Imperialism

We explain what imperialism is, and what are its causes and consequences. In addition, its characteristics and European empires.

What is imperialism?

The term “imperialism” refers to the political practices that establish A relationship between nations in terms of domination and subordination. In imperialism, one of the nations is subject to the other, which exercises authority in political, military, economic and/or cultural matters. Thus an agenda is imposed that favors the nation that exercises domination.

Imperial domination It can occur, on the one hand, through colonizationwhich implies the settlement of the colonized territory, economic exploitation and/or military presence.

On the other hand, imperial domination can be consolidated by subordination or cultural adaptation (called “acculturation”). The Imperial Government can be direct (if the imperial authority is politically imposed on the subjected territory) or indirect (if the forms of local government are maintained under imperial control).

Imperialism is a long -standing political phenomenon in the history of humanity and that has contributed to shaping the contemporary world scene. Many of the unequal relationships of today derive from the imperial practices of the past. Some critics consider that imperialism is in force by the way in which some powers impose their economic agenda or use their armed forces to achieve strategic objectives.

See also: Expansionism

History of imperialism

Origin of empires

The empires have existed since ancient times and their conquest dynamics have followed similar patterns. For example, The Egyptian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Macedonic Empire of Alexander the Great or the Roman Empire conquered by force and exercised a political and economic domain over broad regions of the known world.

The Roman Empire in particular managed to expand by almost all of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. In these periods of imperial domination Religions, languages ​​and customs of the Imperial Center in the subjected territories were imposed or adopted. In many cases, the combination of colonizing and colonized cultures led to syncretism, mixed cultural forms that allowed the survival of many practices and beliefs of subordinate societies.

Although many historians use the term imperialism to refer to these ancient imperial experiences, Others reserve it to talk about the European expansion initiated in the fifteenth century Or, more specifically, for the political and economic domination of Asia and Africa regions from the mid -nineteenth century.

European imperialism

European expansion throughout the world began in the fifteenth century and lasted until the twentieth century. Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, England and France starred in the early stages of colonization and imperial government, especially in America, and the American colonies reached their independence after bloody wars at the end of the 18th century and early nineteenth century.

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a new form of imperialism promoted by industrial capitalism and nationalist ideologies caused the distribution of much of the world, especially in Africa, Asia and Oceania, between nations such as England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and even the United States and Japan. This period was happened for an era of struggles for independence and decolonization processes in Asia and Africa that took place mostly after World War II.

During the imperialism stage, The great European states imposed political controlseconomic and military to other less outstanding nations. Thus they managed to gather their resources and sell in them products developed in the metropolis or in other colonies.

See also: colonization of America

Territories subject to European imperialism

The most intense period of imperial expansion took place between 1880 and 1914. Many historians consider the First World War as a conflict incentivized to the imperial competition of this era. The main colonial destinations of Europe were:

• America. It was largely conquered and colonized from the end of the 15th century. It was a source of raw materials, especially gold and silver, and after the wars of independence ceased to have prominence for European imperial expansionism. One of its nations, the United States, became an expansionist power.
• Africa. From early on it was a source of slave labor and, when slavery began to be abolished, it remained exploited to obtain mining or exotic resources and to favor communications with Asia (as was the case of Egypt that connected the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean).
• Asia. The exotic and luxury goods of Asian origin enjoyed a lot of value in Europe (spices, porcelain, tea, silk) and were one of the objectives of imperialism in that continent. However, other raw materials for consumption and industry were also extracted in Asia, labor was exploited and markets for elaborate products were opened. One of the most significant examples of colonial imperialism in Asia was the British raj in India.

The cast of Africa

Between 1884 and 1885, in full phase of European expansion, The imperialist powers agreed the distribution of the African continent at the Berlin conference. There were present the 12 most powerful nations in Europe (Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria-Hungary, Spain, Russia, Italy, Sweden-Noruega and Denmark), together with the Ottoman Empire and the United States.

At the end of the conference, almost the entire African continent became distributed according to European interests, regardless of ethnic differences between local populations or their needs. Therefore, to this day several African nations have completely straight borders, as they were drawn on maps with squad and bell.

Only two African nations remained free of European imperial domination before decolonization processes: Liberia and Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The rest were distributed between Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Causes of imperialism

European imperialism responded to a series of causes, including:

• The need for raw materials. Western Europe needed a stable flow of raw materials to feed the capitalist industry that allowed the development of large -scale products. Colonial imperialism facilitated the extraction of the raw material from less developed countries through the use of local labor, was servile or wage earner. It also offered markets in the colonies for products made in metropolis.
• Competition between empires. The various empires of Europe rivaled the control of other territories to obtain economic advantages and position themselves politically. They were also prompted by the expansionist proclamations of nationalism. In a time of protectionism, they also competed for the control of commercial maritime routes, which were the commercial heart of the time.
• The exploration of the world and the science. The rise of European science and technology promoted the exploration and discovery of species and materials that were expected to grant industrial advantages or scientific superiority over the other empires.
• Social Darwinism. The ideology that dominated in Europe since the mid -nineteenth century was a tributary of the recent studies of Charles Darwin, who had observed that the evolution of species depended on natural selection, which guaranteed the survival of the most suitable. Darwin’s biological observations were transferred to the study of human beings and the idea that there were higher or civilized populations aimed at governing, and lower or backward societies aimed at obeying to obey the benefits of progress were postulated. Today this idea is considered incorrect, in addition to morally reprehensible.

Consequences of imperialism

European imperialism had different consequences, including:

• The consolidation of industrial economies in Europe and the expansion of capitalism, which granted a commercial advantage to the Western powers (and in Asia to Japan) in the world competition of the twentieth and twenty -centuries.
• World War I (1914-1918), which redefined the map of Europe, Asia and parts of Africa with the fall of the Russian, Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and German empires, and left the path open to World War II (1939-1945). The latter, in turn, strengthened the political and economic power of the United States.
• The struggle of the populations submitted for freeing of the imperial yoke and found young nations, as had happened with Latin American in the 19th century and happened in the context of decolonization processes in Asia and Africa during the twentieth century.
• The expansion of the languages ​​of the imperial powersthat today persist or even the official language in many of the territories that had been under colonial domination.
• European multiculturalismwhich developed in the following centuries, when many citizens emigrated to the colonial territories to the metropolis chasing better living conditions.

Unequal economic relations

Imperialism built unequal economic relations. The population of the submitted territory had to deliver raw materials or other resources to the colonial center, it should often consume elaborate products or cultural goods introduced by the colonial power that, in addition, ruled or protected the administration in that territory.

This exchange It was given between local producers and imperial officials or European companieswhich used to receive trade and monopoly permits in the colonies. In general, a paternalism relationship was established: Europeans perceived themselves as civilizers and thus saw the benefits they obtained from their links with local populations.

As part of this supposed civilizing task, It used to impose a European education on the premises (Traditions, language and religion). Although the most favored sector of this exchange were the elites of the metropolis, many times some privileged sectors of the colonies could enrich or ascend socially and politically due to their relations with the colonizers or for fulfilling functions at the service of the colonial government.

Imperialism and colonialism

We must not confuse imperialism and colonialism, even if they are processes that go hand in hand.

Colonialism is a political-economic system, extractivistwhich occurs when a powerful state occupies the territory of another weakest with officials and settlers. In addition, it subjects its population to conditions of subordination, servitude or slavery, and imposes laws and government systems that favor the colonial center.

Imperialismon the other hand, it is a form of expansion and domination that may or may not occur in colonial terms, for example without requiring the physical occupation of the dominated territory or through an occupation only military. Some researchers speak of cultural imperialism when cultural impositions are promoted, and economic or commercial imperialism when domination occurs through economic inequalities between a center and a periphery.

European empires between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries

The main colonial empires of Europe were:

• The British Empire (XVI-XX centuries).
• The Spanish Empire (XVI-XX centuries).
• The German Empire (19th-XX-XX centuries).
• The Portuguese Empire (XV-XX centuries).
• The French colonial empire (XVII-XX centuries).
• The Russian Empire (XVIII-XX centuries).
• The Dutch Empire (XVII-XX centuries).
• The Danish colonial empire (XIII-XX centuries).

Imperialism and capitalism

In general it is recognized that The 19th -century imperialism was promoted by the needs of European industrial capitalismespecially in Great Britain.

The obtaining of raw materials and work, as well as the sale of elaborate products and investments in capital goods to modernize transport and communications in the colonies, among other factors, were an important impulse for the economy of the great western capitalist powers that were still experiencing the effects of the industrial revolution.

Some theoretical interpretations, such as the one that was deployed from Marxism, even argued that the European imperialism of the nineteenth century had been an advanced phase of capitalism that had been oriented to the concentration of capital in a monopolistic sense.

The truth is that The growth experienced by the colonial powers was detrimental to the productive capacities of the colonies And even, once decolonization was reached, many nations remained in a relationship of economic, financial and technological dependence against Europe or other powers such as the United States.

Continue with:

References

• “The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures” 5a edition. BEDFORD/ST. Martin’s. Hunt, L., Martin, Tr, Rosenwein, BH & Smith, BG (2016).
• “Culture and imperialism” Said. EW (2018). Said. EW (2018). Debate.
• “Europe and people without history” Wolf, ER (2005). Economic Culture Fund.
• “Imperialism” in British Encyclopedia.
• “Imperialism (concept)” at Classeshistoria.com.
• “What is imperialism?” In Cetri.
• “The imperialist expansion towards the end of the 19th century” in Educ.ar.
• “Imperialism” (video) in Educatina.