During the Age of Imperialism, many countries were invaded by the British, French, German, Belgian, Italian, and Americans. Two such countries were India, in the continent of Asia, and Latin America, in South America. These countries suffered costs, but gained benefits. These countries were under different forms of Imperialism, however. The Latin Americas were economically dependent on the U.S., while India was under the direct rule of the British. [Direct rule meant that Western officials traveled to India to take government positions along with viceroys. Viceroys ruled in place of the British monarchy, and Zamindars imposed high taxes. However, the colonizers benefitted with money, and natural resources, such as diamonds, bananas, wheat, coffee, tobacco, and spices.]

Some benefits the Indians found when the British came to India was that a good political system was set up by the British. The political system was said to be fairly honest and ended up improving India. Another benefit that came to India was the new school system. Before the British came, the Indians were schooled on a divided system, with some states teaching more than other states. The school also provided access to learn the English language, which helped children since they had a new way to speak to each other, and speaking English gave them opportunities to better jobs and lives in England.  Before the British came, Indians relied on traveling in order to get messages to family members. Great Britain set up a postal system which made messaging and sending information across the land more efficient. This postal system is similar to how Latin American had a communication system and also a transportation system built in their area, by the British and Americans. This affected them the same way India was, it became easier to travel around casually. These investors also introduced refrigeration, steam engines, and mining equipment to them, creating thousands of new jobs. These jobs allowed for many goods to be exported so money could be imported.

Some costs for India and Latin America shared was that both countries became dependent on the mother country, in these cases Great Britain and the U.S.A. The less fortunate lost land in both India and Latin America. One of the greatest costs of both countries was economic. Latin America only grew cash crops, crops that were grown for selling, They became dependent on other countries   The British living in India also had no respect for the Taj Mahal, which was a tomb for a queen which her husband built. The British used the Taj Mahal for weddings and even took pieces of the marble off as souvenirs. In Latin America, the economy relied on cash crops, and the Americans took advantage of that by investing and buying the cash crops, giving them total control over THE Latin American economy. In India, one main cost was that there was a huge price paid for independence. For example, Gandhi who HAD a huge impact on India had organized a twenty-three day march to the ocean where they got their salt from. The British didn’t allow them to get this salt at first, but they protested.

Imperialism had a profound impact on Europeans in many aspects. The British traveled to India and took control because they required? a trading post to China, to spread Christianity and democracy, and to gain precious resources from mining. The U.S. took over Latin America in a different aspect. Instead of ruling directly, the U.S. businesses invested in Latin America and bought many of its cash crops. Latin American countries relied on cash crops for income. Cash crops are crops sold for money instead of for usage by the country. Some cash crops are silver, coffee, tobacco, and bananas. This made for an unstable economic system, because if there was an increase in production of a certain item, then that item would be cheaper, and the country growing said item would receive less income, causing for a fluctuating and fickle economy. Once the British took over India, they decided to start modernizing it. The British and the East India Company hired workers to build railroads spanning the whole of India, used for trade. Indian men were also trained as sepoys, soldiers working for the British. The British also found many natural resources in India, such as spices, coal, diamonds, and gas. The U.S., on the other hand, did not take Latin America in the physical sense but established the Monroe Doctrine, which stated that the European countries could not interfere in the affairs of the Americas, but the U.S. could. The Monroe Doctrine was established when the Spaniards were driven out of Latin America through war. The Monroe Doctrine gave the U.S. an excuse to go into America’s several times because their personal interest was being threatened.

Overall, the colonizers Britain and America benefited the most from the relationship, and even though Latin America and India benefitted, the costs were too high. Rebellions span the history of the British and Indian relationship, starting with the violent Sepoy Mutiny, and ending in peace marches with Mohandas Gandhi. Latin America and India, were modernized, however, and a speedy modernization is occurring in India and has been since 2013. The Latin American economy has stabilized, and the countries do not rely on cash crops for income, though they do still use cash crops for income.