Imperialism

To Europeans in the late eighteen hundreds, imperialism was a fantastic idea. The prospect of unending natural resources, cheap labor, prestige and other such benefits would be tempting even today. However, Europeans did not attempt to see the other side of this miraculous money-maker. They saw themselves as heroes; rescuing the savage natives of foreign lands from their bleak future. While Europeans brought some helpful developments to their colonies, they also interfered with cultures and foreign policies of which they made no attempt to understand.
Southeast Asia was one of the very first places that Europeans colonized. Western influence began there as early as the time of Ferdinand Magellan’s explorations. Before industrialization, people traveled to this part of the world out of curiosity, and for trade benefits. As people and nations grew wealthier and greedier they sought more than small profits; they wanted direct control. The Dutch were originally the most prominent w...