History Paper: Imperialism And Colonialism

Imperialism and Colonialism Name: Course: Institution: Date: Imperialism and Colonialism Colonialism and imperialism are two different concepts and despite the fact that they commonly used interchangeably, they have different meanings and applications. The best way to understand and appreciate the difference is to refer to the British exploits in across the globe along with other supers powers that have existed throughout history. However, it is important to mention at this point that they both are associated with political and economic domination of other nations and regions. The main difference is in relation to the fact that, imperialism is largely the domination and control of political and economic facets of another nation whether formally or informally. Colonialism on the other hand is in relation to taking over a nation in its entirety by ruling over it and other regions. In most of the cases, where countries such as the British would conquer other nations, it would be for the benefit of the emperor. Imperialism on the other hand was more of the political and economic influence that a regime had over a wide not necessarily imposing the cultural values of the rulers. For example, the Ottoman Empire was more of an imperialism that it was a colonial outfit. This is relative to the fact that in the case of the ottoman, they were more concerned over their economic influence over the region that power for the sake of power. In the case of the British on the other hand, after conquering other nations, they also go ahead and convert them to Christians in the quest to rule them even spiritually. Imperialism is what happened in the case of Africa, Puerto Rico and even Philippines, where the colonialists did not necessarily settle but ruled over these lands. It is also important to note that imperialism is much older dating back to the times of the Roman Empire, while colonialism came in the 15th century.[Josiah Gumede, African National Congress Against Imperialism, ebook, n.d.] There were quite some subtle differences between the way imperialism affect different regions. In this case, one of the areas that was affected by the British imperialism was East Asia. China was one of the areas that was largely associated with the British advances in the region citing the fertile lands and the more importantly establishing the opium trade. This would come to be known for the high production which would be grown in the region and would then find its way into china.[Xu Naiji and Yuan Yulin, Memorials On The Legalization And Elimination Of Opium, ebook, n.d.] ‘By the early 1800s, the opium trade dominated by British merchants produced millions of Chinese addicts. The opium trade increased steadily; between 1800 and 1821, 4,500 chests were shipped to and sold in China a year. In 1838, the number reached 40,000 chests. The result was a serious outflow of Chinese silver. The Qing government finally decided in 1838 to ban the opium trade, and Lin Zexu was appointed as imperial commissioner to supervise the operation. Lin arrived in Guangzhou in March 1839 and soon launched strong attacks on both addicts and smugglers. He also ordered confiscation of opium in foreign merchants' possession and burned as many as 21,306 chests. ’[Letter To Que...