The global effects of imperialism, World War I and the Great Depression Bentley was the first to speak of cross-cultural interactions as a means to categorize world history. He further wrote about the importance of understanding events from a global perspective, not just from a single country's perspective. With these two fundamental elements of his argument, we can evaluate events differently than before, finding ways to step back and examine actions as they affect multiple nations simultaneously. Among these international events that occurred between 1870 and 1945, the era of imperialism, World War I, and the Great Depression had global impacts on economic and social issues. At the end of the 19th century, imperialism became a competition between European countries to take control of as many regions as possible. in Africa before others. Essentially, France, England, and Germany were competing for bragging rights with these countries. They believed at the time that the more colonies a country had, the more prestigious and noble it appeared. European countries sought to demonstrate their power. Not only that, but imperialism helped build a strong economy in the motherland because it could invade its colony and strip it of its natural resources in order to produce goods with them. In turn, that country could then sell these goods to the colony in order to make money. Rudyard Kipling talks about this fierce competition in "The White Man"....... middle of paper ...... as Germany and France also imposed new poll taxes on their colonies in Africa to to compensate for the money they had lost. . Following the Great Depression in America, countries around the world faced their own depressions. From 1870 to 1945, imperialism, World War I, and the Great Depression had a global economic and social impact. The effects of imperialism caused tensions to rise between nations as European countries attempted to show their power and prosper economically through the invasion of parts of Africa. During World War I, existing empires were dismantled and new nations emerged. As a result, Woodrow Wilson developed a new threat control system by creating the League of Nations. After World War I, countries turned their economies inward as the Great Depression hit and the "domino effect" took a toll on countries around the world...