Mperialism is when a stronger nation takes over a weaker nation or region and dominates its economic, political, or cultural life. Great Britian emerged as a leading imperial power seeking to extend its influence around the world. Eventually, it was said that "The sun never sets" on the British Empire. Two main causes of British imperialism in India stemmed from economic motives. During the Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britian, there was a high demand for raw materials and new markets. Britian's favorable island location and abundance of natural resources such as coal and iron made the nation a leader of industrialization. Over time, Great Britian could not meet the demand for resources for its industries and therefore sought …show more content…
locations that could fulfill their needs. India had many resources, including cotton, that the British desired to support their textile industry. A second economic reason for British imperialism was its need to acquire new global markets and trading ports for their manufactured goods. Coastal locations were preferred to ship materials between Great Britian and its colonies. Some of these goals were initially accomplished by the British East India Company.
Britian's conquest of India did have many positive and negative impacts. From the British perspective, a positive aspect was that India gained new technology, such as the communication and transportation systems the British built. Britian started western style schools, and built western style buildings. Cultural diffusion was an impact of these actions and led to an exchange of ideas between the East and the West. Some negative impacts were the economic exploitation of the Indian subcontinent. Indian markets were flooded with British manufactured goods, goods that Indians once produced for themselves. Indians labored to produce the resources for export to Britain and the British profited. Ultimately, it led the Indians to form an independence movement. Another region which Britian imperialized was Africa. Britian wasn't the only country that took colonies in Africa. Many other European countries at the Berlin Conference carved Africa into new colonies with no regard for Africans. The reasons Britian and others took over Africa also related primarily to Economic motives. Europeans tried to justify Their actions in part with what they called the White Man's
Burden. White Man's Burden means that Europeans felt that they needed to help Africans and make them "Better." Like India, Africa had many natural resources that European countries desired. One positive effect of British imperialism in Africa was that colonialism temporarily reduced local warfare. There were many improvements in sanitation, technology, schools, health care and more. One negative impact was that as a result of how European countries carved up Africa, many tribes that didn't like each other were placed together, which created many problems within these arbitrary borders. As with India, the British also exploited natural resources of Africa as well. Even though European nations like Britian claimed that they were helping Africans at the end of the day, they were just exploiting their culture. Some could argue that imperialism did improve many countries in some ways. They changed native life styles and traditional cultures. Imperialism can be good or bad when viewed from many different perspectives.
The peoples of the Africa and Asia took varied positions on interaction with Europeans. One clear reason for this is the vast regions of land and varied cultures that constitute these areas. Even though Britain had recently taken a resolute opposition to slavery, West African elites still welcomed them because of the raw materials and technology they traded to the regions along that coast. In the early 19th century, the British East India Company established more trade warehouses and thoroughfares in the Indian subcontinent. This occupation of Indian lands that was welcomed by some groups and fiercely opposed by others. While met by more opposition, the British Empire expanded into the other Indian Ocean territories up to the end of the century.
One country that had imperialism was India. By the mid-1880s, the British East India Company controlled three fifths of India. The cause of British domination was that the land was very diverse and the people could not unite and that the British either paid local princes or used weapons to get control. Positive effects of imperialistic rule in India were that the British set up a stronger economy and more powerful industries. They built roads and railroads. British rule brought peace and order to the countryside. They revised the legal system to promote justice for the Indians regardless of class. Indian landowners and princes, who still owned territory grew rich from exporting cash crops such as cotton and jute. The British introduced the telegraph and the postal system as a means of communication. These improvements and benefits from British rule eventually lead to Indian nationalism. The exposure to European ideas caused an Indian nationalist movement, the people dreamed of ending Imperial ...
The Effects of British Imperialism in India One could approach this topic from two points of view: the British and the Indian. One could choose either party and find very different opinions. When British colonizers first arrived in India, they slowly gained more and more control in India through many ways, the most prominent being trade and commerce. At first, they managed India’s government by pulling the string behind the curtain. However, soon they had acquired complete rule over India, converting it into a true British colony.
In the 1600’s there was the foundations of representative government. In the 1600’s the colonists came up with something called a democracy. A democracy is a government in which people rule themselves. The colonists had voted for many certain laws. They ruled themselves by using the laws of society. The carter named “Magna Carta” was a character of liberties which was agreed by King John of England, it had made the king obey the same laws as the citizens. Protestantism is a branch within Christianity; this was mostly participated during the 16th century. These were people who had reformed certain practices in the Catholic churches. On November 11, 1620 the Mayflower Compact was signed. The Mayflower Compact is a legal contract which was agreed to have fair laws to protect the good.
The Negative Force of American Expansionism and Imperialism Many people believe that American Expansionism and Imperialism was a positive force, that it did more good than bad. However, many people disagree with this popular notion. Many good things do come out of it, but the bad ultimately trumps the good. There were several problems between whites and Natives and because of the problems countless people died. To start off, American Expansionism and Imperialism brought isolation to America.
The main objective of English imperialism was to spread economic influence, values and laws to different countries. The motivations of imperialism were to create merchant policy that only favors political class of the English imperialism and voters so that they can get reelected. The motivations comprised the willingness to control social class, to control foreign trade, to make money, acquire cheap labor, and dominate over America using political powers. The motivations were also based on the willingness to gain power over nations with a variety of resources (Peter, 2002). Power is authority; therefore English imperialism thought, by gaining power over different nations will make it succeed in
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.
The epoch of imperialism cannot be defined simply as proliferation of inflated egos tied to the hardened opinions of nationalists, but also a multi-faceted global rivalry with roots of philosophies tainted with racism and Social Darwinism. The technique of each imperialist was specific to the motivations and desires of each combative, predominantly Western power and subsequently impacted the success of each imperialist and its colonies. Driven by industrialization, Europeans were aware of the urgent need for raw materials and new markets to maintain a constant rate of expansion and wealth. Imperialism became a competition; in general, the European countries led with fervor while the non-Western regions deemed likely to be stepped on. Britain was endowed with geographic and political advantages that allowed the country to become the first to unwittingly stumble onto industrialization. Britain was an island, therefore had developed a unique naval strength which subsequently gave Britain leverage when globalization blossomed from expanding maritime trade. Meanwhile, the rest of Europe, including Belgium, trailed behind. Presently, colonized regions still bear the traits and scars from the subjugators of their past.
Some believe that India’s non-participation in the Industrial Revolution was due to British colonization. At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, India had clout as a world leader in cotton textiles (Majumdar 62). The British plundering subsequently lead to the destruction of the textile industry, and eventually the economy. It is believed that much of the money necessary to the Industrial Revolution was obtained by the looting of India. After all, India had the three things necessary to start an endeavor such as this: raw materials, wealth, and a market. The Industrial Revolution itself began only a few years after the colonization of India (Majumdar 62). In the end, India was unable to participate in the Industrial Revolution. According to Majumdar, “Consequences of not being able to participate in the Industrial Revolution included not democratizing invention and the democratization of markets”. India’s own industrial revolution began after Independence in 1947, wh...
There is no doubt that British imperialism had a large impact on India. India, having previously been an group of independent and semi-independent princedoms and territories, underwent great change under British administration. Originally intended to consolidate their hold on India by establishing a population that spoke the same language as their rulers, the British decision in the 1830s to educate Indians in a Western fashion, with English as the language of instruction, was the beginning of a chain of events, including a rise in Indian nationalism, that led to Indian resentment of British imperialism and ultimately to the loss of British control over India.
India was where the riches of the world came from, the jewel in the crown of the British Empire. The British needed to dispel the threat of other Europeans in Africa to maintain control of India, and they did so efficiently. They quickly gained control of both the major sea routes to India and then turned their eyes to the rest of the continent. Whether the British were trying to foster public support or prevent another nation from becoming a threat, all British actions in Africa were directly or indirectly linked to India. The British were motivated by their desire to become powerful, and they skillfully combined enterprise and conquest to create a globe spanning empire centered around the wealth of India.
Throughout the 1700s, the relationship between Britain and their colonies became more tension filled. The new generations of colonists felt more entitled to certain rights and liberties that had been considered privileges to their ancestors. Over the years Britain had been becoming progressively worse at keeping their colonies happy. Eventually, colonists did not even feel incorporated in their mother country, Britain. The deterioration of British colonial relations in the late 1700s was caused by a lack of representation and care from Britain.
The British Empire was equally a powerful imperial system, but for differing reasons. Its monarchy has led them to success with nationalism and patriotism, and even some of their own thought that ruling over more countries (particularly India) would make them “the greatest power in the world” (Roberts, p. 225). They were interested in imperializing and having control over others, to spread their beliefs and government across the seas. All they needed was “food, raw materials and cash” while they supplied “minerals and capital and sold services” and traded their goods with Europe (Roberts, p. 50).
The expansion of a nation has almost always been necessary for its survival. The colonization of America, Africa, the Middle East, India, and East Asia are such examples. While the colonization of one place generally means the continued prosperous life of another, such an idea is lost when the act becomes a violent struggle of deception and power. This loss of humanity is clearly seen in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”. Imperialism and colonization led to a complete disruption to the inhabitants of the Congo and resulted in retaliation by the natives and the suffering of many people.
During the 19th century, Europe found a way to use Africa for its 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. As the Europeans started to invade Africa and split up the land, they paid no attention to the already existing natural boundaries. Over time, villages with different cultures had set these boundaries.