New Imperialism: Economically Driven

New Imperialism: Economically Driven In the late nineteen century, a new imperialism emerged in Britain and the rest of the world. This New Imperialism was characterized by the rapid growth in the territories controlled by the British and other countries around the world. For Britain, they acquired the majority of their new territory by participating in the ‘scramble for Africa’. The British brought Egypt, the Sudan, southern Africa, Uganda, Rhodesia (modern day Zambia and Zimbabwe), Kenya, and Nigeria under its sphere of influence. Outside of Africa, the British, also, acquired territory in Asia and Afghanistan. The amount of territory annexed into the empire was enormous. J. A. Hobson estimated that “one-third of this Empire, containing

The second industrial revolution played two key roles in New Imperialism. First, it created new technologies that facilitated exploration and expansion into new territories. These new technological developments, especially in transportation and communication, were key in the annexation of territory in the interior of Africa. Prior to the late nineteenth century, the trade with Africa was “confined to entrepots and coastlines.” This confinement limited the amount territory and raw materials available to be exploited. Once the technology allowed for exploration into the interior, the race to colonize these territories was on. This led to the second key role in facilitating the emergence of the New Imperialism—the increased need for raw materials. The majority of the necessary raw materials, needed to sustain production, could not be found in Great Britain. This made imperial expansion essential to sustain the second industrial revolution. In this manner, the imperial expansion was economically driven. It was economically driven because the raw materials are necessary for Britain to produce goods. Those finished goods are later traded with others, including their colonies. Illustrating, that the second industrial revolution was a catalyst for economically motivated imperial

This paper explored imperial expansion through the lens of Hobson’s theory. His theory was primarily motivated by economics. The economic activity that mainly motivated the imperial expansion was opening new trade markets. These trade markets were for manufacturers to sell their surplus goods at a profit and for them to get raw materials that are necessary to produce finished goods. Furthermore, this paper acknowledges that other perspectives on primary drivers exist, but it maintains that the primary driver of the imperial expansion was economic. Demonstrating, that the mass amounts of territory annexed into the British Empire was motivated by economics during the late nineteenth