Imperialism in Africa

SLMS/10

Africa

European Motives

Imperialism can be defined as a stronger

country dominating a weaker one economically, politically & socially.
Up until the mid-1800s, the
continent of Africa was called
The Dark Continent because
the interior was largely
unexplored & unknown by Europeans.
Outposts and trading ports had been
established by Europeans, but mainly along
the Eastern & Western coasts. As late as
1880, Europeans controlled only 10% of
African land.

Europeans had both political and economic motives for imperialism in Africa.
Economically, Europeans were driven to
colonize Africa because of the rich natural
resources found there. Raw materials were
essential for industrialization, and cheap
raw materials provided a bigger
economic profit.
Politically, each European nation desired power and influence. By the 19th century, this
was measured by the number
of colonies possessed.
The new and powerful force of nationalism
drove each nation to gain as many colonies
as possible. This created competitions
among the European nations that were not
very friendly.
Finally, a new theory was circulating in
Europe Social Darwinism.
Darwinism It suggested
that certain civilizations were superior to
others, and as survival of the fittest
implied, superior should dominate inferior.

Berlin Conference 18841884-85

Europeans were so aggressive in pursuing
colonies that they nearly came to blows on
several occasions. It
was decided that in
order to avoid war,
nations should sit
down and acknowledge each others claims in Africa.
The nations met in Berlin in 1884 to divide
up Africa in a civil manner. Not
surprisingly, African nations were not
invited to attend or contribute.
Colonial divisions were drawn along
convenient geographic lines (along the line
of a river, for example).
This created a lasting problem for Africa
because tribal boundaries were completely
disregarded. Warlike tribes were included
together in nations, while friendly tribes
were divided. (Much of this was done
purposely by the Europeans.) This has
contributed to unity problems and ethnic
warfare in modern times.

Long Range Impact

Europeans brought some positive changes
to Africa. Most of the
changes involved more sophisticated technology,
transportation and communication systems, and better education and
medical care.
All of this came with a terrible price tag,
however. Natives lost their independence
and frequently lost their traditional culture,
religion and language. Almost always, natives were treated like second class citizens
in their own nation.

Imperialism in China

SLMS/10

Trade Imbalance

The Opium War

Europeans had been seeking a relationship

with China for years, but the Chinese
granted limited access (trade through only
a few ports). Their trade relationship was
very unbalanced because the Chinese were
largely uninterested in European products.
An unfavorable balance of trade suggests
a nation imports more than they
export. Most European nations
imported more from China than
they exported in the 17 & 1800s.
Additionally, China demanded
bullion, or gold and silver, for their products. Europeans were not happy because
the silver in their treasuries was draining
into China.
Europeans sought a product that would be
appealing enough to the Chinese to balance
the trade deficit. In the late 1700s, the British found the right product opium.

Opium is a highly addictive narcotic

(derivatives include morphine and heroin).
It was not widely available in Chinese society because the government restricted its
use. Only doctors and pharmacists could
dispense opium.
The British however, grew and
processed opium in India. From
there, they began smuggling it in
massive quantities into China in the late
1700s. By 1835, more than 12 million Chinese were addicted.
In 1839, the Chinese government sent a
strongly worded letter to the British government demanding they stop the importation of opium to China.
The British ignored the demands of the Chinese, and with
that, the first Opium War began.
The Chinese were no match for British
military and naval superiority. In 1842,
they were forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing (Nanking). which granted the British
the island of Hong Kong, and opened up an
additional 5 ports to British trade.

Reaction in China
After the Opium War, powerful foreign nations lined up to sign unequal treaties
with China. More and more nations were
taking advantage of Chinas weakness, and
demanding trading rights and other things.
The Qing Dynastys inability to protect the
nation from foreign domination signaled
the end of their Mandate of Heaven. Numerous rebellions erupted in China.
In 1900, the first massive nationalist rebellion, the Boxer Rebellion, broke out. It was an antiforeigner rebellion that would
not succeed, but within 11 years,
a rebellion would succeed, and topple the
last Dynasty of China.

Open Door Policy

The United States proposed the Open Door
Policy in 1899 because they were concerned that China would be divided up into
separate colonies, just like Africa.
China was to maintain its political
autonomy, but foreign nations
would have specific spheres of influence (exclusive trade zones,
could be a country within a country).
In reality, foreign nations ran China the
Qing Dynasty had no ability to resist them.

Imperialism in India

SLMS/10

Background

The Jewel in the Crown

Unlike the continent of Africa, or the country of China, both of which were dominated by multiple European nations, the
country of India was dominated by only
one Great Britain.
By the 1700s, the government that ruled
India (the Mughal Dynasty) had grown
weak. Starting in the 1500s, they allowed
Europeans to trade at various
port cities, but by the 1700s the
British in particular, had expanded their influence and control in the nation.
British control came through a powerful
corporation: The British East India Company. This company not only held much Indian territory, but also had their own army!

By the mid 1800s, India had become the single most important
colony in the British Empire.
India provided cotton for British textile
mills, which was important because by the
1860s, Britains other big supplier of
cotton, the United States, was embroiled in
a civil war.
Additionally, Indian climate was good for
growing coffee & tea products popular in
the British diet. This also eliminated the
need to trade with China for these goods.
The Indian climate was also good for
growing opium a highly addictive drug
that the British were exporting in large
quantities to China.
Finally, the Indian population totalled more
than 300 million. British industries viewed
India as a large market for their goods.

Sepoy Rebellion
The British East India Company employed
native Indians in their private army.
These soldiers were called sepoys.
In 1857, a rumor spread among the
sepoys that the gunpowder cartridges for their rifles were greased
with beef & pork fat. (In order to
use the cartridges, a soldier had to
bite off one end.)
This offended both Hindus (who considered the cow sacred), and Muslims (who
did not eat pork).
The sepoys began a rebellion against the
British, and in order to put it down, the
British government had to send troops.
By 1858, the rebellion was crushed, and as
a result, the British government took direct
control of India.

The Raj (1858 - 1947)

The Raj is the name of the era of British
colonial rule over India.
During this time the British
brought many modernizing
changes to India including
railways, telegraph and telephone lines, modern hospitals and medicines, and more educational opportunities.
However, the Indians lost all political independence, and were discriminated against
by the British in their own country !
It was difficult for Indias Muslims and
Hindus to work together against the British
because they distrusted each other. Eventually an important nationalist group was
founded -- the Indian National Congress.

Imperialism in Japan?

SLMS/10

Matthew Perry

Meiji Restoration

Starting in 1603, the Tokugawa Shogunate

closed its doors to the outside world. Japan
remained largely isolated
for more than 200 years !
In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United
States sailed into Tokyo Harbor and demanded trade concessions from the Japanese.
The Japanese decided that the best course
of action was to agree to Western demands
for trade, and then begin to modernize their
nation as quickly as possible. The Treaty of
Kanagawa (1853) granted the United
States trading rights to 2 ports.

During the Tokugawa Era (1603-1868) the

Shogun was the most powerful
figure in the government. Although the position of Emperor
was technically higher than the
Shogun, the Emperor served a
largely ceremonial role in the
Japanese government.
Many Japanese were angry with the Shogun for giving in to the Westerners, and
they turned to the Emperor for leadership.
The Shogun stepped down, and in 1868,
the young emperor, Mutsuhito, took control. He called his rule Meiji, meaning,
enlightened rule.
The Meiji period of Japanese history (1868
-1912) was one of the most dynamic in history, as the Emperor was determined to
modernize Japan politically, economically
and socially.

Modernizations
The Japanese began to scour the globe for
the best of Western ways, and then
adapted those ways to their culture
(selective borrowing). They also invited
Western experts to come to Japan and offer advice on how best to modernize.
From the Germans, they borrowed their
idea of a strong central government and a
disciplined army. From the British, they
adopted naval technology, and from the
United States, they adopted a system of
universal public education.
Although Japan had been isolated with NO
mechanized industry until 1868, the government actively promoted both traditional
(silk & tea) and modern (steel) industries.
As a result, the Japanese built
their first railroad line in 1872,
and by 1914, they had more
than 7,000 miles of railroad !

Results?
Japans rapid industrialization
was even more impressive because Japan was NOT blessed
with a lot of industrial raw materials like coal, iron ore or petroleum. They
had to trade for almost everything!
As a result of this, Japan would become an
imperialist nation, just like the Westerners.
Also, the Japanese were anxious to prove
their equality with Westerners. They
believed their fellow Asians were weak,
and were anxious to be seen as modern and
Western, and this led to military
aggression, and subsequent wars with
China, Russia and Korea.

Imperialism in Southeast Asia

SLMS/10

Attraction of Southeast Asia

Mainland Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia was no more immune to

European imperialism than India, Asia or
Africa were. Parts of Southeast Asia were
actually early victims of 17th century colonization (courtesy of the Portuguese and
then the Dutch).
The climate of Southeast
Asia was tropical warm
year-round, with plenty of
regular rainfall. The area had long grown
spices like pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg
things that were exotic (yet desirable) to
Europeans. These were things that could
not be grown in the cool climates of
Europe.
The location of Southeast Asia was also
quite strategic. By definition, the area is
located south of China, and southeast of
India. It had been active in Indian Ocean
trade for the better part of 1,000 years.
As such, Southeast Asia had a variety of
cultures, religions and ethnicities due to
the natural cultural diffusion that was the
result of trade.
The Muslim Gunpowder Empires (Ottoman,
Safavid & Mughal) of the 15 & 1600s
dominated Indian Ocean trade by establishing outposts and spreading Islam. These
were established trade networks, but not
colonial empires. Things changed with the
arrival of the Europeans.
Europeans began to influence
the area with the arrival of the
Spanish and the Portuguese in
the 1500s.
Later, as the power of Portugal began to
wane, the Dutch, British and the French
began establishing colonies in SEA.

France and Britain dominated the

mainland nations of Southeast Asia. France
controlled the eastern portion, known as
French Indochina (todays countries of
Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia), while Britain
controlled the western nations of Burma,
Malaysia and Singapore.
Only Thailand (or Siam, as it was
called then) remained independent
during this time period.
King Mongkut and his son Chulalongkorn began to modernize the
country by creating schools and reforming
the legal system, much as Japan had done.
The real reason Siam was allowed to remain independent however, was that it
provided a buffer between eastern French
and western British territories.
Indonesia & Philippines
The Dutch colonized the Indonesian islands, and like other European nations,
they transferred valuable cash crops there.
Crops like tobacco, cinchona (the bark of
this tree was used to make
quinine the anti-malaria
drug), and rubber trees were
planted in this tropical area.
By 1914, nearly all of the
worlds rubber was produced
in Indonesia.
The Philippines were originally explored
by the Spanish sailor Magellan, who staked
a colonial claim there in 1521.
The Philippines changed hands in 1898,
after the Spanish-American War, when the
Spanish sold them to the United States.

Imperialism in Latin America

SLMS/10

19th Century Latin America

Economic Imperialism

By the 1830s, most nations in Latin America had achieved independence. However,
the road to political unity and economic
prosperity was not as easily achieved.
The idea of representative government was very appealing but
when it was put into practice,
regional & political factions
vied for power, allowing for the
rise of dictators, or caudillos.
Additionally, prior to independence, few
Latin American nations had much industry.
The economic emphasis during the colonial
era had been on the production of cash
crops and other raw materials.

Latin American nations could produce

many agricultural & mineral products
demanded by industrial ones. The problem
was that most nations did not have a
comprehensive modern transportation
system, nor did they have the
industry to develop one.
Latin American nations had 2
options: Borrow money to buy
the necessary equipment OR allow
industrial nations to construct and own the
transportation system within the country.
By borrowing money, they were indebted
to another nation. And by allowing another
nation to construct the transportation system they were forfeiting a measure of control. Both options allowed other nations
undue influence in their economy and perhaps, government.
While Latin America was not re-colonized
directly, they were controlled economically.

The Big Stick

By the mid-1800s, European nations had a
good deal of economic control in Latin
America, but they resisted political or
territorial conquest why?
One reason was that the United
States had emerged as a Western
hemisphere policeman. By way
of the Monroe Doctrine and the
Roosevelt corollary (speak softly but carry
a big stick), the U.S. told European nations
to stay out of the Western hemisphere, and
warned Latin American nations of potential
military interference.
The United States involved itself in the Cuban War of independence (it became known
as the Spanish-American War) in 1898, and
received its first colonies: Puerto Rico,
Guam and the Philippines. Between 1901
and 1922, the U.S. military intervened again
in Cuba several times, in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti.

The Panama Canal

The United States recognized the strategic
value of a canal connecting the Atlantic
and the Pacific, but Colombia refused to
give the U.S. the rights to build the canal.
In 1903, the United States supported
(encouraged) a Panamanian
rebellion against Colombia,
and almost immediately recognized Panama as an independent nation.
The U.S. was then granted the rights to dig
the canal. Digging began in 1904, and was
completed 10 years later in 1914. The canal
remained a U.S. possession until 1999,
when it was returned to Panama.

Imperialism in Europe

SLMS/10

19th Century Europe

The Balkans

For the most part, European nations were

the imperializers, but there were some areas of Europe that were not strong or powerful, and they became victims.
By the 19th century, Britain emerged
as Europes leading power, with the
newly unified Germany close behind.
France, despite losing out in both the
Italian & German unification movements, was still a powerful nation.
Russia appeared to be powerful, but as the
century progressed, serious questions
emerged as to their industrial and military
strength. Austria, after losses in Italian &
German unifications, was a fading power.

The Balkan peninsula

was the portion of
southeastern Europe
which was defined by
both the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
By the 19th century, this area was either
controlled by, or bordered by, weak yet aggressive powers the Ottoman Empire to
the south, Austria to the north & west, and
Russia to the northeast. All three nations
were looking to expand their influence in
the Balkan area.
Many Western European nations were
concerned about what they believed was a
growing crisis as Austria, Russia and the
Ottoman Empire squared off over the area.

Ireland
English domination of Ireland
began in the 1100s, but was expanded under the Tudor monarchs who encouraged large
numbers of English and Scotsmen to settle
in Ireland to create a pro-English protestant population.
In 1641, as England was embroiled in their
own civil war, Ireland rebelled. The British
sent troops to brutally crush the rebellion.
It is estimated that nearly 600,000 Irish
died half of their overall population.
Following the rebellion, laws were imposed
to limit the rights of Catholics, and to make
English Irelands official language.
The Irish were justifiably bitter and resentful of British rule. By the late 1800s, there
were loud calls for self-rule. More people
supported the idea of home rule local
control over internal matters.

The Great Famine

The potato was brought to Ireland
in the mid-1600s and grew extremely well in the harsh, rocky
conditions. The Irish population exploded.
In 1845, a mysterious disease attacked the
potato plants. It was caused by an airborne
fungus that attacked both the plant portion, and the roots. In only a few weeks, Irelands entire potato crop was dead.
The disease lasted for 3 years, and nearly 1
million people died of starvation and related disease. More than 1.5 million Irish
emigrated (50% went to the USA).
The shocking thing was the callous response of the British. Not
only did they NOT offer aid, they
actually did the opposite, demanding rents and taxes.