Question

in what way imprilism leads to the world war

Answer 1

Imperialism and imperial rivalry provided both a cause and context for World War I. Imperialism is a system where a powerful nation controls and exploits one or more colonies. In most cases the imperial nation, euphemistically referred to as the ‘mother country’, establishes control over its colonies by coercion – for example, through infiltration and annexation, political pressure, war and military conquest. Once conquered, this territory is claimed as a colony. Colonies are governed and administered by either the imperial nation, a puppet government or local collaborators. A military presence is often stationed in the colony, to maintain order, to suppress dissent and uprisings, and to deter imperial rivals. Colonies may have military or geopolitical advantages but their main purpose is economic: they exist chiefly to profit and enrich the imperial power. In most cases this involves the supply of precious metals or other resources, such as timber, rubber, rice or other foodstuffs. Colonies can also be invaluable sources of cheap labour, agricultural land and trading ports.


Prior to World War I the world’s largest, richest and most dominant imperial power was Great Britain. The British Empire famously occupied one quarter of the globe (“the sun never sets on Britain” was a famous slogan of the mid 19th century). British colonial possessions in the late 1800s included Canada, India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Burma, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, several Pacific and Caribbean Islands, South Africa, Rhodesia, Egypt and other parts of Africa. Many of these colonies were acquired with little difficulty; others took more time, effort and bloodshed. Britain’s acquisition of South Africa, for example, came after costly wars against the Zulus (native tribes) and Boers (white farmer-settlers of Dutch extraction). British imperialism was focused on maintaining and expanding trade, the importation of raw materials and the sale of manufactured goods. Britain’s imperial power was reinforced by her powerful navy, the world’s largest, and a fleet of mercantile (commercial) vessels.



A depiction of British imperialism in Africa, from ‘Cairo to the Cape’

Another significant imperial power was France, Britain’s closest neighbour. French imperial holdings included Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia), some Pacific islands and several colonies in west and north-west Africa. The German Empire included Shandong (a province of China), New Guinea, Samoa and other Pacific islands, and several colonies in central and south-west Africa. The Spanish Empire had once included the Philippines and large parts of South America, though by the early 20th century Spain’s imperial power was dwindling. Empires closer to home included Russia, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman sultanate. Russia ruled over Finland, Poland and several central Asian regions as an imperial power; its disastrous war against Japan in 1904-5 was an attempt to extend Russia’s imperial reach further into Korea and northern China. Despite condemnation of European imperialism in America, the United States also engaged in a degree of empire building, particularly towards the end of the 1800s. Here is a list of the more significant imperial powers of the early 1900s:

Answer 2

Greediness and selfishness where the important cause for the wars which caused damage and suffering. Imperialism and imperial rivalry provided both a cause  for World War. Imperialism is a system where a nation controls one or more colonies or kingdoms that doesn't belong to it .