Why did European imperialism accelerate during the 19th century?
Caveat: All my History Professors are neo-marxists, so ignore the ideological bias.European imperialism accelerated in the 19th century due to industrialization and the need for access to more raw materials and markets for the produced goods.Colonies were acquired for the following reasons:Access to Raw MaterialsStrategic Locations i.e control of shipping lanesTrading OutpostsFarming/Settler ColoniesTo stave off rivals from occupying territories.I'll cover my four points.Access: The industrial revolution thrived on Oil, coal and timber. Think of the fact that the colonised populations could be forced to produce goods at a dictated price and buy finished products solely from their colonial masters as a bonus. The colonial masters constructed infrastructure solely to aid the swift shipping away of produce from indigenous lands.Strategic: Once the raw materials had been harvested/mined the colonial powers needed to guarantee that a rival didn't control the shipping lanes and assure their safety from pirates. This meant the colonization of places like Singapore, Egypt and Zanzibar that oversaw vital shipping lanes.Trading Outposts: This were in actual fact the initial colonies from whence the imperialists would push inwards. Places like Lagos and Elmina.Settler Colonies: These were the places with the worst reputation and rightfully so, the rulers had a slight population problem so they usually offered their castoff citizens acres of conquered lands on the dime to get rid of their worst. Settler colonies include South Africa, Kenya, Algeria e.t.cTo stave off rivals: Self explanatory.
Why did England need raw materials from the United States during colonizization? plz help!?
England had used up most of its raw materials during the industrial age they not only colonized North America for raw materials, but also India, the Carribean and different parts of Africa
What reasons did Europeans have for coming into Africa?
Greed.Europeans explored Africa initially to find a way around it, and after they managed that, they started looking for gold and spices in the interior of Africa. They had known about the Sahara for thousand of years and knew that there wasn’t much interesting in that region; although Solomon had mined gold, so they went in from other directions in later times and didn’t find much of interest for a few hundred years.
What did Native Americans and Europeans trade with each other during the colonial era?
I was taught “furs” from beaver, mink, otter, marten, fox, etc. and that makes sense for high value and rarity. Further reading indicates the Native Americans provided a great deal of ready to eat food (corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, dried meat and fish, acorns, berries, etc.) as they were better farmers than the Europeans up until 20th Century yields.They also trade deer hides more than anything else, with bison hides a close second, for their broad utility in apparel, harnesses, footwear, packs and bags, rawhide strips as the equivalent later on of baling wire or bungee cords as universal fasteners and straps, and material for light and heavy coats.The edible and medicinal plants known to the local Indians were also very high value, literally life or death products in many cases.The Europeans traded them rum particularly (as they’d keep coming back for it while most physical goods they were quickly sated on), fabrics (Wool, Linen, Cotton, Canvas, Silk) generally dyed in colors not locally available, needles and thread, steel knives, cast iron cooking pots, iron traps for all sorts of animals (most trappers were actually Native Americans), firearms of any sort and vintage, gunpowder and lead for bullet-making over a campfire, gun flints (English preferably, French lower value), refined cane sugar, wheat flour, dried fruits, glass beads made in Europe, India, and Africa, tomahawks/hatchets, axes for tree felling, horses, cattle, candles, etc..Consumables to both sides had the greatest trading value as it meant they’d be back to trade more in the future.
What were the principal exports of Medieval Europe?
Medieval Europe was a noted producer of many things desired in the world beyond its borders. It primarily exported cloth and textiles and precious metals, though it also traded slaves with the Islamic world.Venetian and Genoese merchants set up prosperous trading posts on the Black Sea that benefited from a flow of goods from central Asia. These merchants traded for spices, silk and luxury goods with slaves, iron, wine, light wool, linen and metal wares. European wines from Italy, France and Germany were highly prized, but it was European wool, linen and other textiles that were particularly valued. England, the Netherlands and northern Italy produced high quality woolen cloth in various luxurious weaves using technology unknown outside of Europe. Similarly, European linen was another sought after import.European weaving became such a valued export that silk and cotton were bought from the east as raw materials and then the finished luxury fabrics woven from them in Europe were sold back to the east at a premium price.The other major export was precious metals. Central Europe held a large number of reserves of high quality silver ore and Medieval mining and smelting technology allowed Europeans to exploit these very effectively. Large areas of the Hartz Mountains and in Bohemia and Moravia saw European silver bullion being one of the most valuable and extensive item being traded east from the Black Sea and trading posts in the Levant. Gold was also exported from Europe though not in the same quantity as silver.Iron and steel were also exported, especially after the invention of blast furnaces, water-powered trip hammers and mechanised bellows made a form of mass production possible. And quantities of luxury items like amber and furs also moved east in exchange for Asian luxuries.All this made later Medieval Europe extremely rich and the wool and textile trade in particular laid the economic and maritime foundations for the expansion of European trade across the world in the early Modern Age. The European economic domination of the world for the last few centuries has its origins in Medieval merchants and craftsmen.
Why did Europeans want to practice imperialism in un-industrialized nations?
During the 1850s, Europeans were in the midst of industrialization shifting from mostly agrarian to industrial factories. To support their development (and make up for the raw materials they were losing while becoming more developed) they needed access to raw materials and colonies in undeveloped nations provided an easy access point. The European countries only wanted enough development in Africa to support the shipment of raw material. So small railroads to and from the mine/collection point compared to the railroad and telegraph network that was booming at the same time in Europe. They only developed their colonies to be extraction points and only built institutions to stay in power. In many respects the exploitation of Africa formed the modernization and development of Europe.