As other educators have clarified in detail the causal relationship between industrialization and economic colonialism, let’s start by looking at the distinction you make about the question of “empire.” An imperialist system of government is certainly interested in dominating a foreign nation for opening new trade markets and extracting resources. And it is also true that throughout history, technological advance with new materials and methods, as well as new production capabilities, have always driven exploration and conquest.
Yet, since the apex of the industrial revolution with the late nineteenth century’s perfection of large-scale steel manufacturing for railroads, naval vessels, and mechanized weaponry, the most advanced industrial states, like the UK, US, Japan, and Germany, began to pursue a more aggressive and militaristic agenda.
Beyond the traditional economic or religious justifications for colonialization, modern capabilities had given the global powers new might, extending the reach of their dominance further than had previously been feasible. The convergence of the new technological and productive know-how with the typical colonialist ideology of dehumanizing supremacism ushered in a new era of military-industrial imperialism that defined the global order until the end of World War II. In 1898, the United States defeated the old Spanish empire to take control of the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, allowing the American military to begin to establish its lingering presence in strategic regions of the world. Not unlike the British in India, China, and Southeast Asia, the muscular American imperialist policy was based in notions of a Christian “civilizing” mission bestowing democracy on a “backwards” people.
Even more overtly militaristic than the Americans was the Japanese Empire, whose rapidly advanced industrial capability emboldened the island nation to seize control of parts of China, Russia, and all of Korea. Meanwhile, the German industrial state fueled its imperialist expansion into China and Africa, and its technological and organizational advantages would lead to its menacing Europe in the runup to both the First and Second World Wars.
There is a straight line between industrialization and imperialism. Industrialization allows a large number of goods to be produced quickly, cheaply, and efficiently. However, the population of a given nation can only absorb so many goods, so supply can quickly outstrip demand. For example, people don't need twelve vacuum cleaners or 1,500 shirts, even if factories can produce these quantities. Oversupply becomes a problem. A second problem is the need for raw materials to turn into finished goods.
Realizing they could not continue to grow without expanding their markets and finding more sources of raw materials, European and other advanced industrial nations began to look around the world for cheap resources and new markets. The strong countries realized they could use their military superiority to take control of weaker governments, which is what imperialism is. The controlling nation would then force the weaker governments to sell the "mother country" raw materials cheaply and compel them to buy their goods at high prices.
For example, European nations discovered they could take over...
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large land areas in Africa very easily through the use of the newly invented machine gun. This allowed them access to cheap raw materials, such as rubber, while providing captive markets for their goods. Imperialism helped enrich European and other industrially advanced nations at the expense of the rest of the world.
A previous contributor has already discussed the economic incentives for imperialism. In addition to those points, however, it would also be worth discussing the ways in which imperialism actually enabled imperialism to proceed.
Be aware, when we call something a revolution, we tend to be referring to the dramatic turning points in history—for example, the Neolithic Revolution represented the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to agrarian ones; more recently, one can point towards the information revolution (microchips, the internet, etc: think how much the world has changed just within the last few decades). The Industrial Revolution, which represents the transition from an agrarian economy (based in agriculture) to an industrial economy, represents another one of those fundamental turning points. This dramatically increased the power which industrialized nations could exert.
Industrialization brought about technological advancement. One can observe this in the acceleration of weapons' technology through the nineteenth century and into the twentieth: the steam engine brought about a switch from wind powered navies to steam powered navies. Additionally, one can point towards advancements in artillery and firearms. Furthermore, one should consider advances in communications as well, particularly as they apply to logistics: for example, think about the practical applications of railroads, telegraph lines, steamships again, etc. Militarily, economically, politically: the effects of industrialization were extensive, and these impacts themselves had a major role in supporting and enabling imperial expansion.
Industrialization led to imperialism for several reasons. When industries began to develop in various countries, there were several things that were necessary. One of those things was the need for resources. Industrialized countries found they were able to obtain cheaper resources from their colonies than from other countries. Thus, countries wanted to gain colonies so they could obtain the resources needed in their industries.
Another factor showing how industrialization contributed to imperialism is that the industrialized countries needed places where they could sell their products. The colonies were a great place for these countries to sell their finished products. The industrialized countries knew they could rely on their colonies to buy the finished products made in their industries. This helped promote imperialism.
Having colonies allowed a country to protect its world trade. Alfred Mahan, in his book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History: 1660-1783, argued countries that are world powers must be able to protect their trade. Having colonies allowed these countries to have bases around the world where their ships, both military and commercial, could stop, refuel, and resupply. If a war were to occur, the countries could also use their colonies as a base from where they could conduct military operations.
The growth of industries enhanced the need for countries to become imperialistic. Establishing colonies and the growth of industries were related.
Why did industrialization lead to imperialism?
Industrialization is the process by which a society moves from being primarily agricultural to largely based on production and manufacturing. Although industrialization and imperialism tend to overlap and intersect, one does not always lead to the other. In fact, there are many examples of pre-industrial societies invading, occupying, and annexing other territories for reasons other than economics. Nevertheless, over the last two hundred years or so, imperialist policies have frequently been intertwined with industrial ambitions.
In US history, these two aspects of society have had a strong influence on the ways in which the nation was formed. For example, the mechanization of labor in the late 18th and early 19th centuries meant that agricultural and manufacturing output could be increased, giving the nation more economic power and influence in global trade. In order to grow that power and influence, many in positions of authority sought more land and resources in order to expand production. As a result, the US government began to negotiate with the Native peoples that occupied territories in the South, West, and Midwest. When these negotiations stalled or failed, the federal government exerted considerable pressure and force to remove the Native inhabitants and take over the land for settlement and expanded production.
In the case of the US, the power acquired from industrialization led to a need and or desire for more land to increase agricultural and manufacturing productivity. In order to gain access to that land and its resources, the government exerted force on the people that lived there and eventually drove them out in order to grow their empire.
Why did industrialization lead to imperialism?
There are two ways in which industrialization led to imperialism. First, industrialization made imperialism more possible. Second, it made imperialism more necessary.
Industrialization helped make it possible for European countries (along with the US and, later, Japan) to engage in imperialism. When these countries industrialized, they gained the ability to created large numbers of powerful weapons. They could, for example, build massive steamships with huge guns. They could mass-produce small arms for foot soldiers to carry. Because they could make so many weapons that were so powerful, they were able to dominate other people and imperialize them.
Industrialization also made it necessary (or made the Europeans think it was necessary) to engage in imperialism. As these countries industrialized, they started to need sources of raw materials. They also started to need larger markets in which to sell all the goods they could produce. They felt that they had to have empires to fulfill both of these needs. They believed they needed empires from which they could get raw materials cheaply. They believed they needed empires whose people could be a captive market for their manufactured goods. In these ways, they felt that industrialization necessitated imperialism.
Thus, industrialization led to imperialism by making imperialism both more possible and more necessary.
Further Reading
How did the industrial revolution help lead to imperialism?
The Industrial Revolution was a forerunner of imperialism in a number of ways. First of all, when a country industrialised, it needed a cheap and steady supply of raw materials, like cotton and iron. The best way to do this was to colonize countries where these materials could be easily sourced, like cotton from the West Indies, for example. Once the cotton had been turned into textiles, newly-colonized countries provided another market in which to sell them, thereby increasing imperial profits.
Imperialism also allowed these industrial countries to control the flow of trade. The Suez Canal in Egypt is a great example: by colonising this area, Britain had possession of one of the world's most strategic trading points because it was the most direct means of accessing Asia from Europe.
Finally, imperialism enabled rich, industrialised countries to show off their wealth and superiority. Driven by nationalist pride, countries like Britain, the U.S., and France, sought new lands to conquer which they could add to their list of great achievements.
Further Reading
How did the Industrial Revolution lead to the new imperialism?
The Industrial Revolution included the emergence of new military, transportation, and communications technologies that dramatically changed the global balance of power. These new technologies led directly to the new wave of European colonial conquests, and for this reason historians often call them “the tools of imperialism.”
They included breech-loading rifles; iron hulled ships; telegraph lines and underwater cables; dynamite; Maxim machine guns; light, quick-firing artillery; and smokeless gunpowder. They also included quinine treatment for malaria, which substantially diminished the mortality rate from this disease among European soldiers and in this way made it possible for them to explore and conquer the interior of Africa.
Maxim machine guns produced terrible devastation in the ranks of African forces armed mostly with cold weapons and smoothbore muskets. For example, in the key battle of Omdurman (1898) in Sudan, the British and Egyptian forces killed more than ten thousand Mahdi rebels while losing only a few dozen soldiers on their own side. Similarly, Maxim machine guns destroyed the brave Matabele warriors who fought against the British in South Africa.
Iron-hulled ships armed with guns made possible the safe and effective exploration of African interior by such waterways as the Congo River. Telegraph connections enabled European authorities to monitor developments and send help wherever and whenever it was needed.
When the Ethiopians were able to defeat an Italian invasion force in the battle of Adwa, they did so because they possessed a substantial quantity of modern weapons and had trained themselves in their use. Thus, while this was an exception it nonetheless confirmed the primary role of new industrial technology.
New weapons and means of communication likewise played an important role in colonial wars in Asia. For example, the European forces used their new technologies to defeat the Boxer Uprising in China.