and Road to War (a) Markets for Raw Materials and Manufactured Goods leading to Colonisation In the second half of the nineteenth century many nations faced a problem of surplus of manufactured goods for which they had to find outside markets. The answer to the problem, as evidenced from the experience of England, was possession of colonies. Besides being a market for surplus goods, colonies could serve another useful purpose. Mass production needed large scale supply of raw materials such as grains, cotton, rubber, crude oil, minerals, etc.
Industrialists did not want to be dependent on other countries for the supply of raw materials. They wanted direct control of the sources of Imperialism and its Onslaught Imperialism and its Onslaught these raw materials. The desire for markets and control of the sources of raw materials was a major factor in the making of imperialism. After the 1870s, England, along with major powers such as France, Belgium, Italy, and Germany joined in the scramble for colonies as a market for surplus goods.
America’s turn came in when it defeated Spain and seized the Philippines. It is interesting to note that in every case, whether in India or China or Africa, the first step towards integration of explored territories was taken by imperial agents or missionaries or monopolistic trading companies. In less than twenty years the whole of Central Africa was partitioned and incorporated in the empires of Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal and Italy. In barely percent of Africa was under European rule.
By practically the whole of Africa was colonised. Britain, France and Belgium had divided the continent between them, leaving a few areas to Germany and Italy. Britain, France, Russia and Germany also established “spheres of influence” in China. Japan took over Korea and Taiwan.
France conquered Indo-China; the US the Philippines from Spain, while Britain and Russia agreed to partition Iran. The attempts to carve out colonies in Africa, as happened elsewhere, involved them in bloody battles in which the indigenous people lost.