Imperialism is the policy of extending the rule of a nation or empire over
other nations. Colonialism is the long-term domination of a territory and its
people by a foreign power. European colonialism had two broad phases. The first spanned the period from
1492 to 1825. For Britain, this phase ended with the American revolution. For
Spain, it ended with the independence of most of its Latin American colonies.
The second, more imperialistic, phase ran from 1850 to just after the end of
World War II. The British and French colonial empires reached their height around
1914. Like colonialism, economic development usually has an intervention philosophy—an ideological justification for outsiders to guide native peoples toward particular goals. Development is often justified by the idea that industrialization and Westernization are desirable advances. But many problems faced by Third World peoples reflect their increasing dependence on cash. Anthropology focuses on social issues in, and the cultural dimension of, economic development. Culturally compatible development projects tend to be more successful than incompatible ones are. Compatible and successful projects try to change just enough, not too much. Motives to change come from people’s traditional culture and the small concerns of everyday life. The most productive strategy for change is to base the social design for innovation on traditional social forms in each affected area. | 
2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education