New Imperialism Dbq Essay

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Kylie Aprilante Conroy World History 23 January 2023 New Imperialism occurred when an industrialized nation takes control of other nations, lands, or territories. The Industrial Revolution assisted with imperialism because of advances in technology which helped European nations to spread their colonies all over less-advanced regions of the world. European imperialism accelerated between 1870 and 1920, following the Industrial Revolution, due to various economic, political, and social forces. The economic, political, and social forces most responsible for new imperialism were European powers that sought colonies for their natural resources, nationalism, and social Darwinism. The economic force that was most responsible for the new imperialism …show more content…

Social Darwinism is when one race believes they are better than everyone else. This is exemplified in Document 4 when it states, “I contend that we [Britons] are the finest race in the world, and the more of the world we inhabit, the better it is for the human race… we should keep this one idea steadily before our eyes that more territory simply means more of the Anglo-Saxon race…” (Document 4). This excerpt shows social Darwinism because it is explaining that the people of the Anglo-Saxon race believe that their race is better than everyone else; and if the Anglo-Saxon race takes over more territory, the more of their race there will be. This was responsible for new imperialism because it encouraged more people to take over more land because they wanted there to be more of the Anglo-Saxon race. Document 5 is an excerpt from The Diplomacy of Imperialism, a book by William L. Langer, that describes yet another possible reason for Imperialism. It explains that teaching about the survival of the fittest” justified and validated relentless competition and struggle. Although Darwin’s ideas are about science, this example of social Darwinism applies Darwin’s ideas to social issues and race which justifies the colonization of different areas that were allegedly “uncivilized”. Overall, social Darwinism is the social force that was the most responsible for new imperialism that began in the late nineteenth and twentieth