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The period between 1870 and 1914 in Europe was a time of considerable stability. New states had been formed in Germany and Italy and political reformations in older, established states such as Britain and Austria were underway. This internal stability combined with the technological advances of the industrial revolution, meant that European states were increasingly looking abroad to expand markets, power and their empires. Four causes can be attributed to the growth of imperialism at this time; Economic and Monetary goals, Social Darwinism, Political Imperialism and Strategic and Political motives.
Imperialism was strongly influenced by business and monetary interests abroad. An important factor influencing imperialist expansion was the economic downturn in Europe that lasted from 1873 until 1896. Many Europeans favoured acquiring African territory just in case it should turn out to be economically useful. Valuable resources like rubber from inland Africa led to conflicting and competing claims known as the “Scramble for Africa.” The existence of valuable minerals also motivated the scramble for the area now known as Zimbabwe. The new technologies of the nineteenth century fuelled this expansion. The telegraph for instance, enabled states to monitor their imperial possessions around the world.
The search for investment opportunities, whether they are railroads or diamond mines, attracted Europeans into a world system that challenged capitalist imagination. Imperialism produced a world economy with Europe at its center. Industrial and commercial capitalism linked together the world’s continents in a communications and transportation network. Foreign trade increased from 3% in 1800 to 33% in 1913.
Most trading during this age of imperialism still took place among European nations and North America. Non-European producers undoubtedly derived benefits from the new international trading partnership; For...