Western nations wanted to gain colonies in the late 1800s to improve their own

Economies.

Explanation:

The western colonial powers, especially Spain, Portugal, France, Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, had seen their position in the Americas weakened, as a consequence of the independence revolutions in that continent, which caused the European powers to lose markets and sources of production. of raw materials, seriously affecting their economies, which were largely dependent on these territories.

Due to this situation, the European nations began to seek to exploit Africa, Southeast Asia and other unexplored territories, which until then had not been dominated by the colonial powers.