Question

Write detailed answer about the nature of European colonialism with the help of following point:

Causes of colonialism

Answer 1

The causes of colonialism are as follows:

1. Industrial Consequences: Colonialism was a result of the Industrial Revolution. Production increased enormously because of the new machines. However, the rate of local consumption was much lesser compared to the surplus production. Hence, the immediate need of the Europeans was to find new marketplaces for selling their products. It was also necessary that those marketplaces be dependable and easy to dominate.
2. Requirements of Raw Material: It is necessary to maintain low costs of production compared to competing nations in the market. The desire to create monopoly in the market and the need to procure raw material at cheaper rates were two major factors, which made it essential for the European nations to establish clear supremacy.
3. Investing Surplus Capital: The Industrial Revolution added to the wealth of the European capitalists, who were already rich. They started searching for secure markets to invest their surplus funds. The markets in the less developed countries were quite secure from this point of view. Thus, the availability of surplus capital facilitated the rise of colonialism.
4. Sources of Minerals: The countries in Asia and Africa had rich sources of minerals like gold, diamonds, silver, coal, etc. This attracted the European merchants to various regions of Asia and Africa.
5. Geographic Importance: European nations had realised that the geographic location of some regions in Asia and Africa is advantageous for trade. Malta, Gibraltar, Aden, Singapore, Andaman and Nicobar were some such regions where the British established their hold.