Imperialism Through Assimilation Essay, Research Paper

In India and South Africa they were many similarities and differences in conquering through assimilation. In the nineteenth century, Britain had a huge empire, extending to many different regions of the world. This big empire was formed little by little. Before 1869, Britain only controlled a small amount of land in Africa. The British concentrated on imperialism in more profitable places around the world. They concentrated on places that would give them more markets for trade and more opportunity to increase their economy. British took over land in places like South Africa. In 1869 these were places that did not have monetary value.

The main reason for British imperialism in Africa was to bring Christianity and European style civilization to African countries. They also practiced imperialism in many coastline countries. They concentrated on practicing imperialism also in India because The British had thought it was a good place for trade. Slaves had been one of the few resources the British were interested in. After the 1870’s the British became more interested in Africa, much more than before. Probably the greatest reason for the British conquering land in Africa after 1869, was to protect their biggest money maker which was India. India was a great country for trade. India was a big money maker for Britain, so that was their most valuable country. They had to protect it at any cost. In 1869 the French completed the Suez canal in Egypt. This was a quick route to India, but if another country had control of the canal, the possibility existed, that they would cut off the British and take India for themselves. Britain’s plan was to take over the Suez Canal which was build by the French. They also wanted to take over Egypt. In 1875 the British had their opportunity. They bought shares in the canal from the governor or ruler of Egypt at that time and after a while gained control of it. The French were very upset. Later in 1882, the English finally gained full control of Egypt after fighting and winning some battles. India’s trade was now secure with a shortcut, they would save time and money and by that Britain would receive more profit.

The British also conquer South Africa in 1877. Once again, the first motivation behind this was the fear of losing India to another country. Capetown was a main stop on the route to India. British also took over South Africa because of the resources. Gold and diamonds were discovered in 1870 that led the British decision to invade and conquer all of South Africa to save their route to India. They went to war in 1899 with the Boers which where the Dutch that had been there before them. The war was also known as the South African War. The British won. They had more power, technology and a better army. Keeping India was very important to Britain’s survival as an empire.

To continue being a powerful empire was the reason for Britain’s interest in Africa. The British economy has always depended a lot on trade, and having colonies was the way to expand trade. Imperialism I think is like gearing up for war because you get powerful and you take over land and then a country does not like it when you try to invade them and fight back and what happens is that a fight breaks out. The British always brought their religion which was Christianity. They set up schools to teach their way. They would come and take over and assimilate other people’s culture and lifestyle into theirs. Britain was very successful at conquering trough assimilation. At the end the British had the most powerful empire in the world. They had everything technology, money, a big and trained army, and most of all land. The British had the most land.