The Rise of Economic Imperialism

The agricultural influence and power of raw materials shifted away from Asia and Latin America to industrialized states such as Britain, the United States, France, Japan, and Germany between the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Economic imperialism, a situation in which foreign business interests have great economic power or influence, developed as businesses took advantage of natural resources beyond their borders. People, raw materials, and refined materials were the main resources exploited. Cash crops and mineral resources were produced on a large scale. As in the colonial era of the 15th to the 18th centuries, colonial powers served their own economic interests by turning colonies into export economies that produced goods not for domestic use but to be sent to colonial powers to sell for profit.