Western Expansionism the benefits and pitfalls
Someone once said success has a price, while prosperity has a value.When comparing this statement with the benefits and pitfalls of Westernexpansionism, it is easy to conclude that in many cases the price that wasstipulated by overpowering Western expansionism was indeed too high for theinnocent. In many cases, those who were the target of Western expansionismwere forced to accept, by the ruling and ruthless hand that forced it uponthem, a Western imperialism which was never desired or requests. Whenlooking at benefits and negatives of the prosperity of Westernexpansionism, it is fair to say that expansionism's value for Europeannations, in all probability, did not fairly equate to the inflated pricethat the innocent were forced to pay. It is not my intention in this paper to solely express only one sideof Western expansionism, although I do believe that history has given usnumerous examples of the pitfalls of Western Expansionism. These includethe slaughter of the Aztecs that occurred when the Spaniards feared thegrowing Aztec resistance. The Spanish expeditions under the command ofHernan Cortez massacred many Aztecs at Cholula and pillaged the city, a
However, today much of the expansionismof the United States appears to be occurring at a cultural level. Today, countries like the United States and Canada are clearexamples of countries that have high standards of living that may beattributed to the expansionist tendencies of Britain, France, and Spain. A similar loss of culture, religion, and language has occurred within thepopulation of Australian Aboriginals after the advent of Westernexpansionism. It is also possible that Western expansionism brought some realbenefits to those people who were the targets of Western expansionism. It is my personal ethical stance that expansionism, if carried outwith the right purpose, could be beneficial to all involved. In conclusion, the benefits of Western expansionism seem to be faroutweighed by the pitfalls that expansionism brings to its targets. It has even been argued that the American war in Iraq simply represents amodern-day American expansionism. Examples of this abound, including the loss of Native Americancultures, languages, and religions already alluded to earlier in the paper. ism that was mirrored by the Spanish genocidethat occurred with attacks on the native population of Cuba. Smallpox epidemics andthe advent of western diseases like chicken pox and measles decimated thenative populations of North America who had little or no natural immunityto these diseases, and settlers and governments forced native populationsoff their traditional lands. It appears that the Empire was the one to reallybenefit from expansionism, while the conquered suffered the oppression ofthe Empire. Americanmusic and capitalism are sweeping the globe, even if the American militaryis not necessarily actively pursuing expansionism in all areas of theglobe. Based solely on thehistory of Western expansionism, it seems to be human nature to try toexpand the economic influence of a country or territory. Whileit is true that today Canada and the United States are prosperous nations,this prosperity has largely come to the descendants of the colonialistpowers, rather than to the Native American groups that were the targets ofthis expansionism. While Canada is a long way away from adopting theseislands as their 11th province, it appears that there is a great deal ofinterest from both sides in the idea.
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