European Imperialism In The Mid-To-Late 1800s

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By the mid-to-late 1800s, Europe had made huge advances in Industry, transportation, public health, and education. As a result, Europeans believed that they were superior to non-Europeans. By the mid-to-late 1800s, European nation-states had turned slave stations along the coasts of Africa, India, China, and Southeast Asia into powerful territories of their own. As a result of their political supremacy in Africa, Europe gained influential economic power as well. Starting in the late-19th century, Europe's most powerful realms were seizing control of most of Africa as well as large parts of South and East Asia. This process, referred to as New Imperialism, happened very swiftly and expressed the hostile and irrational side of human nature.…show more content…
African territories fit that criteria and were seen by many Europeans as possible sources of imperative and cheap raw materials. Another purpose the colonies served to European nation-states was the potential to hold Europe’s surplus population. Russian Communist, Vladimir Lenin was a major advocate of imperialism, proposing that it was not only a convenience, but a necessity for survival. Important political leaders in Europe saw imperialism as a way to get the most out of popular support at home. The need to secure ports, coaling stations for their navies, as well as the ability to promote colonial armies to help fight was essential for European states looking to establish themselves as world powers. Some strong sponsors of imperialism saw territorial expansion as a moral initiative that could deliver the blessings of a greater civilization to those that were considered substandard. French politician, Jules Ferry said that superior races had a right to civilize those that were not. The domination by superior powers over colonized peoples led to a hierarchical system and racism, leading to the view that the good and the just were reduced to the values the victor chose to
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