European Influence On American Imperialism

Imagine yourself being a ruler of one of the European nations in the 1800s. You control numerous nations, in Africa, all under your full control. Now, why did you go and take over these nations? Nationalism? Competition? Or simply for Social Darwinism? Despite all these reasons, what you did is called imperialism. Imperialism is a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force. In the 1800s, countries in Europe were scrambling for Africa and land grabbing whatever piece of land they can get. The European nations were claiming that they were “civilizing” the Africans and bringing them towards civilization and a more civilized manner. The three main motivations why they would do this would be, nationalism,

What was the driving force behind European Imperialism in Africa? Between 1500 and 1800 the Europeans knew  little about the interior of Africa their presence was to buy and sell slaves for pots, cloth, and weapons and set sail to America. Late as 1870 ten percent of Africa was under Europeans control and most was along edges by 1914 ninety percent of Africa was in control four years later.  Due to the countries that held African colonies in 1914 that involved the British, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spain, and Belgian. France and Britain were the main  conquer in African colonies, because there conqueror of land in Africa.

No person or nation likes to be controlled, and that is what America was doing

Within the 1800’s European Explorers forced their way through the insides of western and central Africa. Along the west coast of Africa, European nations traded for slaves, ivory, and gold. Africa was under full assault by the 1800s, as European nations competed with one another for control of the continent. Europe wanted to imperialism (take over) Africa and the forces (what they did) that helped them succeed is the new technology, Nationalism, and lastly the most important industrialism.

Imagine waking up one day and being forced to drop every custom and tradition you’ve ever known. This is what many countries had to endure when Americans decided it would be okay to imperialize them. Imperialism is the act of extending a country 's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. By the late 1800’s America started imperializing weaker countries. Americans were not justified in barging into weaker countries, and taking over for their own selfish gain. They mistreated the Filipinos and exploited the Puerto Ricans lands, they’ve done more bad than good which is why they are not justified.

Colonialism and Imperialism affected our world both positively and negatively. On one hand, Imperialism has often been linked with racial segregation, manipulation, and hardship. On the other, it has been said that many colonial powers contributed much in terms of schools, roads, railways, and much more. Whether this time period was constructive or harmful, it has played a large part in shaping our lives today.

Imperialism, "the policy where a country increases its power by gaining control over other areas of the world", was a very common government policy beginning in the late 15th century (Merriam-Webster). A sub-category of the large term, imperialism, is colonization, which is where people from the powerful country actually go and live in the conquered territory. Europeans were the first to engage in this international activity, and some very large powers emerged, one of the biggest being Britain. Britain had many imperial relationships spanning multiple continents including Asia, Africa, and North America. One of their most impactful, both positive and negative, relationships was with America. The colonial relationship between Britain and the US initially had a positive impact on the British trade and political power, but negatively affected the Native Americans and Britain's finances during the American Revolution.

There are economic, cultural, and political are the effects of the industrial revolution and European imperialism on both European nations and their colonies during the time period 1700-1914. European nations gained oversea colonies in North and South America, Africa and Asia. The European nations conquer Africa because they needed raw materials. European-introduced European culture, language, and religion to Africa. The European opened schools in Africa, which teach in the European language and spread Christianity. The European nations divided African and China into colonies.

In the race of European imperialism, European countries dominated innocent African colonies. The driving force behind this? Africa’s bountiful resources.

According to the overview, “between 1500 and 1800, European nations traded for slaves, gold, and ivory along the west coast of Africa, but they did not go deeply into the continent.” In 1884, fourteen countries met in Berlin to discuss the division of Africa to prevent war from breaking out.. This meeting would come to be known as the Berlin Conference led by Ottoman Bismarck. Up until 1885, they stated that if a leader wanted to control a certain part of Africa, then they must prove that they have control over that area and that was it. This was the beginning of European imperialism in Africa. Based on the documents, expanding empires and having a new source of materials was the driving force of imperialism in Africa.

The only thing Europeans loved more than political power was increasing their trade. In the 1800’s European nations had a desire to get a lead to widespread imperialism in Africa. With the end of slavery in 1833, European interest in Africa shifted to seizing colonies. King Leopold of Belgium acquired a private country in Africa that was 95 times bigger than Belgium and his purpose was to make money by taking out ivory and rubber. European leaders then became aware of two things: Africa was contained with natural resources, and a scramble of the riches could begin a war between European nations. At the Berlin Conference in 1885, European Nations claimed parts of the African continent through rule of occupation. Though they did not consider the land claims of Africans, they did agree to specific principles concerning colonization, which included free trade, and improving the moral and material well being of Africans. Before European nations stayed away from the African continent, and now powers such as England, France, and Germany want large amounts of land of Africa. Several reasons European nations began to colonize Africa included political competition and ideological superiority; however, economic profit was the primary driving force to imperialize Africa.

In the 19th century imperialism was an important part of building European empires. The four major motives for imperialism are economic, strategic, religious and political. These motives helped great empires expand their territory and brought new cultures and languages to both the colonised countries and the countries colonising them.

The Industrial Revolution which originated from England, slowly began its worldwide expansion in the mid-1700. The modern world was formed through the modifications made during the time of the revolution and new imperialism. Technology advancements, fresh demands due to imperialism and more efficiently produced resources, they time period flourished for many years. The Industrial Revolution and New Imperialism resulted in both favorable and undesirable outcomes.

Many Europeans did not treat the Africans well. Many colonists started colonizing in the New World for three main reasons: God, Gold, and Glory. Colonists met Native Americans there and wanted the Native Americans to work for the them, which led to bad treatment of the Native Americans and also led to slavery. The Industrial Revolution soon started and people needed more natural resources for all the resources being produced. During the 19th Century, many Boers made colonies, land controlled by another country, on the land lended to them by Africans; soon afterward the colonizers started deceiving the African. They wrote a treaty to give a limit to African rule and held the Berlin Conference to divide Africa for the six European countries.

The time period of 1750-1900 CE was a time of modernization and westernization following the Enlightenment and Age of Exploration which propelled Europe into being the central power of the world. It started off with the Industrial Revolution in Britain along with the emergence of capitalism which modernized European technology, weaponry, and ideas as well as giving them the desire for wealth all of which created a foundation for European imperialism in various parts of the world. Asia and Africa both fell victim to European imperialism, but to different extents both politically where Asia mostly retained autonomy while Africa fell under direct rule and socially where Africans fell victim to slavery and exploitation to a much greater degree