On the other hand, the anti-imperialists argued that it went against our American democracy and was harmful to the territories we were trying to acquire and our country itself. Even though they had a major difference, they had one similarity in that they both wanted the country to progress and become more successful through overseas expansion, just not using imperialismto justify it. Imperialist thought it was their duty to take over the smaller countries in order to save them from themselves because they were not fit for self government. Behind the imperialists were a plethora of people and they all supported it for multiple reasons. Blacks at the time liked the idea because it gave them an opportunity to serve their country and have perfect unity with the whites as well as patriotic unity for themselves (doc1).
There was always a “backward” race dependence upon a “civilized” power as a colony or sphere of influence, Hobson stated. During competitive the scramble for land, the great European powers abused their colonies—politically and economically oppressed them—took their resources to produce goods only to sell it back to them and made many enemies in the process—foreign and domestic. Hobson suggested that powerful nations simply utilizing the natural, undeveloped resources of their colonies would be more acceptable than compelling its dwellers to utilize the resources themselves. It would be unfair to make someone who has done little labor and has a low standard of life to do more complex work although we don’t consider it so. He was not against the idea of imperialism, just the ruthless way that they were going about it at the time, for it was inhumane—they had no concern for the feelings or needs of the countries or the people they cruelly colonized and dominated.
This lead people to become suspicious of foreigners and the government placed many restrictions on the security of people from other countries. The political arguments are that increased immigration leads to a better representation of the country to other countries. Greater mobility will increase the bargaining power of individuals in their negotiations with different faces of sovereign power. Exit can spur political development, by making states work harder to keep their people from leaving. A truly competitive global market for labor would lead to greater competition among countries and likely improve
Leaders of other countries weren’t happy with all the money Europeans were earning because they too wanted to make a profit. This set the precedent for other countries to set sail in search of new trade routes in order to begin making money. Greed motivated Christopher Columbus to partner up with the Spanish in order to search for a more effective trade route to China and India. During this search Columbus discovered the Caribbean, and others along with him discovered the American continents later on. He thought he was in India, that’s why he called the native people on the island, “Indians”.
Another difference was the difference between who did the work in developing the colony. The colonies differing views on religion also helped shape the way each colony developed economically. The Virginia and Massachusetts Companies both realized that they would need to have a strong economic system, but their views on religion and profit had too many differences and resulted in different systems. The Puritans did not feel the need for “excessive profits” and lived by the belief of self control. The use of company labor and overpricing caused a lot of problems with Virginians.
In addition to that, the Spanish colonies tended to be controlling. They were based around digging up gold and silver and exporting it back to the Old World, especially in South America. They did not have an aspiration for mass emigration, nor the change of a successful colonial elite. They were satisfied with a small team of Spaniards to exploit the wealth of their newly conquered territories, and export it back to Europe. In some ways like the British in India, except for the fact the Spanish didn't really have manufactured goods to sell to South America like the British in India.
Our ancestors lived in static societies, where success meant taking things from others. They created wealth only rarely, and in the end they could never create enough to meet needs. The colonial conquests, the desire to form large empires by conquering weaker countries and peoples existed before the era of imperialism and even before the emergence of capitalism. However, during the period of imperialism, the role and significance of the colonies change not only in comparison with pre-capitalist epochs, but also in comparison with the period of pre-monopoly capitalism. The "old" methods of colonial policy are supplemented by the struggle of monopolists for sources of raw materials, export of capital, spheres of influence, for economic and military-strategic
The liberal capitalist US economy needed ever increasing trade and investment opportunities to overcome its endemic weaknesses, (Mccauley). The Marshall Plan was designed to create an informal American empire in Europe and thereby to extend American political influence over the USSR itself. Roosevelt and Truman and their advisors already predicted the threat of Soviet Expansionism, and that they tried to restrain the Soviets from changing the international order in a way that would have been as dangerous to Western interests. Therefore Marshall Plan then led to Truman Doctrine, which not only did it influence Europe to be under control by American imperialism, but also did not support Soviet Union because the United States inserted anti-communism propaganda. American pressure and the Western decision to
Venice then imposed a protectionist policy and higher duties on foreign trader. As a result, Venice could come under attack and overland trade route unsafe. They had to raise taxes because of it loss and to finance its mercenary armies and weapons. The discovery of a new trade route by a Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama destroyed Venice’s monopoly in the popular spices trade. Venice’s traditional route was shorter, time consuming, however, it is considered unsafe due to robbers and plunderers.
Causes 1) Europeans used mercantilism (an ideology that believes wealth or growth is measured by capital) to economically restrict and suppress colonies. Colonies were only created to benefit its mother country with profits. The mother country would take raw materials and sell the final goods back to the colonies, but Britain would always take more that they gave. a. The British created monopolies in their colonies by adding protectionist taxes on foreign trade material, economically making British goods and services appear to be at better prices.