Imitation and Rejection

Abstract

But what, more particularly, caused this development, and the eventual success of a modernized nationalist response in the colonies? Several explanations have been offered. One says that resistance to the outsider always existed; and most societies did indeed offer some resistance from the start. Another stresses the role of European liberal and religious ideas in stimulating colonial claims and undermining the European belief in imperial legitimacy. A third emphasizes the imperial achievements in urbanizing and industrializing traditional societies. Another again stresses the encouragement which nationalism in one place gave to its growth elsewhere.