preview

Reasons For Imperialism

Decent Essays

According to the textbook, World History: Modern Times by Glencoe. Imperialism is said to be “extension of a nations power over other lands” (page 430). The power included control of politics, economy, and culture life of other countries. Imperialism was global and was controlled by France, Britian, and the United States. Over time other countries became a part of imperialistic rule. There are four forms of imperial rule that included: colonies, protectorates, spheres of influence, and economic imperialism. Colonies were in categories by two different kinds; direct rule and indirect rule. Direct rule meant that officials from France were sent to be in charge of the colonies. Indirect rule meant that rulers from that area were in charge. …show more content…

For example, Britan saw India as a great source of raw materials because of their canal that made transporting materials easy and made trade of textiles inexpensive. Being able to get raw materials and cheap labor from countries who were poor became the drive for imperialism. Another motivation for imperialism was an effort for countries in power to gain more power over other European countries. They also wanted to gain more land and they did not stop at using their military force to get what they wanted! Also imperialism was motivated by moral benefits. The ruling countries believed they were the superior race because they were white and everyone else was considered “primitive”. For example, in the 1850’s the British mistreated Indian soldiers and this led to a war. The ruling countries also considered it their job to “civilize” people in other parts of the world. An example can be seen in the fact that many Indians were impressed by the British and learned English and actually condemned some tradtions held by the Indians like child

Get Access