Europe and the New World
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1. The "discovery" of the "New World" profoundly transformed European life in a number of ways. In terms of natural resources, the new world provided Europe with riches which in turn led to development and expansion of European governments and civilization. The exploits, discoveries and/or conquests of Columbus, Cortes, Pizarro and others resulted in land acquisition for European governments which altered the way Europeans viewed the world---they saw it, essentially, as theirs to use however they wished. These uses focused on military expansion: "From the middle of the [sixteenth] century, the annual treasure fleets sailing to Spain [from the new world] became the financial bedrock of Philip II's war against the Muslim Turks and the Protestant Dutch and English" (Perry, Vol. I, 332-333). The new world also provided the Europeans with the opportunity to spread Christianity and to deepen their view that their religion and culture were meant to shape the entire world. The men who carried out such exploits in the new world were rewarded at home in ways which deepened the control of the land and people by the rich: "The conquerors . . . obtained . . . [land] grants from the Crown. . . . In return, they gained the power to extract labor and tribute from the peasant masses, who were worked beyond their capacity" (Perry, Vol I, 334). Because of these changes which resulted primarily in an intensification of the social, political and economic divisions between the haves and have-not
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ory (Perry, Sources, 135).
Again, it can be argued that these "improvements" resulted ultimately in an exploitive socioeconomic system which ravaged the environment and, in Marxist terms, alienated man from his work, from other men, and from himself.
The lower and working classes in the midst of industrialism suffered, but the industrialists profited, and the middle class became able to take advantage of new economic and other possibilities: "The Industrial Revolution dramatically altered political and social life . . . especially for the middle class, whose engagement in capitalist ventures brought greater political power and social recognition" (Perry, Sources, 135).
Another change which increased suffering for the poor working class was the creation of urban misery. Child labor created slaves out of youth, and, as Engels writes,
it is only when [a person] has visited the slums of this great city that the inhabitants of modern London have had to sacrifice so much that is best in human nature in order to create those wonders of civilisation with which their city teems (Perry, Sources, 148).
3. As with industrialism, the evaluation of imperialism depends on whether one was an imperialist or a member of the exploited. From the
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Approximate Word count = 2027
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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