New Imperialism
IMPERIALISM IS THE EXTENSION OF SOVEREIGNTY OR CONTROL BY ONE PEOPLE OVER ANOTHER.
- IT WAS MOSTLY DORMANT IN THE WEST DURING MOST OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
- IT FLOURISHED DURING THE AGE OF EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY (1450-1650), PARTICULARLY IN THE AMERICAS AND PARTS OF ASIA.
- A GENERAL DECLINE OCCURRED IN IMPERIALISM DURING THE AGE OF METTERNICH, WITH GOVERNMENTS CONCENTRATING PRIMARILY ON INTERNAL PROBLEMS.
- THE REVIVAL OF IMPERIALISM - THE "NEW IMPERIALISM" TOOK PLACE BETWEEN 1870 AND 1914.
- REASONS FOR THE "NEW IMPERIALISM":
- ECONOMICS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE FACTOR IN THIS "NEW IMPERIALISM." MUCH OF THIS ECONOMIC EMPHASIS WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, WHICH CREATED LARGE SURPLUSES OF EUROPEAN CAPITAL AND HEAVY DEMANDS FOR RAW MATERIALS. ADDITIONALLY, IT BROUGHT ABOUT THE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL IN THE MAJOR EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WHICH SOUGHT INVESTMENT ABROAD.
- NATIONALISM WAS ANOTHER POWERFUL FACTOR. SOCIAL DARWINISM, WITH ITS CONCEPT OF "SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST" AND THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE "WHITE MAN'S BURDEN" MADE POPULAR BY THE ENGLISHMAN RUDYARD KIPLING CONTRIBUTED TO THE SPIRIT OF NATIONALISM IN EXTENDING COLONIALISM. THERE WAS ALSO POLITICAL PRESTIGE IN HAVING COLONIES AS IMPERIALISM BECAME A RACE TO ACQUIRE MORE IN THE SPIRIT OF NATIONALISM.
- A THIRD REASON FOR THIS "NEW" IMPERIALISM WAS MILITARY. MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS IN EACH MAJOR COUNTRY WIELDED GREAT POLITICAL POWER, AND THEY EMPHASIZED THE NEED, WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE GOVERNMENTS, OF CONTROLLING STRATEGIC AREAS AND ESTABLISHING KEY MILITARY BASES.
- A FOURTH REASON WAS HUMANITARIAN/RELIGIOUS, WHICH OFTEN BECAME INTERTWINED WITH NATIONALISM.
- THE RANKING OF COUNTRIES THAT MADE THE LARGEST ADDITION TO THEIR COLONIAL DOMAINS DURING THE "NEW IMPERIALISM" WERE:
#1 - ENGLAND
#2 - FRANCE
#3 - GERMANY
#4 - BELGIUM
#5 - PORTUGAL
#6 - NETHERLANDS
etc.etc http://www.wpunj.edu/~history/study/ws2/… By 1815 the world had
- IT WAS MOSTLY DORMANT IN THE WEST DURING MOST OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
- IT FLOURISHED DURING THE AGE OF EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY (1450-1650), PARTICULARLY IN THE AMERICAS AND PARTS OF ASIA.
- A GENERAL DECLINE OCCURRED IN IMPERIALISM DURING THE AGE OF METTERNICH, WITH GOVERNMENTS CONCENTRATING PRIMARILY ON INTERNAL PROBLEMS.
- THE REVIVAL OF IMPERIALISM - THE "NEW IMPERIALISM" TOOK PLACE BETWEEN 1870 AND 1914.
- REASONS FOR THE "NEW IMPERIALISM":
- ECONOMICS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE FACTOR IN THIS "NEW IMPERIALISM." MUCH OF THIS ECONOMIC EMPHASIS WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, WHICH CREATED LARGE SURPLUSES OF EUROPEAN CAPITAL AND HEAVY DEMANDS FOR RAW MATERIALS. ADDITIONALLY, IT BROUGHT ABOUT THE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL IN THE MAJOR EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WHICH SOUGHT INVESTMENT ABROAD.
- NATIONALISM WAS ANOTHER POWERFUL FACTOR. SOCIAL DARWINISM, WITH ITS CONCEPT OF "SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST" AND THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE "WHITE MAN'S BURDEN" MADE POPULAR BY THE ENGLISHMAN RUDYARD KIPLING CONTRIBUTED TO THE SPIRIT OF NATIONALISM IN EXTENDING COLONIALISM. THERE WAS ALSO POLITICAL PRESTIGE IN HAVING COLONIES AS IMPERIALISM BECAME A RACE TO ACQUIRE MORE IN THE SPIRIT OF NATIONALISM.
- A THIRD REASON FOR THIS "NEW" IMPERIALISM WAS MILITARY. MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS IN EACH MAJOR COUNTRY WIELDED GREAT POLITICAL POWER, AND THEY EMPHASIZED THE NEED, WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE GOVERNMENTS, OF CONTROLLING STRATEGIC AREAS AND ESTABLISHING KEY MILITARY BASES.
- A FOURTH REASON WAS HUMANITARIAN/RELIGIOUS, WHICH OFTEN BECAME INTERTWINED WITH NATIONALISM.
- THE RANKING OF COUNTRIES THAT MADE THE LARGEST ADDITION TO THEIR COLONIAL DOMAINS DURING THE "NEW IMPERIALISM" WERE:
#1 - ENGLAND
#2 - FRANCE
#3 - GERMANY
#4 - BELGIUM
#5 - PORTUGAL
#6 - NETHERLANDS
etc.etc http://www.wpunj.edu/~history/study/ws2/… By 1815 the world had