Chapter 12-1: Building Overseas Empires

By the late 1800's, European nations like Great Britain and France were growing more powerful. One way to gain power was to take control of other parts of the world. Europeans had set up trading posts in Africa and Asia in earlier centuries. However, European countries were no longer happy to just trade with foreign lands. They wanted to own and control the areas. In the1880's, European imperialism increased in Africa and Asia. Imperialism is when a country rules over foreign lands.

Although African and Asian armies fought the Europeans, they could not stop the invaders. The armies and navies of the Western countries were too powerful. Also, several old civilizations like the Ottoman Empire in Africa and Asia were losing power. Because the areas were weakened, it was easier for Europeans to take control of them. The Europeans took over the places they conquered in Africa and Asia and set up colonies.

There were several economic reasons why Western powers wanted to control foreign lands. Manufacturers needed new places to get natural resources, like rubber and oil. They also wanted new markets to sell their goods in. In addition, military and merchant ships needed places around the world to refuel.

European nations thought that ruling colonies all over the world increased a nation's worth. Countries competed with each other to become the most powerful nation. For example, when France moved into West Africa, Britain and Germany quickly invaded nearby areas. They took the lands to buildup their own empires while slowing down the French.

Many Westerners thought they were helping the people in Africa and Asia. Some believed they had a duty to spread the blessings of Western civilization to other lands. These blessings included medicine, law, and Christian religion.

Many Europeans thought Westerners had a humanitarian responsibility to bring civilization to primitive people. Missionaries, doctors, and colonial officials worked to spread European ideas in the foreign lands.

Not all Westerners liked the idea of imperialism. Anti-imperialists said that Westerners were hypocrites. Western nations were moving toward democratic government at home but ruling colonies in an undemocratic way. The anti-imperialists did not think it was fair. They also said that imperialism helped Europeans get rich at the expense of native peoples. However, the imperialists were the stronger voice. By 1900, most parts o fAfrica, India, and Southeast Asia were governed by European imperialist powers.