Imperialism and colonialism

When a country has an ambition to dominate other countries, regions, or groups we call it imperialism. For thousands of years of human history, societies have acted on that ambition. Taking territory from other societies and establishing control over it for resources, human labour, or just to show military strength - is colonialism. Imperialism is the idea that makes countries want to colonise. As early as 1550 BCE, the Egyptian, Phoenician, Greek, and Roman Empires begin to expand by taking control of new regions outside their territory.

Colonialism has begun. By the 1400s CE, sturdier and faster ships make it easier than ever to sail long distances. Portugal begins looking for new trade routes. They want to explore, and hopefully find gold to sell back in Europe. Soon, Spain starts exploring too.

In 1492, a man named Christopher Columbus is hired by the Spanish queen and king to look for a western route to Asia. Instead, he lands in the Bahamas and declares them as part of the Spanish Empire. This is the beginning of a new Age of Exploration. Many countries in Europe become competitive. They also want to “discover” new territories and build the biggest empire.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Russia, Sweden, and the Netherlands join in. Millions of people already live in the Americas and in other places being “discovered.” But since they don’t know about Christianity or European values, the colonisers see and treat them as savages. In their new, warm weather colonies, Europeans begin growing profitable crops like sugar on farms called plantations. They need labour, and their solution is slavery. Starting in the 1500s, and continuing for hundreds of years, the transatlantic slave trade brings millions of enslaved people across the ocean from Africa to work in the colonies.

Colonial powers become rich, but the colonised people do not get to benefit. Gradually, colonialism slows. It’s expensive to run colonies. Many Europeans die of tropical diseases. There are violent fights with indigenous peoples.

But starting in the 1700s, the Industrial Revolution creates new technology in Europe. Soon, there are steamships for faster travel, medications for tropical diseases, and more powerful guns. All of this makes conquering places easier. In addition, industrialisation requires raw materials, like coal and iron. Africa has a lot of raw materials, and whole areas of land that appear to be “unclaimed.” Using the new technologies, European powers scramble to claim as much of Africa for themselves as possible.

The period between 1875 and 1915, with its new technologies, will come to be known as a time of New Imperialism. By 1914, there are only two independent states left in Africa. From the 1500s to 1900s, there are also large non-European empires being built. The Qing Empire of China conquers a huge area of East and Inner Asia over a 300 year period. And between 1885 and 1943, the Japanese colonial empire becomes one of the largest in history, with more than 20% of the world's population.

Nations around the world have had imperialist ideas that lead them to start colonising. It isn’t unique to one region or culture. After World War II, many countries are in ruins. There is no more money to run colonies. Many colonised countries gain independence with the help of the newly-formed United Nations.

Others fight for their freedom in wars. Some remain colonies. The world map starts to look different. There are still some territories that do not govern themselves, but there’s not much talk about "empires" anymore. Even so...

colonialism and imperialism do not disappear. Both are still present in the way some countries exert political and economic influence over others today.