The New Imperialism

Imperialism surged in the last third of the nineteenth century. Industrial demand for raw materials and business rivalry for new markets fueled competition for territory in Africa and Asia, and European nations, the United States, and Japan now aimed to rule sizable portions of the world directly. “Nations are not great except for the activities they undertake,” declared a French advocate of imperialism in 1885. Conquering foreign territory and developing wealth through industry appeared to heap glory on the nation-state. Although some missionaries and reformers aimed to spread Western religions and culture as a benefit to colonized peoples, the expansion of the West increased the subjugation of those peoples, inflicted violence on them, and radically altered their lives.