Imperialism Ended after the Colonies Gained Their Independence - Essay Example

Imperialism ended after the Colonies gained their Independence Introduction The formation of global empires forms a fundamental niche of modern history. Years between 180s and 1900 saw industrializing societies in Europe carve enormous territorial empires out of African and Asian lands. Then in the midst of its own industrial revolution, the United States created its own version of empires in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The motives that revolved around imperial expansion were very similar. The United States and the European powers that include Belgium, the Great Britain, France, and Germany acted with the aim of expanding their territorial powers (Bullitt, 2010:688). They acted with the view of securing export markets and insuring access to the raw materials that they required for their industrializing economies. The highly regarded economic products included foods from colonies, which comprised of coffee, sugar, and tea and industrial commodities such as cotton, oil, and rubber. Apart from economic reasons, there was nationalism that acted as a nineteenth century ideology that led to the long-standing rivalries between the European powers. It also contributed to imperial conquest motivation. According to political analysts, imperialism stands for foreign control of both decisions and assets and includes places where such control exists in form of a facts but not laws (Hodge, 2008:641). This paper will seek to agree and disagree on whether imperialism ended after the colonies gained their Independence or not. Imperialism did not end after the Colonies gained their Independence An empire may colonial or neocolonial and formal or informal. Scramble for Africa saw the Europeans build some trading posts within the coast of Africa during the age of exploration. However, they did not have adequate direct control over the lives of most Africans for centuries. Nevertheless, the dramatic change that took place in the 1800s strengthened European nations and sparked industrial revolution and growth of nationalism. By 1870s, the search for markets and resources intensified. They discovered outlets and resources in many parts of the globe. Years between 1870 and 1914 saw Africa experience a dramatic change as the whole continent came under European rule with an exception of Ethiopia and Liberia (Willmar, Martin, and Weiner, 2006:392). There are some reasons that make some analysts believe that did not end after colonies gained their independence. In 2010, it was the 50th anniversary of the Year of Africa when 17 former colonial territories gained their national independence back in 1960. In Africa, liberation movements gained momentum at the end of the Second World War, a time when mutual destruction of 1939 to 1945 weakened the European powers. By the end of the Second World War, the reconstituted country of Ethiopia and Liberia as well as Egypt was the only nominally independent countries in Africa (Perry, 2010:394). However, in spite of their independence, scholarly researches assert they were firm under the yoke of imperialism. Egypt became an independent state in the year 1922. Nonetheless, what makes this paper put across that imperialism did not cease after independence is the fact that, Pro British King Farouk I’ monarch still controlled Egypt until 1952 (Marchevsky and Theohari, 2006:7). This is the time when the Free Movement of Officers seized power in a popularly known coup. Gamal Abdel Nasser became president of Egypt in 1956 and nationalized the Suez Canal. This move sparked an upsurge of invasion when the state of Israel, France, and Britain raided Egypt. These series of attacks and invasions that occurred years after Egypt gained independence act as clear indication that imperialism did not end with colonies’ independence. The fall of 1940s was a time filled with formation and rise of ant-colonial movements throughout the continent of Africa. As a result, many colonies gained their independence among them Sudan in 1956 from Britain and Ghana in 1957. Most political analysts refer to 1960 as a watershed year because it witnessed a cluster of states become independent as they gained their freedom from the French, British, and Germany among other powers. These countries include Madagascar, Togo, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cameroon among other states. Upon their liberation, these countries commenced trade links with one another under their respective rulers (Hodge, 2008:679). However, despite the tremendous achievements attained by the Africans, being mischievous and tricky, the Western imperialists devised ways of maintaining their political and economic control over the newly liberated states. The European imperialists also initiated methods that they used to stifle the process of liberation in the still existing colonies. Most notably, one of the most and commonly stated effort is the reversal of the independence process that occurred in the former Belgian Congo. However, on 30 June 1960, the Congolese people proclaimed their independence with the help of Patrice Lumumba in conjunction with the National Movement of Congo. Besides this country’s concerted efforts to break free from the Western imperialism, it was not long before the US led imperialist states preoccupied the country under the banner of the United Nations (Duiker and Spielvogel, 2010:515). Within three months, the European imperialists used a secessionist movement that undermined the new nation’s sovereignty in the south. These congruent examples depict presence of imperialism even after this country gained independence. Since imperialism involved control of both assets and people, there is a crucial citation that depict imperialism did not end after the colonies gained their independence. In September 1960, the United Nations forces had put the Prime Minister of Congo, Patrice Lumumba under house arrest. Due to the imperialism’s cruel and canning control, the US and the Belgian in association with the Congolese agents kidnapped, tortured, and finally executed Patrice Lumumba upon his escape. Since then up to date, Congo remains to be a reservoir cheap labor and mineral resources for the imperialists. This shows that imperialism still exists long after colonies gained independence (Betts, 2004:44). According to the first president of Ghana Kwame Nkrumah, in his book, “Neo Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism,” published in 1965, illustrate that, the essence of neo-colonialism is a very complex matter. In theory, a colonized state is independent and has all the outward trappings as accorded to it by the international sovereignty. However, in real sense, the European colonizing country controls the colonized state’s political policy and its economic system. As such, documented evidence proves presence of imperialism after Ghana’s independence as the US imperialism engineered, backed, and overthrown the revolutionary government of Ghana in a police coup and a reactionary military in 1966 (Nutt and Bottaro, 2011:13). Continued coups persisted as the European imperialism extended its control to other liberated nations such as Nigeria and Mali. Persistence of European imperialism years after the African states gained their independence is prevalent as in the midst of 1980s, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund in association with the financial institutions dominated by the US initiated a dominance power project. This project insisted that all African states institute structural amending of programs. This undermined the role of government in its quest to provide education and social services to their populations (Forsythe, 2009:368). Imperialism persisted even after colonies gained their independence as recently, the United States Intelligence Agency attempted to institute a policy of regime in Sudan and Zimbabwe in order to reverse their foreign and domestic policies of their independent course. Imperialism ended after the Colonies gained their Independence These European powers divided the African continent among themselves with Belgium occupying Congo, today known as Zaire and the French traversed into the interior part of West Africa. The British appear to have occupied much of the continent as they extended their control in many parts of Africa. Having witnessed what the other European nations were gaining from the African continent, Portugal, Germany, and Italy as well as Spain, chipped into the scramble for oversees territorial occupation. Up to this point according to some political analysts, there were intense talks aimed at ending colonial expansion and foreign control of people and assets as well (Bullitt, 2010:742). The abolition of slave trade and increased involvement of colonies in the nation making matters shone light into imperialism, which later resulted to an end of foreign control. Summary In summary, it is true and agreeable that imperialism did not end even after colonies gained their independence. The given examples of continued control of assets and people in colonial states demonstrate prevalence of imperialism in already liberated nations. Somalia is a living example of imperialism activities, as recently, this country had to battle the US attempt to establish military occupation. As described in this paper, cases of continued imperialism even after colonies gained their independence are prevalent. The most recent one involved the US and Somalia whereby, the former wanted to establish a military regime in the Horn of Africa with aim of controlling the waterways of the Indian Ocean and the adjacent Gulf of Eden (Betts, 2004:62). Bibliography Betts, R. 2004. Decolonization. London: Routledge. Bullitt, R. et al. 2010. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. New York: Cengage Learning. Duiker, W. and Spielvogel, J. 2010. The Essential World History, Volume 2: Since 1500. New York: Cengage Learning. Forsythe, D. 2009. Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Volume 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hodge, C. 2008. Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800-1914. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. Marchevsky, A. and Theoharis, J. 2006. Not Working: Latina Immigrants, Low-wage Jobs, And the Failure of Welfare Reform. New York: NYU Press. Nutt, S. and Bottaro, J. 2011. History for the Ib Diploma: Nationalist and Independence Movements. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Perry, M. 2010. Western Civilization: A Brief History. New York: Cengage Learning. Willmar, M., Martin, M. and Weiner, J. 2006. Lets Review Global History and Geography. New York: Barrons Educational Series. Read More