Imperialism, Race and Development Homework Help

Write 250 words EACH on FOUR of the following questions, giving references to the sources you have used (not included in the word length) but not using any direct quotes?

1. What were the key factors driving the rise of the West in 15thand 16thcenturies?
2. What manifestations of racism appeared in the early Spanish era of
colonialism?
3. What were the main features of the triangular trade?
4. What were the most important differences between slave society in North and
South America?
5. What are the most prominent aspects of modernity?
6. Why did European colonialism contract in the late 18th/early 19thcentury?
7. Why did European colonialism expand from the 1820s           ?
8. What is the difference between imperialism and colonialism?
Answer:

Table of Contents
1.0 What is the difference Between Imperialism and Colonialism………………………..3
1.1 Why did European Colonialism expand from 1820’s?…………………………………………4
1.2 What were the features of the Trans – Atlantic Trade?……………………………………….6
1.3 Why did European colonialism contract in the late 18th/early 19thcentury?…………..7
Reference………………………………………………………………………………………10

 1.0   What is the difference Between Imperialism and Colonialism

There is a major difference between the terms imperialism and colonialism. Derived from the Latin word Imperium, imperialism refers to the extension of control of authority over foreign entities. It is a means of maintenance or acquisition of empires. This is done either indirectly or directly on the political and economic aspects of a country. The policies used by countries to dominate far lands embody imperialism.  It is a form of economic exploitation where a country uses another country’s resources to shape their economy while ignoring the needs of the colonized. Currently, imperialism has changed from being viewed at a political or economic level. Cultural imperialism is the present fad, where a country spreads the influence of its culture (though selectively) globally. Imperialism is mostly autocratic and refers to political domain. The Russian Empire, British Empire, Chinese Empire and the Ottoman Empire form good examples of imperialism.
Colonialism on the other hand involves economic and political control over an area by a country that possesses organizational superiority, military superiority and technological superiority. Mostly, it involves migration of new inhabitants to a territory or it may take the form of military and civil representative dominance. Colonialism involves the subjugation of one group of people to another. For instance in the 19^th Century, the United Kingdom had the most superior naval force. Coupled with better marine technology they were able to conquer vast territories. Many European countries followed suit and eventually it lead to the scramble and partition of Africa during the Berlin Conference. Africa was consequently partitioned and allocated to different European powers and hence colonization of Africa began.
1.1 Why did European Colonialism expand from 1820’s?

The expansion of European colonialism in 1820 can be attributed to many factors. The state of the colonial powers during this period was that of immense affluence. The discovery of ‘new worlds’ presented itself with the advantage of exploitation. Most of the colonized countries had surplus resources but due to lack of appropriate technology and proper education, utilization of these resources was very limited. Fortunately, due to technological advancement, industrialization became a reality. Society began employing new methods of making work easier.
Industrial revolution can be picked as the main reason why European Colonialism expanded in the 1800s. Industrialization was accompanied by several advantages:
Mechanization of agriculture
Better health care
Better living standards
Improved methods of transport and communication
Mechanization of agriculture eliminated eradicated the primitive farm tools. It made it possible for huge tracts of land to be cleared and better methods of farming investigated upon. In the long run, it translated to huge profits. Furthermore it guaranteed food security to the European countries. The European governments had enough money in their coffers and they had to look for alternative places of investment. The best option was colonization as it encouraged a repeat and an increase of the same success they had experienced in their countries.
Improved transport assisted them travel and be able
Europe and N. America had undergone industrial revolution. The use of primitive farm tools was replaced by machines. Therefore, it became very easy to do complex jobs. Furthermore, more work could be done at a very fast and efficient rate. With time, more produce was realized and trade blossomed. The amount of taxes collected by governments made the countries richer and they had to look for other alternative investment opportunities.  Furthermore, they had to look for alternative markets for their surplus.
With the Europeans attaining self realization, population inevitably increased. There was availability of better healthcare and most of the diseases that were considered incurable could now be treated because of the advancement in the field of medicine. Consequently, the population also grew. Therefore the need to settle the population elsewhere resulted to the growth and expansion of European colonialism.
Industries consume a lot of raw materials. Unfortunately Europe did not have enough raw materials to maintain the production of goods. Therefore, they had to look for alternative sources of raw materials. The answer to this problem came in the form of colonies which had abundance of natural untapped resources (Mary, 1941). To ensure a constant supply of raw materials, the European countries asserted their authority on these countries and hence colonialism grew as a result.
The faster and different forms of transport and communication ensured better administration of the colonized territories. Furthermore they encouraged the faster, safer and effective transportation of goods and services. In the long run it contributed a lot in the growth and maintenance of colonized territories.

1.2 What were the features of the Trans – Atlantic Trade?
The Trans – Atlantic trade began around the mid-fifteenth century. During this period the Portuguese were the main foreign traders (because of their navigational skills) (Hugh, 1997). The interest that Portuguese had in Africans before this trade was gold deposits. However, afterwards slaves become more important and readily available commodity.
This trade in human beings however wrong it was flourished the triangular trade. The British for instance involved themselves in the business purely for economic exploitation. Slavery was never opposed publicly. People turned a blind eye to the horrors associated with this trade.  They seemed not to worry about the slave’s welfare. Surprisingly, the church was also okay with this treatment of human beings. The Church of England for instance inherited the Codrington plantation  in Jamaica and it owned enslaved laborers. In fact some bible passages such as the curse of Ham from Genesis were used to justify slavery. Furthermore, the Church of England supported laws not to educate enslaved Africans. This served to view the slaves as un-equal members of society and therefore encourage slavery.
Many people were against the abuse of the trans-Atlantic trade but not against keeping Africans as slaves. This helped slave trade continue for a long time as the main feature of trans-Atlantic trade. Many Christians applied misconception of the Old Testament in the Bible and believed that Africans were the cursed race mentioned in the Bible. This fueled racists remarks and made Europeans view slavery as a punishment for the ‘cursed’ race.
AIDitionally, Christian slave owners tried to practice humanitarian practices as instructed in the Bible. They justified slave trade by explaining that they treated the slaves with parental kindness. They incorporated them into their families and accepted them as they were. They shared duties and at the end of the day they settled down at the table and shared a meal.
By the seventeenth century, the trade climaxed before experiencing its downfall later in the 18^th century due to the global stand about slaves (when trading in slaves was prohibited).  This trade continued for a long time because during the period the expanding European empires lacked labour force from the Africans as the indigenous people had proved to be very unreliable (mostly because of acclimatising and new diseases not found in Europe). Africans, however, were experienced and were well adapted to the tropical climate.
During the Trans – Atlantic trade, African traders would bring chained up Africans to trading ports. The European Merchants would then barter their goods and services for slaves. In exchange for the slaves, Africans would get textiles, alcohol, guns and other wares for people.

1.3 Why did European colonialism contract in the late 18th/early 19thcentury?
During the late 18^th century and the early 19^th century, certain factors led to the decline of colonialism. The colonial powers had not anticipated the impact of having many colonies. What began as national pride ended up being national shame for some colonial powers. Administrative functions of colonies almost crippled the economies of the colonial superpowers. Being able to rule a vast territory required enough manpower and resources. However, the required expertise was not readily available. Most Europeans feared travelling to the colonies because of the harsh stories they had heard from there peers. For instance, I Kenya, the Mau Mau movement caused constant troubles for the British Local administration. The constant guerilla attacks by this group made the local administration shift most of its income in paying soldiers to protect the government officers. Not enough money was being channeled into profitable ventures. Furthermore, the Africans in Kenya had become resistant to foreign rule. Consequently, no useful amount could be done to make the colony self sufficient. The local government which was headed by a governor had to rely on funds sent from United Kingdom to sustain the colony. Eventually this relation turned out to be like bad investment. No profits were being realized. Britain decided to let the colony be run by private companies like the British East African Company and the Imperial British East African Company. However, after various attempts it became clear that running a single colony is a mountainous task.
Maintaining a standby army to quell of the attacks by the natives (in this case mau mau in Kenya) was a difficult task. Incase the army was overwhelmed; calling for back up was next to impossibility. The available modes of transport at that time could not favor this.
Furthermore, after the two World Wars, most of the Colonial powers had been crippled financially. Maintaining the war required a lot of money. Maintaining colonies too required a lot of money too. The colonial powers had to choose whether to reconstruct their countries and their crippled economies or to maintain the colonies. Definitely they had to let the colonies go.
As a major blow western education was embraced. Therefore, ideas of governance could be understood. Those who had had an education encouraged the others to fight for independence (Ephraim, 1976).

References

Ephraim, K. (Sept 1976) Trade and the Decline of Colonialism. The Economic Journal. Vol. 86, No. 343. Blackwell Publishing. Britain.

Hugh, T. (1997) The Salve Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Salve Trade, 1440-1870 Touchstone book.

Mary, T., Cyrus, P. (1941) European Colonial Expansion. University of Michigan.

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