Why Did European Powers Seek Overseas Empires After 1850?

Why did European powers seek overseas empires after 1850?

In the years leading up to 1850, European powers sought to introduce the world to unchartered lands and unimaginable opportunities for adventure. The Age of Discovery during the early modern period in Europe posed as an age that redefined the idea of exploration. Since the age of discovery, principles such as capitalism and imperialism became the foundation for colonization after 1850. After 1850, it became apparent that interests in overseas empires was ultimately inevitable as Europe began to industrialize and gain military and technological power. European powers became dangerously ambitious towards the end of the 19th century as Europe sought to establish its godly presence

European powers continued to claim overseas empires to exploit their resources for their own benefit. Following the Industrial Revolution in the mid-nineteenth century, Europe had advanced tremendously. Technological advances and the development of a capitalist economy called for support from overseas markets and resources. Jules Ferry claims that “imperialism involved the aggressive search for, and international conflict over territory or spheres of influence providing markets and outlets for investment”. The European powers were highly concerned with increasing their capital. In doing so, all powers partook in an economic competition, turned rivalry. European countries such as France and The Netherlands began to embark on their exploitation of resources. For example, France’s Indochina became a valuable economic possession in the 1880s. According to Jules Ferry, French colonialism in Vietnam must be justified by the fact that “the law of supply and demand, freedom of trade, the effects of speculation...reaches to the ends of the earth” . The French saw that Vietnam had great potential to support a capitalist economy. Not only was Vietnam rich in arable land, it also had a predominantly impoverished population. The French clearly demonstrated the benefits of “The White Man’s Burden” as By the late 1800s, the French exploited the Vietnamese people and their resources mercilessly. They perceived the Vietnamese as savages who would confide with western power. By taking up “The White Man’s Burden”, the French maximized Vietnam’s potential for economic boom by implementing forced labor in factories and plantations with little wages.Forced labor became a cheap and efficient means of production that allowed France to make a substantial profit. Besides a labor source, the French “also constructed factories and built mines to tap into Vietnam’s deposits of coal, tin and zinc. Most of this