1875-1914

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

• Economic- need for new markets and raw materials

• Political– boost national pride, expand territory, exercise military force

• Social- racism, Social Darwinism, spread Christianity, white man’s burden

• The Industrial Revolution– Industrialized nations took control of

less developed nations• To gain raw materials for industry

– Cotton, coal, metals, etc.

• To gain markets for goods– Manufactured goods could be sold in the

colonies

• Nationalism– Competition between industrial nations led

to a race for overseas empires

• The “White Man’s Burden”– Many believed it was their duty to “civilize”

people of other nations by introducing Christianity and Western culture

• Social Darwinism– Many claimed it was natural for “the weak

to be taken over by the strong”

One English writer put it this way:

“Whatever happens, we have gotthe Maxim gun, and they have not.”

“Take up the White Man’s Burden –Send forth the best ye breed –Go bind your sons to exileTo serve your captives’ need;To wait in heavy harnessOn fluttered folk and wild –Your new caught, sullen peoplesHalf devil and half-child.”

Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book, was an Anglo-Indian – an Englishman who was born in India.

His ideas about imperialism can be seen in a poem he wrote in 1889, called The White Man’s Burden:

The White Man’s Burden was the idea that Europeans had to conquer the rest of the world, to spread the benefits of Western Civilization.

This was supposed to help them…

Mahatma Gandhi was born in India around the same time as Rudyard Kipling. Gandhi lived in India and Africa and studied law in England, but he had different ideas about imperialism.

Reporter: “What do you think about Western Civilization?”

Gandhi: “I think it would be a good idea!”

Gandhi led India to independence from England through nonviolent resistance.

Gandhi and others thought that Europeans were just talking about helping the people they conquered.

The West wasn’t really civilized, according to Gandhi. It was brutally conquering the entire world and taking foreign countries’ natural resources.

Social Darwinism said that the strong should rule over the weak

Nations competed for overseas empires. Britain’s lead was challenged.

• In the mid-1800s, Britain was the most powerful nation in the world.– It’s factories produced more good than those of any

other country.– The British Navy guarded the oceans so that those

goods could be shipped safely to ports around the globe.

– British banks loaned the money needed to build factories, mines, and railroads worldwide.

• By the late 1800s, however, Germany and the United States were challenging Britain’s economic leadership.

• Faced with possible decline, Britain looked increasingly to its colonies for markets and resources.

Nations competed for overseas empires.Imperialism fostered rivalries.

• Other countries followed Britain’s lead and came to see colonies as necessary for their economic well-being.– The French and Dutch expanded their holdings and by 1900

France had an empire second in size only to Britain’s.– Spain and Portugal attempted to build new empires in Africa.– Austria-Hungary moved into the Balkans.– Russia expanded into the Caucasus, Central Asia, and

Siberia.

• Countries that had no colonies set out to acquire them.– Belgium, Italy, and Germany all took over lands in Africa

(with Germany also taking an interest in East Asia & the Pacific islands).

Nations competed for overseas empires.Imperialism fostered rivalries (continued).

• Two non-European countries, the United States and Japan, also became involved in overseas expansion during this period. – Both the U.S. and Japan were interested in East

Asia.– The U.S. was also deeply tied to Latin America.

• Increasingly, Europeans viewed an empire as a measure of national stature.

• Thus, the race for colonies grew out of a strong sense of national pride as well as from economic competition.

Management MethodsIndirect Control Direct Control

Characteristics

-Local officials were used

-Limited self-rule

-Goal to develop future leaders

-Govt’s based on European styles, but may have local rulers

Characteristics

-Foreign officials brought into rule

- No self-rule

-Gold assimilation

-Govt’s institutions based only on European styles

Examples

-British colonies such as Nigeria, India, Burma

-U.S. colonies on Pacific Islands

Examples

-French colonies such as Somaliland, Vietnam

-German colonies such as Tanganyika

• Great Britain

• France

• Germany

• Russia

• The United States

• Japan

• Powerful industrial nations established empires in:– Africa – Asia– Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, and

surrounding islands)

• European nations met in Berlin, Germany to settle arguments over African lands

• European powers divided all of Africa (except Ethiopia and Liberia) and drew up new borders– Did not consider ethnic or language differences of

African tribes– Africans had no say in the decisions

• By 1902, 90% of all the land that makes up Africa was under European control.

• Most resistance was unsuccessful

• Superior European technology

• Alliances failed

Maji- Maji Rebellion 1905– Germany began levying head taxes in 1898, and relied heavily on forced labor to

build roads and accomplish various other tasks.

– In 1902, villages were ordered to grow cotton as a cash crop (for export).

– Each village was charged with producing a quota of cotton. The Headmen of the village were left in charge of overseeing the production, which set them against the rest of the population.

– In 1905, a drought threatened the region. This, combined with opposition to the government's agricultural and labor policies, led to open rebellion against the Germans in July.

– The insurgents turned to magic to drive out the German colonizers and used it as a unifying force in the rebellion.

– A spirit medium named Kinjikitile Ngwale claimed to be possessed by a snake spirit called Hongo. Ngwale began calling himself Bokero and developed a belief that the people of German East Africa had been called upon to eliminate the Germans. German anthropologists recorded that he gave his followers war medicine that would turn German bullets into water. This "war medicine" was in fact water (maji in Swahili) mixed with castor oil and millet seeds. Empowered with this new liquid, Bokero's followers began what would become known as the Maji Maji Rebellion

– Germans in East Africa squash spiritual uprising (26,000 killed)

• Menelik II Emperor of Ethiopia

• Purchases weapons from France & Russia

• Defeated Italian forces in 1896

• After defeating the Italians, he became the first black African king in modern history to engage in slavery of white European war captives held as slaves inside Ethiopia. Menelik expanded his kingdom to the south and east, expanding into areas that had never been under his rule.

• Only African nation to resist Europeans

• POSITIVE– Local warfare

reduced– Improved

sanitation– Hospitals led to

increased lifespan– Schools led to

increased literacy– Economic growth

• NEGATIVE– Loss of land and

independence– Men forced to work in

European owned mines and on European owned farms

– Contempt for traditional culture and admiration of European culture = identity problems

– Dividing up of Africa = artificial boundaries divided kinship groups and united rivals

“The Sun never sets on the British Empire”

Imperialism in 1914

India was Jewel in the Crown of English Colonies

300 million people= a huge potential market

Indian business competition was prohibited

Major supplier of Raw materials (Cotton, opium)

Sepoy Rebellion (1857)

• Sepoys- Indian soldiers in British Army (mainly Muslim and Hindu)

• Rifle Cartridges greased with beef and pork fat (violates religious law)

• Leads to Sepoy Rebellion• Failed Rebellion leads to Direct Rule (Raj)• New Direct Rule (Raj) paid by Salt Tax (Gandhi

leads Salt March Protest in 1930)• Growing Indian Nationalism / Modernization

– Ram Mohun Roy “Father of Modern India”– Indian National Congress– Muslim League

Positive:Improved infrastructure, built schools, improved sanitation & public health, ended local warfareIndians allowed to study abroad

Negative:British held all political & economic powerIndians treated as second class citizensConversion to cash crops caused famineIndian cultural values, beliefs & practices were threatened

•Source of tropical agriculture,minerals & oil•Hindus, Muslims, Christians & Buddhists•Dutch, British, French, US all raced to gain colonies

*Dutch East India Co. ruled Indonesia

*French ruled over Indochina (Vietnam)

Southeast AsiaPower Lands Claimed Major Trade

Products

Dutch Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Bali

Oil, Tin, rubber

British Malaysia, Burma Tin, Rubber

French Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia

Rice

Americans Philippines, Hawaii

Sugar, Bananas, Pineapples

Imperialism Stations

Walk around the room and analyze primary sources to

determine motives for Imperialism.

Imperialism Project

See handout

So how did Imperialism lead to World War I?

I’m glad you asked…