Imperialism Dbq Research Paper

In the nineteenth century, Europeans had a desire to explore the boundless world in front of them and impressive transportational technology like steamboats to get them places. The desire to become “imperialists,” the desire to make an empire by conquering weaker countries, was also strengthened by a racist worldview that Africans and Asians needed the influence of Europe’s “civilized” society. So Europe set off, each nation vying for its own colonies, to wage wars, create treaties and expand their borders. It sounds glamorous on the surface, but in reality, millions of natives lost their lives in the desperate struggle to save their homeland from the greedy invaders. For example, when Britain conquered Sudan, they only lost 48 men for

They were a small African nation warring against a strong nation with advanced technology. The first cause that led the war to be fought was a treaty between Italy and Ethiopia. According to the American textbook, Menelik II, the emperor of Ethiopia at the time, read the treaty in the Ethiopian language to be Italy receiving a small portion of the country in exchange for their surrender. However, since Menelik couldn’t read Italian, the Italian copy of the treaty said that Ethiopia would give up the entire country. Menelik realized this after signing the treaty and asked Italy to change their version. When Italy refused, Menelik rejected the entire treaty, according to the Ethiopian textbook. The Italians abandoned efforts of peaceful occupation, and began to invade the country from the north. This meant war. To be able to hold their own, Ethiopia purchased a formidable combination of weapons from France and Russia. According to the Ethiopian textbook, Ethiopians also expressed incredible courage and patriotism in their fight against the Italians. With these two things going for them, the Ethiopians successfully drove out the Italians and became one of only two African nations to resist