Transcript Lecture, 12 November

Empires and Imperialism
Indian Colonialism
The ``Scramble for Africa``
Imperial mindsets
1850-1914
Traditional imperialism
• Imperialism in the pre-industrial period
was driven by a desire for control of raw
materials (from fish to gold) and a desire
to convert people to Christianity
• A few elites control the colonial policy of
European states
• The main players were Britain, France,
and the Netherlands – with Britain
certainly taking the lead in imperial control
and naval supremacy until the middle of
the 19th century
The ‘New Imperialism’
• The onset of industrialization either
accelerated or completely transformed the
practices of imperialism
• The competing nation states of Europe
sought to carve up the world into spheres
of influence to fuel national economies in
the world of mass politics
• By 1870, there was little territory left that
Europeans did not claim as their own
dominion – and try to rule directly
The British in India – The Raj
• The British Raj becomes the model for the
“new imperialism” – which means direct
European control of the population by the
mother country
• While India’s exports of raw materials and
agricultural goods increased – those
profits went to the British as “home
charges” which paid for the British
presence there
The Dutch in Southeast Asia
• Dutch colonial holdings were administered
by the Dutch East India Trading Company
(VOC – Vereenigde Oostindische
Compagnie) for three centuries after 1604
• The Dutch controlled trade in spices and
sugar and all of the colonies were
overseen by a Governor General
• Cultural differentiation between colonial
overlords and their subjects
VOC settlements c. 1660
Scramble for Africa
• Before 1850 there had been little
European involvement in Africa – limited to
coastal areas
• By the 1870s, The Germans, French,
Belgians, and Portuguese, along with the
British, sought to bring all of Africa under
their control
• There were many adventurers and
explorers who opened the way for
imperialism
Henry Morton Stanley
• A journalist-turned explorer who
wrote articles and books telling
Europeans and Americans
about the riches they could find
in Africa
• Advocated for the brutal
subjugation of native Africans,
arguing that primitive cultures
only understood force
• Brings the colonial experience to
a mass literate society by finding
Dr. Livingstone
My heart beats fast, but I must not let my face betray my emotions, lest it shall
detract from the dignity of a white man appearing under such extraordinary
circumstances. So I did that which I thought was most dignified. I pushed back
the crowds, and, passing from the rear, walked down a living avenue of people,
until I came in front of the semicircle of Arabs, in the front of which stood the
white man with the grey beard. ... I would have run to him, only I was a coward
in the presence of such a mob—would have embraced him, only, he being an
Englishman, I did not know how he would receive me; so I did what cowardice
and false pride suggested was the best thing—walked deliberately to him, took
off my hat, and said:
“Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
“Yes,” said he, with a kind smile, lifting his cap slightly.
Leopold II of Belgium
• Leopold was able to secure
vast parts of central Africa
(the Congo) for his empire
• He was an example of a
ruthless imperialist – used
forced labour, resulting in the
deaths of millions of Africans
• His main interest was to
extract rubber and ivory
Cecil Rhodes
• son of an Anglican minister; made his fortune in
diamonds in South Africa discovered in
1870; buying up claims of miners whose capital
was exhausted
• founded the British South Africa company-received Royal Charter in 1889
• Rhodes acquired vast tracts of land territory from
indigenous African rulers--highly dubious treaties
• became Prime Minister of Cape Colony in 1890
• Cape to Cairo railway; Rhodes's idea supported
by Joseph Chamberlain, Britain's Colonial
Secretary in 1890s
•Britain's part of the
'scramble'--mainly
southern and eastern
Africa—was linked to
the aspirations of
individuals, like Cecil
Rhodes
•They had to convince
voters and members
of Parliament to back
up their cause
•In other words, they
argued that having an
empire was not only
good for themselves,
but also good for the
entire nation
Colonial Administration
• Administrations were established to
– Extract taxes to pay for themselves
– Keep the peace
– Facilitate relations for European
businessmen, settlers, and missionaries
• How was a relatively small contingent of
European administrators able to control
such large populations and vast
territories?
Military superiority
• In some cases the main method of control
was military force
• The Europeans had the upper hand in this
department with more murderous
weapons and military techniques than the
cultures they overthrew
• The more “advanced” weapons of the
West were devastating to armies that did
not have mass-produced guns and
ammunition
Maxim machine gun c. 1885
German Steam Gunboat Eber, c. 1887
Cultural imperialism or hegemony
• The experience of colonialism for the
colonized consisted of subtle forms of
control that postcolonial theorists call
“hegemony”
• The basic idea of hegemony is that the
dominant classes persuade the
subordinate class to accept and adopt
their norms and values
• Thus imperialism isn’t just military control
– it is control over education, products and
social practices
The end of seclusion in Japan
• There had been a number of attempts to
open Japan to foreign trading
• In 1853 an American fleet of four ships led
by Commodore Matthew Perry steamed
into Edo Bay and gave a demonstration of
their powerful guns
• Within a year they had negotiated rights to
trade and use Japanese ports – very soon
other European powers would negotiate
the same rights
•Commodore Perry’s Fleet in Edo Bay (1853), an example of American
“Gunboat Diplomacy”, and a major shock to the political system in Japan
Political reform and industrialization
• The Meiji Restoration created a strong
centralized state and made
industrialization its top priority
• It also introduced Western-style
representative institutions – though only a
small fraction of the population could vote
• They also initiated a vast bureaucracy to
manage industrial efforts and modernize
Japan’s army
Political fallout
• Many in the samurai class were
displeased with the Tokugawa Shogun’s
handling of Western diplomacy and began
a revolt against him
• In 1868 the Shogun stepped aside in
favour of the Meiji government – made up
of the emperor and powerful members of
the samurai class
Japanese culture and society
• Society is transformed as entrepreneurs
begin to hold a prestigious place in society
• A fast-increasing peasant population is
moved to cities to work in factories –
sometimes in appalling conditions
• Western fashions begin to challenge
traditional ones – but some traditions
remain strong, like Shintoism
A growing military power
• In 1894-5 Japan wins a war with China,
increasing its control in the Asian world
• Likewise, victory over Russia in 1904-05
proves the Japanese military can threaten
even European power politics
• In 1910 Japan outright annexes Korea,
following the lead of other industrialized
nations to get an empire
Alexander II and reform
• By the 1860s the Tsar was under
increasing pressure to free serfs from the
land to supply an industrial workforce
• In 1861 (around the time slavery was
abolished in America) Alexander II
emancipated the serfs – giving some a
chance to buy land and for others to move
to cities
• Railroad network is developed and by the
1880 western-style factories begin
operating in large cities
Political rights
• The one thing that the tsar did not want to
copy from Europe was the model of liberal
democracy – thus even after emancipation
and some minor reforms all political power
remained in his hands
• However, both liberal democratic and
socialist ideas fuelled the Russian
intellegensia and workers to demonstrate
for change to the autocratic political
system
Russian society
• Right up until the outbreak of war Russia
remains a predominantly agrarian society
and the bulk of the population remains
illiterate
• However, there is a growing class of
revolutionaries who are committed to
transforming that society into an industrial
utopia
• Though short-lived, the Revolution of 1905
showed that industrialization and mass
politics went hand-in-hand
• The real victors of this revolution were the
liberals, who received the representative
institution they sought – the Duma
Conclusion
• European powers mixed a powerful
ideology of a ‘civilizing mission’ in their
quest to control the world’s peoples and
resources
• Though some expressed outrage to the
atrocities committed in Africa and Asia,
they justified their actions in the name of
long-terms progress