Cultural and Economic Forces of Overseas Empires in the 19th Century - Essay Example

European powers like England, France, Portugal, and Spain supported the search for new colonies and their objectives were economic exploitation, the spread of Christianity, and the strengthening of their empires and England succeeded in establishing its power over the colonies even from the beginning of the nineteenth century. Europeans were focusing on the shores of Africa, Asia, and Latin America and various social, political and cultural factors have motivated them in this widening of imperialism.

Cultural factors: The desire to preserve the cultural values, identity, and improvement of the society as a whole was an important driving force behind colonization. For instance, it was the British who introduced the secondary education system in India which helped Indians to advance to the frontline of administration. These statements explain the impact of imperialism in carrying out modifications in the social and cultural setup of European colonies (Baker, 184). The role of missionaries in the process of colonization is another important factor to be discussed. Their mission was to popularize the teachings of the Bible and propagate Christ’s preaching; however, Christianity was employed by the missionaries as an ideology used to convince people to accept the domination of the white. Missionaries provided information regarding the social-political and economic structure of particular regions to the imperialists so that they could plan appropriate strategies for colonization.