Imperialism Essays

George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant is a highly regarded short story from the final days of British colonialism. This partly autobiographical tale recounts the challenges faced by a colonial officer in Burma, who is tasked with shooting an out-of-control elephant that has already taken the life of an Indian laborer. The story serves as a […]

During the 1800s and early 1900s, a wave of imperialism swept over Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The Western nations, pursuing new raw materials, established control, and became very powerful. The non-Western world obtained many benefits, such as industrialization and public education. While imperialism proved beneficial, it also resulted in warfare, racism, economic discrimination, […]

Throughout the history of the United States, her ideas of expansion were altered. According to certain views, expansionism did not change in the late nineteenth-century to the early twentieth-century while others viewed expansionism to have stayed the same. Foreign countries continued to broaden their horizons and colonize other places, and as the United States grew […]

Colonialism is the policy of domination pursued by the European powers starting in the fifteenth century and extending to the mid twentieth century. During this period European countries began to exert their control over large parts of the world. The Spanish and Portuguese founded colonies in what was to become known as Latin America. Britain […]

It is difficult to define Nationalism as either inherently destructive or expansionist. It depends on the type of Nationalism and the circumstances in which is arises and how people use or abuse it as an ideology. Heywood defines four main breeds of Nationalism; Liberal Nationalism, Conservative Nationalism, Expansionist Nationalism, Anti and post colonial Nationalism. One […]

The rights of Filipinos were violated during the Philippine-American war because America thought it was their “responsibility” to govern the Filipinos and be a nobler destiny. America took up the white man’s burden when it came to the Philippines. Instead of America allowing the Philippines to declare their independence the Filipinos go into another revolutionary […]

The novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is not a critique of European colonialism and imperialism in the post-colonial term. Certainly when the novel was published the colonialism was an accepted matter all over the world. Nobody questioned the audacity of colonialism. As a novelist Conrad himself is much criticized by post-colonial thinker like […]

Part A: Plan of Investigation: This investigation will assess the situation in Laos; between the North Vietnamese Forces, Laotian Communist Forces, and the Americans. It will examine the roles of the Hmong fighting force, and the reason the United States had to rely on them instead of its own soldiers. But also the reason the […]

To what extent was the process of decolonization in Southeast Asia a violent struggle? The process of decolonization in Southeast Asia was not totally a violent struggle due to the divers natures of the process of decolonization and the fight for independence in the various Southeast Asian nations. Furthermore, although the struggle for the withdrawal […]

Between the years of 1878 and 1914, the demand for overseas empires in Africa greatly increased. European powers acted upon this, as many influential government officials thought colonization was an important step to gaining global influence. Some believed the African colonization was an excuse, fabricated by greedy capitalists, to gain raw materials and search for […]

George Orwells essay “Marrakech” if full of stylistic tonality that fully describes the scenes trying to be portrayed. Though there are many conclusions by readers and critics alike as to what Orwell was trying to convey, this essay was a direct reference to colonial imperialism. One can have there own opinion as to what Marrakech […]

Postcolonialism literature is a literary genre that deals with literature evident in countries that were once under the colonial rule of other countries, specifically Britain, France and Spain as foremost. The phenomenon of Postcolonialism, with all its subtexts and nuances, is evident not just in literature but also the philosophy, media, history and even human […]

The poem “Africa” by Rabindranath Tagore emphasizes the negative impact of Western imperialism on Africa’s traditional cultures. It highlights how the destruction of these cultures and their values is evident through the poem’s three stanzas. The contrast between the pre-European period, the colonization era, and the post-colonial time portrays the hypocrisy and horror of Western […]

In the year of 1804, two men led an expedition of discovery that expanded a young nation’s economic potential, increased its scientific understanding, and as well as enhanced its worldwide reputation. The significant westward expansion was called the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The United States third president, Thomas Jefferson, named Meriwether Lewis the main leader […]

The United States annexes Hawaii in 1900 should be categorized as imperialism. Imperialism is a countries policy of creating an empire. It also maintains control to expand their control of raw materials and the world market. This is done by conquering other countries and establishing them as colonies. To improve trade with the United States, Kalakaua […]

Expansionism in America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century shared many similarities and differences to that of previous American expansionist ideals. In both cases of American expansionism, the Americans believed that we must expand our borders in order to keep the country running upright. Also, the Americans believed that the United States was […]

Introduction It can be refferd to as a period whereby European powers colonised, invaded, occupied and annexed African territories in a very rapid and unprecedented manner, even though there was little interest in Africa up to the 1870’s. In fact, up to 1880 Europeans ruled merely 10% of the African continent. Yet within 30 years, […]

When studying the history of the human race, it is understandable why one would come to the conclusion that we are an aggressive and violent species. In the two essays “He Was a Boxer When I Was Small” written by Lenore Keeshig-Tobias and George Orwell’s essay To Shoot and Elephant both authors introduce the theme […]

Anti-Imperialism Editorial- Spanish American War The Spanish American War is simply an abomination of American morals and ideals. Spain and the United States are currently in conflict, as a result of American intervention in Cuba. America has yet again impressed its indomitable will upon fledgling nations, and in this case, one that did not even […]

Introduction to Culture and Imperialism Edward Said Culture is one of the things that elude an accurate definition. Some of the various well-known definitions are cited by Said in his various works. For instance: “Culture is the learned, accumulated experience of the communities, and it consists of socially transmitted patterns of behavior. ” The final […]

“Shooting an Elephant” is a narrative about a British officer stationed at Moulmein who aims to criticize imperialism, specifically by highlighting the British and Burma situation. The essay explores the injustices of new imperialism and the intense hostility towards Europeans in the East. Additionally, the narrator reflects on how one’s conscience can prevent them from […]

Japan’s road to militarism commenced immediately after the topple of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Meiji Restoration during 1868, as well as the Meiji oligarch’s embracing of a policy of fukoku kyohei. Even though,the Meiji oligarchs confirmed restraint in on-look expressions of militarism and imperialism in the early period of the Meiji era from 1868 […]