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American Imperialism In The Late 1800s

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Imperialism is a policy that has positively impacted nations and their development for centuries. This was especially true during the late 1800s and early 1900s, when many European nations began to expand far beyond their borders. Imperialistic policies were not only good for the development of countries that were expanding, but in many cases, the countries that were being expanded into as well. From the start, there were many beneficial reasons for a European nation to imperialize, and by far, one of the most appealing reasons to imperialize other nations was access to raw materials. By the late 1800s, many European nations were seeing rapid growth in industry and manufacturing, but did not have the resources within their continental borders …show more content…

Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, people around the world lived with awful conditions, as they lacked more modern innovations. Such innovations included indoor plumbing, roads, and faster means of transportations (Hobson 103). With the Europeans introducing the native people to these types of inventions, it’s clear that positive development ensued, as only good can come from many things that the Europeans had brought with them. Especially in Africa, which came almost completely under European control in 1884 following the Berlin Conference, the territories developed for the better. Indoor plumbing, among many other things brought better sanitations, ultimately leading to less disease (Lynn). Developed roads and faster means of transportation, including steam boats to move goods from continent to continent, meant it was considerably easier to maintain international trade. With faster transportation, Africans were introduced to a number of products that had previously been unavailable, because of the length of time needed to ship them. They were also able to export goods, typically through the European nation that was controlling them, which brought in a new source of income (Said 114). Imperialism often did good for the people living in in areas that were significantly …show more content…

First of all, the Europeans brought Christianity with them, and in their minds, unless a person believed in Jesus Christ, they were set to go to Hell. With this idea in mind, the Europeans taught the people they had colonized the ways of Christianity, thus saving them from their savagery and spending an eternity in Hell (Palmer et al. 575). Europeans also set up schools in many places that they colonized, and while often very exclusive, they still brought education to areas where most children learned their parents trade, and nothing more (Hobson 211). Perhaps most importantly, Europeans brought new forms of government to many of their colonies, especially in Africa, which was made up of mostly tribes (Said 154). These tribes didn’t exactly get along very well, leading to constant warfare and instability across the continent. When the Europeans came in, they brought new ways of controlling populations that by no means stopped fighting, but to an extent, reduced some of the violence, as there were consequences put in place (Lynn). Reducing violence was not something every European nation was able to ensure for their colonies, but when it did happen, those nations developed for the

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