Imperialism Simulation

Imperialism is over, but the Europeans continue to interact a great deal with the Latin American countries. The two continents almost act as friends and business partners now. Shocking as it may seem, right after the Europeans were kicked out, they came right back in and ran a monopoly with all the Latin American markets. This was not a very bright idea considering the fact that the Europeans were just booted out; to come right back in and antagonize the Latin Americans was a mistake. Despite gaining their independence, imperialism did not end for the Latin American countries because of the Europeans’ unending and persistent struggle to once again control Latin America.

Although the Peninsulares were removed from their position in the Latin American countries and returned to their homes, social classes remained appealingly much the same to the lower classes. The lower classes felt as though they were still at the bottom. The only immense change amongst the social classes was that anybody and everybody was now a step higher on the social ladder. The Creoles took the place of the Peninsulares, and performed the same line of work as them. It was unfortunate for the Natives, who were still trapped at the bottom of the social chain, to be continuously ruled in this unorthodox fashion. Another effect on social organization was the fact that the majority of the government officials were still the rich citizens in town. By gaining their independence, the Natives expected to change this unjust way of operating a society. What they got is what they least expected to be done; nothing. Despite seeing no apparent change in these two previously mentioned points, this next point shows an overwhelming change. The overwhelming majority of the Natives in the Latin American countries were Christian by the time the Europeans had left; their missionaries had converted most of the Natives to Christianity before they left. All of the Native’s bloodletting had ceased after this change, which affected their lives forever. Not only was social organization influenced in the Latin American countries, but many other changes also occurred all throughout the retreat of Imperialist influence from these poor, beaten up countries.

Even though the Europeans were gone, they really weren’t gone at all; they had just taken a different form. The Europeans were now back in Latin America, and back in action. The Latin American countries attempted to produce their own goods, but were unsuccessful because they could never produce enough of them. The Europeans ran the markets like a monopoly. The Latin Americans would produce a product, and then put it on the market. The Europeans would then find out about it, and put out a similar type of product but at a cheaper price. The Europeans would flood the market with this cheaper merchandise and would be willing to take a loss in the beginning because they knew that in the end, they would take total control over the market for that product and would have all the business and profits for it. The Latin Americans couldn’t afford to do this, and thus were sold out of the market. With this happening as often as it did, the Natives became so dependent on the Europeans for most of their material needs, that they were willing to pay any price for them. Although the Europeans were gone physically, they really weren’t gone at all; they still controlled the innocent Latin American countries economically.

Latin American countries attempted to modernize, but were cut short because they just didn’t have the money. Because they didn’t possess the money, the Europeans came in and started companies and businesses. These companies and businesses were usually large in size, and created many jobs for the natives producing goods and products needed by most people. The Latin Americans assumed that they could also make a bundle of money by creating their own companies. Unfortunately though, these eager citizens hadn’t hardly any money to start with, and were forced to take out loans from the Europeans; many of which could ultimately not be paid off. With these outstanding debts, the Latin Americans were forced to work under the Europeans, revealing the true strength of the Europeans. Now with great debts on their hands, the citizens of Latin America were being forced to furnish the European demands for more political power. Despite their own efforts to help modernize and revolutionize Latin America, the unruly Europeans still managed to greatly manipulate the Latin American countries in many ways. Despite gaining their independence, the Europeans’ economic, social, and political intervention with the Latin American countries failed to halt. Once more, desperate times emerged posing a whole new line of problems replacing the old ones.

The greatest mistake that the Europeans made in this matter was to come back in the first place, and to manipulate the Latin American countries even more. It was a very beneficial move on the Europeans’ side, but it didn’t please the Natives too much. If anything, gaining their independence only increased the amount of European control over the Latin Americans. Although, now the control was almost entirely economic, and not hardly political any more. The Europeans left once, but came back for another round of manipulation on Latin America and all the Natives in it. How do you suppose the Natives will handle this matter?

Other posts on imperialism:

What is Imperialism
The Effects of Imperialism on Foreign Lands
British Imperialism: South Africa
Imperialism Simulation
Historical Review: 20th Century Yugoslavia