Imperialism and the First World War: Impacts and Aftermath

Imperialism and Its Consequences

Imperialism: The European colonial expansion of the struggle between capitalist nations for the domination of the system.

Jewel in the Crown: The possession of India by the English empire, leading it to consolidate itself as a great imperial power.

Mother Country: The imperialist state that depends on a colony and which occupied all aspects of power, such as political, military, economic, cultural, and social power.

Tribal: Groups of elders led by chiefs who usually shared the same customs and beliefs.

Trenches: Holes in the ground where soldiers shot and defended themselves in World War I.

Colonies: Territories where weak local power allowed the mother countries to control all aspects of the country: economic, political, and cultural.

Protectorates: Territories where the mother country decided not to intervene in matters of local politics, controlling only economic affairs and foreign relations.

Dominions: Territories of the British Empire occupied almost entirely by a new population of European origin, with great autonomy and their own institutions.

Fashoda Incident: France and Great Britain wanted to control Africa, and they met in South Sudan. Both wanted the territory, and in the end, they decided to divide the territory without any confrontation.

Canal Control Strategy: The great powers wanted the Panama and Suez Canals to be built to shorten shipping routes, for political reasons, and for trade.

Democracy: Only men could vote.

Characteristics of the First World War

• Territorial Extension: Sixteen nations, different battlefronts, and several empires participated.
• New Weapons and Tactics: Machine guns, flamethrowers, submarines, planes, poison gas, and mines.
• Psychological Warfare: The states tried to control the people's minds.
• Total Warfare: The economy was totally focused on war; industrial production of weapons; the civil population suffered the air raids; food was rationed; all resources were mobilized with just one objective: the war.
• The use of propaganda and recruitment (conscription and objectors).

Consequences of Imperialism

• The way in which the territories were divided, especially in Africa, was based on the interests of the occupying powers and not on local factors. As a result, artificial borders were created, dividing tribes and ethnic groups.
• Colonial expansion consolidated inequalities in the global production of goods; that is, the colonies specialized in producing cheap raw materials, while the metropolises manufactured and sold higher-value industrial products.
• Colonization altered the social structure of indigenous populations. A new social order was imposed, based on the racial discrimination of the indigenous peoples by the settlers.
• European influence was beneficial in some ways. Advances in medicine and sanitation could be introduced to the colonies, but not everyone would benefit from them.