Molly Jaret February 6,

2011 Global 10R

Mrs. Mahler Assignment 4: Imperialism DBQ

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, imperialism affected many

societies throughout the world. Perspectives on imperialism varied
widely between those who imposed it and those who were affected by
it. These points of view were largely based on whether the party
benefited from imperialism or lost everything because of it. The
imperialist power views their power over peoples to be beneficial to
both themselves and to the people of the nation, whereas the
colonized people believe the involvement of the imperialist power to
be both unnecessary as well as oppressive. However, these differences
in opinion did not hinder the growth of imperialism.

The road to imperialism in India began in the 1700s with the

formation of a joint-stock-company called the British East India
Company, and resulted in complete British control. For the British,
gaining power in India gave them an opportunity for economic growth.
They were able to prevent the trading of Indian goods in Britain but to
promote the trading of British goods in India, thereby allowing them to
have a monopoly on the Indian marketplace and economy. (5) This
monopoly caused companies to close and India’s textile industry to
collapse. From the British point of view this was great and business
boomed, however for the Indians, it was terrible and many people lost
their jobs. In addition, the British believed it was their responsibility to
better the Indian people. This greatly benefited them as they were
introduced to wells, irrigation, the use of manure and the use of
domesticated animals for agricultural purposes. (2) Through these
introductions, Indian farming became much more productive. The
British viewed their control in India as beneficial to both themselves as
well as the Indians, but the Indians viewed their presence as an
invasion despite the advances achieved in farming.

When imperialism spread to Africa the opinions of the imperialist

power and the native Africans contrasted sharply. Every European
nation wanted a piece of Africa and they fought over it. This period was
accurately titles the Scramble for Africa. In an effort to avoid conflict
among themselves, in 1884 European leaders met in Berlin to establish
rules for the colonization of Africa. These great powers divided Africa
with no regard to the effect it would have on the people who lived
there. The Europeans saw nothing wrong with their actions, in fact they
believed it was beneficial to both themselves and the Africans. Lord
Lugard had even stated that the Europeans were in Africa strictly to
help Africa progress to a higher level. (3)However, in reality they
viewed the African people as inferiors and believed they couldn’t exist
as a society without their help. “We are endeavoring to teach the
native races to conduct their own affairs with justice and
humanity…”(3) This attitude did nothing to ingratiate the Africans to
the Europeans. In fact even more problems arose as rival tribes were
forced to live together by the European nations. The presence of
Europeans in Africa was clearly viewed much differently by the parties
involved.

The Japanese were the only non-European nation to colonize in

the 19th century. As they moved into Korea with great ferocity, the
culture was severely impacted. The Japanese wanted the Koreans to be
just like them. Assimilation was expected. The Koreans were forced to
change their last names to Japanese names, worship the same gods as
the Japanese. (8) Unlike Europeans whose goal was to “improve” the
colonized people, the Japanese wanted to completely erase Korean
culture, and treat them as slaves to only the Japanese. (7) The points
of view in this situation are much the same because the Japanese knew
how they were affecting the Koreans and such was their goal.