What effects on the us after imperialism?

Answer 1

Imperialist countries gave little thought to the indigenous (native) people of the lands they colonized. A feeling of superiority and entitlement kept the imperialist nations from even considering whether the native people had a right to own and govern their own land. Colonizers infringed upon the political systems and cultural values, including religion and language, of the colonized. Imperialism also exploited the labor and Natural Resources of the native, indigenous people and continues to have a lasting impact upon the colonized nations today.

Imperial powers found a variety of political systems in the lands they conquered. Some societies had strong central governments. Others were decentralized, that is, they were local political units ruled by chiefs or leaders. Once in power, imperialist nations imposed their own systems. They ruled colonies in one of two ways: 1. Indirect rule or 2. direct rule. In indirect rule, a nation ruled a colony through established local leaders. Indirect rule was considered good because it was inexpensive.

Imperialist nations used a number of means to force native peoples to give up their culture and indigenous (or native) languages. Imposing Western languages on African people is one example. People in African countries had to learn the imperialist countries languages to do all of the following: go to school, read legal documents, understand government announcements, etc. In plain terms, there was no "getting ahead" in life without the knowledge of the language. Even today the major languages in Africa are French, Portuguese, and English.

Under direct rule, the colonial power ousted the indigenous leaders and installed European officials to manage the colonial government. France preferred this method. Indigenous people were expected to accept the political system imposed by the colonizers. Native traditions and institutions were replaced by foreign models.

Religion was also a source of tension between colonizers and the colonized. Christian missionaries often accompanied colonial rulers. In many places, missionaries set up schools and hospitals as well as churches. Unfortunately, their attempts to help people were hindered by the belief that the people they wanted to benefit belonged to an inferior race. Missionaries believed they had a duty to "civilize" colonial peoples by converting them to Christianity. In many areas, the people's resistance to conversion led to friction and even violence.

To the European colonizers the colonies were sources of cheap raw material. The resources like cotton, rubber, sugar, cocoa, etc, were sent to European countries and then resold. This left many indigenous people with the short end of the stick. They could only sell their resources to one buyer who kept the price low and the wages low. From the perspective of the indigenous people the colonizers were thieves who stole. It is easy to understand why a deep resentment was present then and can still be found in some countries today.

Local economies changed dramatically under colonial rule. Before colonization, many groups had economic systems based on agriculture. People worked for themselves and farmed small plots of land or herded cattle, sheep, or goats. Once a European nation or the United States seized control, the labor force was transformed from self-employed people to hired laborers working for foreign companies. The colonizers seized local lands from farmers to create huge plantations and then forced the farmers to work on them. People who were once subsistence farmers began harvesting cash crops, such as cotton, cocoa, rubber, sugar, tea, and coffee, for foreign owners. Workers' livelihoods depended on decisions made by colonial businesses and governments. At times, workers rebelled against their colonial overseers, but they were always unsuccessful. Most of the colonies from this time period have gained full independence in the present day. Unfortunately, the legacy of colonialism made the transition to self-government difficult for many of these newly independent nations. Because colonial powers did not want their colonies to industrialize and compete with them, they prevented them from developing domestic industries. The economies of many former colonies are still dependent upon the same cash crops that they had grown years ago. Lack of new industry and inadequate transportation and communication systems have made it difficult for many former colonies to compete in the global market of the 20th and 21st Centrury

Answer 2

It secured the United States as a world power.