Buy essay on What were the main characteristics of Romanticism and Realism?

Romanticism was the intellectual movement challenging the ideas of Enlightenment. Without denying of knowledge importance, writers of Romanticism believed that emotions and feelings experienced by person are the main sources of knowing.
Usual, everyday life wasn’t interesting for Romanticists: they were interested in exotic and unfamiliar things, possessed a passionate interest in the past, and paid an attention to mystery and mysticism. Among other favorite themes of Romantic writers were the love to nature and the expression of inner felling. Generally, the reflection of artists’ inner feeling is the main idea of Romanticism in the art, in the literature as well in the painting. The specific characteristics of painting in Romanticism were the fascination with the exotic and the passion to color.
The Romantic approach to the art was expressed by Caspar David Friedrich, the artist of that epoch, who believed that “the artistic process depends on the use of an unrestricted imagination that could only be achieved through inner vision” (Duiker, Spielvogel, 601)
Realism as the movement appeared after Romanticism and it was the reaction on the last one. Realism rejected the ideas of Romanticism: it wanted to deal with ordinary characters from actual life. In the literature of Realism the events dominate on feelings and the novels dominate on the poems. Writers of Realism avoided the emotional language and exotic settings. The role of imagination was decreased to insignificant, and often the typical Romantic hero was used by Realists as the object of satire.
“Realist art demonstrated three major characteristics: a desire to depict the everyday life of ordinary people, whether peasants, workers, or prostitutes; an attempt at photography accuracy; and an interest to natural environment (Duiker, Spielvogel, 604)”

2. Which Western countries were most active in seeking colonial possessions in Southeast Asia, and what were their motives in doing so?

The nineteenth century was the period of the Westernization of Southeast Asia. Among the most active European countries, which seek colonial possessions in Southeast Asia, were Great Britain, France, Spain, Portuguese and Dutch (Netherlands). The main locomotive force of colonization was the immediate economical profit. First, the new colonies were the new sources of natural resources. Second, the European presence in this region simplifies the trade with the rich and powerful Asian countries like China. For example, the British colony on the tip of peninsula on Singapore Island became the main stopping point on the trade route to and from the commercial centers of region. Merchant ships from and Europe preferred saving distance and time and avoided sailings across the Southern Indian Ocean. It is worth mentioning that the invention of steam power had a significant impact on the sea trade and routes in this region, because ship became less dependent from the prevalent winds and flows.
The trade with China was the reason of the last accord in Westernization of Southeast Asia in the 19th century. In 1898 in the navy battle the U.S. fleet defeated the Spanish naval forces in the battle in Manila Bay. Despite the official claims of the U.S. presidents, who explained the necessity of Philippines colonization with the prevention of Japanese expansion, the main reason of this war was the struggle for Philippines as for the convenient point on the trade route to and from China. The development of the trade had a significant influence on the life in the region: colonial governments tried to create the democratic institutions in contradiction to monarchical systems dominating in the region, and provided the education reforms.

 
References
William J. Duiker, Jackson J. Spielvogel (2008). The World History. Volume II. Sixth edition. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.