What Motivated Western Nations to Seek Control of Territories/Markets - Paper Example

Introduction

Economic reasons played a significant role in the expansion of the markets. By 1870, it was evident that European nations needed to expand their markets globally so they would sell the goods that had no local market. Expansion of territories was one way out. Having colonies were essential for military power, political leaders felt the need to expand their territories due to national security, nationalism and their military might. Religious reasons played a big role in pushing the nations to expand their rule overseas. Westerners believed that Europe should civilize their brothers overseas and help establish law, Christianity and western medicine. Civilization was seen more of a moral obligation and many Christians accepted to take the task (Lugard, 1983).

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Economic wise, the western industries had expanded and thus they needed more markets for their goods, on the other hand, there was a need to get raw materials for the home industries. Western nations also acted as a source of investment. Backed up by technology, it was easy to venture into an area that they desired. The new medicine, especially against malaria, new weapons and better transportation methods, meant that it was possible to venture into areas that were previously impenetrable.

In the book, "The Rise of our East African Empire" by captain F Lugard (1983), Lugard states that it is only a matter of time before the east African territory shows high returns. Lugard states that imports and exports can best be assessed from the region. To best gain from the region, the European masters required possession of the local language and they would be able to exploit the most from it.

Penetration to the overseas nations was through religion, trade and upright use of force. For instance, in Asian nations such as India, trade was used and eventually, the nations were colonized. Religion was used in most of the African nations where from religious grounds; the colonizers were able to get hold of the region's resources. Force was applied to those who resisted the new masters (Lugard, 1983).

Through this, the western nations were able to accumulate too much wealth, for instance, king leopard of Belgium had access to much wealth and declared Congo a personal property. Christianity, western technology, medicine and law was taught to the colonized nations. On the other, many ended up dead, this was due to the strange diseases or a result of resistance.

Effect of the War on England

At the height of the war, operation unthinkable was ordered by the then Prime Minister PM Winston Churchill that planned a direct strike on the Soviet Union. This is one of the biggest effects of the war that had to be quickly brought to a halt due to the then under the power of the nation. At the time, there would have been unthinkable destruction for the UK, both on capital and human resources, the nation had not been able to put up with Germany forces, therefore, Russia was enough to create a bigger damage to the nation (John, 1972). Since the UK had been a member of NATO, it had to heavily invest in defence on all its wings as other nations did. Any attack on NATO members meant that all nations would be dragged into the war.

The government was also at stake, it considered rebuilding the chemical weapons arsenal in order to face the Soviet threat. Throughout the war, secret meetings were held and it was evident that the nation had no possible response to a possible chemical weapons attack and the way out was to retaliate with nuclear weapons. The imbalance of power meant that Russia had an upper hand in case the war broke out, with lots of strategic positions to hit; the nation had to seek a way to recover or mitigate the threat (Wilson Archive, 1962). Public awareness was also rife, fear that a chemical attack was imminent and that the Soviet Union had an upper hand made Britain considering building chemical shelters that would protect the citizens (John, 1972).

The threat was global, for instance, in the American domestic life; people were building bomb shelters in the backyards. Attack drills were practised in school and all public places. Furthermore, there was a crop up of films that depicted the disastrous effects of a possible war. Mutant creatures were featured and over time, the practice was copied by England. It became evident that the possibility of a threat happening was real and thus, it was important for everyone to be ready for such a threat.

With the full force of the war, England had to seek alternative ways that it could use to divert the attention of the Soviet. One was through planning and using guerilla forces to help keep the Soviet busy and also weaken their forces, through the Yugoslavia guerilla packs, Britain army units were used to aid the partisans.

In the telegram sent by the Soviet ambassador to Cuba, it is evident that the Soviet was creating stronger forces globally thus increasing the threat to NATO. An excerpt from the telegram said, "Regarding the provocations, the influence of the Soviet Union had grown in Cuba unlike before, and the relation with the leaders strengthened even more". The creation of stronger ties with other third world nations was more evident. Citizens who were aware of the prevailing conditions were psychologically prepared for a war (Presidential Library, 1952).

From the Truman library, an open piece of information shows that there was a feeling that the soviet union intended to control more areas in eastern Europe through affecting the recovery of the nations after war, they stated that, "they felt that the real Soviet purpose in the Berlin matter was to disrupt the recovery of the western zone and therefore affect the recovery of the entire European nation. With the disruption of England recovery and more focus on the impending war, the Soviets managed to achieve their purpose as more resources were directed to the much-needed defence.

Movement of People, Refugees and Immigrants in the Post War Period

Before the war came to an end, the majority of the people had even fled westwards, even though majority died in the Baltic Sea as the overloaded ships that they were in sunk. Food supply in the majority of the cities broke down by the end of the war, with this; people were forced to eat human flesh offered as fried meatballs. Due to the harsh human conditions, all the Germans in the city had been driven out by 1949 (Wasserstein, 2018). The Germans living in Poland owned farms and houses that were taken over by the poles. The Germans were put in camps and driven out of the country in open carts. Czechoslovakia had more than 2.2 million Germans expelled and even more dumped over the frontier (Wasserstein, 2018). More Germans went to the American occupation zone or the Soviet area. 60,000 Germans managed to flee from Hungary, after the war, the Hungarian government ordered that population to leave. Many Germans were sent to labour camps while others managed to remain in Germany.

According to the narration given by the "German expellee from Czechoslovakia," Germans were moved against their own will, for instance, in Poland, they were considered intruders and they had to be taken back to their homeland. With the confiscation of their property and the imminent death threats, the best response was to flee, in Czechoslovakia, the living conditions were inhuman. There was no food and they were at risk of eating or being eaten as meatballs by other humans. Eventually, to avoid going into camps and forced labour, leaving was the best option.

In the post, "A German Expellee from Czechoslovakia", it is evident that their presence was not welcome. The author states the amount of luggage that they were allowed to hold, the poor conditions that they lived in, the imminent risk of death that they faced and the hate that they received. In one instance, he explained how he was taken away and beaten simply because he was German. A priest was not able to support pass water to his parents who were under the scorching sun. the narrator states "...I got through this part with a little difficulty, had they found the money, I would have been whipped...," (A German Expellee from Czechoslovakia) this only explains the fear that they lived with, coupled with the inhuman conditions that they faced, the post-war period may not have been the best for the Germans.

Impact of the Cold War

The war hangs around the world for over forty years, it created a hostile environment where every ideological side wanted to create dominance across the globe. With the onset of the war, a deadly arms race kicked off. For instance, England was considering creating chemical weapons in case of an attack (Engell, 2018). In 1949, the Soviets created and tested an atom bomb; this triggered the United States to state that they would build an even bigger and destructive weapon to counter what the Soviets had. With the creation of the hydrogen bomb, the war threat was really forcing people to practice bomb drills and the creation of bomb shelters in the backyards.

The height of the cold war brought about the space war, the space race was an essential part of the cold war since it was a show of might. For instance, in an effort to prove to the world that the communist was capable of bringing in some advanced technological development, the soviet union build the first spacecraft (Engell, 2018). The United States, on the other hand, founded the national space agency and successfully landed on the moon, thereby taking the lead in the race.

The cold war caused massive Human suffering, in Korea and Vietnam; millions lost their lives, both civilians and the military members. The harsh confrontation between the two nations brought about the missile crisis, the Americans deployed their missiles in countries neighbouring the Soviet Union especially turkey and Italy. On the other hand, Soviet ballistic missiles were deployed to Cuba. There was too much tension and a nuclear war was imminent.

From Truman's library, it is evident that the nations kept many secrets, signed several treaties and sought for confidentiality in all their undertakings (John, 1972). The author states, "...It was top secret. The British sent a small group over, mostly civilian. There were one or two military advisers. We had a small group, and there were the Canadians...the French had not been invited..." (John, 1972) The war brought about the need for secrecy, nations were careful not to let their plans known and to avoid the breakage of a war. For instance, if the Soviet Union discovered the vulnerable position that England was in, it would not have hesitated to attack. In the report to the national executive council, the writer shows the need to have strategic resources that would help them easily win a war. In the report, the high emphasis was given to the nations which are Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Jordan and the Arab Emirates. Their oil reserves and their location served as an important transport hub. The report stated, "the area comprising the Arab states and Israel has great political and strategic importance; it lies at the land, sea and air crossroads of the three continents..."

Too much spending on the military by the Soviet Union brought about the collapse of their economy. The recession was quick and the best way out was to dismantle the existing military bases and close the production facilities in the nation. With this, millions of people were left unemployed and the financial crisis worsened. The collapse of communism brought about the end of the cold war (Engell, 2018).

Why and How the Cold War Came To an End

When Mikhail Gorbachev assumed power in 1985, he brought forth an unprecedented revolution. He advocated for openness and thus allowed the nation to have...