Assess the effects of imperialism on European countries during the later years of the nineteenth century

Imperialism brought along, in addition, substantial economic benefits to European nations. Surplus capital was often invested overseas, where cheap labour, limited competition, and abundant raw materials made larger profits possible.

However, the economic advantages imperialism brought along were overvalued. Many colonies, particularly the sub-Saharan African ones, were of negligible economic value, and their colonial masters even incurred substantial costs defending them in times of war.

To the European nations, colonies were vital for national security, military power, and national prestige. The extension of European control over Africa and Asia added a further dimension to the rivalry and mutual suspicion, which characterised international diplomacy in the decades preceding the World War I (WWI). The English economist, John A. Hobson earlier predicted the unrestricted competition for expanding markets would lead to a global military conflict. In the ‘Scramble for Africa’, tensions arose between the British and the French, as the British attempted to take over Egypt, the country both once had joint control over the finances of. When France seized Tunisia in 1881, it kicked off fifteen years of tension with Italy and the latter who also wanted the territory, retaliated by allying with Germany and declaring a decade-long tariff war. Pressurised by its European counterparts who were colonising more and more territories, Germany took control over three territories in eastern and western Africa, further adding to the tension between European nations. Furthermore, the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) signalled the emergence of new imperial powers. To defend their interests, the great powers tangled themselves into a web of alliances, making the outbreak of a world war a forgone conclusion of economic imperialism.

To conclude, imperialism may have brought substantial economic benefits to the European nations. However, a big price had to be paid - worsening of relations and deeper animosity between the various great powers. Soon enough, this led to a military conflict on a unprecedented magnitude, and the costs it brought along virtually overwrote all the economic benefits gained from imperialism. Hence, imperialism brought along more harm than good to the European nations.