Paper Topic:

Western History

Running Head : EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM

European Imperialism and Rivalries : The Carving of Africa

And Control of Asia

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European Imperialism and Rivalries : The Carving of Africa

And Control of Asia

The traditional definition of imperialism can be traced back to the colonial activities of European nations during the 18th and 19th century . Historians usually defined the concept as the principle of the spirit of the empire : advocacy of what are held to be imperial interests (Kishlansky et al , 2005 . Hence , the term was (and is traditionally

associated with the colonial interests of Europeans powers . Colonies served as the economic insurance ' of European powers in advancing their economic prosperity . Moreover , colonies became the expansionist spheres of influence of European countries : the status symbols of the imperialists

European Rivalries

There is a wide consensus among historians that imperialism is not a group effort of the Europeans . For one , imperialism was borne out of competition of European countries to acquire colonies (Brinton et al 1955 :387 . Second , imperialism was considered a generic term for the oppression of `uncivilized ' and unChristianized ' nations outside Europe . Lastly , the result of imperialism was not purely economic or political in nature . Its constructive and destructive effects could be seen in the lives of the conquered people . Imperialism , though regardless of its varied senses , can be though of as an unbalanced relationship between militaristic (this is not exclusively for the Europeans - for example , Japan ) and less advanced nations

It is important to note that the first sense of imperialism is the only sense that captured the imagination of Europeans . The wars in America the conquest of India by the British Empire , the Spanish war of conquest in North and South America , the French and Indian Wars , were some of the scenarios that associated war with imperialism . These wars were usually fought by equally powerful European countries . The result though tended to favor the more powerful and luckier country at the expense of both the defeated countries and its colonies

For example , the Seven Years War destroyed the European balance of power when the British captured French settlements in India , resulting ultimately to British control of the Indian subcontinent . The same can be said about the Napoleonic Wars . Napoleon desired France to control the colonies of its satellite countries in Europe . Napoleon 's desire was catapulted when its overseas colonies were attacked by British forces Spain suffered the fame fate . The United States acquired the Philippines , Guam , and Puerto Rico from Spain as a result of the latter 's defeat . Thus , the wars and rivalries among Western countries resulted to a general change of balance of power . This change though remained colonial and imperialistic in nature

The Effects of Imperialism

The great outpouring of western power into the rest of the world in the century between the Napoleonic Wars and the First World War cannot be explained by mere political or economic interpretations . For the most European monarchs involved their countries in colonial ventures for a variety of reasons...

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