What is New Imperialism?

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Kate Sullivan BSc Sociology and Psychology

What is New Imperialism?

The study of imperialism forms an important aspect of history. It is crucial in understanding the world as it is today because without it we cannot fully understand issues of identity, culture and difference. It is particularly important with respect to how it has shaped culture and social relations.

It is necessary to define imperialism and new imperialism. Historically this has been difficult to do. Said argues that the idea of imperialism is very controversial and so is fraught with all sorts of questions, doubts and ideological premises (Said, 1993).

In simplest terms imperialism can be used to describe the domination by persons of one nation over another nation (Seton-Watson, 1961).

The term new imperialism refers to events which took place within a certain period of history. Although there is no agreement on the precise period, there is some general consensus that the era of new imperialism took place between 1870 and 1914 and this is the period I will focus on in this essay.

In order to answer the question ‘what is new imperialism? I will approach it from four different viewpoints. Firstly I will look at new imperialism as a period of history, that is, the dates and events which form a backdrop to the changes which took place. Then I will describe the changes in the balance of power between Britain and Europe. I will also examine the political and economic systems and the resulting theories and ideologies. Finally I will look at new imperialism in the context of a ‘civilising mission’.

In terms of history it is clear that imperialism has been around for a long time. Imperialism in its different forms pervades all history, from first tribal raids to the latest Wall Street conspiracy (Kiernan, 1995).

The actual start and finish of the era of new imperialism maybe hard to define but there is some consensus that the period 1870 to 1914 is of the most importance (www.nationmaster.com).

Imperialism had flourished in the earlier centuries particularly in America and Asia during the “age of exploration and discovery” (Wright, 1961). Britain became very dominant in trade and commerce, supplying most goods for Germany France and America. Britain was referred to as the “workshop of the world” (www.nationmaster.com).

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The latter stages of this British dominance (1815-1871) is referred to as Pax Britannica, a peaceful period where there was broad co-operation between Europe’s great powers. This agreement between countries was referred to as the Concert of Europe, which was to maintain the peace settlement made at the congress of Vienna following the Franco-Prussian war. It is essentially the breakdown of this balance which gave rise to new imperialism (www.nationmaster.com).

The shift towards colonial expansion and the increased competition from countries such as Germany and United States, which typified the new imperialism, was accelerated by the events known as the ...

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