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Meaning of Imperialism:
Before going into a detailed discussion of Imperialism, it is necessary to know its meaning.
For this purpose we give the definitions of certain famous writers:
(1) Prof. Schuman has defined imperialism as, “control over non-white races by western national states by force”.
(2) Mortiz Julius Bonn, in Encyclopaedia of Social Science writes, “Imperialism is a policy which aims at creating, organising and maintaining an empire, that is, a state of vast size composed of various more or less distinct national units and subject to a single centralized will”.
(3) C.D. Burns says, “Imperialism is a name given to a single system of law and government in many different lands and races”.
(4) According to H.G. Wells, “All our modern imperialism are thus, the more less conscious efforts of one nation-state to become world-wide”.
(5) Prof. Hawking says, “Imperialism is the ethics of severity”.
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(6) Sir George Cornwall Louis says, “Under a sovereign administration many states are generally called imperialism”.
On the basis of these definitions we can say that following are the main features of imperialism:
(1) The scope of imperialism should not be narrow but it should be wide.
(2) It is essential that imperialism should comprise of many races and nationalities. It people of one nationality reside in a state, it cannot be called imperialism.
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(3) All the organs of imperialism should be under one central control.
(4) As Imperialist country looks after its own interests only, and it exploits the countries under it. Schuman has clearly said, “It is no more the purpose of the imperialism to confer benefits upon its victims than to confer benefits upon home country”.
Parkar Moon also says, “The reason why the British entered India, the primary reason why they remained there was not to benefit India but to benefit Great Britain”. It is, therefore, clear the white races may say that God has deputed them to make the black races civilized and for this purpose they conquered countries of Asia and Africa, but they talk of charity only to deceive others.
(5) In imperialism, the ruling country prospers and the dependent country declines. Its dependence upon the ruling country increases because the imperialists use the countries under their subjugation as markets for raw material or goods.
It means that they convert raw material of those countries into finished products in their own factories and make huge profits by selling them in the dependent countries. The English, the French, the Portuguese, the Japanese, the Russians the Germans, the Spaniards, the Dutch and the Belgians have been doing this in the countries under their authoritative control.
(6) Imperialists use all types of tactics to enhance their interests.
The features mentioned above are of political imperialism. America and certain other countries are following the policy of economic imperialism. It means that they give economic assistance to many big or small countries and through that assistance they influence the policies of those countries. In this way they try to increase the area of their influence. China is following this policy in some countries of Africa.
Development of Imperialism:
Ancient Empires:
In ancient times the strong tribes had a tendency to rule over the weak tribes. Because of this tendency, the city states in Greece came to an end and under the leadership of Alexander the Great a vast empire was established.
In India too, in the early ages, the kings had the tendency to establish Paramount (Chakrawarti) empires. Therefore, there were many conflicts and clashes among them for power, which eliminated small states and led to the establishment of vast empires.
During Ajat Satru’s reign, the elevation of Magadha was the result of this tendency. Thus due to this tendency of imperialism many vast empires rose and fell in India, China, Assyria, Babylonia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome in ancient times.
Empires of the middle Ages:
In Europe, after the decline of Roman Empire, many big and small feudal states were established but imperialist’s tendency also seen in them. Charlemagne tried to re-establish a vast empire. In India, after the decline of Gupta Empire, kings like Harsh Vardhana, Pulkesin II, and Mahipal, after conquering a large part of India, tried to establish a vast empire.
Later, Turks, Pathans and Mughals continued this tendency and All-ud-Din Khilji, Akbar and Aurangzeb established their empires. In the eighth century, the Arabs established their vast empire from Spain to Sindh. During the tenth century, the Turks established a vast empire over Central Asia and Afghanistan.
During the twelfth century, the Mongols rose into power and they established their vast empires in China, Central Asia and Russia. In the sixteenth century, the Mongols or Moughals lost their influence in other countries but they established a vast empire in India under the leadership of Babar which was consolidated by Akbar but declined rapidly after the death of Aurangzeb.
Beginning of new Imperialism by European races:
The beginning of the new imperialism is considered from sixteenth century, when European countries expansion of their trade and colonies in Asia and America, Columbus and Vasco de Gama explored far off countries and their governments started trade with these countries. Later, they established their colonies there and tried to expand their influence. Portugal and Spain occupied first place in this race and after becoming prosperous in trade, they established their empires in South America or Latin America.
Portugal also tried to establish its empire in India. The Dutch,-the English, the French, the Belgians, the Germans, the Italians, the Russians and the Japanese also followed suit. The British, the French, the Germans, the Italians and the Belgians established their colonies in Africa and gradually established their empires.
The English and the French, tried to establish their empires in India. The French did not succeed and except in Chandarnagar, Pondicherry, Yenam and Mahe, they could not establish their empire anywhere else.
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However, the English established their empire all over India. During the nineteenth century, Russia established her empire at far off places in Central Asia. Japan extended her empire up to certain parts of China and Korea. Italy conquered Ethiopia.
The main reason for the establishment of empires by European races in Asia, Latin America and Africa was that they possessed better arms and ammunition and their war tactics were superior to the conquered races.
During the twentieth century, two World Wars took place among these imperialist powers, because their interests mutually clashed. Because of these wars and the spread of the movement of nationalism, the colonies of Asia, Africa and South America were successful in getting themselves rid of the imperialist powers.
After the Second World War, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Israel, Syria, Egypt, Ghana, Cyprus, Algeria, Morocco, Zimbabwe and many other African countries became independent. At present there is a sharp reaction in the minds of the people against imperialism.
Thus the influence of imperialism is vanishing and the countries which are still under foreign yoke in the world would be free in the near future. But the economic imperialism is still continuing in different forms. The U.S.A. is influencing the foreign policy of many countries by giving them economic aid. Though, India is receiving aid from the U.S.A., yet she is not ready to accept any of its conditions and, thus India’s foreign policy is quite independent.