Research Paper on:
Late 19th Century European Imperialism

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
century. However, in hindsight we can see that this century was still a time of aggressive expansion for the European colonial powers. If we look at two of the major  powers of this time; France and Britain, there are many commonalities in terms of the reasons for the continued expansion and continued pursuance of imperialistic goals. Increased nationalism  meant that colonial power and imperialism was a political matter that required external expression and demonstration (Betts, 1979). These two countries, along with many others, including Germany, Spain and Portugal  made progress in developing areas such as Africa, the South Pacific, Asia, and even the North and South Poles became attractive for the goods or benefits they may contain (Betts,  1979). The major reason for the continued growth was the potential commercial gains. The desires were so string, this time became known as a "scramble" with nations seeking to gain  new colonies as quickly as possible. There was a hunger for land and the benefits that were associated with land ownership (Betts, 1979). This phase is known more correctly as  the phase of "New Imperialism" (Betts, 1979). If we consider the development of these new colonies by Britain and France we can see how there were many commonalities.  Many of the gains made by Britain were focused on the African continent. The desire for land and its benefits was summarised by Cecil  Rhodes, the founder of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), when he said "would annex the planets if I could" (Betts, 1979). At the time of making the claims on the land there  was no immediate gain. However, history had taught the politicians and the businessmen that the gains would occur, but often would take time. Therefore, although there were economic pressures, the