Essay Sample on Imperialism and Colonialism

Colonialism and Imperialism are substantially responsible for how the world is functioning today, but what were the major forces that caused the pervading of colonialism and imperialism throughout the 1500s and early 1900s? Well, as historically observed, the most significant forces of colonialism and imperialism were economic factors, political factors, and geographic factors. Economic motivations encompassed the yearning for resources, products, advancements, money, and trade. Some political motivations were the want for alliances, enhanced military, power, borders, and more. Lastly, geographic forces were comprised of landforms, climate, natural resources, prevailing winds, and other common processes of nature. From economic and political to geographic factors, there have been a copious amount of motivations behind the expansion of colonialism and imperialism throughout the 1500s to the early 1900s. 

First and foremost, economic forces have been a major inclination as to what was responsible for colonialism and imperialism in the era of the 1500s-1900s. Nations longed for tactics to expand financially to better their country which, as a byproduct, led to small-scale colonization and large-scale imperialism. As mentioned by author Parker T. Moon in Document #1, Parker points out that in the later times of imperialism, there was an ascending supply and demand for railway materials, telegraphs, coal, and other resources during the 1900s. Materials were heavily desired because they would contribute to the economic development of a country. For example, in the late 1800s, the transcontinental railroad in the United States was commercialized and largely funded allowing nationwide trade as well as importing and exporting goods for the welfare of the economy. Also, telegraphs were in the mid-1800s to early 1900s in the United States as well as other international countries with the aim of communicating with other countries for business opportunities and to spread news amongst the colonies. These colonies would use similar materials to settle large pieces of land to grow economically and financially to gain alliances which ties into what Parker T. Moon stated. Additionally, a country or nation would explore new lands to intentionally pioneer a territory suitable for trade since that was a key step in cultivating that country’s economy. After analyzing Document #10, although it mainly focuses on the geographic aspects of colonialism and imperialism, it also gives a respectable amount of credit to the economic forces. For example, Genevieve Jonhson speaks about prevailing winds, moreover, prevailing winds could heavily impact the trade flow of an economy. Trade winds were essential for sailing to import and export products and goods to other countries which is a massive reason why colonizers desired applicable land for specific economic needs. As clearly stated, economic factors and linear financial growth was a driving force of colonization and imperialism in the 1500s through the early 1900s. 

Furthermore, political motivations have shown a massive impact as to why nations colonized and imperialized throughout the 1500s throughout the early 1900s. The core force urging leaders to colonize for political advantage was the want for authority and power. Countries longed for a way to show their influence and become leading world powers to gain control of land for personal usage. As demonstrated in Document #7, there was a large amount of land colonized by the British and French in Africa because it showed their political need for power and desire to carry out European colonization. This colonization and imperialism started in the 15th century and carried throughout the 19th century to demonstrate the rising of control of European world powers which is why various European countries have been recognized for their influence in the current day. Additionally, as well as the need for power, countries also wanted to enhance their militarism for the sake of settling or invading other territories for control. As stated in Document #6, “Now, the French are come, with their powerful weapons of war, to cause dissension among us.” Also mentioned by Phan Thanh Gian, “They go where they want, the strongest ramparts fall before them.” The French drove to gain land in parts of Asia to expand their dominion by utilizing their strong military weapons of war in order to do so which answers the questions of why Vietnam was split by the French. This further proves the point of how a nation’s military was also enhanced and was used to colonize and imperialize. Political factors were certainly an element that impacted the motivations of colonialism and imperialism in the 1500s throughout the early 1900s.

Finally, the earliest motivation for colonialism and imperialism from the 1500s to the early 1900s were geographic factors. Geographic factors affected colonization because these natural forces governed how colonizers would navigate to certain regions, how they would stumble upon a new land, if they wanted to colonize the area, and countless other reasons. As visually displayed in Document #9, there is a map drawn by Benjamin Franklin that assisted sailors when navigating the Western Hemisphere for the desire of colonizing land. This map shows how water currents, patterns, and navigation overall would be crucial to consider when seeking colonization since it would impact the pathway of traveling there. Also, this ties into the fact that economic factors go hand in hand with geographic factors since Franklin drew a map of the Gulf Stream which is also phenomenal for trade. Another evidence of this is shown in Document #10 since it gives an account of the heavy impact of trade winds when sailing to another region. Genevieve Johnson accounted for how much these winds affected his trip since the boat was extremely hard to maneuver and pushed the vessel between 8.5-9.5 knots at least. This could impact where colonizers could travel to and how the Coriolis Effect could impact sailing since these natural forces could push your unit of travel in certain directions. This could eventually lead you to go off course, stumble upon foreign areas of land, reach dangerous climates, and even sink your boat. Also, according to Document #2, the author mentions distributing trading posts around the world and speaks about American soil. The evidence presented strengthens the point of how resources and geographic factors having an impact on economic opportunities also lead to the seeking of imperializing land. These trading posts being in multiple, trade rich locations would help the country’s economy by having those strategic points. As presented, geographic factors have been one of the main and earliest motivations of colonization and imperialism in the 1500s throughout the early 1900s.

In final analysis, the causes that lead to the catalyzing of colonialism and imperialism at the beginning of the 1500s and spreading into the early 1900s are mainly due to economic, political, and geographic motivations. Numerous related motivations have also had an impact on current events today, for example, Russia is currently invading Ukraine due to similar motivations such as political power and influence in Ukraine. Moreover, some economic factors would be how there are certain resources like oil pipelines that run through Ukraine which would be wanted by the current leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin. To add on, the possible rebuilding of the Russian empire and gaining of land could be considered a geographic motivation. So, what could the outcome of this aggressive imperialization lead to in the future?