Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many countries practiced imperialism.
Imperialism is a practice and foreign policy in which a country uses its power to gain influence in other regions. This influence was usually political, cultural, economic, territorial, etc. Areas viewed as uncivilized or inferior to Westerners were quickly imperialized. Imperialism provided a means for countries to acquire land, resources, wealth, and political power. It also changed the way of life for the people living in the imperialized regions. Nations such as the Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Portugal paved the way for global imperialism. This essay will discuss the many effects that European and American imperialism had during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
There are many motives behind European and American imperialism during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, the motives behind imperialism for the nations are similar and hope to achieve the same thing. The main motive is for the growth of the economy and to bring wealth to the nation. Many of the imperialized regions contained untapped resources that could be exploited to the benefit of the nation. According to “Major resources mined in Africa”, Africa had plenty of raw materials that could be found in large quantities. Mainly, Africa was mined for the
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As the United States of America and European nations industrialized and grow in power, a sense of nationalism developed. Governments and people felt that their nation was the strongest or had the greatest influence. So, nations rushed to imperialize as much territory as they could in order to compete with each other. Newly acquired territory provided land for military bases to built around the world. This proved useful for conflicts and warfare on a global scale, as bases closer to the area of conflict could supply fuel and ammunition