European Imperialism

“New Imperialism” of the 19th Century

Imperialism

• Imperialism: process through which a state attempts to control the economic and/or political and cultural makeup of another state—often through colonialism (in which the controlling state invades another state/region, establishing a governing body in the colony).

Imperialism

• Western imperialism was not new; Europeans had been influencing or conquering parts of the world since the 1400’s.• Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English, French,

etc.• U.S. grew from coast to coast during 1700’s.

• Between 1815-1914 the West (Europe and America) increased their control of the world’s land mass from 35%-85%.

Age of Imperialism

New Imperialism

• Began in 1870’s• colonized Asia and Africa by using

military force to take control of local governments

• Exploiting local economies for raw materials required by Europe’s growing industry

• Imposing Western values to “benefit” the “backwards” colonies.

IndustrialRevolution

Source forRaw

Materials

Markets for

FinishedGoods

EuropeanNationalism

MissionaryActivity

Military& NavalBases

EuropeanMotives

For Colonization

Places toDump

Unwanted/Excess People

Soc. & Eco.Opportunities

HumanitarianReasons

EuropeanRacism

“WhiteMan’s

Burden”

SocialDarwinism

Major Causes for New Imperialism

• Search for new markets and raw materials

• Missionary work: far more successful in Africa than in Asia and Islamic world.

• Dr. David Livingston: first white man to do humanitarian and religious work in south and central Africa

• H. M. Stanley found Livingston (whom westerners thought to be dead) and his newspaper reports created European interest in Africa

Causes of Imperialism

• Military Factors• Industrialization bestowed new weaponry

upon the armies and navies of the West:• Ocean-going fleets• Modern rifles and rapid-fire artillery.

• Occasions were rare that native populations could resist Western military forces.

• Growing need of Western nations to maintain bases & coal/oil stations around the world for naval & civilian fleets.• Ships required repairs and refueling stations at

strategic locations globally.

Causes of Imperialism

• Social Factors• Europe’s rapid population

growth during the 1800’s-played a role in prompting imperial activity.• Emigration to the

Americas was an outlet for millions & others left home for colonial life hoping to make a fortune

• Between 1815 and 1932 more than 60 million people left Europe

Causes of Imperialism

• Role of Science & Technology• Advances in transportation, communication, and

warfare brought by the I.R. enabled Western nations to build empires.

• New wave of exploration allowed for better knowledge of the geography of the world.

• Medical advances• Made possible for Euros and Americans to press

into tropical regions.• Ex. quinine helped relieve symptoms of malaria

& yellow fever.

Causes of Imperialism

• Cultural Factors• Sense of racial superiority was

widespread among Westerners.• Created a sense that Western

nations were entitled to conquer & colonize areas that appeared “backwards” or “primitive”.

• Cecil Rhodes, British imperialist, “I contend that we are the finest race in the world, and the more of it we inhabit, the better.”

Causes of Imperialism

• Cultural Factors• Social Darwinism was used

to argue in favor of imperialism.• Believed that “survival

of the fittest” and “natural selection” also applied to nation states.

• People who were tech. and culturally advanced were permitted to conquer those who were less modernized.

• White Westerners were superior to other races

Causes of Imperialism

• Cultural Factors• Genuine conviction that it was the duty

of white Westerners to teach & modernize the darker-skinned, supposedly “primitive” peoples of Africa & Asia.

• English poet Rudyard Kipling, “White Man’s Burden.”

• Attitude was well-meaning and heartfelt, but also condescending.

• Missionaries, doctors, scientists, and colonial officials sometimes did much good in the places they visited but also often trampled on native beliefs and ideas.

The “White Man’s Burden”?

Africa: Berlin Congress 1884-85

• Established the "rules" for conquest of Africa to prevent conflict over imperialism

• Agreed to stop slavery and slave trade in Africa

• Germany took control of Cameroon, Togo, southwest Africa, & East Africa

• France took control Tunisia, Algeria, French West Africa (including Morocco, Sahara, Sudan, Congo basin)

• Italy: took control of Libya• Belgium: King Leo took control of the

Congo

Punishing “Lazy” Workers

Belgium’s Stranglehold on the Congo

Africa: British Occupation

• Britain: considered the most enlightened of the imperialist powers (but still oppressive), • they eventually allowed many local customs.• Made Egypt a Br. Protectorate in 1883 (until

1956) & pushed southward and took control of Sudan

• Battle of Omdurman (1898): General Horatio H. Kitchener defeated Sudanese tribesman and killed 11,000 (use of machine gun) while only 28 Britons died

5-8 Million Victims! (50% of Popul.)

It is blood-curdling to see them (the soldiers) returning with the hands of the slain, and to find the hands of young children amongst the bigger ones evidencing their bravery...The rubber from this district has cost hundreds of lives, and the scenes I have witnessed, while unable to help the oppressed, have been almost enough to make me wish I were dead... This rubber traffic is steeped in blood, and if the natives were to rise and sweep every white person on the Upper Congo into eternity, there would still be left a fearful balance to their credit. -- Belgian Official

Egypt

• Turkish general Muhammad Ali had established Egypt into a strong and virtually independent state by 1849 & it remained in charge of its local affairs, even within the Br. empire.

• Egypt's inability to satisfy foreign investors led to control of its finances by France & Britain

• Safeguarding the Suez Canal (completed in 1869) played a key role in the British occupation of Egypt and its bloody conquest of the Sudan.

European Imperialism1700s-1800s

• Other European countries scrambled to set up colonies all over world• France• Belgium• Germany• Denmark

British EmpireAt its peak controlled one sixth of humanity

British Imperialism

European Interest in India• Europeans had a high demand for spices,

cotton, and other goods• Europeans trade by land over the silk road

SILK ROAD

British in India

• Set up trade in India• Corrupt Mogul Empire in

India ignored British gains• British soon controlled India,

exporting cotton from India to Britain

• Mechanized cotton spinning in Britain helped start the industrial revolution

• British empire expanded• Africa, Asia, Australia

British Rule in India

• The East India Company established trading posts in India.

1. Established colonies2. Made laws and collect taxes3. Had an army

• They fought with France as well as India over control of the sub-continent. Britain won.

• By 1857 the British were hiring Indian allies to protect British interest.

Problems of British Rule

• 1- Indians bought cheaper cloth from Britain which destroyed Indian textiles.

• 2-The British collected taxes from the Indians to keep the army in India. This caused some farmers to lose their farms.

• 3-Britain convinced many farmers to grow cotton instead of food which led to starvation.

• Educated Indians, predominantly Hindu, demanded increasing equality & self-gov't

• India became independent in 1946 (just after WWII)

Indians must produce raw materials for

Britain

Indians must buy finished goods from

Britain

India was a major supplier of raw

materials

Tea, indigo, coffee, cotton, and jute,

opium

Jewel in the Crown

Why were the Indians so angry??

• Brits had changed traditional practices• Indians forced to buy British stuff• Indians were treated as second class• Not allowed to have best jobs• Paid less for the same jobs as British• Even educated people discriminated against• Indian economy became dependent on

Brits!

Europe’s Overseas Empires

• SE Asia• Dutch controlled

Indonesia.• Napoleon III led France

into overtaking Indochina.

• British controlled Burma, Malay Peninsula, and Australia.

• Philippines was taken by the U.S. in 1898 after the Spanish-American War.

China

• China: carved into spheres of influence in late 19th century

• Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95: revealed China’s helplessness, triggered a rush for foreign concessions and protectorates in china.• Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Japan

each came to control a piece of eastern China

China

• Open Door Policy, John Hay, 1899: sought to open commerce to all nations & urged the Europeans to allow free trade within China while respecting its territorial integrity.

• Boxer Rebellion, 1900: Patriotic uprising by Chinese nationalists against Western encroachment, was put down by imperial powers in 1900; Manchu dynasty would soon fall (1911)