Imperialism can impact a nation in many ways; some of the changes may be good for a nation, and some of them may be bad. However, why did Americans and Europeans seek to imperialize Africa and Asia? How was the age of Imperialism depicted? And how did Americans and Europeans react to their nation’s imperial actions?
Americans and Europeans believed it was their “white man’s duty” to civilize and educate the people of Africa and Asia, who were beneath them and not as civilized as them. They also wanted to get the country's natural resources. They wanted to invest in natural resources and markets in Africa and Asia to grow their economy. Another thing they wanted from imperializing Africa and Asia was power. By imperializing them, it greatened their reputation and political standing. They wanted to expand capitalist enterprises and their economy by using Asian and African markets and materials, which could in a way help the market in Africa and Asia. The Europeans also may have wanted to imperialize them for geopolitical reasons. They wanted to expand their influence around the world and prevent influences from rivaling countries in Asia and Africa.
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The Americans thought they were superior to them and were teaching the “uncivilized” nations to be civilized in the western way. They believed that it was for the good of the people they were controlling. Another belief was that the “impurities” of these cultures, like ignorance and superstition, were the obstacles to their journey to civilization. Imperialism did not help the countries being taken over in this standpoint because they were civilized enough in their own way before the westerners