Causation in the Imperial Age

Industrial capitalism caused significant developments between 1750 to 1900.

The manufacturing capacity of industrialized nations caused an increase in the availability, affordability, and variety of both capital (financial assets) and consumer goods. However, this increased industrial capacity also led to an increased demand for natural resources—“the conquest of the earth”—to use in manufacturing these goods. Additionally, domestic markets soon became saturated, leading industrialized nations to seek out foreign markets to soak up the excess production. Competition for these markets increased among industrialized economies, especially those in the West. To reduce competition and increase profits, Western nations continued to look to empire-building, begun in the previous era, as a solution to these challenges.

Ninetheenth-century imperialism also caused significant effects, including increased migration, the rise of independence movements within the colonies, and increased political and economic rivalry among Western European nations that would lead to catastrophic events in the early 20th century.