New Imperialism Motives

What were some of the political, economic, social, intellectual, and military factors that explained the sudden increase in the pace and importance of European imperialism in the late 19c? The essential impetus was the Industrial Revolution which led to a search for (and control of) sources of raw materials and captive markets to sell manufactured goods, and become a world power with the most colonies and most money.

They would go get new raw materials, so they would be able to sell to a new market of people. Secondly, both the Americans and Europeans were both strong in nationalism, which led to competition between countries which made the people of these countries go out and look for areas that they can conquer. Racism was also a factor in Imperialism. Americans and the Europeans and their white race felt they were the best in the world and thought what they stood for was the best, so they wanted

Numerous motivating factors contributed to US overseas imperialism, but the fundamental underlying cause was the fact that powerful men within the US government, military and business strata craved power, expansion, wealth, and most of all, world dominance. It began subtly, as prominent businessmen like Rockefeller and J. P. Morgan began to realize that US consumership alone would not sufficiently sustain the growing industries, volume of production and produce generated within the US. In order to achieve the expansion and exponential growth of wealth they aspired to, a larger market was needed; a market capable of absorbing the abundant surplus. The solution, they believed, was expansion into foreign markets around the world.

Imperialism is defined in the dictionary as being a " The policy of extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or by establishing economic and political hegemony over other nations" (p 681 American Heritage college Dictionary). Usually people associate imperialism as being the domination of a small country by a larger, more powerful country, usually to the advantage of the larger country. At the beginning of the nineteenth century most of the countries in Europe were involved in imperialism. Each country had it's own motives for wanting to gain an empire and some of the reason were Economic, Political, Religious and Exploitation.

The start of Old Imperialism was based on the military and naval power and the underlining motive was essentially capitalistic. It began with sea explorations of the Spanish and Portuguese in the second half of the 15th century. Prince Henry the

Lastly, politics and fighting for the highest power affected imperialism. “The political impetus derived from the impact of...power struggles [w/in] Europe and competition for preeminence [in Europe], Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain were competing for power…” (Document R). More power means a country can take control and demand their necessities.“The economic motive is by no means to be dismissed but alongside of it there evidently was another one, not so easy to define but none the less real - the power complex - sheer love of power” (Document M). Along with economics, which is still a big factor, politics and being powerful afflicted conflict over

Their business interests demand that colonial markets should be opened and developed and that foreign competitors should be shut out. Such aims require political control and imperialism.”By Parker T. Moore, Imperialism and world politics, 1926.Politics and the military also had significance in causing new imperialism. One example is that when a nation had many colonies it believed it would be more powerful and secure. The second example is nationalism, which was a motive for achieving a goal for a nation. Last cause was the poem “The White Man’s Burden“, which was written by Rudyard Kipling, to justify imperialism.

Imperialism is the action of a country taking over another country. There are various reasons as to why nations seek to imperialize other countries. This action is done due to economic, exploratory, ethnocentric, political and religious reasons (Potter lecture). Most nations seek to grow their own nation in power, while others seek to help others grow. Imperialism first started in 1870, when Europe wanted to take over most of Africa. Imperialism is sometimes justified because sometimes other nations can help the more needy nations, but other times it is just complete chaos.

Imperialism is a recurring theme in the history of the world. Stronger countries see themselves as superior to other societies and believe their ways are right. They force religion, government, and practices on countless foreign lands. At the very end of the nineteenth

Europeans sought out lands that provided new sources of raw materials, cheap labor, markets, areas of investment, and military boosters. As European nations became competitive with one another, there was an increased pressure to practice Imperialism to maintain power. New Imperialism was motivated greatly by the Industrial Revolution and its advancements, and efficiency of manufacturing and supplying products. European nations also focused on opening trade routes that would give them places to sell their goods. Also significant was the Europeans desire to Christianize and “civilize” other nations through missionary work and the enforcement of European cultures and beliefs. The new Imperialism brought on social changes as well. Many people urged the taking up of the “White Man’s Burden”, bringing the European version of civilization to the rest of the world, regardless whether they wanted it or not.

Imperialism is defined as a policy of extending a country 's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. Countries during the Industrial Revolution wanted to imperialize due to social, political, and economic reasons. As early as the mid 1800’s, the European countries craved the idea of power and conquering new lands in order to obtain resources/raw materials. They took over Africa, the Ottoman Empire, India, and Southeast Asia due to this as well as for their convenient location. They believed that the more land one owns, the stronger the country would be. Although some can argue the fact that imperialism had a detrimental effect because these countries lost their culture and independence, the end result of this was definitely more positive than negative both short term and long term. These countries would not be as thriving today if this had not happened. European Imperialism in parts of the Middle east, Africa, and Asia had more of a positive impact on the world due to education, modernization, healthcare/sanitation, and more trade/resources used.

Since there were many nations involved, there were many attributes that led up to imperialism. Firstly, the Europeans wanted economic expansion. Since the industrial revolution had taken place, the Europeans were in need of more natural resources. They also wanted new markets for the sake of selling industrial products. To achieve this they had to look for more places outside of Europe and colonize it.

needed on the European home front. Imperialism provided a way in which unemployed laborers could obtain jobs and/or riches. Not all motives for imperialism were greedy and self-motivating however. The earnest desire of some to help civilize and Christianize natives was the utmost reason for imperialism.

What is the New Imperialism and what were the cause and effects in the World Wars in order to understand what is the “New Imperialism”, we must first learn and define Imperialism: a policy or practice by which a country increases its power by gaining control over other areas of the world: the effect that a powerful country or group of countries has in changing or influencing the way people live in other, poorer countries. The New Imperialism takes on effects in the late 19th century this is when there is an interest or wanting to gain a imperial territory, Imperialism is also consider to be when there is a desire to control a trading routes and resources in a nation. A perfect example of the New Imperialism is called the "Scramble for Africa", this is when Europe tries to takes control over Africa. In the late 19th century Europe struggle to destabilize and to balance the power that they once had before Italy and Germany became unify.

New imperialism was a period of colonial expansion by European powers during the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is distinguished by the continuous territorial acquisitions of Africa and Asia by European powers. These powers include Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium (Tusan, Scramble for Africa, October 23rd). There were many reasons behind this aggressive competition. To them, these newfound lands were an opportunity to expand their power and exploit further resources. To put it bluntly, economic, political, cultural, and ideological motivations all helped start the era of New Imperialism and its new form of empire.