<P> During this time, European merchants had the ability to "roam the high seas and appropriate surpluses from around the world (sometimes peaceably, sometimes violently) and to concentrate them in Europe". </P> <P> European expansion greatly accelerated in the 19th century . To obtain raw materials, Europe expanded imports from other countries and from the colonies . European industrialists sought raw materials such as dyes, cotton, vegetable oils, and metal ores from overseas . Concurrently, industrialization was quickly making Europe the center of manufacturing and economic growth, driving resource needs . </P> <P> Communication became much more advanced during European expansion . With the invention of railroads and telegraphs, it became easier to communicate with other countries and to extend the administrative control of a home nation over its colonies . Steam railroads and steam - driven ocean shipping made possible the fast, cheap transport of massive amounts of goods to and from colonies . </P> <P> Along with advancements in communication, Europe also continued to advance in military technology . European chemists made new explosives that made artillery much more deadly . By the 1880s, the machine gun had become a reliable battlefield weapon . This technology gave European armies an advantage over their opponents, as armies in less - developed countries were still fighting with arrows, swords, and leather shields (e.g. the Zulus in Southern Africa during the Anglo - Zulu War of 1879). </P>

Discuss the social and political roots of western imperialism