Imperialism In The Late 1800s And Early 1900s

Imperialism differed in perspectives depending on which P.O.V it came from either, the imperialist of the colonized. During the late 1800s and early 1900s several societies around the world, especially Europe, were affected by imperialism. Imperialism is a situation in which a country expands their power and influence through negotiation or military force. The imperialist might see this as an advantage while the colonist might see this an invasion. The view on imperialism was obviously not seen eye to eye between imperialists and colonists.

The mentality of imperialists was the belief in the white man’s burden. They believed in civilizing the uncivilized colonist for their own benefit, almost like a favor for the colonist. They also

believed that they were superior, the strongest, and they should be treated like that. These nations conquered and took over the colonist and stripped them of their resources. Some of these nations included Great Britain, Italy and Japan. For example, the scramble for Africa was a time when the European nations explored and claimed territories throughout Africa. Only driven by the need for resources, they did not take Africa into consideration. Great Britain believed they were doing a good thing when they offered employment to the Africans in exchange for goods according to this quote; “Give me the demand for more goods and then I will undertake to give plenty of employment in making the goods” (document 1). Also they believed that they were improving the Africans lives as said in this quote, “By railways and roads, by reclaim [recovery] of swamps and irrigation of deserts, and by a system of fair trade and completion, we have added to the prosperity and wealth of these lands” (document 3). The European also had a great influence on the Africans; by 1914 very little African nations had their independence according the diagrams in document 6.
The mentality of the colonized people was that the imperialists were invading their nation and changing their ways of life. These nations believed that the imperialists exploited their economy, not improve it. These colonies included African, India, china and Korea. For example, British imperialism had a great impact on India. Britain thought that they had bought order and stability to India, Indians thought otherwise. According to document 5, Great Britain exploited Indian economy by closing their markets to Indian products but not vice versa. Also the British disrespected the Indians values during the Sepoy rebellion. This rebellion was caused by the British using cow and pig fat to grease new bullets. This was against their belief since cows were sacred animals. Another example was when Japan invaded Korea. According to document 8, this quote, “In order to make Koreans just like the Japanese, the Korean people were forced to change their family names into Japanese names” to the Koreans, the Japanese stripped them of their cultural identities.
Imperialist nations of the nineteenth century conquered, carved up, and stripped resources from other countries. Their actions had a great impact on Europe and eventually the entire world. From the imperialist view, they thought that they were fulfilling their mission of civilizing the barbaric. From the colonized view, they thought they were being invading and robbed of their way of life. The P.O.V of both sides was very different which caused problems and rebellions.