Imperialism In Europe During The Pre-World War I

Ruby Richardson Honors Ideas in History Professor David Earnest 25 February 2024 Reflection Paper 2 Throughout Europe, during the pre World War I era, imperialism was extremely prevalent in many countries throughout the continent. Imperialism is defined as a policy or practice in which a country establishes dominance in neighboring countries through influence, power, attempts at colonization, annexation, or other means. Imperialist policies often involve a lot of force and coercion used against weaker countries and individuals. The dominance asserted by the Great Powers had a number of effects on the welfare and relationships among European countries. This provided a number of economic and military benefits to the Great Powers. Not only did
They were exploited in many different ways, all of which were oppressive and invasive. First, many European countries implemented forced labor practices in their colonies. The native people would be forced to work to extract the natural resources of their own land and give these goods to the European country who was suppressing them. Some of these natural resources included minerals and metals, such as gold, silver and tin, timber, agricultural products such as sugar, cotton, and tobacco, and spices such as clove, nutmeg, and pepper. The Great Powers had colonies all over the world, and this forced participation in the harvest of goods was present everywhere. Each of the Great Powers had an extensive list of the countries around the world that they deemed necessary for conquest and extraction of resources. Some of the countries that were exploited by Britain were India, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and various parts of Southeast Asia. British imperialists often forced indigenous people in these areas to prepare spices for them to have and
The class divide grew greater, working conditions did not improve, and workers in both Europe and the colonies continued to be taken advantage of. Thus, tensions continued to grow and the societies within Europe were broken apart even more, creating a hostile environment for war. Therefore, the social and economic disparities present in Europe and its colonies prior to World War I prove that imperialism had ultimately negative effects on the citizens and the overall climate of the continent. In conclusion, imperialism in the early 20th century, although providing some benefits to the people, such as access to new markets and resources, this widespread ideology harmed Europe and the rest of the world in many ways, proving this practice of imperialism to be destructive. First, the exploitation of indigenous people in colonies led to forced labor of individuals, land dispossession and depletion of resources not even belonging to Europe, and cultural suppression. Imperialism was extremely invasive and aggressive towards these undeserving people and their mistreatment led to a lot of tension and rebellions, harming Europe’s relationship with more