The German Empire included Shandong (a province of China), New Guinea, Samoa and other Pacific islands, and several colonies in central and south-west Africa. French imperial holdings included Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia), some Pacific islands and several colonies in west and north-west Africa. Other European imperial powersįrance was another significant imperial power. Britain’s imperial power was reinforced by her powerful navy, the world’s largest, and a fleet of mercantile (commercial) vessels. Britain’s acquisition of South Africa, for example, followed costly wars against the Zulus (native tribes) and Boers (white farmer-settlers of Dutch extraction).īritish imperialism was focused on maintaining and expanding trade, the importation of raw materials and the sale of manufactured goods. Others took more time, effort and bloodshed to conquer. Many of these colonies were acquired with little difficulty. British colonial possessions in the late 1800s included Canada, India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Burma, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, several Pacific and Caribbean Islands, South Africa, Rhodesia, Egypt and other parts of Africa. The British Empire famously occupied one-quarter of the globe (“the sun never sets on Britain” was a famous slogan of the mid-19th century). Prior to World War I the world’s largest, richest and most dominant imperial power was Great Britain. The British Empire A representation of British imperialism in Africa, ‘from Cairo to the Cape’ Colonies can also be invaluable sources of cheap labour, agricultural land and trading ports. This may involve the supply of precious metals or other resources, such as timber, rubber, rice or other foodstuffs. Colonies exist chiefly to enrich the imperial power. Imperialism can have military or geopolitical advantages but its main lure is economic. A military presence is often stationed in the colony, to maintain order, suppress dissent and uprisings and deter imperial rivals. Once control is established, this territory is claimed as a colony.Ĭolonies are governed by either the imperial nation, a puppet government or local collaborators. It establishes control over its colonies against their will – for example, through infiltration and annexation, political pressure, war or military conquest. In most cases, the imperial nation is euphemistically referred to as the ‘mother country’. Together, the imperial power and her colonies are known as an empire. 7 The decaying Ottoman Empire What is imperialism?Īs mentioned above, imperialism is a system where a large, powerful nation dominates and exploits smaller nations, which are known as colonies.
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