Imperialism

After the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, European countries needed a large amount of raw materials and a vast market to maintain the industrial economy. They decided to get this from other countries and then began to imperialize in the 19th century. China, India, and Africa were all imperialized by Europe, and it had significant influences on these nations. Some of the effects are positive, and some are negative. So overall, did imperialism benefit the countries that been colonized or not?

India was colonized by the Great Britain in the 19th century. The British introduced zamindar system to India, which leaded local gentry to increase the tax and took the lands from peasants. With high tax and no lands, Indian peasants lived a hard life during that time. And with the introduction of British textile, thousands of Indian women were out of work and local textile industry was damaged. However, imperialism in India also benefited the country. British government created a stable and peace society, which avoided civil wars. British also established a new school system in India, both male and female were able to get education there. British rule also abolished Indian inhumane traditions including suttee and infanticide. It represented development in humanity in India.

China was another country that was colonized during the 19th century. During Qing and Ming dynasty, China had abundant resources, so they just closed their door and did not participate in the world market. However, western countries had been coveted China market for a long time, so they decided to imperialize China. They sold Opium to China, and gained great profit. But Chinese government realized the negative influence of Opium and prohibited the import of it. Britain did not want to lose this important source of income so they forced China to import Opium and had wars with China which called Opium war. China lost the war and signed unequal treaty with Britain including opening several