Nineteenth-Century British Imperialism Essay

Were Economic Factors Primarily Responsible for Nineteenth-Century British
Imperialism?

In society today the almighty dollar is what motivates most people's actions. However, there are other reasons that can promote a change within a system such as morals, religious beliefs, values, and ethics. During the nineteenth century, society was not much different from that of the present day as the economy remains one of the most important parts of the country. This is evident in the time period when the New World was discovered and numerous people flocked to the uncharted lands in search for prosperity. British imperialism was no different in that it was a means to stimulate the economy by increasing land mass and make trading less difficult.
Still, others had a port based economic system. With this in mind one can envision the way in which these various systems of economy can be woven together to form a tapestry of a truly independent and well functioning economy. Within the lands that Britain held there were agriculturally rich areas which supplied them with the means to produce raw materials, textiles, and crops necessary for the production of other goods. After harvesting these commodities they could be sent to the industrial areas for refinement and finally the merchandise could be transported to the port based economic areas where they could be shipped to other countries. Another advantage which Britain had was that with the extent that their empire covered they were able to send goods to locations all over the world with little to no tariffs placed on their goods because they had access to ports in many countries and on almost every continent. This was a great asset because it would allow Britain to keep their prices lower and therefore stimulate competition in which they had a distinctive advantage over those who opposed them.