Western expansion In Africa and Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Western expansion In Africa and Asia - Essay Example In the 14th century, Europeans mainly concentrated in the old system of trading, which connected Africa and Asia. The best ceramics and silks came from china, which prompted the Western states to develop interest in their products.China’s foremost interest was to obtain slaves from Africa, peacocks from India whereas African required cowrie shells and Maldives from the Indian Ocean (McKay et al 2011) Europeans wanted silk and spices from Asia but, unfortunately, they did not have desirable merchandise to give in return. The desire for Europeans to have full access in Asia led to the establishment of numerous empires and the western Hemisphere discovery where after few decades, they did dominate trading connections and political empires in most parts of the world. Consequently, this yielded to the exchange of cultural values, conversions and resistance due to global interactions besides prompting Europeans to fight with the aim of enforcing their cultural values. This was unto the societies that they encountered with the intention of making them understand the essence of the values (McKay et al 2011). (10) The West and Global Economy New imperialism Imperialism was the domination of a state especially based on political, economic and culture of another country (McKay et al 2011). Mainly, this emanated from the west where due to the growth in the industrial revolution and technology intended obtain materials from the less developed states. This is because of insignificant competition in those states by then who had low intellectual capacity, for instance Africa. Additionally, through this practice, the West used to augment their political and economic power, which enabled them to dominate the entire world through the influence of their affluence. European dominated both the African and china coastal territories but they were unable to the natives living in these regions, for instance, Africans, Chinese and Indians (McKay et al 2011). In the year 1800, Euro pe attained considerable power stability, since states, which had strong regimes emerged while the industrial revolution strengthened its numerous states’ economies. New imperialism emerged due to the economic interests by manufactures’ states who ventured in diverse regions in search of natural resources such as rubber and petroleum. Additionally, these states also wanted to get new and reliable markets meant for their industrial goods, which prompted them to apply political and military power to impose new imperialism. Merchant ships needed bases for taking coal and supplies, which led to the seizing of islands to satisfy their needs. In addition, nationalism was another factor that contributed to political interest in other states especially in the third world, where its states seemed to have uncouth civilization by then like Latin America and Africa (McKay et al 2011). The colonial states of then era encompassed the France, which annexed West Africa whereas its riv al Britain seized nearby lands to stop further expansion. Social Darwinism was another factor that led to new imperialism that was then growing among the westerners who practiced and supported the idea of social imperialism. Mainly, this entailed quest to destroy the weaker race because they deemed it was the nature’s way of improving human species. Trade In Indian Ocean Afro-Eurasian trade’s centralization in the Indian Ocean paved way for commercial and cultural exchange in Africa, Asia and Europe. It did increase trade between 7Th and 14Th centuries though it faced a sharp decline during the Black Death. Traders came together in multicultural forms around cities and ports (McKay et al 2011). Many of cities had attained self-governance, and there was minimal violence due to mutual and self-interest issues among the communities who represented the most developed group in the Southern China owing to their desirable trade merchandise. Africa also played a significant ro le in the then global trade besides economy prior