The Effects of Imperialism By the 19th and 20th century Imperialism had affected many countries in some good ways but many were affected badly by outside imperialist powers such as the British. Imperialism has two main ways of which it can be viewed one from the imperialist power and a second from the colonized people, both of which have a drastically different views on the topic. This is seen in the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the main characters are shown being taken over by an imperialist power causing the destruction of the characters culture. First is how imperialism is viewed from the natives, in many cases the natives were taken over by an outside power and they had little say in the matter. A big portion of the
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This is shown late in Things Fall Apart from the white missionaries telling the tribes their religion, their way of life is false and the only right way is christianity, obviously this causes much unrest from the tribesmen.Another example of forceful removal of culture would be Japan’s treatment of Korea in WW2 when the Japanese tried to assimilate Korea. “In order to make Koreans just like the Japanese, the Korean people were forced to change their family names into Japanese names”(Radio Korea International doc 8). Showing that often times the imperialist power has little regard for the people they are taking over and only wish to create one homologous culture which they view as right.Another example of this would be how “The Japanese forced the Korean people to worship the Japanese gods as a part of their duty”(Radio Korea International doc 8). But the removal of some cultural practices don't always have such a harsh backlash such as the killing of twins in Things Fall Apart which did not always go down so well …show more content…
One of these reasons is the imperialist believed they were helping the poor impoverished natives and that they were “civilizing them but, all of this wasn't done out of pure philanthropy” (Lugard doc 3). The whole point of this was for the economic gain of the mother country by selling goods to new areas and acquiring new resources.Although some things they did to genuinely help the native people such as bringing in new more stable crops or teaching them how to use new farming tools. Such as “The sinking of wells, the system of irrigation, and the planting of useful trees”(Lugard doc 2). Another aspect that the Imperialists did was the addition or improvement of infrastructure in the new areas but once again this wasn't pure philanthropy it was mainly for the economic gain of the mother country. These infrastructural changes such as bridges, roads, and train tracks would allow for the faster transport of goods and resources and the deployment of military. The use of the natives for economic gain is shown in Things Fall Apart by the district commissioner and how he says the story of Okonkwo would make an interesting segment in his book “The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger” not even caring that a man had just ended his life because of the imperialist interventions. The imperialists did not think that the removal of the
This is shown late in Things Fall Apart from the white missionaries telling the tribes their religion, their way of life is false and the only right way is christianity, obviously this causes much unrest from the tribesmen.Another example of forceful removal of culture would be Japan’s treatment of Korea in WW2 when the Japanese tried to assimilate Korea. “In order to make Koreans just like the Japanese, the Korean people were forced to change their family names into Japanese names”(Radio Korea International doc 8). Showing that often times the imperialist power has little regard for the people they are taking over and only wish to create one homologous culture which they view as right.Another example of this would be how “The Japanese forced the Korean people to worship the Japanese gods as a part of their duty”(Radio Korea International doc 8). But the removal of some cultural practices don't always have such a harsh backlash such as the killing of twins in Things Fall Apart which did not always go down so well …show more content…
One of these reasons is the imperialist believed they were helping the poor impoverished natives and that they were “civilizing them but, all of this wasn't done out of pure philanthropy” (Lugard doc 3). The whole point of this was for the economic gain of the mother country by selling goods to new areas and acquiring new resources.Although some things they did to genuinely help the native people such as bringing in new more stable crops or teaching them how to use new farming tools. Such as “The sinking of wells, the system of irrigation, and the planting of useful trees”(Lugard doc 2). Another aspect that the Imperialists did was the addition or improvement of infrastructure in the new areas but once again this wasn't pure philanthropy it was mainly for the economic gain of the mother country. These infrastructural changes such as bridges, roads, and train tracks would allow for the faster transport of goods and resources and the deployment of military. The use of the natives for economic gain is shown in Things Fall Apart by the district commissioner and how he says the story of Okonkwo would make an interesting segment in his book “The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger” not even caring that a man had just ended his life because of the imperialist interventions. The imperialists did not think that the removal of the