Industrialization and the Resurrection of Imperialism “Formerly, men were made slaves under physical compulsion. Now they are enslaved by temptation of money”(919), Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi once said. He refers to the greed that was plaguing the minds of Europeans, which caused them to disregard their morals in order to personally profit. The Industrial Revolution swept through Europe, leaving it with a necessity for raw materials and a surplus of manufactured goods. The solution was imperialism because the colonization of other countries satisfied Europe’s demand for raw materials and created a trade output for their extra products. This movement to imperialize during the Industrial Revolution was driven by the promise of wealth …show more content…
The reason that iImperialism became so popular was because it was economically quite profitable, which in turn created competition amongst the European countries to colonize the most countries. Without this competition between nations, there would be no driving force for colonization. In other words,“Colonies and spheres of influence abroad became symbols of ‘Great Power’ status for a nation, and their acquisition was a matter of urgency” (882). Note that possessing tTerritories and colonies became a source of pride for the citizens of a nation, thus putting pressure on governments to continue colonial expansion. From this quotation, it can be inferred that the creation of industrial societies gave rise to nationalism and state unity, which eventually lead to the rebirth of imperialism throughout Europe. The European neo-imperialism differed from previous empires in the way that it was driven solely driven by nationalism and pride. Europe’s conquests continued around the world, their extreme ability to colonize countless territories was called into question. The idea arose that colonization was not only a competition, but also a duty for Western