Imperialism

ImperialismThe strong get stronger

Imperialism = takeover of a country or territory by a stronger nation with the intent of dominating the political, economic, and social life of that nation.

Types: Colonial – occupied and ruled by foreign nation. Nation sets up

government and controls economy.

Political – dominant country uses diplomacy or military force to influence internal affairs of weaker country. Break down governments to establish more “modern governments”

Economic – control global trade and commerce. Spheres of influence created – don’t want to entirely control, but influence trade. Ex) China occupation by US

Social-cultural – desire to influence a territory to adopt cultural values and customs of imperialist country. Ex) Schools set up and students forced to speak English

Forms of

Imperialism

Spheres of

Influence

ProtectoratesColonies

Dutch in S.

Africa

Euro. nations

in ChinaEuro. Nations

in Africa

U.S. In Latin

Amer.Gr. Brit. In

India

1. colony – territory that an imperial power ruled directly through colonial officials

2. protectorate – territory with its own government, but its policies were guided by a foreign power

3. sphere of influence – region of a country where an imperialpower had exclusive trading rights

U.S. Protectorates

1. political rivalries

2. new markets

a. rubber, copper and gold from Africa

b. tin from Southeast Asia

c. colonies bought products from their “parent companies”

3. new opportunities

a. have lands in other parts of the world for influence

b. individuals looking to get rich

4. “civilizing” missions – trying to convert native populations

Earlier period:

Less penetration of interior in

Africa & Asia

Less direct influence on

people’s lives

Conquests

inland because –

military, med.,

& indust. (RR)

tech. made it

possible

Additional Causes1. Charles Darwin (1859) - Origin of Species

a. Idea of evolution and “Survival of the fittest”

b. Led to concept of “Social Darwinism”

“The White Man’s Burden”: Kipling’s Hymn to U.S. Imperialism

In February 1899, British novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling wrote a

poem entitled “The White Man’s Burden: The United States and The

Philippine Islands.” In this poem, Kipling urged the U.S. to take up the

“burden” of empire, as had Britain and other European nations.

Published in the February, 1899 issue of McClure’s Magazine, the poem

coincided with the beginning of the Philippine-American War and U.S.

Senate ratification of the treaty that placed Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba,

and the Philippines under American control. Theodore Roosevelt, soon to

become vice-president and then president, copied the poem and sent it to

his friend, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, commenting that it was “rather

poor poetry, but good sense from the expansion point of view.” Not

everyone was as favorably impressed as Roosevelt. The racialized notion

of the “White Man’s burden” became a euphemism for imperialism, and

many anti-imperialists couched their opposition in reaction to the phrase.

Take up the White Man’s burden—

Send forth the best ye breed—

Go send your sons to exile

To serve your captives' need

To wait in heavy harness

On fluttered folk and wild—

Your new-caught, sullen peoples,

Half devil and half child

Take up the White Man’s burden

White Man’s Burden - excerpt

What was the “White Man’s Burden?”

In Africa

Main Idea: Ignoring claims of African ethnic groups,

kingdoms, and city-states Europeans established

colonial claims.

Why: Industrialization fueled European nations to

search for more resources to power their

industries. They wanted new goods and looked to

Africa and Asia for new raw materials.

Now: African nations continue to feel the effects of

colonial rule.

1. colonized by most major European countries

2. Berlin Conference (1884-85) = instead of fighting between European nations the all met to set down ground rules:

a. any European could claim land in Africa if they told the other nations and would show they controlled the area(“scramble for Africa”)

3. France controlled much of northwest Africa (Algeria)

a. built the Suez Canal (Egypt), Britain came to control it – provided a more direct route from Europe to Asia; cut out about 4000 miles and two weeks of travel

b. Muhammad Ali – Ottoman leader of Egypt

i. one of the first kingdoms to come under European control

4. Britain controlled most of east and south Africa

a. gained control of southern African cape colony (Congress of Vienna)

Belgium needs to catch up to other European nations.

Created a slave based plantation economy; rubber production

Ivory collection also

Human rights atrocities

Impacts:DepopulationOverworked

Killed – 10 mill.

Starved; lack of ag. production

Migration – fleeing Congo

Belgian Congo Rubber & Ivory collection

Women held captive

until men return with

rubber quota.

Punishment for not

meeting quotas

The Afrikan/Boer Wars

1880-1900

Paving the way for

Apartheid

I. Dutch (Boers = farmers) forced inland from Cape Colony

by British

a. “Great Trek” = to interior on native land causing clashes with Zulu tribe

b. Enslaved Zulu tribe

c. create Dutch republics known as the Orange Free States

II. Diamonds and gold were discovered in South African states controlled by Dutch

a. Great Britain begins moving inland to mine gold and diamonds

b. Boer War (1899 and 1902) – was a war between the Dutch (Boer’s) and Britain in South Africa

1. British win Boer Wars – Takes over Dutch lands

- Afrikaners = name for European settlers who came to dominate S.A government

2. Cecil Rhoades (Britain Imperialist) – creates company that dominates world diamond market and establishes additional Brit. colony – Rhodesia

3. Brit. Granted region independence = Union of South Africa in 1910

Cecil RhodesBritish Imperialist

What does this

cartoon tell us

about the

British attitude

toward Africa?

•Apartheid “apartness”

becomes official policy

• Exclude blacks from

voting

•Schools, hospitals, neighborhoods, workplaces segregated

•Nelson Mandela (imprisoned anti-Apartheid leader) and world opinion, abolish system in early 1990s; held free elections!

Apartheid “Apartness” becomes official policy

1. British East India Company (BEIC) took advantage of Mughal Empire decline and clamed India as a British colony

a. took control with help from..

nawabs = muslim princes who made agreements with British, Dutch and French

2. British set up outposts run by “company men”- British officials

a. British soldiers enforced rule.

a. Sepoys – Indian troops hired to serve in army

3. By 1818 Britain controlled vast areas of subcontinent

a. established British raj (reign) = although allowed Indians in high ranking positions

4. Sepoy Rebellion (1857) – Sepoy (Hindu) joined forces with Mughal(Muslim) soldiers against British rule

a. Britain wins and maintains complete control – 1858-1947

5. Economic Imperialism transforms India:

a. railroad systems

b. steamboats

c. growth of industrialized cities

d. Exports = cotton, opium, tea, sugar and silk

e. Sati – attempts to ban by British raj

g. Western-style schools

6. Indian Nationalism

a. Enlightenment ideas and revolutions inspire Indians to preserve their culture

b. 1885 – Indian National Congress created to pursue more civil service jobs for Indians

c. INC & Mahatma Gandhi lead independence movement in 1940s

1. Britain:

a. Australia (1770) – Captain James Cooke

i. New South Wales – convicted criminals

b. Fiji

2. France

a. Tahiti

3. United States

a. Hawaii (1898) – was originally visited by

Cooke

British Imperialism in Australia

What is a “Settler Colony”?

A “Settler Colony” is a specific colonial formation whereby foreign family units

move into a region and reproduce. Land is thus the key resource in settler

colonies, whereas natural (i.e. spices, cotton, oil) and human (i.e. labor,

existing trade networks, convertible souls) resources are the main motivation

behind other forms of colonialism. Colonialism typically ends, whereas “Settler

colonialism” usually remains and transforms into eventual statehood dominated

by the colonizers.

Examples of Settler Colonies:

Australia

Canada

America

South Africa

More Specifically – “White Dominions”= Decedents of European settlers made

up most of the population in the colonies and controlled the minority native

population decimated by diseases, wars of conquest and immigration policies.

Australia

Canada

Why do you think “Settler Colonies” or “White Dominions” enjoyed a higher

level of social, political and economic stability?

Demographic Impact of British

Settlement in Australia

A. Similar to North America

1. Natives (aborigines) forced inland away

from productive lands

2. European disease has negative impact

3. Low level of integration

4. Native population reduced greatly over

time

How do you think Social Darwinism

impacted the treatment of the

aborigines?

B. The “White Australia Policy”1. Immigration Restriction Act – 1901

- Only Europeans (mainly northern) could

immigrate to Australia

- Created a “White Dominion”

- Final portions of act removed in 1973

Why do you think Australia would

implement a “White Australia Policy”, AND

why were they able to easily do so?