World History › Section T · Industry and empire › Topic T.2
Motives and means of imperialism
Between about 1870 and 1914, a handful of industrial powers took control of most of Africa and much of Asia and the Pacific. This topic asks why they wanted empires, how they justified them, and what made conquest possible.
In this topic
- A new imperialism
- Raw materials and new tastes
- Markets, investment and the economic argument
- Strategy, rivalry and prestige
- Ideas of superiority
- Missionaries and their converts
- Worked example: reading "The White Man's Burden"
- The tools of empire
- The firepower gap
- Worked example: the Battle of Omdurman
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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