Unseen Effects Of Imperialism

The Unseen Effects of Imperialism From the time of the Babylonians and Assyrians empires have risen and fallen, expanding territory and then losing it, eventually fading away to a memory; however, long after the death of its last ruler, empires continue to have influence, through the ideals they create, and those they reinforce. Today, many of these elements are crucial parts of modern society, so much so they are often taken for granted. The ability for a portion of a society to provide food for the entire populous allowed people to take new jobs and become skilled craftsmen which could provide other goods for a society. There were enough people not farming that it became possible to have a standing army that could both expand and protect
With a common language leaders could create law codes and a legal system to protect the personal rights of citizens from criminals and wrongdoers. With a common language and roads that made travelling faster and safer, knowledge was able to spread and grow faster than before. Many of these advancement enable large scale conquering of surrounding territories and expansion of empires which had large effects and the inhabitants of the conquered territories, and those already living in the empires. All of these are examples of the ways that imperialism can have lasting effects on history. An examination of the developments that were enabled through imperialism; diversification of labor, protection of citizens, development of a common language, establishment of a formal law code, building of infrastructure and roads, transfer of knowledge and information and the expansion of empires reveal the significant role that imperialism plays as a historical force in shaping the world, both during the time of the
A common language developed a sense of camaraderie as it was a trait that was shared by everyone in a group and would often help to provide unification. A common language also provided many practical applications such as record keeping for trades. In his chapter on the language spoken in the Macedonian empire, Gandeto writes about to unification that language provides, “Unlike modern times, the language spoken by a given tribe or nation was, to a certain extent, an indication of their ethnic or national affiliation or belonging”. During these times language was important to people as those that could not speak your language were often bandits from other groups that spoke their own language. Thus, it was important to make sure that everyone in the empire was able to speak the same language which builds internal trust between people who speak the same language. This will become a common theme throughout history as many countries arise from people of the same culture and customs coming together. There is also a practical side to a common language in that it allows people from all parts of the empire to interact and trade as well as allowing businesses and the government to keep track of trades and to manage accounts. In a section discussing the use of language in the Greek empire Fine mentions