesses prospered. Additionally, the fear of Chinese rule suggests that businesses operated better under British rule, which shows how imperialism improved the lives of the people of Hong Kong compared to the government before imperial rule. The way that citizens of Hong Kong left the colony before it was returned to China further highlights the different effects of British rule and Chinese rule on the people, suggesting that British rule was preferred by the citizens of Hong Kong which is why they left rather than live under Chinese rule. This implies that the
In order to gain natural resources from the colonies, the imperial powers forced the colonized people to grow certain crops that are specifically grown to be sold which is why they are named “cash” crops. These include plants like tea, indigo, cotton, coffee, jute, and other crops that are not food. However, this increased production cash crops took the place of food crops, which led to food shortages. Additionally, to increase their gains, the imperial powers forced the colonized people to sell these crops at extremely low prices. Because of this, the colonized people grew less food but did not earn enough money selling cash crops to buy the food they needed. This situation led to widespread hunger and famines, which led to many of the colonized people dying of starvation. For example, the Indian people were forced by the British to convert to growing cash crops instead of food crops. This caused increased famines in the late 1800s. (p. 358). From 1876 to 1900, there were 18 famines and an estimated 15 million deaths from starvation in India. (Historical Investigation-The Development of Nationalism in India Worksheet). In this case, one can see that producing the cash crops instead of cash crops was directly linked to food shortages throughout India as well as a loss of self-sufficiency. This shows how the wants of the imperial power
Imperialist portrayed imperialism as a positive effect as they believed their empire would expand and prosper. As stated by Joseph Chamberlain in document 1, he states that colonist provided a way for expansion and control. He also states “...new markets shall be created, and the old
British Imperialism in India and China Imperialism is the domination of a weaker country by a stronger country. For instance, Britain dominated India and China in the mid 1880s to the beginning of the 20th century. Imperialism has had both a positive and negative effect on the countries involved. Britain was imperialistic for many reasons, it could dominate because it had the technology and power to do so.
When one thinks of imperialism they often refer to the concept with very strong feelings. The general population will either agree with it or disagree. There tends to be no middle ground. The best way to look at imperialism is with an impartial mind. If one looks at imperialism with an open mind then they are able to see both the strengths and the weaknesses that it harbors. Throughout history one is most likely able to name several circumstances where imperialism took place and also point out the obvious aftermath of. Imperialism tends to have a greater good behind it, but unfortunately may have been executed poorly.
Imperialism 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 other words, the British wasn’t giving gifts such as kettles, gunpowder or weapons. This caused the Indians to starve because they depended on the British’s gifts to hunt and trade. The Indians will defend their land and protect their people. The colonies were also affected by the Treaty of Paris.
To begin with, one can observe that the British colonizers did indeed improve Indian civilization by developing means of communication and transport. They built a great number of bridges, over 40,000 miles of railway and paving an astounding 70,000 miles of road (Doc. 4). They established schools,newspapers and telegraphs for the people of the colonies.All blessings of civilization they could not create for themselves (Doc. 1). Furthermore, the British brought 30 million acres under cultivation with large scale irrigation works, began industrialization, improved sanitation and provided an overall higher standard of living (Doc. 4). With many new establishments and institutions to staff, job opportunities opened up left and right for Indian workers.Their contributions to Indian civilization made famine all but disappear throughout India. Without the British, it’s quite possible India could not achi...
A true saying is “Colonization often does more damage than contribution.” Colonialism encouraged Africa’s development in some areas, but in many others it severely damaged the natural progress of the continent. If colonialism was never imposed on Africa, Africa’s developments would be significantly different and many of the problems that the continent faces now would not exist today. In conclusion, at first it seems that colonialism has both positive and negative effects, but the truth is it only damages the colonized nation.
Imperialism greatly impacted the world. With imperialism came connections between nations and divisions between peoples.
British imperialism on India had many positive and negative affects on both the mother country, Britain and the colony, India. Many people would argue which effects were more prominent in these countries and some would agree that they were equal. But in both cases there were actually both.
Imperialism was a time period in which more developed nations colonized less developed nations. The developed nations took advantage of the less developed nations resources, people, lands, and much more. Many countries lost their freedom and independence due to imperialism, however, they also received new technologies and innovations.
The independent, and stable countries, had exploited them, by taking weaker countries people, and using them as laborers. This had caused a major downcast in their social standing. “By breaking up the age-old patterns of their agrarian economy, and by forcing shifts to the production of exportable crops, western capitalism destroyed the self-sufficiency of the underdeveloped country--that is, its rural society”(Maier 1). The effect of imperialism had left many countries socially unstable, and incapable of returning to normal. By being forced to work, this had weakened the economy of imperialised countries, and caused them to only rely more on the controlling countries. Imperialism caused many economic and social problems for developing
The first notable positive effect of the empire is industrialization. The British having been ahead in industrial evolution helped spread technology to new places around the world. Particularly, the British Empire was responsible for the development of early industries in their colonies (Balasubramanyam & Wei, 79). They built industries in the colonies such as sugar factories, cotton factories and tobacco industries. Certainly, this was a new development in these colonies that later led to the colonies mechanizing their cottage industri...
The concept of imperialism is one that has pervaded nearly every major society or empire throughout human history. It seems to be a natural consequence of societies growing in size, power, and knowledge. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries vast changes occurred in Western Europe (and soon spread elsewhere) that spurred a new round of imperialism the likes of which had not been seen before. The changes were the industrial revolution that was taking place. Countries were rapidly advancing to industrial societies producing much greater quantities of goods at much lower costs. The goods produced ranged everywhere from cotton textiles to military machinery, all of which would play important roles in rounds of imperialistic expansion that would follow. The imperialistic displays by Western European nations also brought about several other industrial revolutions in other regions including the Ottoman Empire, Russia, and Japan. I will take a look at how the industrial revolution encouraged imperialistic expansion, as well as some of the results of that expansion in other regions.
Throughout history, imperialism has led countries to extend their rule over weaker countries and then colonized those countries to expand their own power. Imperialism allows the ruling countries to use the weaker countries for their resources. Colonizing other countries would then lead to growth and a better reputation for the dominating country. There are many examples of imperialism throughout European history. When many European countries “scrambled” for Africa, it seemed as though Africa had no say in anything. During the 19th century, Europe found a way to use Africa for their 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.