Why Was Imperialism In The Late 1800s

Imperialism Throughout history, especially in the late 1800s to the early 1900s, imperialism was a prevailing affair in the world. Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force, and it was used in political, economic, and social ways. Since the 1400s, people have debated over the most prominent reason of the cause of imperialism. Some believe that political reasons started the enthusiasm to seize smaller nations, while others argue that its cause was economical or social. All three forces are reasons for imperialism, and they all confirm that imperialism brought about a great change in the lives of people all around the world. Firstly, there were political gains seen in Imperialism. Some nations saw that they could demonstrate their power by taking over weaker lands. France captured Vietnam quite easily in 1867, and made sure they were seen as the stronger ones. A Vietnamese governor at the time recounts, “We are weak against them… The French have immense warships, filled with soldiers and armed with large cannons. No one can resist them. They go
where they want, the strongest ramparts fall before them.” (Document 8) Nations also rivaled against each other in the building of empires. Nations would try to take lands in a certain continent and other rival nations would compete and try to take more land. (Document 9) Besides demonstrating political strength, certain nations also capitalized on economic benefits that imperialism offered. World leaders realized that their nations could experience a flourishing economy if they took advantage of imperialism.
Iron and cotton producers were able to market their goods overseas to colonies that needed it. Bank lenders made money off of loans given to developing colonies. With the distance between a mainland and its colonies, railway and ship builders found themselves in high demand. Telegraph makers were requested by the government to send messages to its colonies. (Document 1) Along with this, the nations could take goods from colonies they captured and ship them back to their homeland. Some leaders, such as American Senator A.J. Beveridge suggest that “The trade of the world must and will be ours…” demonstrating some of the pure lust leaders had for expanding trade. (Document 2) Finally, some saw social reasons for expanding
empires. There were many different types of social motives for Imperialism. Some nations saw that they had a religious duty to take care of. President McKinley of the United States explains that he saw Filipinos as “unfit for self-government…” and that Americans needed to “uplift and Christianize them.” (Document 7) Historian William L. Langer believes that some nations wanted to spread the teaching of evolution, or survival of the fittest to spread the concept of competition. (Document 5) Some nations simply saw themselves superior to others and felt entitled to take them and colonize them. British imperialist Cecil Rhodes writes, “I believe that Britons are the finest race in the world, and the more of the world we inhabit, the better it is for the human race… It is our duty to seize every opportunity of acquiring more territory.” Cecil was not the only person to believe that their race was the prime breed, and that it was their duty to control the world. They felt that they were harming society by not dominating other nations and continents. The main drives behind Imperialism in the nineteenth and twentieth century were economic, social, and political ones. While the specifics of the motives were different for each nation or leader, they were still similar. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, less powerful nations could expect to be taken over and colonized by stronger ones for their own gain