Introduction
Imperialism refers to the process whereby a country expands its economic, political, and social power through military conquest.
Others perceive imperialism as the exploitation of the indigenous communities whereby a foreign power takes advantage of its advancements in technology and civilization to impose policies and rules to the locals whose forms of life are simple.
Such communities exist in simplistic forms whereby there modes of production are traditional. Britain is one of the countries that took advantage of its level of economic and technological developments to invade other states and impose its policies on them.
Imperialism first took place when British colonialists invaded the American continent and forced the locals to support their administrations. However, the American Revolution ended the British dominance in the region, forcing the British to look for other alternatives owing to the growing population and the development of industries (Eldridge 36).
The American Revolution opened the eyes of British colonialists who noted that mercantilism was an ineffective economic policy since it could easily be affected by political currents. In 1846, the Corn Law repealed all barriers of trade, which opened up the parts of the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom was capable of distributing artificial products to most parts of the continent such as Germany and France. Since its dominance was wading, the British government suggested that the state had to reignite its glory by invading other parts of the world, particularly the Asian region and Africa.
Between 1950 and 1914, Britain dominated the world because it had a strong source of labor and a stable market. It is noted that new imperialism was characterized by some features, which will be discussed in this article.
Features of New Imperialism
In 1842, the British invaded China and imposed its policies, including forcing the locals to consume foreign goods. In 1858, new imperialism was felt by even the powerful states such as Japan, which led to the readjustment of regimes. In Japan, the Meiji Period was reinvented whereby the British had full control of production and consumption of goods.
All major industries and organizations were controlled by the British during the Meiji Period in Japan. It is therefore noted that the British economic might declined due to the emergence of others, which forced it to engage in imperialism.
One of the characteristics of the new imperialism was that Britain was no longer a major economic and political power in the world politics due to the emergence of other powers such as the United States and Germany.
The power of Britain to manufacture finished goods went down after the emergence of Germany and the United States. These new powers gave British firms tough competition (MacKenzie 21).
In Europe, Germany posed serious threats while the US dominated the American market. From 1880 to 1913, the economic capability of Britain was in a decline, with a reported GDP decline of a quarter each year. In the food market, British manufacturers could do nothing because of the textile and metal industries established in Germany.
Another characteristic of the new imperialism is the long depression, which affected the British to an extent of looking for alternative strategies of economic development. The long depression of 1873 to 1896 is considered one of the greatest in human history.
In fact, it is considered the immediate cause of formal colonialism because the British government could not sustain its economy without involving invading other countries. During the depression, firms employed strategies such as forming partnerships and amalgamations, which brought about inefficiencies and destabilization of the economy.
The development of new technologies helped in the manufacture of goods and services. Britain was a monopoly in major sectors of the world economy hence the new technology helped it in lowering the costs of production. Unfortunately, there were no sufficient markets to absorb all the manufactured goods.
In the domestic market, the country manufactured more than it could be consumed. In the agricultural sector, the United States exported cheap grains, which strained the British farmers since the costs of production were very high in the country. This meant that American goods were favored since they were cheap.
A considerable percentage of the European population was predominantly rural meaning that it did not have the purchasing power. Goods produced lacked markets. After 1873, it is established that the long depression affected each state in Europe, forcing the world superpowers such as Britain to think about imperialism.
There were many new things in the new imperialism because Britain embarked on banking and shipping as its major source of capital. During the time, there was advent of new trade referred to as the slave trade whereby slaves were shipped from Africa to work in European industries while finished products were transported from where they were less needed to where there was high demand.
For instance, cheap finished goods were transported from Europe to Africa while slaves were ferried to the United States. The new trade boosted the economy of the country to an extent that it was able to emerge from the long depression stronger.
The long depression affected the economies of a number of states in Europe to an extent of forcing others to close their major industries, which were the major sources of income. New imperialism era was characterized by cutthroat competition. Britain developed some of the strategies that helped it to outdo others in the market.
One of the strategies was capitalizing on the economies of scale whereby firms and industries were encouraged to produce in mass. In this regard, formation of alliances was highly encouraged because it could help in producing in mass.
Moreover, formation of partnerships among traders gave them a lobbying power since they would have a higher bargaining power. Since the market was flooded with foreign goods and services, British investors would easily outdo them through joining hands.
In 1870, financial houses in London achieved their objectives because they were able to control the industry by successfully boxing out competitors. The investors formed a strong union that helped them a lot in the banking sector.
Investors were in control of the economy meaning that the government could never make policies without consulting them. They became an important partner in government since the state acquired loans from them. Business persons were able to break the aristocracy since they controlled the money market while the ruling class simply controlled land.
It is reported that the business community was able to control politics in the country through funding of political parties and sponsoring bills in parliament. In other words, they were able to achieve whatever they wanted from government.
There was a new trend in 1970s because financial holders were able to control the affairs of the state, unlike the industrialists in 1950s, who simply depended on the government for direction.
Financial investors were able to influence the formulation of domestic and foreign policy because they pressurized the government to amend policies that took care of their foreign investments.
In many parts of Africa, the investors entered into partnerships with African governments, especially in the construction of infrastructure such as railway (Blanken 58).
The British government was committed to supporting investment in foreign countries, but the new trends could not allow the government to declare support for its investors. The foreign environment became so hostile to British investors. Egypt is always cited as an example of the places that became so hostile to British.
Investors could not continue committing their funds in such places hence they needed government assurances. They forced the government to come up with strict laws that would protect their interests. In fact, the government became so hostile in places they had control.
Some scholars of imperialism such as Hobson noted that finance was actually controlling everything in the international system. The historian noted that foreign markets offered high returns because they had large populations as compared to the local markets.
The British government was forced to negotiate with foreign independent states because they had cheap labor, adequate markets, and plentiful raw materials. It is concluded in this section that financial interests were the driving force behind new imperialism. The imperialists were able to acquire new markets in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
Colonial expansion increased competition among states in Europe because each state wanted to capture its share of the market. It should be understood that Britain viewed African and Asian states in terms markets and sources of labor. The new regions were very fertile and rich of resources.
The British scrambled for space in these new regions in order to increase their investments. The new industrial powers such as France and Germany were now in direct competition with Britain in terms of political influence and economic capability.
The only solution to the new problem was expanding the territories, which would be achieved through colonialism (Malcolm and Stewart 88). Since the Europe market was flooded with goods from the United States and Europe, acquisition of new territories was the only way out. The economic and political power of Britain was no more.
The state had to strategize on how to acquire its lost glory. Some analysts noted at the time that Britain had to acquire secure territories if it were to continue dominating the world. It was perceived that other states could still acquire new territories hence it was critical for Britain to do it first.
If other states acquired new territories before Britain, the power of Britain could be reduced further. British imperialists observed that formal colonialism was the only way because the state was losing economically and politically to other states such as Germany, the United States, and France.
In France and Germany, there were protectionist policies whereby companies were given economic protection to enable them to grow. It was very difficult for British investors to penetrate. Some scholars note that Britain moved to secure new territories in Africa and Asian mainly because of its weakened political and economic power.
Such scholars refute claims that Britain acquired new territories to strengthen its power in the world (Darwin 69). Others countries in the world, such as Germany and the United States, adopted protectionist policies while Britain embraced a free market economy.
This was extremely dangerous because it could not resort to protectionist policies given the fact that it had a number of investments in other countries. Britain could not develop further because of the trade policies that gave undue advantage to other states.
In early 1900s, Chamberlain tried to come up with some economic policies, which included Tariff Reform, failed because the state embraced free market economy.
The prime minister tried to impose new taxes on imported goods, but the policy could not be adopted since the country was already in agreement with other states. Therefore, the only way to protect trade links and the country’s economy was through the adoption of new imperialist ideas.
Conclusion
Imperialism entails invading another society and imposing policies that are inconsistent with the local culture. It can be concluded that Britain made a decision to adopt new imperialism mainly because of its declining political and economic power.
A country is unable to influence the decisions at the global level if its economic and political power is below par. The emergence of other states such as the United States, France, and Germany threatened the economic power of Britain. Britain had to come with a strategy that would help it regain its lost glory.
This would not be achieved through expanding markets in the European region since the market was already flooded. Therefore, the only way to invade other societies in order to acquire raw materials, access markets, and acquire cheap labor.
Works Cited
Blanken, Leo. Rational Empires: Institutional Incentives and Imperial Expansion. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2012. Print.
Darwin, John. After Tamerlane: The Rise and Fall of Global Empires, 1400–200. New York: Penguin Books, 2008. Print.
Eldridge, Can. British Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century. London: Macmillan, 1984. Print.
MacKenzie, John M. Imperialism and Popular Culture. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1986. Print.
Malcolm, Pearce, and Stewart, Geoffrey. British Political History 1867-1990. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print.