The Steamboat: First Instrument of Imperialism
Overview
American steamship inventor Robert Fulton (1765-1815) believed he had perfected a mechanism that would allow humankind to increase its productivity and create a better material life for all. He could not have imagined, however, that steamboats like his Clermont would evolve into the world's first intercontinental weapon and an instrument of Western imperialism.
Background
Western civilization's view of the world began to expand with the onset of the Commercial Revolution during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This expansive increase in world trade was led by the English and the Dutch. It was based on the two economic ideas of mercantilism and monopoly. Mercantilism was based on the premise that there are only a finite number of resources available to the world community. A nation's power was linked to the number and amount of these resources it controlled. Worldwide economic competition was very expensive and the country that could concentrate its resources most effectively would be the nation most likely to succeed. Both England and the Netherlands created government-run monopolies to ensure their national welfare was protected. These monopolies increased the availability of goods to Europe and its colonies. The most successful of these organizations was the British East India Company.
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