Introduction

Chapter 27: The West and the World

Imperialism in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Europe

With the expansion and urbanization of the Western world, nineteenth-century aggressive European powers were intent on controlling the forces outside of the parameters of their continental boundaries. European economies were booming from the Industrial Revolution, thus giving leaders the ability to improve their own systems of trade, but were able to invest money to improve the trade systems of the countries they conducted business with. However, other countries such as Britain were more concerned with achieving domination over foreign soil through force. The age of imperialism displayed a rapid shift in how the nations of the world operate with one another, as schemes such as protective tariffs effectively ruined the economy of nations such as India. The forces of Europe were not prepared to simply allow the other powers to get ahead, so the European leaders held the Berlin conference to distribute African lands among each other. This displays how determined Europe was to occupy the entire continent of Africa. The imperialist movement was an important change for the Europeans because they were no longer fighting each other for land, but rather trying to take land from weak, uncivilized societies overseas.

Chapter Objective:

• Give the reader an in-depth understanding of imperialism in nineteenth-century Europe
• Connect events and figures from the imperialist movement with events and figures from various times and locations
• Analyze images and texts reflective of the time period
• Offer opinions and reflections regarding imperialism

Essential Question:

What caused Europeans to begin searching overseas to build their political empires?

Industrialization had been booming, and technology was improving quickly. With technological advances, Europeans were able to overcome obstacles that had once blocked their paths. The establishment of railroads connecting major cities to ports and the invention of the steam engine for ships drastically improved transportation.To make the trip from Europe to Africa was now much faster and safer, and the threat of disease was far less deadly due to the improvements in health and medicine. European leaders became aware that it was much easier to travel overseas, and decided to begin sending troops to occupy foreign lands. Many Europeans preferred this method of conquest because the people living overseas were weak and uncivilized, making the struggle for occupation far less difficult than if they were contending with another European nation for land.