Even though there are many other important factors, the main cause of the rise of imperialism was most certainly economic. The Age of Empire, by Eric J. Hobsbawn, offers an interpretation of the new imperialism. Hobsbawn calls imperialism “a natural by-product of the international economy” (Sherman, p. 177). He essentially says that imperialism depends on rivalries between competing industries, which continually drive the international economy. Hobsbawn also dictates the need for outside markets. The Industrial Revolution created many products requiring markets, creating a need for colonies. Hobsbawn believed that the overproduction of the Industrial Revolution and the Great Depression could be solved. He also realized that many businessmen knew they could make a significant profit from China's large population. For example, if each of three hundred million Chinese bought a box of thumbtacks, businessmen knew they would make huge profits, thereby increasing the desire for colonization in weaker countries. New technologies, as described in ...