Emerging Imperialism In World War I

World War I: Emerging imperialism Imperialism and political rivalry supplied both a cause and context for the outbreak of World War I. A practice known to have originated in the early sixteenth century, when emerging countries would define their wealth by exploring and conquering new land, modern historians define imperialism as a system in which a single, dominant nation will control and exploit one or several other colonies, at the expense of its population, imperialism seeks to draw attention away from domestic politics and concerns of the people redirecting the people's concern toward international improvement. With reference to colonies far and near, colonies were an invaluable symbol and measure of a nation's prestige and wealth. That is to say, the greater the number of colonies controlled by a single nation the greater the source of cheap labor, agricultural land, and profitable trading ports available to the dominant power. Imperialism was able to deviate attention away from domestic factories and shield governments from political manipulation, subsequently leading European governments to eventual conflict over imperial conquests.

Barth associated imperialism to world War I as it contributed great amounts of land to Imperialist Britain and France and eventually heighten the political rivalry between Britain, France, and Germany. According to Barth's "Imperialism," the land conquered by the great nations of Europe were viewed as trophies, each validating the imperialist drive to conquer and help the"...attained objects of national prestige" (Barth, Loc.