Lesson #02 - Industrialization and Imperialism

A Global Economy

As a result of the Industrial Revolution, new inventions improved transportation, communication, and the production of manufactured goods throughout Europe and North America.

Due to improvements in transportation and communication during the later stages of the Industrial Revolution, Europeans could now quickly travel and communicate throughout Europe and across the Atlantic to North America. These improvements in transportation and communication helped bring about a more global economy and industrialized countries competed to gain more wealth.

European Competition and Rivalry

Modern capitalism began as private businesspersons and corporations in industrialized countries competed to obtain wealth through trade. Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately or corporately owned with the goal of gaining personal profit. This competition helped bring about imperialism. In order to compete in a more global economy and increase profits, European countries needed more raw materials (such as precious metals, oil and rubber) to fuel industrialization, new markets to sell their goods, and cheap labor.

European countries had a long history of war among each other (including the Hundred Years Wars, The Seven Years War, The French Revolution, The Napoleonic Wars, and the Franco-Prussian Wars). These past wars had led to distrust and rivalry among European countries. Competition also increased due to nationalism and social Darwinism. European leaders believed that only strong countries would survive and sought to become more powerful politically, militarily, and economically.

European countries looked to gain access to lands in Asia and Africa to increase profits.