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Published byReynold Joseph Owen Modified over 8 years ago
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During the 1800s, two underlying factors (“root causes”) drove industrialized nations to claim colonies in the non-industrialized world: 1) Capitalism: Industrialized nations needed to acquire natural resources and markets for manufactured goods in order to fuel their capitalist economies 2) Nationalism: Industrialized nations competed with each other for power But the domination/subjugation of other peoples ran counter to the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and natural rights that had become a part of the culture in much of the industrialized world; Therefore, leaders of the imperialist nations were forced to find ways to justify their imperialist policies
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One common justification for imperialism was the desire to convert people in the non-industrialized world to Christianity This justification appealed to people’s sense of duty towards others—what could be more important than “saving the souls” of non-Christians? In the late 1800s, this justification was expanded; Proponents of imperialism argued that it was the duty of people in the industrialized world to bring all of the benefits of Western “civilization” to the non- industrialized world An American poet, Rudyard Kipling, captured this sentiment in his poem, “The White Man’s Burden”
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Christian missionaries taking up the “White Man’s Burden”
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Another justification for imperialism was the philosophy of “Social Darwinism” Several respected thinkers in Western nations argued that Darwin’s theory of natural selection could be applied to human societies; Those nations/cultures that were the most advanced would thrive and dominate the world; More primitive cultures would be dominated, or subsumed, or simply die out (What else could Social Darwinism be used to justify, besides imperialism?)
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What do you think this phrase means?: “Might makes Right” In the 1860s and 1870s, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck voiced and employed a philosophy of Realpolitik in his governance of Prussia and Germany (Side note: Italy and Germany became unified nations in 1870/1871) Realpolitik means that politics should not be based on ethics or morals; Instead, nations’ policies should be based simply on what is practical/possible; Nations should do what benefits them, using whatever power they have
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Regardless of how imperialist policies were justified, the reality of imperialism made it obvious that the imperialist nations were in reality concerned about two things: Power and Profit Imperialist armies crushed any resistance to imperialism with brutal force, Native peoples’ lands were taken, Native people were forced to work in mines and on plantations, under brutal conditions, for inadequate pay
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