Power over Peoples Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Power over Peoples - Essay Example Western Imperialism or ‘the expansion of Europe’ manifested itself in two phases: the Old Empires of the 16th century, and the New Imperialism of the mid 19th centuries. Technology counts as one of the major contributing factors to the success of the western imperialism mostly in the New Imperialism as it advantaged the Europeans and their associates, making them succeeded in controlling many states of the globe. They could travel over long seas in steamships and boats, travel and transport widely by use of railways, conquer more states because they had better armor, and lastly their development in medicine saw them withstand such in the different cultures they embarked on. Technology here refers to the extensive ability that humans can acquire from the use of environmental energy and materials in doing what the body cannot do on its own. When technology changes for the better, or advances, it is referred to as superior technology, superior in that it gives one powers mo re than nature, such as using a machine to travel farther, and faster. Technology favored the Western Imperialism as they had two main sources of innovation that is culture and the competitive nature of the West. Culture enabled them to rule over nature through scientific experiments and research. The competitiveness of the western states made each state to strive for gain of advantage over the other in a bid to control more of the outside world than other states. Historians have long tried to define some occurrence in the Western Imperialism without much success. The myth in it is that the New Imperialism spread so fast in less time, and was more successful than the Old Imperialism. Did the use of fast growing technology facilitate the success of the New Imperialism in a shorter time than did the Old Empires? In addition, did the impact of imperialism force the affected to react by innovating means of survival? From Chapter 1: Discovery and conquering of the Seas Headrick (2010) ex plains the mastering of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans, revealing that the move was not for exploration. Rather, it was due to the quest of religious, commercial, and military dominance over other cultures. He uses Portugal to elaborate the onset of nautical innovations that saw it rise to form an empire of the Indian Ocean. At first, it was so unlikely for Portugal to raise to such heights, owing to its approximate population of a million people, most of who were fishermen and farmers, and its lack of resources that made it a poor state. In addition, it appeared unstable because of its ever-in-war status with North African Muslims and the Castile (Headrick, 2010). However, they defied these odds and went on to acquire their empire status, a first in Europe, powered by some factors such as the urge of Christians to fight Muslims even after leaving Portugal that made them find means of pursuing them. Then there was the craving for gold and spices, both of which led to them inventing navigation and ships. To add to their success was Henry the Navigator, son of King John I, an explorer and soldier who trained people in map-making and navigation. He is responsible for the success of the Portuguese in sailing to the African West Coast to defeat the Muslims, spread Christianity, and establish new trade routes (Headrick, 2010). The English and Dutch later joined in exploring the Asian coasts and offered stiff