A commonly utilized concept by many, if not all, European empires was imperialism; an ideology or a doctrine in …show more content…
(in-text) Due to its capability of providing justifications for expansionism—which European empires eventually strived to achieve—imperialism was essential for the development of European empires. (in-text) However, an initial justification for the Europeans to support imperialism was required before creating justifications to put imperialism into action. Consequently, there was a plea for a strong authority of influence from the leaders of European empires in order to justify their needs of imperialism to its people. During and even before the rise of European empires in the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the dominant institution of many parts in western Europe. (in-text) The church controlled the majority of wealth as they were the largest landowner in Europe, and many Europeans paid a tenth of their income—known as the “tithe”—to the church every year. (in-text) Therefore, the church who already possessed