Transcript Patterns of Change: Imperialism

Patterns of Change:
Imperialism
KEY IDEA: Europeans
embarked on a new phase of
empire-building that affected
both Africa and the rest of the
world.
Colonial Control Takes Many Forms
European nations wanted to control more of
the life of their conquered peoples. As a
result, each colonized region operated under
one of these forms:
colony—governed by a foreign power
protectorate—allowed its own government but
was under the control of a foreign power.
sphere of influence—claimed as the exclusive
investment or trading realm of a foreign power.
economic imperialism—controlled by private
businesses rather than by a foreign government
Indirect Control
Indirect control relied on existing political rulers.
Each colony had a legislative council that included
colonial officials as well as native members
nominated by the colonial governor.
The assumption was that the councils would train
the local leaders in the British methods of
government.
Direct Control
The French and other colonial powers preferred
direct control of their colonies.
The viewed the “uncivilized” natives as their
children unable to handle the complexity of
running a country.
They gave them everything that they needed but
offered them no rights. This is called Paternalism.
Assimilation
The French supported the idea of assimilation.
They believed that in time the Africans would
absorb French culture.
All local schools, courts and businesses were
pattered after the French institutions and all
citizens were required to speak French.
Assimilation failed.
British Control of Nigeria
Britain tried to rule Nigeria through indirect
control. Because the area was huge and
peopled by many different groups, it was
difficult for the British to rule directly.
The British freed some of the slaves on the
West African coast in return for their help with
overtaking other groups.
The British used old tribal rivalries to gain
land.
Indirect Control Doesn’t Always Work
When the British gained control of an area,
they let local chiefs maintain order and collect
the taxes.
The system did not always work. The British
appointed chiefs. The British put chiefs in
charge of people who had not ruled by chiefs
before. Furthermore, the British greatly
limited the power of the appointed chiefs.
Thus, the British were putting a new system
in place, and it did not work well.
The Natives Rebel
Some Africans tried to resist imperialism.
Sometimes, African societies tried to enter
into alliances with European in an attempt to
negotiate their independence.
People in Algeria fought against the French
for almost 50 years.
These attempts at resistance ultimately failed.
The Maji Maji Rebellion
In German East Africa, thousands died when
they tried to use spiritual power to fight
German machine guns.
The natives believed that a magic water
would protect them from the bullets of
German machine guns.
Nearly 26,000 natives were killed during that
uprising. More than twice that number died
as a result of starvation in the famine that
followed.
Ethiopia Resists Colonial Rule
Only in Ethiopia did resistance
succeed. There, Emperor Menelik II
cleverly played one European
country against another.
The Battle of Adowa- In 1896, he
used European weapons to defeat
an invading Italian army. This was
one of the greatest Battles in the
history of Africa With this victory,
Ethiopia stayed independent.
Benefits of Colonial Rule
Africans did enjoy some benefits from
colonial rule.
European governments put an end to
ethnic conflict.
Colonial powers brought African
economies fully into the world market and
built railroads, dams, and telephone and
telegraph lines
Disadvantages of Colonial Rule
For the most part, though, imperialism caused damage.
Traditional African society was destroyed.
People were forced out of their homes and made to work
under horrible conditions.
The political boundaries that Europeans drew had no
relation to ethnic divisions in Africa.
These boundaries created problems many decades later
when the colonies became independent nations.
Muslim Lands Fall to
Imperialist Demands
KEY IDEA European nations
expand their empires by seizing
territories from Muslim states.
The Ottoman Empire : Loses Power
The Ottoman Empire, based in modern Turkey, had lasted
for hundreds of years. After the death of Suleiman in 1566,
the empire was divided into several competing factions.
As a result, the Ottoman empire fell behind Europe in
scientific, administrative and mechanical achievement.
By the 1800s, it was weak. In 1830, Greece won its
independence and Serbia won the right to govern itself.
European nations eyed what remained of the empire
hungrily
Oil!
The geography of the Ottoman Empire was very
attractive to the European powers because the
Ottomans had control of both the Mediterranean
and Atlantic sea trade.
Russia, a land locked nation, tried to ally itself
with the Ottomans in an attempt to gain access to
the Black Sea.
Discovery of oil in Persia focused event more
attention on the region.
Russia and the Crimean War
Russia hoped to win control of the Black Sea so it
could ship grain across the Mediterranean Sea.
The Crimean War broke out in 1853. The
Russians wanted to gain land on the Black Sea
coast. The Russians were defeated by the
Ottomans who had been joined by Britain and
France.
Britain and France joined with the Ottomans
because they did not Russia gaining any
additional Ottoman land.
The Ottomans Lose Their Empire
Still, the
Ottomans later
lost almost all
of their land in
Europe and
parts of Africa.
Egypt Tries Reform
By 1914, the empire was much smaller
than it had ever been.
Muslim leaders, seeing this decline,
decided to modernize their countries.
They were inspired by the French
Revolution.
Muhammad Ali Looks to the Future
In Egypt, Muhammad Ali broke away from
Ottoman control.
He put in place reforms to change the army
and the economy. He brought Egypt into the
international market place.
He pushed Egypt’s farmers to grow cotton, a
cash crop in demand in Europe.
However, peasants suffered when they were
turned away from growing food.
The Suez Canal
Ali’s Grandson
supported the
construction of the
Suez canal. This canal
linked the
Mediterranean Sea to
the Red Sea.
It was built with French
money and Egyptian
labor.
Money Trouble
The Suez canal became very important to the
international community.
When Egypt could not afford to maintain the
canal, Great Britain insisted on overseeing the
financial control of the canal. In 1882, Britain
occupied Egypt.
British control of the canal gave Great Britain
greater access to its colonies in Asia and Africa.
Black Gold
In the early 1900s, oil was discovered in
Persia.
A British company signed an agreement with
Persia’s ruler to develop these oil fields.
Persians rebelled against their ruler-who was
corrupt-and the growing influence of
Europeans.
Persia Pressured to Change
In Persia, the Russians and the British
competed for control with local powers.
Russia wanted to win Persia to have
access to the Indian Ocean.
Britain wanted some land there as a
barrier between Russia and its colony in
India.
A Need for Cash leads to Revolt
Persia was in desperate need of money. As a way
to raise additional capital, the Persian ruler began
granting contracts to Western business.
In return for the money, these business bought the
right in a certain area or develop a certain
product.
Most of these contracts involved the oil industry.
The Tobacco Boycott
The Persians also began to grant contracts to the
tobacco industry.
The Persian people, angry about the concessions
to the West, began to boycott tobacco.
This boycott resulted in revolution.
The Russians and British were quick to try to fill
the power vacuum left when the Persian leader
was deposed.
In 1907, Britain and Russia divided Persia
into two spheres of influence.
Persia remained under the control of the
imperial powers until the 1950s.