Slides for Class: Imperialism in China, India, Africa and the Middle East

The Opium War [1839-42]Trade war or drug war?

Should morality be an issue in trade relations?

Is opium just like any other commodity—like tea or molasses, for instance?

Lin Zexu

Canton (Guangzhou) Trade TRIANGULAR TRADE

MANUFACTURED GOODS

OPIUM

SILVER

Consequences of the Opium War for China:

• “Unequal treaties”

• In the Treaty of Nanjing China had to:– Cede Hong Kong to Britain– Open five ports– Pay huge indemnities for

war damage– Guarantee British citizens

extraterritoriality– Grant Britain “most favored

nations” status

See RGH#28: “The English and the Opium Trade”

Chinese Response

3 R’s

Rebellion – Taiping, Boxer

Reform – self-strengthening movement, 100 Days of Reform

Retrenchment – Empress Zuxi, Marble Boat

Taiping Rebellion 1850-1864

• Anti-Q’ing

• Led by Hong Xiuquan

• Spread throughout China: 20-30 million died!!

• Took tremendous government resources to put down

Boxer Rebellion 1900

• Anti-western insurgencies

• Put down by British, French, Russian, U.S., German, Japanese forces

• Q’ing government had to pay damages

Foreign Response

1894-1895 Sino-Japanese War

1904-1905 Russo - Japanese War

Spheres of Influence

China: “Semi-colonial”1850s - 1945

CANTON

Cartoon c. 1925depicting China beingstrangled by Chinese warlords and Western imperialists

Imperialism and India: From trading post empire to “jewel in the crown”

CHRONOLOGY• 1600-1858: British East India

Company controlled India• Gradual colonization by “men

on the spot”• Reform of Indian society

• 1857-58: Sepoy Revolt

• 1858-1947: India was directly controlled by the British Crown, British Raj

British employed Sepoys

Imperialism in India

• Two forces at work:– Internal decline of the Mughal Empire

– British and French Colonial Rivalry

Impact of Imperialism in India• India a colony, “jewel in the Crown”

• Social reforms

• Introduction of Western institutions: English, law, education

• New Class and Institutions:– Indian Middle Class – Indian Civil Service, Indian Army

•Resistance: Sepoy Mutiny, 1858

Impact on Indian Economy

• Commercial agriculture = dependence

• Heavy taxation

• British control of trade

• “Deindustrialization” of Indian textile industry

• Environmental destruction

• Modern communications and transportation: roads/railroads

See RGH #37: “The Case for India”

• European Interests in the Middle East

– The Suez Canal because it linked the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea

• This canal was one of the main trade routes with Indian colonies

• The French first set out to build the Suez Canal in 1859• But in 1875 Britain took over the canal and in 1882 they had full

control over Egypt

“I have come to restore your rights”

””egomaniac on the loose”egomaniac on the loose”

Imperialism: Two Goals

• Economic penetration

• Diplomatic coercion

See Handout for more examples

See RGH #65: “Imperialism: The ‘Civilizing Mission’”

• European Interests in the Middle East – The Suez Canal because it linked the Red Sea and

Mediterranean Sea• This canal was one of the main trade routes with Indian

colonies• The French first set out to build the Suez Canal in 1859• But in 1875 Britain took over the canal and in 1882 they had

full control over Egypt

Imperialism and Africa

CHRONOLOGY

• Until late 1870s Africa was 90% self-ruled

• 1870s Belgium established rubber

plantations

• “Scramble for Africa”– 1884-85 Berlin Conference

Africa Before the Scramble Africa After the Scramble

Africa: After the Slave Trade and Before the Scramble

Political:

-statebuilding (King Menelik in Ethiopia)

-strongly centralized monarchies (Buganda in Central Africa)

-nationalism vs. clan loyalty (Ashante in West Africa)

-religion as a unifier (Sokoto Caliphate in West Africa)

-military and bureaucratic regimes (Zulu in South Africa)Economic:

- substituting free labor for slave labor

-“legitimate trade” replaced the Atlantic slave trade

- new commercial class emerged

Social:

-traditional community life altered by commercial developments

“Change occurred but not quickly enough”

The Scramble for Africa (1885-1904)

Berlin Conference – 1885

See RGH #41: “The Berlin Act, 1885”

“Any power which . . .takes possession of a tract of land on the coasts of the African continent outside of its present possessions. . .shall acquire them, as well as the Power which assumes a Protectorate there. . (notifying) . . .the other Signatory Powers of the present Act, in order to enable them. . .to make good any claims of their own.”

The Dual Mandate See RGH #40

• “Europe is in Africa for the mutual benefit of her own industrial classes, and of the native races in their progress to a higher plane.”

• “We hold these countries because it is the genius of our race to colonize, to trade, and to govern.”

See RGH #22: “Belgian Congo: The Rubber Terror”

The “Iron Grid” of Colonialism

See RGH #39: “Things Fall Apart”

Cecil Rhodes andSouth Africa