The Impact of American and European Imperialism in The Course of World History

The late 19th and early 20th century was widely regarded as the Age of Imperialism. During this time, Europe and America aggressively expanded their influence around the world. This was done through methods such as America’s “white man’s burden”, and Europe’s economic need due to the Industrial Revolution. As a result of imperialism, some countries were affected when Europe and America expanded.

In 1899, Rudyard Kipling wrote “The White Man’s Burden,” a poem about the Philippine-American War. Originally meant for a Diamond Jubilee Celebration, Kipling rewrote it addressing the Philippine Islands. The poem, and the phrase itself, was meant as a way to justify American imperialism. The phrase “White Man’s Burden” was targeted toward people of color. This supposed “burden” was due to the view of non-whites as uncivilized, and therefore it was America’s responsibility to bring them to civilization. This can be seen through the similar phrase “Kill the Indian, and Save the Man” by Richard Pratt. Pratt’s attempt to “save man” was through education of natives. Schools such as the Carlisle Indian Industrial School were founded by Pratt to educate natives. At the same time, natives were forced onto reservations by the government while White Americans took their land. Natives who resisted would deemed “Enemies of the People.” With the cause of American imperialism, came the effect of Native American loss of land and culture. This led to scenarios such as the Ghost Dance and the Massacre at Wounded Knee. The Ghost Dance was an ultimate act of desperation by Native Americans to fight White Americans due to the loss of land. The Ghost Dance was intended to bring back dead ancestors to fight White Americans and bring back peace and unity amongst the Native Tribes. The Ghost Dance resistance in turn led to the Massacre at Wounded Knee, a mass genocide of Natives at Wounded Knee Creek on an Indian Reservation. This was all, to summarize, an effect of American Imperialism as they took native land and force assimilated Native Americans.

Meanwhile in Europe, aggressive expansion was motivated by economic need. After undergoing the Industrial Revolution, the rate in which science and technology improved drastically. These allowed for inventions with which revolutionized various aspects of life such transportation and shipbuilding. As a result due to the growing rate of change, the economy would change as well. This gave European Nations a desire to expanded in order to obtain more resources, and combined with improved transportation and shipbuilding from the Industrial Revolution, gave European Nations faster and more aggressive expansion. As a result, British colonies could be found all over the world. By 1914, the phrase “The sun never sets on the British Empire” was coined due to British worldwide influence as a result of imperialism. This was made possible through military force, annexation, and economic spheres of influence. As a result of European Imperialism, countries such as China soon found themselves subject to infiltration by European nations. Although countries such as Russia and Japan managed to repel European attempts of colonization through methods such as “the White Peril.” However, China was forced to open trade ports due to the opium trade. Even though opium was banned, smuggling still allowed opium to be traded within China. Through this weakness, China became exploited by other nations. However, Asia still managed to remain intact due to their considerably larger size. The same could not be said for Africa, however., due to the slave trade that took place hundreds of years prior. After the Berlin Conference, Africa would became split up by various European countries. The purpose of the Berlin Conference was to regulate trade and colonization. All in all, Africa suffered more due to European Imperialism as slaves and resources were gathered in Africa.

In the end, American and European Imperialism changed the course of the world through many different ways. In America, Native Americans suffered directly as a result of justified imperialism, as well as other countries such as Puerto-Rico and the Philippines as a result of the Spanish-American War, and countries that were annexed such as Hawaii. While in Europe, the Berlin Conference split up Africa for European countries to gather resources and slaves, and at the same time, in Asia, countries such as would suffer as a result of imperialism. China would become weakened through the opium trade which would later become exploited through other European Countries that capitalized on said weakness. This European expansion was a result of the Industrial Revolution and the ever changing technology.