The Consequences of Imperialism

Imperialism, the forceful extension of a nation’s authority by establishing political and

economic domination of other nations, inherently implies the advancement of a certain
state at the expense of its subordinated territories. It is for this reason why imperialism
essentially benefited the few expansionist states while exerting long-term damages on the
majority colonized territories.

During the 19th century and early 20th century, imperialism arose as a necessity for
industrializing states to secure their own economic prosperity. Increasing protectionist
policies in many states limited the markets1, and consequently the demand, for an
increasing supply of manufactured products from the growing industrial output. The
industrial powers of the time thus looked towards imperialism as a means to secure
foreign markets and guarantee consumption for their products by forcefully monopolizing
trade with their colonies. Additionally, the wave of rapid industrialization led imperial
states to seek a cheap source of raw materials to supply their thriving businesses at home,
and imperialism provided a means to ensure that. These economic interests, tied with
ultra-nationalistic sentiment, pushed towards the building of huge worldwide empires,
where imperial powers established their control over vast territories, including most of
Asia, Africa, the Polynesia, and parts of the Americas, where imperial powers controlled
most of the world.2

Imperialist ambitions pushed for the economic exploitation of colonized nations to

benefit the mother country. As imperial states began controlling the economy of the
colonized territory, interests for the welfare of the colonized peoples had little influence
in defining their economic policies. Instead, imperial states seeked to maximize their
profits and gains, regardless of the consequences such attitudes entailed for the colonized
areas. Most notably, the long-term well-being of the colonized nation was of no interest
for the imperial state, and so any form of sustainable development seemed unnecessary
for any imperial government. This is the reason why deforestation is a massive problem

1
‘On French Colonial Expansion’, Jules Ferry
2
http://www.louisiana.edu/Academic/LiberalArts/HiGe/members/nicassio_files/Imperialism.htm
for many nations which had formerly been controlled by some imperial power. 3 Imperial
powers, in their quest for economic prosperity, disregarded the need for the sustainable
management of forest areas and established minimally-regulated lumber industries which
seeked only short-term profits for themselves and their mother country. 4 Thus,
unsustainable overexploitation of natural resources followed. The effects are clearly in
modern times, as the environmental degradation caused because of self-interested
imperialist endeavors is difficult to reverse, and is undoubtedly connected with the
rampant poverty and hunger present in many former colonies.5

While some industrial development did occur, imperial interests in colonized territories
were aimed at creating an economy based on agriculture and the exploitation of other
finite natural resources such as gold, silver, or diamonds.6 Thus, the industrial
development that did occur in colonized territories was relevant to the desire of imperial
powers to turn colonized states into sources of cheap raw products to be later used in their
industries back home. The economy of colonized territories was not diversified or turned
into an industrial one, and instead a select number of goods were targeted, and their
production/extraction hugely increased.7 Imperial investment and construction focused on
the development and construction of communications, railways, plantations and mines,8
investments which did not by themselves help in the economic transformation of the
country from agricultural to industrial. Rather, these investments were intended to
accelerate the exploitation of the colonies’ natural resources and agricultural capacities.
Once the nation attained political independence from the mother country, the legacy left
behind from imperialism established an economy which depended on the export of a few
select natural resources and agricultural, leaving the country’s economy extremely
vulnerable to market price fluctuations. Most importantly, the unwillingness of imperial
powers to reinvest the profits gained from their colonies in their industrial development

3
http://www.american.edu/ted/ivorywd.htm
4
http://books.google.com/books?id=KEdPowDRZgQC&pg=PA566&lpg=PA566&dq=haiti+deforestation+
french+colonialism&source=web&ots=fOsgCCSdIh&sig=Uy7s4G6hz1lPowNX3gNy7Az2bCg
5
http://www.american.edu/TED/ice/haitidef.htm
6
http://www.american.edu/ted/ivorywd.htm
7
http://www.american.edu/ted/ivorywd.htm
8
http://www.louisiana.edu/Academic/LiberalArts/HiGe/members/nicassio_files/Imperialism.htm
forcefully kept colonies under a fragile agricultural economy 9 while still depriving them
of their finite natural resources. Thus, imperialism had a highly negative effect on the
economic growth of colonized nations.

The partitioning of colonies worldwide into the spheres of influence of imperial powers
created colonies that encompassed numerous ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups into
a single political entity. This recurrent aspect of imperialism was most notable in Africa,
where its partitioning did not correspond to the historical, cultural, or ethnic boundaries
of pre-colonial African societies. Thus, states were created which shared widely diverse
ethnic populations which felt no identity or connection to the political entity which they
had been forcefully drawn into.10 The political legacy left behind by imperialism left a
cluster of artificially-formed states which had no historic or cultural similarities on which
to legitimatize its existence.11 This situation, along with the economic difficulties suffered
because of the previously discussed issues, led to an environment of political turmoil
based on ethnic, religious, and linguistic.12 Countries deeply divided among ethnic lines,
a result of imperialism, not only led to the political instability of the former colonies, but
also, in some cases, led to serious violence. Modern-day Kenya exemplifies this, as the
competition of two different ethnic groups for the control of the government has led to a
situation comparable to that of an early civil war.13 It is thus clear that imperialism has
resulted in a permanent liability in the geo-political situation of a great number of
countries worldwide.

Regardless of the possible economic or technological benefits of imperialism, it is

difficult to even begin to justify those ends by the tremendous loss of life that occurred
because of it. The initial act of conquest needed to begin to exercise control over a given
territory was, in the overwhelming majority of cases, not peaceful, and entailed in the
9
http://www.american.edu/ted/ivorywd.htm
10
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/teachers/curriculum/m10/activity4.php
11
http://wysinger.homestead.com/berlinconference.html
12
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu
13
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/27/africa/kenya.php.edu/teachers/curriculum/m10/activity4.php
unjust death of many natives at the hands of the military and technological superiority of
imperial powers. However, the effects of imperialism go much farther beyond conquest:
forceful slavery-like conditions in the colonized territories imposed great sufferings
among the native population, and in many cases, unjust repression by the colonizing
power led to the mass killings of a great number of people. In the Congo Free State, a
Belgian colony, an estimated 10 million people died as a consequence of the imperialist
policies of the time.14 Additionally, retaliatory attacks on indigenous populations in many
other instances resulted in the extermination of huge numbers of people. The unjust and
unnecessary death of such a great number of people because of imperialism is, again,
difficult to justify.

However, one must also admit that imperialism allowed colonized territories to
technologically advance thanks to the connection with other imperial powers. One can
also argue that the introduction of western values through imperialism helped rid
colonized territories of certain obsolete and morally condemnable practices and
traditions. However, these benefits do not even begin to outweigh the negative impacts
which imperialism brought.

Imperialism was thus a largely negative aspect of the 19th and 20th centuries, as it
achieved, through unjustifiable, repressive unjust means, an end which favored the few
powerful imperial states and greatly hindered the great majority of colonized and
subjugated territories.

14
http://wysinger.homestead.com/berlinconference.html