The Four Major Reasons For Imperialism

In the 19th century imperialism was an important part of building European empires. The four major motives for imperialism are economic, strategic, religious and political. These motives helped great empires expand their territory and brought new cultures and languages to both the colonised countries and the countries colonising them.

European countries such as Britain and France would use their colonies in Africa for economic gain. They would be able to exploit the country’s natural resources and bring them back to the “mother country” to sell and use. The natural resources would be able to be changed through factories and businesses that the African countries did not have. The colonies also provided people for labour. These people were paid in very low wages or would be taken as slaves for the new Europeans who moved to these colonies. New markets for goods were also now

This increase in empire brought much pride to Europeans and increased nationalism. The European people saw the increase in colonisation as a good thing and it gave them a reason to feel superior to the countries with fewer colonies to their own. This then encouraged rival nations to join in the race for colonisation to compete with the other nations. The nations with the most colonies were considered to be superior and therefore brought European countries to fight for colonies more to win the hearts of their people and of the people from other countries. Because of the pride and nationalism that this brought, political parties would use the promise of colonisation to win votes during elections.

There were many reasons and causes of imperialism however these four were by far the most influential of all. Imperialism increased trade, created strategic advantages, spread Christianity and education and increased nationalism. Imperialism was one of the major reasons for great Empires such as Great