Imperialism and Colonialism
Overview
Statewide Dual Credit Modern World History: Unit 9, Lesson 2
A brief discussion of Imperialism and Colonialism, focusing on the European conquest of foreign lands and the establishment of colonies for resources and wealth.
Imperialism
Throughout this period, many Western nations pursued imperial and colonial ambitions. In the early modern period, European rulers were aware of imperialism. The concept went back to the Greek and Roman Empires and involved the military or diplomatic conquest of other regions and exploiting their natural resources. In the late 1300s and 1400s, Portugal and Spain overthrew Moorish rule and emerged as modern empires. Armed with classical descriptions of India and China and Arabic inventions such as ribbed hulled ships and astrolabes, explorers such as Vasco De Gama and Christopher Columbus brought knowledge of Africa, India and the Americas back to their European sponsors. Due to a lack of royal funds, Portuguese and Spanish monarchs granted explorers and conquistadors in the 1500s royal charters to conquer certain regions in return for a share of the wealth extracted from such regions. In the 1600s, England and France followed suit, offering colonial charters to noblemen and joint-stock companies in return for a percentage of the wealth these groups generated off their overseas adventures.
Colonialism
European rulers viewed overseas colonies as more than just sources of wealth. Monarchs and their advisors also viewed such areas as sites where their own subjects could settle and create families and communities among themselves or through unions with indigenous people. Such colonists could then help procure raw resources, which would then be shipped back to the home country for processing into manufactured goods, which could either be sold abroad or back to the colonists at considerable markups. Royal officials likewise argued that they could use the colonies to dispose of unwanted groups of people, such as criminals, ethnic minorities, or simply debtors. Some nations, such as England, envisioned colonies expanding the borders of their empires, creating miniature versions of the home country around the world.
Although colonial powers had significant advantages over indigenous peoples and colonists, they were not all-powerful. Beginning in the late 1700s, areas such as the thirteen British North American colonies, Haiti, Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Rio de la Plata, began to declare themselves independent of the British and Spanish empires. By the mid-19th century, even post-colonial states like the United States were experimenting with becoming imperial and colonial powers. It would only be after the Second World War that de-colonization would emerge as a worldwide movement.
Spotlight On | RICHARD HAKLUYT
Born in Herefordshire, Richard Hakluyt (1553- 1616) became an Anglican Priest and writer in his teens. A favorite at the court of Elizabeth I, Hakluyt published Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America (1582) and The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation (1589–1600). These works became cornerstones in defining and promoting English colonialism. While Hakluyt argued for a more humane approach to colonization compared to the Spanish, emphasizing the potential for peaceful coexistence and cultural exchange, his vision often overlooked the inherent violence and exploitation that characterized English colonial practices. His writings, in essence, served as powerful propaganda for English expansionism, promoting the economic and political benefits of establishing colonies while downplaying the inevitable conflicts and dispossession of indigenous peoples. His ideas, however, exerted a significant influence on the establishment of the British North American colonies and, subsequently, the United States.