Transcript Imperialism

Imperialism
• One country with superior strength dominates the
political, economic, and social life of another country
• Traditional imperialism focused on the domination of
Africa and Asia by European powers
• By 1871 political stability in Europe renewed interest
• Britain - widespread support of colonialism
• Pre-1783 – first Empire
(based on colonization) - Spain, France, Britain
• 1783-1870 – second Empire
- many countries became independent
• after 1870 – third Empire
Motives
1 Nationalism/Prestige
Political competition – expansion = power
2 Expanded markets - industrial revolution
The need for markets and resources
3 “Whiteman’s Burden”
Paternalism - humanitarianism
4 Social Darwinism
Life was a struggle-survival of the fittest
• Early reasons - humanitarian
• Later reasons- economic necessity
Forms of Imperialism
• Direct military intervention total control of the country
• Protectorate - own govt. but “guided” by mother
country
• Sphere of influence - imperialist hold exclusive
economic interests
• But overall aim was to gain the most at the least
expense
Great Migration
• 1800 - 188 million
1900 - 432 million
Birthrates declined but so did death rates
• Over 60 million left Europe for “areas of European
settlement”
• 1. migration increased rapidly before WWI
2. not only because of poverty but increased
opportunity
3. less than half went to America
• Before 1890 “Little Englanders” against expansion
• In Britain during the 1890s Salisbury for the
Conservatives and Rosebery for the Liberals became
very imperialistic because:
a) markets
b) raw materials
c) investment opportunities
Great Britain
• The American Problem - 1812
• Canada - threatened independence
• “Little Englanders” - no interest in colonialism, focus on
national problems – colonies were too expensive
• Yet they created and empire on which “The sun never
sets”
• Limited expansion before 1870, but extensive expansion
between 1870-1914
• Canada granted Dominion status in 1867
Australia granted Dominion status in 1901
New Zealand granted Dominion status in 1907
Causes of Imperialism
• Main reason:
Britain was losing its economic lead
• European countries started the land grab and Britain
followed fearing Germany and France
• The rise of Germany and America
• However most new colonies were too poor to really
contribute, especially until 1914
• Political reasons also became important i.e.. protect the
Suez to protect Indian trade; control Sudan to protect
Egypt
Social Darwinism
• The British believed it was the special genius of the
Anglo-Saxon race i.e. the British to rule
• Darwinism had been adapted from the plant/animal
world to the human world
• Suggested some races were better suited to survive and
flourish
• There was a common assumption that the British were
indeed the master race
• Britain held a material, scientific, and intellectual
advantage over all other nations
• They had been successful on a global scale
Industrial Reasons
• The machine gun - the ultimate weapon
• Quinine - controlled malaria and allowed the white man
to access the jungle
• Steamship - fast, efficient, dependable travel
• Telegram - news can travel the world in a short time
• Social tension and domestic political conflict
contributed
• In Germany and Russia leaders ‘created’ colonial
problems to divert attention from domestic problems
• Propagandists claimed colonies
a) provided jobs
b) created markets
c) provided raw materials
d) raised the standard of living for all
• Govt. leaders used mass media to encourage the masses,
to savor the triumphs
• Special interest groups such as ship builders, military
suppliers, and steel factory owners also pushed for
expansion
• White settlers demanded more land and more
protection
• Ironically, most countries were too poor to pay for
imported goods
• Many humanitarians built schools to educate the natives
in European ways
• Rudyard Kipling - most influential writer of the 1890s
wrote “Whiteman’s Burden”
• Catholic and Protestant missionaries competed with
each other and Islam to gain converts to save the natives
• Religious success in Africa conflicted sharply with
failure in Asia and India
Critics of Imperialism
• Expansionism sometimes evoked criticism
• J. A. Hobson, Imperialism contended:
a) colonial expansion was caused by unregulated
capitalists and the need to find outlets for surplus
capital.
b) Only special interest groups profited at the expense
of the taxpayer
c) imperialism diverted attention away from domestic
problems
• Lenin argued that capitalism must continue to grow
• Polish novelist Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness,
criticized the selfish European for trying to civilize the
native.
• Critics also castigated the double-standard of
imperialism and the failure of the imperialist to live up
to his own noble ideals
Scramble for Africa
• By 1880 European nations only controlled 10% of
Africa
• The chief architect of British policy in Africa was Cecil
Rhodes, a British entrepreneur
• Rhodes was a fanatical patriot and dreamed of a British
strip of Africa from “Cairo to Cape Town”
• He became a multimillionaire because of his
investments in South Africa
• The British took the Dutch settlement of Cape
Town after the Napoleonic Wars
• Boers - Dutch descendents moved northward to
avoid the British. Vortrekkers - The Great Trek
created two independent states after they had
slaughtered the Zulus: Orange Free State and
Transvaal
• After 1854 the British recognized the Boer land
as independent
• During the 1860s diamonds were discovered in
South Africa and Orange Free State
• In 1877 the British annexed the Transvaal
• In 1880 the Boers revolted
• At the Battle of Majuba Hill the Boers killed British
soldiers by adopting guerilla warfare tactics and forced
the British government to acknowledge Boer
independence
• By 1880 British and Boer settlers controlled much of
South Africa
• When gold was discovered in the Transvaal the Boers
were able to buy more weapons
• The Boers also built a railroad to Port Mozambique,
which took trade away from the British in Cape Town
South Africa
• In 1895 the British government supported a plan by
Cecil Rhodes to attack the Transvaal and stage a revolt
against the Boers
• The “Jamison Raid” was an absolute failure and
discredited Rhodes and embarrassed the British
government who disavowed any knowledge of the plan
• Emperor William II of Germany sent President Kruger
of Transvaal a congratulatory telegram, which was
published in the British papers
Boer War
• In 1899 the British provoked the Boers into war
• The war lasted 3 years and at the start things went badly
for the British
• The Boers refused to get drawn into major battles and
since they knew the terrain and the climate they had a
significant advantage
• The British started to round up Boer families and place
them in relocation camps so they could not provide food
or shelter to the rebels
• Thousands died of disease and generated European
support for the Boers
• In 1902 the Boers asked for an armistice
• The Boers were forced to take an oath of loyalty to the
British crown, but were eventually granted the right to
self-government
• In 1910 the Boers joined the British Union of South
Africa
• The Boer government declared it would not permit any
equality between coloreds and whites - Apartheid
• The Portuguese controlled Angola and Mozambique
• By 1900 the whole continent had been carved up, only
Ethiopia and Liberia remained free
• The most important country was Egypt which was
occupied by the British
• Suez Canal - built by Ferdinand de Lesseps of France
• Disraeli buys 44% - protecting investment from the
Egyptians
• Sudan- General Gordon’s troops massacred by the
Mahdi at Khartoum
• France interested in claiming Lake Chad
• Fashoda Crisis - African problem resolved in Europe
Imperialism in Asia
INDIA
The Crown Jewel of the Empire
• Britain had gained control of India after the Seven
Years’ War with France
• The country was administered by the British East India
Company, who worked for the British government
• The company acknowledged locals princes in return for
their obedience and assistance
• From India the British moved into Burma and China
• The British exchanged opium grown in India for
Chinese silks and teas
• In 1839 the Chinese emperor tried to stop all trade with
the British
• In the Opium War (1840-42) British gunboats forced the
Chinese to accept British conditions (gunboat
diplomacy)
• The Treaty of Nanking (1842) forced China to trade
with the British and gave the port of Hong Kong to the
British
• British and European visitors were no subject to
Chinese law
• After 1857 the Sepoy Rebellion (The Great Rebellion) in
India challenged British control
• The British army regained control and hanged hundreds
of rebels
• In 1858 control of the country passed to the British
crown
• Indian princes were guaranteed their land if they signed
a pledge of allegiance
• The British reformed the education system,
implemented a legal and political system based on the
British model, constructed railroads linking the huge
country, and improved the standard of living for many
Indians
• The British established a modern system of schools to
educate the Indians -High-caste Indians responded
quickly to this opportunity
• Once educated the Indian could be used by the British
• Whites considered the Indians inferior and practiced
widespread discrimination and segregation
• The British created a unified state and placed Hindus
and Muslims under the same law
• Yet the Indian elites still wanted nationalism
• The best jobs were still taken by whites
• 1885 the Hindu Indian National Congress demanded
the same rights as Canada and Australia
Boxer Rebellion
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1800’s China opened for trade
Opium War won by Britain
Open Door Policy
Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists
Anti-foreign feelings
Massacre of foreigners and Chinese Christians
Foreign powers quelled the Rebellion
• The French colonized southeast Asia in the 1850s
• In 1887 the French created the Union of Indochina
• 100 years later Mary Elizabeth Kidd and Robby
Atkinson were born, as well as Jenna Worsham and
Laura Clawson
Responses to Imperialism
• Western expansion continually threatened traditional
ways, beliefs, and values
• Initial responses included violence, but superior
military capabilities dominated
• Some believed that the European countries were indeed
stronger
• Traditionalists refused to give up their heritage
Modernizers accepted and welcomed change
• Modernizers or Westernizers gained the upper hand
• Support for European control was always shallow and
weak
• Anti-imperialists burned with a desire for the dignity of
man
• Anti-imperialists found their justification in Liberalism
• They believed in modern nationalism - every country
having the right to its own destiny
• After 1917 they also found support in Lenin’s version of
Marxian socialism