British Imperialism Overview Imperialism is when a world power colonizes a smaller country or kingdom, and then proceeds to exploit the land and resources of the kingdom or country. For much of the 18th century, imperialism was a dominant force in global relations. During the height of the Age of Imperialism, Queen Victoria and her British Empire dominated the world. British imperialism began in the late 1700s due to population growth and advances in technological industrialism that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. Areas imperialized by the British during this period include India, much of Africa, and Australia. The Industrial Revolution, a remarkable evolution in manufacturing technologies and specialized machinery, became a major cause of British imperialism. As the need for more advanced materials grew to support the Industrial Revolution, many nations sought foreign territories that could meet their rapidly growing demand. The Industrial Revolution allowed England to develop better weapons, such as breech-loading rifles and better ships, which helped conquer several territories. Additionally, the English began to colonize and take control of various countries because they provided new trade opportunities and increased revenue to the mainland. Religion and Social Darwinism played another major role in this global force, due to the belief that it was the “white man's burden” to colonize and “modernize” the rest of the world they considered developmentally inferior. Furthermore, the concept of Social Darwinism Darwinism only grew as the exploration of the world rapidly advanced. Social Darwinism is a perversion of the scientific concept of natural selection applied to reality....... middle of paper....... The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.Marshall, Peter. "The British Presence in India in the Eighteenth Century". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/east_india_01.shtml (accessed 4 April 2014). Nayar, Pramod K.. Colonial gives voice to the discourses of empire. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.Proudfoot, Lindsay J. and Dianne Hall. Imperial spaces placing the Irish and Scots in colonial Australia. Manchester: Manchester University Press:, 2011. Spielvogel, Jackson J.. Glencoe world history: modern times. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2005. Streets, Heather. "The Rebellion of 1857: Origins, Consequences and Themes". South Dakota State University. http://www.sdstate.edu/projectsouthasia/Resources/upload/The-Rebellion-of-1857-Streets.pdf (accessed April 6, 2014).