Although Europe represents only 8 per cent of the entire landmass, European powers were in a position to conquer 80% of the entire world. The reason is that Europe was termed superior and powerful. They used gunpowder technology invented by the Chinese; therefore, few states could fight them in terms of conquest. Their leaders did not hesitate to spend a lot on military changes according to technology. They learnt a lot through trial-and-error wars, which finally improved their military. This gave them a great chance to dominate the world, including third-world countries. Their military became the best overall (Keal, 2003).
Moreover, the Conquest of America gave them gold from South America. The attained wealth was used to pay for their arms and build several of their fleets. The armies or fleets were used to trade with Asia and Africa, thereby enabling them to attain more wealth. Europe became industrialised more quickly and, therefore, became wealthier than any other part of the world. The attained wealth enabled them to grow economically. Later, industrial trade gave them more wealth. Industrialization in Europe was possible as a result of printing technology. It allowed their knowledge to spread quickly to their people and even to other nations. This is why they developed industrially before China, which lacked printing technology. This helped spread their products, and in combination with the exploitation of Africa and America, they had plenty of wealth. They thus emerged economically and technically superior (Klein, 1999).
Europeans could not rely on hunting and gathering but were able to join other professions as soldiers and scientists. This improved their intelligence as well. They were driven by a culture of fighting to kill their enemies, not allowing their cultural practices to stop them from fighting. This motto motivated them whenever they went to war; they killed many enemies and conquered many countries. They, therefore, decided to travel around the world since people from other countries couldn’t fight them because of their superior weapons. After 1800, they had grown industrially, and 35% of the states had been conquered.
Their Geographical Area: Easy access to the sea enabled them to expand into other nations. France, Britain, Portugal and Spain had access to the seas. This led to the emergence of a merchant economy, which eventually developed intelligence, thereby creating chances for energy formation.
European Imperialism
By 1870, Europe was already stable and therefore was able to form new states in Germany and Italy. Together with the use of technology from the Industrial Revolution, European states became even more powerful and so pursued political power abroad. The new technologies highly encouraged imperialism. This, in turn, enabled, for example, the use of quinine in the conquest of inland Africa. The telegraph enabled their states to monitor their imperial possessions around the world. With time, they were able to conquer large territories in Africa and Asia.
Imperialism was highly linked to the rivalry among European nations. For example, the British wanted to maintain colonies, while other European powers wanted to expand their territories as well. The British responded by preventing such colonies. The scramble for gold and diamonds in South Africa and Egypt accounted for a large part of colonization, as they were among the main sources of wealth. As a result, the rivalry between France, Germany and Britain increased exceedingly. Germany could not gain control overseas due to its late unification and lack of knowledge of modern navigation.
Moreover, collaboration also increased the chances of imperialism. Local leaders wanted to benefit from the colonial government, and the only way to do so was to join them. Those who collaborated ensured a good relationship between the colonial government and the local people. This, in turn, created a better environment for their activities. Some of these leaders who collaborated came to benefit when the colonial government was coming to an end.
Economic factors: Imperial governments wanted larger profits. As a result, the economy expanded, which in turn called for cheap labour, markets to sell products and the need for raw materials. Cheap labour was attained from the Africans, and raw materials were also obtained from the dependent colonies since European countries had been facing a shortage of raw materials. The imperial merchants created transportation and infrastructure. As a result, the European states competed for markets, raw materials and labour, hence motivating the need for conquest or, rather, imperialism. Exploration was done for the purpose of medicine and research. Some exploration was undertaken for adventure and the goal of expansion to maintain their imperialism.
Another factor is ethnocentrism; they believed their culture and power were superior to those of any other people and therefore would bring their culture to the people they considered inferior. This enabled them to civilize these nations, which they increasingly succeeded in conquering. The spread of their religion to Africans converted many to Christianity through missionaries. Churches were built in the conquered territories, places where Africans learnt Western culture.
The political factor resulted from European countries fighting for supremacy, which spurred patriotism. This political motive expanded the need to conquer many states, each corresponding to the need for raw materials, labour and markets for their states.
Decline Of Their Power
By the early 20th Century, Europe had controlled many parts of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. However, these empires collapsed after 1945. The causes of their fall include the following. The colonies had suffered from depression as a result of European imperialism, which encouraged the production of raw materials. This left these colonies poor. As a result, Europeans were declining economically as well. During World War II, Japan defeated European powers, forcing them to leave Asia. Japanese forces came to conquer Asia after the Europeans surrendered to them in 1945; the states began to fight for their independence, demanding freedom from Japanese forces. These nationalists used guerrilla methods to fight Japan. They sought support from the United States government. Europeans, therefore, lost and were weakened in terms of power and economy. It was these wars that left European countries like Britain and France facing economic problems.
Moreover, the immediate RISE OF NATIONALISM in the colonies also led to the decline of imperialism; hence, European powers collapsed as well. The handing over of power was a major factor as well. During the 1940s, decolonization took place in Asia and the Middle East. For example, in Europe, French forces left Syria and Lebanon. The Philippines attained independence from the USA in 1946. Indonesia was granted independence in 1948, forcing Britain to give up control of India. In Africa and the Caribbean, however, independence came late since it took France and Britain time to grant their colonies independence (beginning by the 1960s). Civil war arose as a result of the Belgian government pulling out of Congo in 1960.
In addition, these losses affected Europeans, more so in the colonies where many Europeans lived permanently. Algeria’s war with French forces, for example, lasted for 8 years, leaving many dead. The white minority in Zimbabwe refused to share power with the blacks, leading to war until 1980. In South Africa, independence was attained in 1910, and whites still stayed in power. This forced blacks to fight until 1994, when Nelson Mandela was elected president. France tried to keep its colonies in China; however, it was defeated by Vietnam, enabling the USA to intervene until 1975. Portugal took a long time to surrender power to its colonies, Angola and Mozambique. This led to war between nationalists and imperialists until 1975, when independence was granted to them.
The end of the empire led to the existence of independent states worldwide.
The process of decolonization led to the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Decolonization was affected more by the superpowers’ changing patterns of international relations. The US supported the self-determination of various countries and had a connection with the Europeans who claimed their former colonies. Cold War competition later came to dominate U.S. policy concerns, forcing Europe to lose power. The Soviets supported communism while the US supported capitalism; hence, the Soviets were able to take control of access to economic resources from the U.S., which they abolished.
Events like the Vietnamese war against France from 1945-1954, the nationalist takeover of Egypt in 1952, and Indonesia’s struggle for independence from the Netherlands in 1945-1950 created fears. The U.S., therefore, was forced to use technical and military assistance sometimes to convince other states to fight with them. However, the Soviets used tactics and encouraged nations to join communism, claiming it was a non-imperialist economic or political ideology. However, new states refused to indulge in the Cold War. After the Bandung conference in 1955, there was a focus on internal development. The UNITED NATIONS had grown, and many states from third-world countries had joined. The new nations pushed UN leadership to accept resolutions for independence; therefore, a special committee for colonialism was formed. This brought an end to the colonial era.
References
Keal, P. (2003). European conquest and the rights of indigenous peoples: The moral backwardness of international society (Vol. 92). Cambridge University Press.
Klein, K. L. (1999). Frontiers of Historical Imagination: Narrating the European Conquest of Native America, 1890-1990. Univ of California Press.
Hull, R. W. (1976). African cities and towns before the European conquest. Norton.
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