Apush Dbq Imperialism

Imperialism first began in 1600, when the British East Indie Company was used to control the spice trade. The British East Indie Company increased in power by creating a military, and they eventually established control over almost all of India. Imperialism is the extension of a nation’s power over other lands. From 1880 to 1900, the race for the control of Africa began and Europe ended up taking control of almost all of it. From 1858 to 1947, the British took control of India, with a population of over 300 million. There was a lot of controversy on whether the intentions of the British was helpful or harmful. When the British established Imperialism in both Africa and India, it led to poverty and starvation of the citizens. These hardships

The British brought poverty to subject countries, and the poverty brought starvation of the citizens. With millions of people facing starvation, the death rate increased rapidly. In addition, subject countries generally had a weak government before British rule, so it made it difficult for many citizens to find money. In Document 2, Dadabhai Naoroji explains how the Europeans invaded India without any care for the indigenous people. “All they [the Europeans] do is live off of India while they are here. When they go, they carry all they have gained” (Naoroji). Europeans invaded India in search for resources and took everything that the indigenous people of India fought hard for. Since the previous governments were weak, many people already lived within meager means, once the British took over, people fell into deeper poverty. “The poverty of the country grew. The standard of living fell to terribly low levels” (Nehru). The poverty that the Europeans brought to India made it unbearable and extremely different for Indians to live. The job rate decreased, the standard of living decreased, and starvation increased. Millions of Indians died due to famine that the Europeans brought to India, and the poor state that they left it in. In conclusion, the British made the already unstable governments worse which led to scarcity and

Political rights protect an individual's freedom, so, it outraged citizens when they realized the instability of the Great Britain’s democracy. In theory, a lack of democracy and political rights is a lack of freedom. Democracy has shown to be important all throughout history, because it gives citizens opportunities to participate in the government; electing leaders, help create laws, etc. Democracy cannot been used to create enormous empires, but it has been a popular form of government because it generally keeps the country in peace and prosperity. Political rights are essential for a strong and vigorous country, because they protect a person’s basic freedoms. Furthermore, without political rights, citizens cannot participate in the government nor their society. So, people under British authority felt that they could not contribute to society. In the document: “The Pros and Cons of British Rule”, Dadabhai Naoroji vividly explains why the citizens of India were not treated fairly and were not given certain rights. “Political aspirations and the legitimate claim to have a reasonable voice in the legislation and the imposition and disbursement of taxes, met to a very slight degree, thus treating the natives of India not as British subjects, in whom representation is a birthright” (Naoroji). This quote describes how the indigenous people in India were