Transcript Industrialization and Imperialism: The Making of the European

Industrialization and
Imperialism: The Making of
the European Global Order
Chapter 24
Focus Question:
Why did European world powers shift from
simple colonial exploitation to military/economic
control in the 19th century?
Introduction: Causes of Imperialism
1. Industrialization altered the nature of European
exploitation…DIRECT control over resources was key
2. Revolutions in New World colonies created a serious
shift in need to exert force in controlling
territory…military occupation became the watermark for
imperial control
3. Religious Competition with the Islamic world by the
Catholic/Protestant churches of the day…done by private
motives NOT under state orders as previous
4. Economic COMPETITION! European colonialism was
about 5 powers…Imperialism was about DOUBLE that!
The need to claim territory to remain the dominant world
power was a driving force to enter into areas previously
untouched
Claiming the Land – The Dutch and
British Make Their Moves
Early European attempts to partition the world
were haphazard at best, and not done along
political lines…more like, done
privately…individual trading companies first
staked claims in Asia by exploiting local struggles
The Dutch in Indonesia first started paying tribute
to the ruler of Mataram…but when conflicts arose
over who would succeed to the throne in the
1670s, the Dutch gained influence at court…they
recruited armies comprised of locals to control
their acquired holdings…by 1750, the Dutch had
complete control of the island of Java
Claiming the Land – The Dutch and
British Make Their Moves
The British did the same things as the
Dutch in India…the British East
India Company was drawn into
several local conflicts as the Mughal
Empire fell apart in the 18th century
The British relied on sepoys (Indian
troops) trained in the arts of British
warfare
The French, who were also in India,
were defeated 5 times over by British
armies and more territory was gained
for the British East India Co.
The greatest of these victories was
won by Robert Clive over the ruler of
Bengal in 1757, a territory that was
coveted for its fertile grounds and
rich resources
The Rise of British Rule in India
Britain continued its warfare with
Indian rajahs and continued to gain
territory
The British established a “presidency”
system that ruled from 3 ports they
controlled: Bombay, Madras and
Calcutta
In some areas, rajahs were allowed to
remain as rulers over their respective
kingdoms, but British agents
maintained influence over these rulers
By the 19th century, India had become
Britain’s premier possession…most
Indians were willing to serve the
British…rebellions were minimal
since most had no national identity or
allegiance to one specific group
Many Indians found greater
opportunity serving the British
(military pay was great)
India became 1) a major point of
control for British interests in Asia
(naval power) and 2) a large producer
of raw materials for British industry
(COTTON)
Colonial Society in India/Indonesia
Both the British and Dutch were smart enough to leave
local traditions alone early on…they just simply inserted
themselves into the local social system as a class of people
at the top of the hierarchy…they let local rulers maintain
administrative control with the assistance of a European
agent
Europeans had to make adaptations to local culture in
order to survive in the environment…the tropical weather
forced many to “dress like the natives” and build
structures like the natives…they could not transform the
environment in the European style
And, as always, since the mainstay of the British and
Dutch “settlers” were men, they had liaisons with local
women (prostitutes)
Colonial Reforms
Though they left societies alone in the early goings,
eventually the British and Dutch began to alter the
social fabric of their territories in the 19th century
The British were also forced to reform their
administration of colonies, the result of
corruption/cheating by nabobs (slang for those
British who cheated) that caused a famine in
Bengal…Cornwallis (LOSER!) was largely
responsible for reforming the British East India
Co…unfortunately, he also was mistrustful of
Indians and set limits to their involvement in colonial
government
Religious movements also spilled out into the
colonies, challenging the Hindu system…Evangelicals
and Utilitarians began reforming Indian
practices…Utilitarians (Betham and Mill) believed
that the far more superior British ways should be
taught to the inferior Indians…consequently, English
language schooling became requisite for members of
higher classes in Indian society
The biggest reform of Indian society was the
elimination of the practice of sati…the British
educated Indians (like Ram Mohun Roy) were at the
forefront of pressuring its abolition…when
traditionalists rejected, the British reminded them
we’ll just kill you now and take your property
Let’s Carve Up Africa!
Before 1800, large portions of the continent of Africa were
largely untouched by Europeans…REMEMBER, early
contacts by Europeans in Africa were limited to what???
Many explorers begin to push in from the coast in the early
to mid 1800s
– Mungo Park and Richard Burton followed the courses of major
African rivers as the wound into the interior
Religion becomes an impetus for settlement in interior
Africa
– Missionaries, both Catholic and Protestant, began to flood into the
interior on a mission to “Christianize” and “Civilize” Africans.
– They set up schools and hospitals
– Dr. David Livingstone was the most famous explorer-missionary.
He traversed African over a 30 year period.
• When he was feared lost, a journalist named Henry Stanley went
looking for him…“Dr Livingstone, I presume?”
Let’s Carve Up Africa!
Of all the countries in Europe to start the scramble, it was
BELGIUM and King Leopold II
In order to avoid an all out war between European powers,
they sat down at a conference in Berlin in 1884
– No one from Africa was invited
– The goal: Draw a map of Africa which divided the territory into
colonies for the following countries: Great Britain, France, Spain,
Italy, Germany, Belgium and Portugal
– This territory was divided based on where Europeans already had
set up government offices and settlements
– Ethiopia and Liberia are only countries not taken by Europeans
PROBLEMS: 1) Europeans did not take into account the
traditional tribal boundaries of Africans 2) To make this
geographic process successful, the European even played
off tribe against tribe (political issues)
The Apex of Imperialism
By the advent of the 20th century,
Europeans had some measure of
control of most of the Old World
– Only Ethiopia, the shrinking
Ottoman Empire, Liberia and
Siam (Thailand) remained
largely untouched/unspoiled
There certainly were areas that
were not completely occupied or
resisted the Imperial influence
– The Zulu Nation repelled British
forces for many years in
southern Africa…Vietnamese
guerillas held off the
French…the Ottomans, Persians
and Chinese also resisted
foreign influences
European Divisions
Tropical Dependencies – mostly indigenous
populations ruled by a small number of Europeans
and armies (more on this in a moment)
Settlement Colonies – two types
– White Dominions – territory inhabited mainly by white
settlers with few indigenous populations (Canada and
Australia) (freed areas like the US, Chile and
Argentina)
– Contested Colonies – areas such as South Africa,
Algeria, New Zealand, Kenya and Hawaii where
indigenous populations continued to clash with
European whites over resources and social differences
and interactions
Tropical Dependencies: Rule and
Social Hierarchy
To impose rule in these heavily populated possessions,
Europeans mainly used those who they favored to maintain
control and order…these were peoples who converted to
Christianity or accepted a Western education…There was a
large measure of exploitation of social
divisions…minorities in each region were favored in
colonial recruiting
There were large differences in administration in Asia and
Africa
– In Asia, Western education was state supported while in Africa it
was only provided by missionaries…racial prejudices caused this
difference
– While Asians had more opportunity, many were still denied
advancement to higher positions
Changing Social Relations
Popular beliefs on social order in Europe in the
late 19th century centered around “Scientific
Racism” and “Social Darwinism”
Europeans in the colonies, based on “scientific
racism” began to impose further
restrictions…Europeans segregated themselves
into separate living quarters…intermarriage was
outlawed