Question

What motivated European states to engage in imperialism during the late 19th century?

Answer 1

To gain more resources to aid industrialization.

Answer 2

Answer:

What motivated European imperialism was the search for consumer market, cheap labor and raw materials for the development of industries.

Explanation:

The term "Imperialism" obviously suggests an "Age of Empires"; it's mostly about that. But conceptually speaking, nineteenth-century imperialism consisted of a kind of expansionist policy of the major European nations, which aimed to search for the consumer market, cheap labor, and raw materials for the development of industries.

This phenomenon of imperialism in European countries began when, after the Bourgeois Revolutions of the 17th and 18th centuries and the formation of modern nations in Europe (such as Germany, Italy and France), an intense process of industrialization took place in these countries.  Industrialization has generated fierce competition among nations, which have come to dispute territories and establish their borders with modernized armies and sophisticated diplomacy. This process has gradually accentuated the nationalist character of European countries.