In this post we will be looking at Meaning of imperialism system of government, Forms of Imperialism, Imperialism vs. Colonialism, the Age and the Decline of Classic Imperialism.
INTRODUCTION
Imperialistic takeovers have been happening all over the world for hundreds of years, one of the most notable examples being the colonization of America. While the colonization of the Americas between the 15th and 19th centuries differed in nature from the expansion of the United States, Japan, and the European powers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both periods are examples of imperialism. Imperialism has evolved since the struggles between prehistoric clans for scarce food and resources, but it has retained its bloody roots. Throughout history, many cultures suffered under the domination of their imperialist conquerors, with many indigenous societies being unintentionally or deliberately destroyed. The histories of ancient China, western Asia, and the Mediterranean were defined by an unending succession of empires. During the 6th to 4th century BCE, the tyrannically authoritarian Assyrian Empire was replaced by the more socially liberal and longer-lasting Persian Empire. The Persian Empire eventually gave way to the imperialism of ancient Greece, which reached its apex from 356 to 323 BCE under Alexander the Great. While Alexander achieved a union of the eastern Mediterranean with western Asia, his vision of the world as a “cosmopolis” in which all citizens lived together harmoniously remained a dream until it was partially realized when the Romans built their empire from Britain to Egypt. After the fall of Rome in 476 BCE, the idea of imperialism as a force for unification faded quickly. The European and Asian nations that arose from the ashes of the Roman Empire pursued their individual imperialist policies as imperialism became the divisive force it would remain in the modern world. The modern era would see three periods of vast imperialism and aggressive colonialism. From the 15th century to the middle of the 18th century, England, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain built empires in the Americas, India, and the East Indies. A strong negative reaction to imperialism led to almost a century of relative calm in empire building. The period from the middle of the 19th century and World War I (1914 to 1918) were again characterized by a rapid spread of imperialism. As indirect, especially financial, control became a preferred form of imperialism over direct military intervention, Russia, Italy, Germany, Japan, and the United States, became new imperialistic states. After World War I, the promise of a peaceful world inspired by the League of Nations brought another short pause in imperialism. Japan renewed its empire-building in 1931when it invaded China. Led by Japan and Italy under Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Party, Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, a new period of imperialism dominate the 1930s and 1940s.
What Is Imperialism System of Government
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other territories and peoples. Because it always involves the use of power, whether military or economic or some subtler form, imperialism has often been considered morally reprehensible, and the term is frequently employed in international propaganda to denounce and discredit an opponent’s foreign policy. In ancient times, rulers in China, western Asia, and the Mediterranean extended their power through imperialism. Between the 15th century and the middle of the 18th, England, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain built empires in the Americas, India, and the East Indies.
Forms of Imperialism
As the practice of imperialism grew, it took on several different forms, none of which really considered the perspectives of the people in the land being fought over. European nations continued to compete against each other for how much foreign territory they could gain. As a result, different levels and forms of control developed in different regions around the world. Three main forms of imperialism that developed were:
- Colonies: A colony is the most direct form of control. In this form of imperialism, a powerful nation installs its own government and maintains direct control over other territories and regions. Often, foreign officials were brought in who reported back to the “mother country”. No locals were allowed in government and the people in that territory had no say in the laws, taxes, or policies set forth by the foreign power. This resulted in great suffering by indigenous populations who became “second-class citizens” in their own homeland. France and Britain often used this direct form of control. Great Britain had many colonies throughout history, including the 13 Colonies in North America, as well as in India during the “Raj” period. The colonies provided sources of raw materials and goods that were then shipped to sell in other foreign markets.
- Protectorates: A protectorate is when a country is able to govern itself through its own internal government, but is still controlled by an outside power. Local government officials were “allowed” to remain in power, but the style of government is based on European structure. There is limited self-rule while the foreign power maintains control of the foreign relations and provides defense to the country it controls. Britain established a protectorate over the Niger River region in Africa. Puerto Rico was also a US protectorate after the Spanish American War.
- Spheres of influence: A sphere of influence is when an outside power claims rights and privileges over an area or region. It is usually for trading and investment, but sometimes for military purposes as well. This often occurred in lands that bordered an already existing colony. Spheres of influence were most often established by a treaty. This was usually between two controlling nations who agreed not to interfere with the other’s territory or between a controlling nation and a representative of the territory. This was usually the precursor to the establishment of a colony or protectorate. After the United States established the “Open Door Policy” in 1899, China was carved up into spheres of influence by outside powers, including the US, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia.
Imperialism vs. Colonialism While imperialism and colonialism both result in the political and economic domination of one nation over others, there are subtle but important differences between the two systems. In essence, colonialism is the physical practice of global expansion, while imperialism is the idea that drives this practice. In a basic cause-and-effect relationship, imperialism can be thought of as the cause and colonialism as the effect. In its most familiar form, colonialism involves the relocation of people to a new territory as permanent settlers. Once established, the settlers maintain their loyalty and allegiance to their mother country while working to harness the new territory’s resources for the economic benefit of that country. In contrast, imperialism is simply the imposition of political and economic control over a conquered nation or nations through the use of military force and violence.
The Age of Imperialism
The Age of Imperialism spanned the year 1500 all the way to 1914. During the early 15th to the late 17th century, European powers such as England, Spain, France, Portugal, and Holland acquired vast colonial empires. During this period of “Old Imperialism,” the European nations explored the New World seeking trade routes to the Far East and often violently establishing settlements in North and South America as well as in Southeast Asia. It was during this period that some of imperialism’s worst human atrocities took place. During the Spanish Conquistadors’ conquest of Central and South America in the 16th century, an estimated eight million indigenous people died in the era of imperialism’s first large scale act of genocide. By the end of the age of Old Imperialism in the 1840s, Great Britain had become the dominant colonial power with territorial holdings in India, South Africa, and Australia. At the same time, France controlled the Louisiana territory in North America as well as French New Guinea. Holland had colonized the East Indies and Spain had colonized Central and South America. Due largely to its mighty navy’s dominance of the seas, Britain also readily accepted its role as keeper of world peace, later described as Pax Britannica or “British Peace.”
The Decline of Classic Imperialism
While generally profitable, imperialism, combined with nationalism, began to have negative consequences for European empires, their colonies, and the world. By 1914, an increasing number of conflicts between competing nations would erupt into World War I. By the 1940s, former World War I participants Germany and Japan, regaining their imperialistic power, sought to create empires across Europe and Asia, respectively. Driven by their desires to expand their nations’ spheres of world influence, Hitler of Germany and Emperor Hirohito of Japan would join forces to launch World War II. The tremendous human and economic costs of World War II greatly weakened the old empire building nations, effectively ending the age of classic, trade driven imperialism. Throughout the ensuing delicate peace and Cold War, decolonization proliferated. India along with several former colonial territories in Africa gained independence from Britain. While a scaled back version of British imperialism continued with its involvement in the Iranian coup d’état of 1953 and in Egypt during the 1956 Suez Crisis, it was the United States and the former Soviet Union that emerged from World War II as the world’s dominant superpowers. However, the ensuing Cold War from 1947 to 1991 would take a massive toll on the Soviet Union. With its economy drained, its military might a thing of the past, and its communist political structure fractured, the Soviet Union officially dissolved and emerged as the Russian Federation on December 26, 1991. As part of the dissolution agreement, the several colonial or “satellite” states of the Soviet empire were granted independence. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, the United States became the dominant global power and source of modern imperialism.