European Imperialism and its Impact on Tensions During and After Independence

Running Head: EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM CAN BE BLAMED FOR THE RISE IN
TENSIONS BETWEEN GROUPS BOTH DURING AND AFTER INDEPENDENCE
European imperialism can be blamed for the rise in tensions between groups both during and
after independence
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EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM CAN BE BLAMED FOR THE RISE IN TENSIONS
BETWEEN GROUPS BOTH DURING AND AFTER INDEPENDENCE
The notion of imperialism has a relevance since the classical ages of European history. It
can be stated that the concept of imperialism can be seen in a revised form after the advent of
modernity when the European powers tried to annex foreign lands by power and fear and
enslaved the indigenous people. In this regard, Etherington (2014) argued that the modern sense
of imperialism is highly associated with the paradigm of colonialism. As a matter of fact, it can
be stated that colonialism is being treated as a refined version of ancient imperialism (Veracini
2014). Based on this understanding, the purpose of this essay is to deliver a brief account of both
the impact of European imperialism in the colonized countries like India and Uganda and the
consequences that still existed after the end of imperialism. In course of the discussion, the essay
also tries to figure out the impact of imperialism in the social, ethic and cultural sphere of the
India and Uganda and the mayhem that ushered by the infamous and nefarious practice of the
European powers. The lure for exploitation and Oxidant supremacy led to the formation of an
exercise of nefarious activities in other continents not only in Africa and Asia but also in the
North American region as well.
The essence of imperialism had been started with the initiation of exploration and
discovery of new lands. As Burke (2017) argued in the article that the practice of voyage and
exploration were an outcome of the industrial revolution. On the other hand, Raposo et al. (2014)
advocated that the imperialistic attitude had been developed due to the advent of the industrial
revolution in England when the factory owners felt the urge to sale their products to new lands
and earned profit as far as they could. However, the empirical studies advocated that the practice
of discovering new lands was initiated before the coming of industrial revolution. Through the
research of Janssens and Yun-Casalilla (2017) it can be argued that the initiation of the discovery
of new lands was facilitated through the introduction of modern period where new ideas and

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EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM CAN BE BLAMED FOR THE RISE IN TENSIONS
BETWEEN GROUPS BOTH DURING AND AFTER INDEPENDENCE
liberal concepts were identified as an important characteristic. The leading countries in this quest
for new lands were Italy, France, Portugal and Spain. In the latter half of enlightenment Britain
had voyaged in pursuit of new and unchartered territories. However, González-Ruibal (2016)
opined that the primary purpose of those countries was to make a trade agreement with the
indigenous chiefs and kings. In course of the exploration and discovery, the Industrial revolution
created a bad impression through enhancing the lust for the European powers to seek more
advantage from their new relationship with the friends. Aggressive economic boom paved the
way for the explorers to plunder those lands and annexed by force as it can be seen in case of the
expedition of Hernan Cortes, the Spanish explorer to overthrow the Aztec Empire in Sixteenth
century and plundered large chunks of gold and precious metals (Patch 2015). The same thing
happened in India when the Portuguese Captain sailed to the coast of India in 1500.
This gradual practice of looting and plundering the rest of the world was turned into a
fashion since 1500s. As the research of Saikia (2016) the political aggrandizement led to the
colonial rule of the European powers in different parts of the country. As a matter of fact, those
colonized countries faced severe exploitation and drain of wealth during the period of
colonization. The European power not only intended to conquer the political power but also
started manipulating with the help of ‘divide and rule policy’ (Hutchins 2015). The best example
can be seen in case of India’s struggle for Independence. Cultural dominance was a part of the
colonial mechanism. From the beginning of their regime the British colonial government started
pushing the native Indians to follow the Western Education. In the book Naseemullah and
Staniland (2016) showed that the Wood’s Despatch of 1854 was considered to be the cornerstone
for branding the English language. Many of the Indian aristocrats were attracted and later
enlightened by the Western Education. As a result of that they got jobs in the government