Imperialism – Short Essay
The action of one country extending its dominion or powers over the territories of others is known as imperialism. This involves acquiring the territories within other countries by force or through military conquests.
Imperialism is the act of extending the rulership to other territories, mostly by force. Capturing land by power and getting more and more under your rule is what imperialism is about. Making an ‘Empire’ more and more powerful is the objective of imperialism.
The motives behind Imperialism are an exhibition of power, the establishment of superiority and domination of a race over another. Since ancient times Imperialism has been the biggest reason for wars and even the colonies.
Although the world experiences little or no imperialism in the modern days, there are many factors that contributed to imperialism. These factors include the urge to explore new lands, political and economic motives as well as religious and ethnocentric motives. The countries which shared the idea of imperialism always competed with each other.
British Empire has been the biggest one in terms of the area that it has had under its rule, covering almost all continents. However, at the same time as the British Empire, the French Empire was the second biggest. The other famous Imperialists were Ottoman, Samurais of Japan amongst others.
Imperialism was important in terms of economic, political, as well as social-cultural contributions. Many countries established colonies so as to take advantage of the available resources for their economic empowerment. These countries set up industries thus benefiting the people in their colonies. The imperialist countries established their power through protectorates, colonies as well as spheres of influence.
Imperialism has been a big determinant of the geopolitics in India and across the globe. How it goes ahead in the global world is yet to be seen. The benefits of Imperialism ranged from economic, political, religious as well as cultural. The main motives for imperialism included the desire to explore new lands, as well as searching for raw materials for economic development.