“Imperialism occurs when a strong nation takes over a weaker nation or region and dominates its economic, political, or cultural life.” (Thomas Caswell,1999). European Nations began this and continued to take over and benefit from resources from the 1800s to the 1900s. There still seems to be a type of modern imperialism between countries because they want to profit from resources, especially resources that are becoming scarce. An example of would be the drilling in other countries for oil, taking space to continue to expand their companies which leads to the lack of resources of people living there, as well as money. “Hundreds of millions of Third World peoples now live in destitution in remote villages and congested urban slums, suffering hunger, disease, and illiteracy, often because the land they once tilled is now controlled by agribusiness firms who use it for mining or for commercial export crops such as coffee, sugar, and beef, instead of growing beans, rice, and corn for home consumption.” (Thomas Caswell,1999)
The effects of imperialism continue today. According to Bob Maier, “Imperialism and racism are complementary and reinforce each other in today’s world.” The history between Europeans and African Americans caused African Americans to be labeled as inferior for years to come. The enslavement of African Americans for the exploitment of their labor back in the 1900’s created a barrier that is now racism. Africa is the most impoverished continent, containing the worlds top 9 poorest countries in the world (The 10 Poorest Countries in the World, http://247wallst.com/) mainly because of lack of resources.
There are multiple effects following imperialism besides racism such as political, economic, and cultural. Not only were people taken from their homeland, their identities were taken from them. These people were forced to give up their own cultures and customs and adopt European cultures and customs. The exploitation of the resources in their countries, leading to overexploitation and eventually famine and poverty (The Consequences of Imperialism, Pepito Perez).