EMPIRES IN THE PACIFIC By the beginning of the 20 century, great changes had occurred around the world. Steamships and railroads made transportation and trade faster. The telegraph made long-distance communication easier. Many new inventions brought the growth of factories and industry, and industrialized countries were building empires in what would become known as the “Age of Imperialism.” There were many reasons for imperialism in the late 19 and early 20 centuries. Growing industries needed raw materials and wanted more people to buy their products. Countries wanted power and competed for control of less powerful nations. Cheap land in faraway places offered business opportunities. Soldiers and soldiers of fortune wanted adventure in distant lands. Racism caused countries to want to control “savages” and bring Christianity to the aborigines in places like Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. Whatever the reasons, strong empires grew as smaller and many weaker nations were overpowered. By the early 1900s a handful of countries controlled most of the Pacific region. Britain owned the Cook Islands, New Guinea, New Zealand, Fiji, the Solomons, and the Gilbert Islands. France ruled the Marquesas and Tahiti, and Germany had the Marianas, Carolines, the Marshall Islands, and Samoa. The U. S. controlled Hawaii, the Midway Islands, Guam, and the Philippines, and Japan ruled Taiwan (then Formosa). Although World War I and II brought added changes, many Pacific nations remained linked to the countries that controlled them.
!PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION!
How do you think empires and their related racist attitudes toward aboriginal people impacted the cultures of the Pacific Islands? Explain your answer.