The New Imperialism (ca. 1870-1910)

Motivations? Means? Justifications? Consequences?

Big Picture Questions:

6,500,000 square miles 1800-1880

8,655,000 square miles 1880-1910

European Expansion Years

European Powers’ Control Year

11% of African continent 1875

90% of African continent 1905

The New Imperialism (ca. 1870-1910)

Why? (Motives?)

How? (Means?)

Economic : raw materials, protected markets, global investments

Political : appealing issue to voters, nationalist competition, strategic advantage

Religious : Christian missionary zeal

African exploration (1830-1870)

Quinine (1850s+)

Breech-loader rifle (1870s+)

Steamship (1820s+)

The Four Feathers (2002)

Historical Background

In the early 1880s a religious leader in Sudan proclaimed himself the Mahdi (“expected one”) and began unifying the tribes of central & western Sudan. The Mahdi led a nationalist revolt against British-Egyptian rule culminating in the fall of Khartoum in 1885. Attempting to end the slave trade in the region, the British finally defeated the Mahdi’s successor at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898. The British were also protecting their interest in the Suez Canal and against French presence in the area.