Page 134 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol III

imperialism 953

example, such as a particular empire or the spread of a Origins (Sixteenth–
particular system. Most commonly, imperialism refers to Eighteenth Centuries)
the particular type of political organization that emerged The discovery of the New World opened up new paths
during the nineteenth century, the “New Imperialism” by for exploitation on many levels.After the initial pillage of
which Europe established empires in Africa, Asia, and the Aztec and Inca empires by the Spanish conquista-
Oceania (islands of the central and south Pacific). dors, silver mines in Bolivia and Mexico gave the Span-
The major impact of imperialism was the spread of ish Empire tremendous revenue. This revenue helped
ideas among different peoples, particularly in highly cos- finance the wars of the Habsburg (a European ruling
mopolitan empires. Empires operate on two key princi- house) against European rivals such as the Dutch, Eng-
ples: acquisition of wealth,whether in money or in other lish, and Ottoman Turks. Spain was ultimately overex-
resources, and the spread of belief systems to other peo- tended by these wars, and the Habsburg emperors found
ples in order to establish unity under one imperial struc- such a large empire difficult to manage effectively. Spain’s
ture.This structure comes with an attendant worldview rivals also set about exploiting the New World and
on religious, social, cultural, and political matters that pushed into the Indian Ocean and the Pacific as well.
subjects of the empire are expected to accept or at least The biological consequences of the conquest were much
accommodate. Internal conflicts within empires usually more profound in the long run than was silver. Old
come as a result of resistance to the imperial worldview World diseases decimated up to 90 percent of the native
by subject peoples. Modern empires built upon these population, leading to the importation of African slaves
foundations and added more sophisticated bureaucratic to labor on the new sugar, cotton, and tobacco planta-
structures and explicit drives for religious conversion, par- tions. New crops, such as maize and the potato, were
ticularly Islam and Christianity. Improved means of trans- exported to the Old World, allowing for diversified agri-
portation, particularly sailing and later steam vessels, culture and large population growth. This package of
and the discovery of the New World added opportuni- crops would also allow Europeans to establish them-
ties for overseas expansion and more diverse empires. selves in areas with similar climates, opening up areas of
settlement in the Americas,
South Africa, and Australia.
The increase in population
and resources promoted in-
creased trade as demand went
up and new opportunities for
trade were opened.

The pond in the
principle compound of
the Emperor’s Summer
Palace, in Beijing.
Around this pond is
where the Emperor and
his court would live
during Beijing’s
sweltering summer.