The Mechanics and Impact of Global Imperialism

Imperialism: A Definition

Imperialism is a system where one powerful nation occupies, controls, and exploits smaller nations. The world's largest and richest dominant imperial power was Great Britain, which included Canada, India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Burma, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Egypt, and various other territories across Africa.

Causes of Imperialism

• Political and Strategic: The possession of colonies ensured power and allowed for the control of trade routes and strategic territories.
• Demographic: Colonies served as territories where excess population could be sent to reduce unemployment.
• Economic: Increased production required raw materials, cheap labor, and new places to invest capital.
• Ideological: Social Darwinism and the perceived "mission" to "civilize" the rest of the world.

Types of Colonial Control

• Concessions: Commercial advantages and ports for trade.
• Protectorates: Indigenous governments were maintained, but the colonial power controlled foreign policy, the military, and the exploitation of specific resources.
• Colonies: Territories under the direct sovereignty of the metropole.
• Settler Colonialism: Involved large-scale settling of foreign populations with self-administration.
• Exploitation Colonialism: Primarily indigenous-based, where the metropole administered the territory specifically to exploit its resources.

Colonial Expansion

At the Berlin Conference of 1884, rules for the occupation of the African continent were established:

• Possession of a coastal strip granted the right to occupy the interior.
• Free navigation on the Niger and Congo Rivers was established.
• Free trade in Central Africa was recognized.

Regional Dominance

Africa

The UK attempted to form a continuous colonial strip from Cairo to the Cape, while France extended its influence between Senegal and Somalia. Other nations, including Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Italy, and Spain, completed the division and domination of the continent.

Asia

The UK controlled India and Burma, France held Indochina, and the Netherlands occupied most of Indonesia. Russia incorporated Siberia and extended toward India and China. Japan attempted to seize Korea and Manchuria, clashing with China and Russia, while the USA drove Spain out of the Philippines.

Oceania

The UK incorporated Australia into its empire, and the USA occupied archipelagos such as Hawaii.

America

The USA extended its influence to Cuba and Puerto Rico and occupied the territory where the Panama Canal was being built.

Consequences

For the Metropoles

Imperialism provided political power, wealth from raw materials, new markets for manufactured goods, greater social peace, and knowledge of other civilizations. However, it also intensified international, political, and economic confrontations that eventually led to World War I.

For the Dominated Nations

Colonialism was largely negative. Local governments were removed, populations were divided between different metropoles, families were separated by arbitrary borders, and local economies were fundamentally altered.