IMPERIALISM

"Old Imperialism"

Old Imperialism occurs in the 15th through 18th centuries in Africa, India, the Americas, and parts of Asia.  The motives were the same for most areas, the establishment of lucrative trade routes.  Various European countries dominated these trade routes at one time or another, and some countries, such as Great Britain and Spain, came to dominate entire countries. 

"Old Imperialism"

European powers did not usually acquire territory (except for Spain in Americas and Portugal in Brazil) but rather built a series of trading stations. Respected and frequently cooperated with local rulers in India, China, Japan, Indonesia, and other areas where trade flourished between locals and European coastal trading centers.

"Old Imperialism"

Economic penetration of non-European regions in the 19th century

China

• Opium Wars: 1839–42 and 1856–60, two wars between China and Western countries.

China

• A. First Opium War (1839-1841)

• The first was between Great Britain and China. Early in the 19th century, British merchants began smuggling opium into China in order to balance their purchases of tea for export to Britain.

China

In 1839, China enforced its prohibitions on the importation of opium by destroying at Guangzhou (Canton) a large quantity of opium confiscated from British merchants. Great Britain, which had been looking to end China's restrictions on foreign trade, responded by sending gunboats to attack several Chinese coastal cities.

China

China, unable to withstand modern arms, was defeated and forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing (1842) and the British Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue (1843). These provided that the ports of Guangzhou, Jinmen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai should be open to British trade and residence; in addition Hong Kong was ceded to the British.

China Within a few years

other Western powers signed similar treaties with China and received commercial and residential privileges, and the Western domination of China's treaty ports began. (Extraterritoriality)

China

• B. Taiping Rebellion of 1850

• Primarily caused by differing Chinese factions: rebels opposed Manchus. As many as 20 million people perished. Manchus defeated rebellion after 14 years with the help of the British military.

China

• C. Second Opium War (1856-1860)• In 1856 a second war broke out following an

allegedly illegal Chinese search of a British-registered ship, the Arrow, in Guangzhou. British and French troops took Guangzhou and Tianjin and compelled the Chinese to accept the treaties of Tianjin (1858), to which France, Russia, and the United States were also party. China agreed to open 11 more ports, permit foreign legations in Beijing, sanction Christian missionary activity, and legalize the import of opium.

China

• China's subsequent attempt to block the entry of diplomats into Beijing as well as Britain's determination to enforce the new treaty terms led to a renewal of the war in 1859. This time the British and French occupied Beijing and burned the imperial summer palace (Yuan ming yuan). The Beijing conventions of 1860, by which China was forced to reaffirm the terms of the Treaty of Tianjin and make additional concessions, concluded the hostilities.

CHINA

Japan

• Commodore William Perry (U.S.): forced Japan to open trade in 1853

Egypt• Became a protectorate of Great Britain from 1883 until

1956. Turkish general Muhammad Ali had established Egypt into a strong and virtually independent state by 1849. Egypt's inability to satisfy foreign investors led to control of its finances by France & Britain. Safeguarding the Suez Canal (completed in 1869) played a key role in the British occupation of Egypt and its bloody conquest of the Sudan.

European Migration

• between 1815 and 1932 more than 60 million people left Europe. Migrants went primarily to European-inhabited areas: North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Siberia. European migration provided further impetus for Western expansion. Most were poor from rural areas, though seldom from the poorest classes (due to oppressive land policies)

NEW IMPERIALISM

• Began in 1870s colonized Asia and Africa by using military force to take control of local governments, exploiting local economies for raw materials required by Europe’s growing industry and imposing Western values to benefit the “backwards” colonies.

NEW IMPERIALISM

• Major causes for the imperialist impulse:• Economic MotivesThe Industrial Revolution created

an insatiable demand for raw materials and new markets.

• NationalismEuropean nations wanted to demonstrate their power and prestige to the world.

• Balance of PowerEuropean nations were forced to acquire new colonies to achieve a balance with their neighbors and competitors.

• White Man's BurdenThe Europeans’ sense of superiority made them feel obligated to bring their version of civilization to areas they considered uncivilized. Missionary work

NEW IMPERIALISM

• A. Dr. David Livingstone: first white man to do humanitarian and religious work in south and central Africa

NEW IMPERIALISM

• B. H. M. Stanley found Livingston (whom westerners thought to be dead) and his newspaper reports created European interest in Africa; Stanley sought aid of king of Belgium to dominate the Congo region.

NEW IMPERIALISM

• C. New military and naval bases to protect one's interests against other European powers Britain concerned by French & German land grabs in 1880s; might seal off their empires with high tariffs & restrictions; future economic opportunities might be lost forever.

NEW IMPERIALISM

• D. Increased tensions between the “haves” (e.g. British Empire) and the “have nots" (e.g. Germany & Italy) who came in late to the imperialistic competition. Ideology: nationalism and Social Darwinism. Germany and Russia especially used imperialistic drives to divert popular attention from the class struggle at home and to create a false sense of national unity

NEW IMPERIALISM

• E. "White Man's Burden": racist patronizing that preached that the “superior” Westerners had an obligation to bring their culture to “uncivilized” peoples in other parts of the world. Poem by Rudyard Kipling

Africa• 1880, Europeans controlled

10% of Africa; by 1914 controlled all except Liberia & Ethiopia ( Belgian Congo).  At behest of Leopold II, H. M. Stanley established trading stations, signed “treaties” with African chiefs, and claimed land for Belgium.      Leopold’s incursion into Congo basin raised the question of the political fate of black Africa (south of the Sahara); also Britain's conquest of Egypt.

Africa• Berlin Congress, 1884-85:

established the "rules" for conquest of Africa. Sponsored by Bismarck & Jules Ferry; sought to prevent conflict over imperialism. Congress coincided with Germany's rise as an imperial power.   Agreed to stop slavery and slave trade in Africa.

King Leopold II and the Congo Free State“I do not want to miss a good chance of getting a slice of this magnificent African cake.”

--Leopold II (after Brussels conference)

Africa

• a. Germany took control of Cameroon, Togo, southwest Africa, & East Africa   

• b. France took control Tunisia, Algeria, French West Africa (including Morocco, Sahara, Sudan, Congo basin)

Africa

• c. Britain: perhaps the most enlightened of the imperialist powers (though still oppressive).   Took control of Egypt in 1883 (model for "New Imperialism").       Pushed southward and took control of Sudan

– Battle of Omdurman (1898): General Horatio H. Kitchener defeated Sudanese tribesman and killed 11,000 (use of machine gun) while only 28 Britons died

– Fashoda Incident (1898): France & Britain nearly went to war over Sudan; France backed down in the face of the Dreyfus Affair

Africa

• d. South Africa and the Boer War (1899-1902)

– Cecil Rhodes had become Prime Minister of Cape Colony ; principal sponsor of the Cape-to Cairo dream where Britain would dominate the continent.

– Diamonds and gold were discovered in the Transvaal and Rhodes wanted to extend his influence there but region controlled by Boers (descendents of Dutch settlers)

Africa– Kruger Telegram (1902): Kaiser

Wilhelm II, dispatched telegram to Boers congratulating them on defeating British invaders without need of German assistance.     Anger swept through Britain aimed at Germany.

– Massive British force eventually defeated Boers and in 1910 the Transvaal, Orange Free State, Cape Colony, & Natal combined to form the Union of South Africa.

Africa

– By 1900, Britain controlled 1/5 of world's territory: including Australia, Canada, India· "The Empire upon which the sun never sets": Possible to travel around world by railroad & sea, moving only through British territories.

– e. Italy: took control of Libya

Imperialism and the Balance of Power

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                       

Asia

• 3. Asia• France: Jules Ferry – Indochina• Britain: Burma, Malay Peninsula,

North Borneo• Germany: certain Pacific islands • Russia: Persia, outlying provinces

of China• Spanish-American War, 1898:

U.S. defeated Spain, took Philippines, Guam, Hawaii & Cuba

Responses to Western Imperialism in Asia

• A. India was the jewel of the British Empire– Mogul Empire: Muslims

empire in Indian subcontinent fell apart in the 17th century

– British East India Company took last native state in India by 1848.  Robert Clive captured military posts in Madras and England ousted France from India

Responses to Western Imperialism in Asia

• Sepoy Mutiny, 1857-58 Insurrection of Hindu & Muslim soldiers in British Army spread in northern & central India before it was crushed, primarily by loyal native troops from southern India. After 1858, India ruled by British Parliament in London and administered by a tiny, all-white civil service in India.

Responses to Western Imperialism in Asia

• British reforms in India. Modern system of progressive secondary education (to train Indian civil servants), economic reforms (irrigation, railroads, tea and jute plantations), creation of unified and powerful state.– Indian National

Congress formed in 1885

Responses to Western Imperialism in Asia

• Educated Indians, predominantly Hindu, demanded increasing equality & self-government.

• India became independent in 1946 (just after WWII)

Responses to Western Imperialism in Asia

• China: carved into spheres of influence in late 19th century– Sino-Japanese War of 1894-

95 revealed China’s helplessness, triggered a rush for foreign concessions and protectorates in China. Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Japan each came to control a piece of eastern China

Responses to Western Imperialism in Asia

– Dr. Sun Yat-sen a revolutionary, sought to overthrow the Manchu dynasty and establish a republic; sparked the beginning of a Chinese nationalist movement

Responses to Western Imperialism in Asia

– Open Door Policy, sponsored by the U.S. in 1899, sought to open commerce to imperial latecomers like itself, urged the Europeans to allow free trade within China while respecting its territorial integrity.

Responses to Western Imperialism in Asia

– Boxer Rebellion, 1900: Patriotic uprising by Chinese nationalists against Western encroachment, was put down by imperial powers in 1900; Manchu dynasty would soon fall

Responses to Western Imperialism in Asia

• Japan• Unlike China, Japan

quickly modernized and became an imperial power by late 19th century.  Meiji Restoration, 1867: resulted in series of reforms to compete with the West

Responses to Western Imperialism in Asia

• Russo-Japanese War (1904): Russia and Japan both had designs on Manchuria and Korea. Japanese concerned about Russian Trans-Siberian Railway across Manchuria . Japan destroyed Russian fleet off coast of Korea and won major battles on land although Russians turned the tide on land subsequently.   Westerners horrified that Japan had defeated a major Western power.

Responses to Western Imperialism in Asia

• Treaty of Portsmouth (mediated by U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt) ended war with Japan winning major concessions (preferred position in Manchuria, protectorate in Korea, half of Sakhalin Island. Long-term impact of war: Russia turned to the Balkans, Russian Revolution, and revolt of Asia in 20th century (Asians hoped to emulate Japan power and win their independence) annexation of Korea

NEW IMPERIALISM

• J. A. Hobson believed imperialism benefited only the wealthy; anti-imperialism increased. Hobson was a British economist and journalist. He was noted for his analysis of capitalism and imperialism. In 1189, he advanced the then-heretical thesis that cyclical economic depressions and unemployment were caused by oversaving and underspending, a thesis he restated in The Evolution of Modern Capitialism (1894).

NEW IMPERIALISM

• Hobson was an intellectual forerunner of John Maynard Keynes. In Imperialism (1902), Hobson argued that although imperialism is caused by many factors, its “economic taproot” is critical: domestic maldistribution of income and corporate monopolistic behavior result in a glut of capital and underproduction; the capitalist financial class must therefore seek investment opportunities abroad. Hobson’s analysis had a great impact on Marxist writers.