Reasons For European Imperialism During The 19th Century

During the nineteenth century many European countries were taking part in the ‘land grabs’ of African countries. This rapid development created new empires and expanded old ones; this became known as imperialism. In this essay four general motives that inspired Europe to its great imperial successes at the end of the nineteenth century will be discussed. These motives are: religious, strategic, economic and demographic.
During the time of ‘land grabs’ of the African countries many Europeans wanted to control the inhabitants of these countries as well. Because the European society was more industrialised than other continents such as Asia and Africa, they believed that they were more “civilized” than the African and Asian people. Due to …show more content…
This created another motive for European explorers to explore more of the African continent. The European population was able to expand once available land was found by explorers and then colonised by the European government. Overpopulation was easily controlled once colonisation took place and therefore European citizens could migrate to the inhabitants of Africa. Australia was colonised and used as a platform of imprisonment for British criminals. These criminals were sent into exile. This is an extreme form of demographics. Instead of colonised countries being inhabited by foreigners they become prisons and the original inhabitants therefore become prisoners in their own country.
There were multiple motives which pushed for imperialism during the 19th century. The four that are highlighted in this essay briefly describe the importance of imperialism to the European societies. The strategic, religious and political factors all intertwine to form the economical aspect of imperialism. Without the permissive factors imperialism could not have been possible and without these four motives the world in which I live today would be