But, there were other ways that America justified its overseas expansion; responsibility and God 's Will. In the late 1800 's, American business was a growing industry and it kept looking for more ways to enlarge its power and wealth. So, the American government, influenced by these businessmen, decided to turn to imperialism and expansion. When conflicts between Spain and Cuba began to emerge, America feared that the trade would be interrupted. So, America decided to fight the Spanish to protect its imports, but also to receive the opportunity to expand.
From the 16th to the 18th century, world superpowers from Europe and America alike sought to conquer more land as expressed through their colonization of bountiful countries and imperialism across the globe. Early instances of imperialism, including the Portuguese colonization of Brazil in the 1500s and the British colonization of the east coast of North America in the 1600s, had nations sending their own inhabitants to new lands and in search for money and power. The prevalence of the British and Dutch East Indian companies during the 17th and 18th centuries brought these nations highly coveted goods and spices, producing wealth that funded their growing empires and brought them prowess amongst the other powers of Europe. This sentiment extends
The dictionary defines colonialism as “the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically,” a tactic commonly associated with American and European history. Empires rise and fall while innocent people die due to a leader’s desperation to become a global superpower, but imperialism is still a policy used by many countries whose governments obsess over expansion. History continues to repeat itself time and time again, dating back to the Roman Empire stretching across Europe, followed by the British, French, and Spanish expanding into the Western World for colonization, and more recently, American expansion throughout the Western Hemisphere. These significant events in history led to long term consequences that still significantly impact the world today. The effects of colonialism date back to a time before America was even founded, but one of the greatest examples of imperialism occurred when Columbus decided to sail to the Americas.
In an attempt to increase trade and prove itself as an economic and military superpower, the US began to expand overseas and increase its military size; the US believed in International Darwinism and saw these actions as an expansion of Manifest Destiny which led to imperialism. People like William H. Seward pushed to annex Midway Island and purchased Alaska to expand the size of the US. However, imperialism became a controversial debate among the American people throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Expansionists and Jingoists like Theodore Roosevelt wanted to protect and gain control of other nations including Puerto Rico, Philippines, and Guam, whereas anti-imperialists such as William Jennings Bryan, Mark Twain, and Jane Addams were against entangling the US in unneeded conflicts overseas and depriving other nations of their rights. Thus, while advocates of expansionism wanted to civilize other nations, become a superpower, and improve US unity, oppositions wanted the US to improve domestic conflicts instead of involving itself in foreign affairs and should not force America’s ideals on other nations.
America had trade routes across the Atlantic ocean which made the economy massive, However the problem was European countries cut those trade routes off with Naval Blockades. Overall the war was caused due to America's thirst for power and because of these circumstances such as the German Naval Policy which allowed America to undisputedly declare war. One of the major reasons America was influenced to declare war was America’s massive power which allowed them to imperialize and capitalize other areas overall growing America's power and economy. Imperialism was one of the ways
Exerting power through numerous methods, the British influence and control in India increased to an extent that it was controlling many parts of the country. European states required raw materials and a market to sell and trade their commodities. At length, these imperative resources were lacking and were needed in sufficient quantities due principally the Industrial Revolution. Henceforth, these European states competed for industries and markets in Africa and Asia. With this in mind, Britain joined the scramble for countries to colonize.
Even though the Dutch and the Portuguese first saw it as a great trading post, the French and the British saw this as an opportunity to expand their land and a great economic opportunity with the trade of raw materials and new consumers. By 1767, after the French were defeated, the British begun to colonize all of India through direct and indirect colonialism. The East India Company controlled the country since 1600. As it gradually extended their power it had no choice but to make deals with local princes in areas to make trade profitable. These concessions are a great example for indirect rule.
One of the growing problems faced in England during the 16th century was the ever expanding population. This influenced colonisation of North America due to the fact that population growth threatened to undermine the existing social order as the government did not know how to cope with the growing number of people and they struggled to find places for people to work without causing social disorder. It was important at this time for countries to mobilise economic resources so that all resources could be narrowly focused on a common goal, such as industrial or commercial expansion. That strength of the western European states which could be mobilised lay in conditions that permitted the growth, on the foundation of initially landlord and peasant economies, of industries, trading activities and services whose productivity was relatively high and which in favourable circumstances could originate innovations in technique or organisation or effect
With the rise of the Industrial Revolution throughout Europe in the early 1800s, European powers developed new hopes and expectations for the colonies: that they could be used to exploit raw materials for industrial manufacturing to fuel profit growth at home. With the invention of the steamship and telegraph line, and the digging of the Suez Canal in 1869, these dreams came to fruition. Accordingly, the role of the Southeast Asian states in the world economy changed, ushering in an era of enhanced mainland colonization known as "New Imperialism." Though the European colonizing powers had sought in the past to halt any economic development in their colonies, in the era of New Imperialism, Europe particularly forced colonies into a peripheral role, as it saw industrial development as a force with the power to potentially liberate the colonies from the European hold. It was for this same reason that Spain prevented liberal ideas from reaching the Philippines, as liberalism and industry often go hand-in-hand.
To further affect the empire, European powers chose an Ottoman strength and turned it into a weak point. Europeans monopolized trade with India and China and set high prices of goods sold in the empire, which greatly affected Ottoman trade and caused inflation in their economy. Moreover, the British, French, and Greek forces combined and were ready to fully take control over Thrace and Constantinople. The location of Constantinople was very significant to the Ottoman trade. In addition, Constantinople was very important to the Europeans as it was such a strong and important city during the Roman Empire.