Exercises on Imperialist Ideology

“Portuguese and Spanish colonization in the 16th century had been limited almost exclusively to America. In the 19th century, however, the need to expand consumer markets for manufactured products and control over the regions supplying raw materials gave rise to a new colonial race, undertaken mainly by the industrial powers of Europe.” (Piletti, Nelson / Arruda, José Jobson de A. Toda a História:História Geral e História do Brasil. Ed. Ática – São Paulo, 2006.p, 298.)

Explain the fundamental difference between European colonialism exercised in the 16th century and neocolonialism exercised in the 19th century.

(UERJ – RJ) “If we had to define imperialism as briefly as possible, we would say that it is the monopoly phase of capitalism”. (LENIN, V.I. Imperialism:Higher Phase of Capitalism. São Paulo:Global, 1987.)

Indicate, using the text above as a point of reference, two factors that stimulated imperialist expansion.

The imperialist policy consisted of the search, mainly, of new consumer markets for the industrialized countries and that was how several countries in Africa and Asia suffered with the practice of neocolonization in the 19th and 20th centuries. Therefore, on the justification constructed by the European powers to invade the nations of the African and Asian continent is correct say that:

A) The European powers justified the invasion of peripheral countries by stating that this action would contribute to industrial development and that it would encourage the adoption of a socialist regime in Asian countries.

B) The main claims used in the practice of Imperialism were the Darwinist theories that defended the cultural superiority of European countries, being the countries that would take progress and social development to the countries of Africa and Asia through the civilizing mission.

C) One of the justifications was that Europeans would learn industrial techniques from Africans and Asians, which would lead to the economic and scientific development of developed countries.

D) The white man's burden was one of the European legitimations during imperialist politics. This burden consisted of a mission that would contribute to the industrial development of African and Asian countries, thus generating the growth of the local bourgeoisie, making the undeveloped countries have their own industries.

(UFPE - 2002) Capitalist expansion in the 19th century became known as imperialism, and the domination of European countries over Africa and Asia was called neocolonialism. Regarding the result of the combination of these two phenomena – imperialism and colonialism – in Africa and Asia, it is correct to say that:

A) Imperialism and neocolonialism helped African and Asian peoples to get out of their secular backwardness, allowing them access to progress.

B) The second Industrial Revolution, monopoly capitalism and the ideals of progress are associated with imperialism, neocolonialism and the complete domination of the United States at the end of the 19th century.

C) The greatest beneficiary of the entire imperialist domination and neocolonialism in Asia and Africa was the working class, in the face of full employment in industry.

D) Through imperialism and neocolonialism, the English economic and political elites built the image that they were the model of culture and civilization to be imitated throughout the world.

Differences between colonialism and neocolonialism are in the political and economic field. During colonialism in the 16th and 17th centuries, the main economic powers were Portugal and Spain who spearheaded the colonization of America. During this period, labor relations in the colonies were carried out through slave labor and the products extracted were agricultural. The legitimation for the exploitation of America was in the religious sphere , the spread of Catholicism in the colonies was a way of justifying this colonization. The Neocolonialism practiced in the 19th century was part of the economic transformations that hit Europe. The Industrial Revolution contributed to the growth of new powers such as England and France, who were looking for a consumer market for their industrialized products and raw material in the so-called third world countries. The legitimation of this imperialist policy was the mission of the white man , who, being culturally superior to Africans and Asians, should carry the burden of bringing civilization to these peoples.

The first factor that we can highlight is the Industrial Revolution in Europe from the 18th and 19th centuries. The Industrial Revolution contributed to the increase in the production of machine-made products, as technology provided greater production in less time. However, with large-scale production, there was a need for new consumer markets. The solution found was to globalize the economy and capitalism, with the objective of increasing consumerism. Thus, peripheral countries came to be seen as consumer markets for industrialized products from European countries.

Another factor that we can mention was the search for raw material and cheap labor to leverage industrial production. In addition to the consumer market, it was also necessary to acquire raw materials and labor, such as iron and oil for factory production and the workforce for the production system. African and Asian workers were required for this work, as labor in peripheral countries was cheaper for companies. Thus, the development of industries always sought to spend less on their production system in order to gain more from the commercialization of products.

Letter D . The civilizing mission consisted of the legitimizing policy of Imperialism. Europeans considered themselves superior to African and Asian peoples. In this way, the European community claimed that through contact with these peoples, the white man would bring economic development and cultural progress to these peripheral countries. This ideal became known as the "white man's burden".

Letter D . England was the country that benefited most economically during the imperialist policy of the 19th century. So much so that it became the main military power in the world until the beginning of the 20th century. In this way, the English considered themselves the ideal model of civilization, which should be copied by other countries.