RISKy Geography

Geography was a major factor in determining the outcome of the 19th century. It was geography that first prompted expansion, determined the outcome of attempts at it, and that then necessitated further colonization and imperialism to support the expansion.
The industrial revolution created a need for raw materials that Europe for the most part could not supply. This was because of the physical geography of Europe, which was not only naturally small, but also not ideal for certain types of agricultural needs. Europe exported the making, mining and farming of raw materials to places better suited for each need, fueling the economy.
Of course, expansion into the lands of other peoples necessitated either a peaceful agreement, or a successful conquering army. As seen in our RISK game, peaceful conquering requires mutual cultural understanding. Because Europe is relatively isolated from the rest of the world by various large bodies of water, a peaceful takeover was much more difficult. This forced EUrope to resort to force, the effectiveness of which was, of course, greatly affected by geography. The farther the trip, the more difficult it is to carry weaponry, as you can only put so much metal and so many people on a ship before it sinks. WHile the Europeans may have developed faster, fancier ships, they still couldn't just hop over oceans, so if reinforcements or supplies of any kind were needed, you had to wait the length of TWO trips across the sea: one to deliver the message, one to actually bring the stuff. And once a land was colonized, it was very separate from its now-leaders, and so more difficult to control, which I think is one of the reasons Europe lost its grip on so many colonies in the 20th century. Nobody likes being colonized, but the Europeans sure liked to colonize others.
Once they started, they couldn't stop. It was the eternal quest for power, and became something just short of an addiction for all Eurpoeans, from the leaders to ordinary "folks back home." But it wasn't only the quest for power: Europe had a stronger need for expansion. As you may have noticed, in terms of land-mass, Europe is pretty small for the amount of countries it contains. As a quote from Strayer says, "If you wish to avoid civil war, then you must become an imperialist." Europe was so small that the issue of where to put everyone began to arise; so naturally the already-colonists turned towards the rest of the world to live in. If Erope hadn't been so small, it is doubtful so many people would have felt the need to leave in order to have the space to do as they needed.
If the world was flat and even, with no real geography, countries would expand the way trees grow: by adding layers at a time. But because of the presence of oceans, mountains, and other such barriers, and the various benefits of certain parts of the globe as opposed to others, the globe was colonized in seemingly random patterns, with colonies from India to the Americas to the Southern tip of Africa. Just as colonialism defines the history of many countries, geography defines the history of colonialism.

The importance of geography in the 19th century

Geography plays a key role in imperialism during the 19th century, its placement, effectiveness, and consequences. Resources and their geographical accessibility determined the success of imperialists and the imperialized alike, along with both of their nations as a whole. Depending on geography, European imperialists could access different resources and ship them back to their motherland. Fertility and landscaping essentially directed the course of imperialistic success, an advantageous circumstance to either the imperialists or the imperialized, depending on the situation.

However, aside from resources and economic drive, geography plays a key role in nationalism, a new fad developed especially during the 19th century. While Europeans countries intruded Asian and African territories, nationalistic status altered for both sides. As we observed in our game of RISK, nationalism weakens when countries expand their domain. On the contrary, victimized nations pack together more when imperialized, creating a more likely atmosphere for nationalism. In other words, imperialism not only opened economic doors, but also highlighted the importance and power of nationalism. Nationalism is arguably the reason why European nations are currently not present in Asian or African countries anymore - the nationalistic power of these imperialized nations was too strong to permanently control. Cultural geography evidently shapes this nationalism as people of a similar goal unite and fend off intruders. Therefore, geography acts in roles beyond the limits of physical landscaping; nations and their populations have united under the boundaries of their geography, both culturally and physical.

RISKy Geography and the WORLD

Geography played a massive role in the balance of world domination in both our class game of RISK and the late 19th century. In the real world, every country had some sort of commodity to offer to the rest of the world, one that would be in demand because it was a luxury good. The goal of the more powerful countries was to try to get as many of these goods in their power. However, this need for more power over different territories was like a double edged sword. On one side, the country with the most colonized territories had the most resources and therefore the most power, but on the other side, the more the countries spread, the easier they became to attack. Its essentially an competition between imperialism and nationalism. A country has to decide whether it is more important to have to be unstable, but have more resources, or to be more stable in a smaller area. In our game of RISK, it was nationalism that won out. When armies were spread to thin, they because easier to defeat. The countries that won were the ones that stayed in one place and only spread outwards along their own boarders so that their views stayed in the same order. Of course, there is a time when countries become two prosperous for their own good and they have to spread, but there are certain ways of going about doing it, depending on how the government wants the country to succeed. As far as internal happiness goes, the government should vote in the way of nationalism and taking over closer countries, but of course, when people get greedy, its all about taking over the country with the best resources, regardless of whether or not they are across an ocean.

Geography's Role in Nationalism and Imperialism

Geography's effect on imperialism and nationalism is more notable in real life than the game of RISK. Most importantly, the resources that regions have effect what they do with neighboring regions. Nations may want to conquer certain regions because of the resources that will help them. There is an interesting relationship between Imperialism and Nationalism. In one sense, they go together because people have pride in their country when there is Imperialistic success. For example, I personally would be very proud if America were to conquer other countries and expand its culture through neighboring regions. I love the United States as it is, but I would be even happier with my country if it were to be even more successful from an Imperialism standpoint. On the other hand, it is very difficult to keep a country unified as it expands. When countries take over other countries, it is nearly impossible for the new people to immediately be happy and proud of their country. It is hard even for them to truly be a part of the nation because they are coming in from a different background and different political and social views. This is the case that we saw mostly from our risk game. It was very difficult to be successful with Nationalism and Imperialism because when your territory expanded to other continents, nationalism went down. (One difference between RISK and real life was that in real life people could understand the consequences of expanding, because they are not told in the MIDDLE OF THE GAME ) :)

Geography in the 19th Century

Through our Risk game and the reading, obtaining a lot of land was very popular because of the benefits of this. When countries obtained new land, they not only gained wealth through exporting goods, but they also helped unite their country.

Imperialism in Europe during the 19th century could be viewed as a game just like our class game of Risk. There were rivalries between nations and some nations like Italy and Germany were allies. Most nations were conquered for the resources there, but there were some useless land masses which were conquered anyway to show that the country that conquered that was superior to the other European countries. As Nicole said in her post, it was like two little children comparing the size of their pile or rocks. Both in our game and in the 19th century, quantity was important not quality. For example, Alaska is the largest state in the USA. But there really aren't that many people there, nor are there any many jobs. New York has a lot more people because the quality of life is better here than Alaska, but is a lot smaller than Alaska. In the 19th century, the countries would have rather conquered Alaska than New York. Having more land than a rival country gave a sense of national pride to the citizens.

Also, European countries conquered smaller and weaker nations and exerted their superiority not only in wealth, but they felt they were better because of their race, religion, and skin color. This also increased the pride of the European people.

A World of Possibility

The pressures of a surging imperialism supported by nationalism, pushed Europe to compete for land mass in a world-wide game of RISK. Viewpoints of the time gave the people the indifference to see these lands as mere acquisitions, the political, economical, and human aspects of the issue an afterthought in the face of competition with fellow countries. Like children bickering over who has the bigger pile of rocks, they accumulated the world because of an insatiable need to outdo each other. For this reason, the political geography of the globe became increasingly important to the people of France, Germany, and England (the biggest land collectors). Even without the positive effects of colonization, useless land masses were seen as desirable acquisitions because the people needed to feel that progress was being made somehow, be it through expansion or economy. Ownership over large territories, seemed to them a sensible way to measure power, even if the people of those territories held no loyalties with or pride in the country that had conquered them.
Cultural geography also played a role in inflating Europeans' views of themselves. Though they came into contact with many populous and powerful cultures, difference in religious view allowed Europeans to argue a superiority to these other peoples. Differences too in race and geography were used as further evidence of this belief. In all, geography was what permit Europeans to see themselves as the rightful powers of the world, and have the duty to educate (suppress) the rest of the peoples of earth.

The Importance of Geography in the 19th Century World

To European countries, geography became the way to judge a country in the 19th century. Not only was physical geography involved, but social and political geography as well.

The more land a country was in control of, the more powerful it was. For example, before the 19th century, African societies were considered nations. During the 19th century, the Europeans considered them primal tribes lead by primal chiefs. European countries often conquered land even if there was no or little value. To them, it was necessary to demonstrate their power. Being in control of colonies was necessary not only for power, but also satisfied the people from the European countries. Political geography came into play when a country had land around the world. Not only did they have control within their country borders, but also in places across seas. This was advantageous politically because the colonies had goods that the Europeans did not have. Social geography was a major factor in the 19th century. The Europeans considered themselves (white people) the superior race. Scientists measure sculls, and "concluded" that the white people had the biggest sculls, and therefore the bigger brains. As part of colonization, the stronger power took it upon themselves to "help" the people from the colonized country. They would care for the sick, give clothes to the naked, bring Christianity to them, and suppress their native culture. The Europeans believed that they were doing good and making "progress," but they were destroying people's culture. This fits in well with our RISK game. When a team colonized a country, the people would change into one of them. A green or red soldier would become a blue or gray soldier, and fight for the colonizing country.

The image above represents an Englishman and a Frenchman cutting into slices of the globe to take on their plate.