Transcript The Age of Imperialism

The Age of Imperialism
1880-1914
Imperialism:
• The policy of a strong, industrialized nation
to take over territories which are outside
its own borders.
• The policy of extending a nation’s authority
by territorial acquisition OR by establishing
economic and political dominance over
another land.
• In the last few decades of 19th c- a change
occurred- from commercial interests to
active conquest, political control and the
exploitation of untouched lands.
Degrees of control:
• Least control
•
Give economic
or military aid
most control
establish a
sphere of
influence
create a
puppet state
or protectorate
annexation
of the land
Why did Europeans begin their “New” Imperialistic
adventures?
-The Economic interpretation…
• Need for raw materials for growing
industrialization in Europe
• Markets for the new, manufactured goods
• Places for excess capital investment
• Other explanations…
Strategic Location: places for European ships to
re-supply on the long voyages around the globe
Militant Nationalism: “The Sun Never Sets on the
British Empire.” Other European nations wanted
to control foreign lands as the British had done
The popular press: “Jingoism”- instigated
attitudes of expansion
• A typical music hall song…
• We don’t want to fight,
But by jingo if we do,
We’ve got the men,
We’ve got the ships,
We’ve got the money too!
• Charles Darwin’s
Theory of Evolution
and the idea of the
survival of the fittest
became “Social
Darwinism”
• Europeans believed
their civilization had
evolved to be the
“most fit”
• Religious
Convictions
and
Missionary
Activity
• “The White
Man’s
Burden.”
by Rudyard
Kipling
To Europeans: “The Unknown Continent”
• Special interests:
• Geographic
Societies
European Imperialism in China
• Chinese
leaders and
the general
population
exhibited
attitudes of
ethnocentrism
and rejected
European
advances
Imperialism in China
• Until the 1500’s Europe had very little
contact with China
• Early Europeans (The Portuguese and the
Dutch) encountered a Chinese emperor
who rejected requests for trade missions
• 18th century British attempts were equally
refused
Opium smoking – recreational drug?- The British plot- to
create a nation of addicts in need of the opium illegally
imported into China.
The Opium Wars, (1839-1842) a turning pointChina went to war to stop the British import of the
drug
The Treaty of Nanjing, 1842- China lost the Opium
Wars and was forced to agree to this treaty which
was very unfair to China
The Treaty of Nanking, 1842
•
•
•
•
•
Britain could trade in four ports
China had to pay $100 million indemnity
Britain acquired Hong Kong
Britain gained extraterritoriality
Soon, other European nations won similar
concessions…
• These treaties undermined the Emperor’s
ability to control foreigners in his country
• European racism antagonized the Chinese
The Taiping Rebellion, 1851-1864
The Sino-Japanese War, 1894
1900, The Boxer Rebellion
Japan becomes the exception…
Japan becomes the exception…
• From 1600 thru 1853, Japan was isolated
from the rest of the world.
• Japan’s feudal society was ruled by a
Shogun, the emperor was a figurehead.
• Matthew Perry “opened“ Japan to trade
• The Meiji Restoration of 1867 marks the
beginning of modern, industrial Japan.
• From 1603 thru
1853, Japan was
isolated from the
rest of the world
by the Tokugawa
shoguns
• The American naval force, commanded by Matthew Perry
in Edo Bay to “open” Japan to trade in 1853
• 1867,
The Meiji
Enlightenment
• The young
emperor,
Mutsuhito
embarks upon
a policy of
modernization
for his country.
Imperialism in India
The Mughal Empire – India before the Europeans
-Imperialism in India
• First encounters -17th century-Dutch and
Portuguese explorers faced wealthy,
powerful princes who allowed small
concessions for trade.
• By the 18th c. the British and French found
a different India-torn apart by a “civil war”
• In 1757, the British East India Company
defeated the French and Indian forces in
the Battle of Plassey and for the next 100
years, dominated most of the subcontinent
The Battle of Plassey, 1757
The turning point in
India: The Sepoy Mutiny, 1857
• Sepoys- hired and
trained by the British
East India Company
• In India; The first War
of Independence
• The Sepoy Mutiny failed but the British
government ended the monopoly of the
British East India Company (BEIC) and
administered the colony directly.
• The British government remained in India
until its independence in 1947.
-British rule India
• Despite the British advances, Indian
nationalism was strong…
• In 1885 the Indian National Congress was
formed to gain independence
• In 1906, the Muslim League organized to
represent the minority of Muslims
• Independence was not achieved until 1947,
when Britain, exhausted from WWII, gave
India the choice of self-determination.
Nationalist feelings spread across India, beginning with the
Sepoy Mutiny and became more intense after World
War Two, led by Mohandas Gandhi.
-British rule in India, 1757-1947
• Ended 100 years of intermittent warfare
• English-educated Indians became the
backbone of the civil service …
• Parliamentary democracy was permitted in
villages and towns…
• Modern technology- railroads, telegraph,
medicine, schools, sanitation & irrigation
was introduced.
Imperialism in Africa
• The most rapid example of Imperialism
took place in Africa, Europeans wanted its
undeveloped natural resources.
King Leopold II of Belgium started the “scramble
for Africa” in 1876
British explorer
and
adventurer,
Cecil Rhodes
advocated for
a Britishcontrolled
railroad from
Cairo in
Egypt to
Capetown in
the south.
• The Berlin Conference of 1885- Europeans met to lay
out the ground rules for the conquest and division of
Africa
The Legacy of Imperialism
• The influence of western ideas, institutions
and technologies is apparent everywhere
• Feelings of animosity and distrust among
the people of Africa and Asia
• Development of a non-western strain of
nationalism which includes a strong
religious and cultural conservatism
Any Questions?