Colonial expansion by the European powers increased as their need grew for raw materials for their factories. Africa and Asia had great quantities of such materials. These continents also provided vast markets where the industrial nations could sell their manufactured goods, such as guns, cloth, and iron. Chiefly for these reasons, the European powers--especially France and England--established many colonies in Africa and Asia. During the 1800's and early 1900's, most of Africa and about a third of Asia became European colonies.<NP> For more information, see the sections <I>Later colonialism</I> and <I>Effects of colonialism</I> in COLONIALISM.
