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Many factors led to the massive rise in imperialism after 1870, both internal and external. European imperialism stems from the capitalistic greed for cheap raw materials, advantageous markets, and good investments. Not only was the cheap production of goods a motivating factor, but the quest for markets to sell manufactured goods contributed as well. Going along with this greed was the drive to expand authority by land acquisition or economic and political control over other nations. …

…and other developing nations have even begun to compete economically with their former colonial powers. Thus, it is prudent to examine the economic impact of imperialism on a case-by-case basis. The political and psychological effects of imperialism are equally difficult to determine. Imperialism has proven both destructive and creative: For better or worse, it has destroyed traditional institutions and ways of thinking and has replaced them with the habits and mentality of the Western world.