Legacy Of Western Imperialism

Legacy of Western Imperialism

Legacy of Western Imperialism

Introduction

Western imperialism can be seen as the process by which the western ways of living were spread in other parts of the world. The legacy of western imperialism involves the influence of the western cultures to other cultures. The European settlers moved to Africa and the western hemisphere where they colonized nations and spread their economical, cultural, political, and social ways of living to the indigenous people. This paper will seek to analyze the positives and negatives of western imperialism.

Western imperialism can be assessed by checking how the western ways of living have influenced many other indigenous nations and they have become the ways of living of these indigenous nations. The political, social, cultural, and economical lives of many of the nations where the European settlers spent their lives were completely changed and the new ways were adopted (Efraim 2007: p.109).

Positives of Western Imperialism

One of the impacts of the western imperialism is the way their culture spread and has been followed up to date. For example, the French and the English languages have been used extensively (Rehan 1998: p.1). This has enabled people from different parts of the world to speak similar languages and therefore can share so many things. Also, the education systems of the European settlers were adopted and are used up to date. Western imperialism has also led to globalisation where people from the whole world can enjoy products from any nation.

Legacy of Western Imperialism

Negatives of Western Imperialism

Western imperialism also has some negatives such as coups which came in their colonies after they left. The political systems that they established have been faced by difficulties and mismanagement leading to these coups. The colonial boundaries that they set have been sources of civil wars between some neighbouring nations and have led to intense loss of blood (Rehan 1998: p.)

Conclusion

The legacy of western imperialism led to many changes in the political, social, economic, and cultural lives of the individuals where the European settlers spent their lives. Western imperialism had positive impacts such as globalisation and spread of neutral languages that can be used by many in the world. It has also contributed to coups and civil wars between neighbouring nations over the colonial boundaries that were set.

Bibliography

Efraim, K. Islamic Imperialism: A History. London: Yale University Press, 2007. 108-110.

Rehan, R. Western Imperialism: Its causes and its Impact on the World, 1998. Retrieved on 22-Nov-09 from http://www.chowk.com/articles/4407