Compare and contrast two explanations of late-nineteenth century Essay

Compare and contrast two explanations of late-nineteenth century European imperialism with regards to two European empires in at - Essay Example The British conquest of India began in the middle of the eighteenth century and played a major part in this country’s rise to world dominance in the nineteenth century. Because Britain had an excellent Navy and a spirit of exploration and conquest, the first settlers there quickly set up businesses to supply the factories at home with raw materials. Britain had just begun a period of great economic expansion at home, which has come to be called â€Å"the industrial revolution.† The East India Company was created to build up trade in goods like spices and cotton, and Britain soon relied upon this country for the supply of many goods. The East India Company was a private organization but it received a lot of support from the British government. It grew into a major cultural influence as well, aiming to educate the Indian population in English ways. Britain’s colonial influence extended far across the huge territories of India. Some of the profits from trade were us ed to introduce new technologies into India like roads and telegraphs, and even a vast railway network. The purpose was to support the colonial trade system, but an important side-effect was a shift in the culture of India for the native people there. Some historians see the colonisation of India in terms of bringing progress to the whole world, especially economic progress: â€Å"no organization in history has done more to promote the free movement of goods, capital and labour than the British Empire in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries† (Ferguson: 2004, p. xxi) From this perspective, the brutal oppression of Indians who did not accept British rule is seen as an unfortunate price that had to be paid for this great progress. It is astonishing that so few British people managed to control such a huge land, for example in the period 1860-1905, â€Å"there were seldom more than 100,00 of them (European people) scattered among a population of over 250 million, and mos t were British soldiers who lived in cantonments concentrated in the northern half of the country.† (Ferguson, 2004, p. 341) The British government supplied troops to keep control over areas where uprisings occurred, for example in Bengal, which quickly became a centre for British influence. (Marshall: 2005, p. 241) A key factor in the success of the â€Å"Jewel in the Crown† of Queen Victoria’s empire was this partnership between business and government for purposes which benefited them both. This economic analysis is a convincing explanation of Britain’s great success in colonising the whole subcontinent of India. The colonisation of Tunisia by France is seen also by some historians as an incoming advanced nation bringing civilisation and progress to a backward country. The colonial attitudes are the same, and Africa was seen as a great prize which could be easily taken. There was a great rush by many European countries to take what they could: â€Å"Th e partition of Africa took little more than 20 years. It began with the French occupation of Tunisia in 1881†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wesseling: 2004, p, 148) France began to impose a political structure that fitted in with its centralist approach to government. Tunisia, along with Algeria and Morocco, became an extension of the French department system. At this late stage, more than a