The New Global Age

1800-1914

Britain Becomes More Democratic

• Chronological Events– 1815: Britain was a constitutional monarchy.– 1820s: Catholics and non-Anglican

Protestants are granted equal political rights.– 1830s: People’s Charter proposed by

Chartists, demanding universal male suffrage, annual parliamentary elections, salaries for Parliament members and a secret ballot. After nearly 20 years most reforms would pass.

Britain Becomes More Democratic

• Reform Bill of 1832:– “The Bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill.”– Redistributed seats in the House of Rep.– Positives

• Gave representation to large towns and cities.• Enlarged the electorate, people allowed to vote.• Middle-class men have greater political voice.

– Negatives• Maintained property requirements to vote.• Nobles remained a powerful force in the government and

economy.

Britain Becomes More Democratic

• Chronological Events Cont…– 1867: Reform Bill gives working-class men the

vote, doubling the size of the electorate.– 1880s: Farm workers and most other men

gain suffrage. Most chartist ambitions achieved by the end of the decade.

– 1911: Power of the Lords restricted including power to veto tax bills.

– 1918: Women over 30 gain suffrage.– 1928: All women gain right to vote.

A Century of Reform

• Social Reforms– Slave Trade: Abolished by Britain in 1807.

• Did not end Slave trade, but in 1833, Parliament banned slavery in all British colonies.

– Crime and Punishment:• Early 1800s, over 200 crimes were punishable by

death (shoplifting, sheep stealing, impersonating an army veteran).

• These capital offenses were reduced and many criminals were sent to penal colonies instead.

A Century of Reform

• Working Class Victories– Working conditions

better during the 1840s.

– Unions legalized in 1825.

– From 1890 – 1914, union membership soared.

– Won higher wages, shorter working hours and better lives for the working class.

A Century of Reform• Education

– William Gladstone’s Education Act

• Free elementary education for all children.

• Government jobs based on merit rather than birth or wealth.

• Women’s Suffrage

“Ireland for the Irish”

• Explanation– Daniel O’Connell’s quote typified their desire

for freedom and justice from England and Scotland.

• Mass Starvation– Under British rule, ¾ of the farmland was

used to grow crops for England, with the remaining land, the Irish grew potatoes.

– In 1845, a blight, or disease destroyed the potato crop leading to the “Great Hunger.”

Division & Democracy in France

• The Third Republic of France– 2nd Republic under Napoleon III– After losing the Franco-Prussian war,

republicans set up a provisional, or temporary government that would evolve into the Third Republic.

– Power controlled by a premier, or prime minister.

– With four large parties, politicians had to form coalitions, or alliances to control enough votes to name a premier and cabinet.

Division & Democracy in France

• Political Scandal in France– The Dreyfus Affair

• 1894, French army officer, Alfred Dreyfus is accused of spying for Germany.

• Dreyfus was found guilty, due in part to his religion, which was Jewish, and not being allowed to see the evidence against him.

• Through the work of the Dreyfusards and Emile Zola, the French Court cleared Dreyfus’ name in 1906, but France was still deeply divided.

Division & Democracy in France

• Calls for a Jewish State– Following the Dreyfus case and a rise of anti-

Semitism through Europe, Theodor Herzl, a Hungarian Jewish Journalist, called for Jews to form their own separate state.

• Rationale:– They would have the rights denied to them in European

countries.– Modern Zionism: movement to rebuild a Jewish state in

Palestine.

Causes of the New ImperialismEconomic Interests

• Manufacturers wanted access to natural resources. • If they could not get them at home they had to expand overseas.

Politics & Military• Steam-powered ships needed places to take on coal and supplies.• Nationalism led to expansion for purposes of security and prestige.

Humanitarian & Religious

• Opportunity to spread Western medicine, law and the Christian Religion to their “little brothers.”

Social Darwinism• Growing sense in the West of racial superiority.• Imperial conquest was simply nature’s way of improving the human species.

Empire Builders & Critics

• Imperialism found favor with all classes, and Europe could force Africans and Asians to accept Western control.

• Criticism claimed it to be immoral and undemocratic.

Science & Inventions• Maxim machine gun• Repeating rifle• Steam warships• improved medicines

“The White Man’s Burden”

• Analysis– Kipling presents a Eurocentric view of

the world, in which non-European cultures are seen as childlike. This view proposes that white people consequently have an obligation to rule over, and encourage the cultural development of, people from other ethnic and cultural backgrounds until they can take their place in the world by fully adopting Western ways.

The Diverse Lands of Africa

• North– Includes the Sahara and fertile

land along the Mediterranean. The region has long since had ties with the Muslim world.

• West– Grassland area that was strongly

Islamic. The strength of the Asante Kingdom worked against it.

The Diverse Lands of Africa

• East– Also influenced by

Islam, they carried on profitable trade like slaves, ivory and copper for cloth and firearms.

• South– A region in chaos due

to the conflict between the Zulus and Boers.

The Great Scramble

• Berlin Conference (1884)– Set the standards for colonizing

Africa.– Claimed Congo & Niger rivers as

free trade zones.– A European power could not lay

claim to an area with out setting up government office there.

– After 20 years nearly the whole continent had been partitioned.

• African Resistance– Ethiopia under Menelik II and

Liberia were the only states to remain independent.

European Challenges to the Muslim World

• European Pressure on the Ottoman– As the empire crumbled, Ottoman territory fell into the hands of

European powers.• Algeria was seized by France.• Russia and Britain schemed to gain the Bosporus and

Dardanelles.• Germany wanted to build a Berlin-to-Baghdad railway.

• Massacre of Armenians– Genocide: a deliberate attempt to destroy an entire religious or

ethnic group.• Muslim Turks accused Christian Armenians of helping the

Russians. Over 25 years, a million or more Armenians were killed for protesting Ottoman policies.

European Challenges to the Muslim World

• The Suez Canal– Devised in 1859

by a Frenchmen Ferdinand de Lesseps, the canal would link the Med. and Red Seas.

– Hailed by many European countries as a lifeline to India when completed in 1869.

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Iran and the European Powers

• Britain & Russia– Britain wanted to protect its interests to India.– Russia wanted to protect its southern frontier and

expand into Central Asia.– The Iranian Government granted Britain & Russia

concessions, or special economic rights when they became interested in Iranian oil fields.

• Iranian Muslim Groups & Iranian Nationalists– Both groups were outraged with the government and

Muslim leaders condemned western influences.– Nationalists like the urban middle class, wanted to

move swiftly to adopt western ways before being conquered by them.

British Rule in India

• Good Effects– Improved Roads– Preserved Peace– Reduced Banditry– Introduced western

education and law– Conversions to

Christianity– Pushed to end slavery,

the caste system and improve women’s position within the family.

• Bad Effects– Sepoys, Indian

soldiers could serve anywhere, but overseas travel was against their religion.

– Allowed Hindu women to remarry which was also against their religion.

– Refusal of Sepoys to load weapons.

Rebellion & Colonial Rule

• The Sepoy Rebellion/Mutiny– Revolt by Indian soldiers, due to insensitive British

reforms, that was crushed by the British. – In 1858, Parliament would end the rule of the British

East India Company and put India directly under British control.

• An Unequal Partnership– The British used India as a market and source of raw

materials.– Britain ruined India’s hand-weaving industry,

transformed Indian agriculture and created massive deforestation, or cutting of trees for new farmland.

• Opium War– British merchants traded opium for Chinese tea. – As the Chinese became addicted to opium and the

loss of silver hurt the economy, the government outlawed opium.

– The British refused to stop trading and easily defeated China at war in 1839.

– Unequal Treaties• Britain received indemnity, or payment for losses in the war.• British citizens in China were also granted extraterritoriality,

the right to live under their own laws and be tried in their own courts.

• The Decline of the Qing– The Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864)

• The “Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace,” that sought social reforms such as: land reform, community ownership of property, equality of women and men and most importantly the end of the Qing dynasty.

– Effects• Qing nearly toppled, nearly 20-30 million Chinese die.• Opens the door to Europeans as Russia seized land in

Northern China.

– Sino-Japanese War• 1894, China losses to Japan giving up Taiwan in the process.

• Qing Declines cont.– Spheres of Influence

• Following their loss to Japan, European nations forced China to sign a series of unequal treaties. Eventually western nations weary of governing foreign lands, established spheres of influence within China which guaranteed specific trading privileges to each nation within its respective sphere.

• The Qing Dynasty Falls– Boxer Rebellion

• Secret Society called the Righteous Harmonious Fists, or Boxers, whose goal was to drive out all foreigners from China.

• In 1900 the Boxers attacked foreigners, but were eventually crushed by a multinational force of European and Japanese troops.

• In the aftermath, China made concessions again and finally realized the need for reforms in the areas of education, economy and women’s rights.

• Sun Yixian– A Chinese revolutionary and

political leader often referred to as the "father of modern China". Sun played an instrumental role in the eventual collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911.

– Three Principles of the People• Nationalism – Independence from

foreigners.• Democracy – representative govt.• Livelihood – economic stability. In 1911 Sun Yixian was

named President of China’s Republic.

The Opening of Japan

• What caused the opening?– A letter from the President of the U.S. demanding that

Japan opens its doors to diplomatic and commercial exchange.

• Results– U.S. gains extraterritoriality and most favored nation

status.– European countries win similar rights.– Criticism and bitterness toward the shogun.– Revolt unseated the shogun and restored the

emperor to power.

Commodore Matthew Perry

• Naval leader who opened up Japan with a letter from President Fillmore and his fleet of steam ships.

The Meiji

• Meaning: “Enlightened rule”• Motto: “A rich country, a strong military.”• Leader: Emperor Komei• Government: a strong central government with

equality before the law for all citizens.• Class System: Class distinctions survived

despite reforms.• Modernization: set-up banks, built railroads,

improved ports, organized a telegraph and postal system, started industrialization and used western education.

The Meiji Restoration

• Empire Building– By defeating Russia,

Japan gained treaty ports with China and ruled Korea just like European imperialists.

– Japan uses their influence in each area for natural resources.

• Results– By the early 1900s,

Japan was the strongest power in Asia.

• In the years to come they would add territory and natural resources.

Southeast Asian Colonies

• Dutch– Controlled the

Moluccas and Indonesia where they grew coffee, indigo and spices.

• British– Conquered Burma and

Singapore which allowed for more natural resources and profits to enrich Britain.

• French

- By the 1860s, invasions allowed France to seize Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Effects of Europeans

• How Siam (Thailand) remained free.– King Mongkut studied foreign language and modern

science to understand Western culture.– Accepted some unequal treaties.– Modernized government, army and technology.– Mongkut’s son Chulalongkorn bargained to remove

unequal treaties.– Instead of colonizing them, Britain & France saw Siam

as a buffer, or neutral zone. They would be independent by the early 1900s.

Self-Rule for Canada, Australia and New Zealand

ORIGINAL PEOPLE

WAY OF LIFE RESULTS OF COLONIZATION

Native Americans &

French

Effected by Britain taking natural

resources and their land.

Canada became a flourishing nation, but

was a separated nation.

Dutch, claimed by Britain in

1770s

Used as a Penal Colony

Made an Independent Commonwealth in

1901 that recognized the British Monarchy.

Maoris, Britain claimed in 1769

Settled farmers who wanted to

defend their land.

Many Maoris died and white New Zealanders gained independence

in 1907.

CANADA

Australia

NewZealand

Economic Imperialism in Latin America

• Instability– New Latin American

countries were weakened by regionalism, loyalty to an area and local strongmen called caudillos, who resisted the central government.

• Economic Dependence– Even with their new

found independence, Latin American countries still relied on trade with Britain and the U.S. to supplant Spain, due to their weak economy.

Latin American Biographies• Santa Anna

– a Mexican political leader who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government, first fighting against independence from Spain, and then becoming its chief general and president at various times over a turbulent 40-year career.

• Benito Juarez– Seized power in 1855 and opened an era of reform

known as La Reforma, by revising the Mexican constitution to strip the military of power and end special privileges of the church.

• Porfirio Diaz– Former war hero and dictator who made economic advances at

the expense of his own people. Diaz peonage system allowed the rich to prosper, while most Mexicans remained poor.

The Influence of the U.S.

• Monroe Doctrine– a U.S. doctrine which, on December 2,

1823, proclaimed that European powers would no longer colonize or interfere with the affairs of the newly independent nations of the Americas.

• Panama Canal– Water way that would connect Atlantic &

Pacific Oceans. The U.S. had to back a revolt by the Panamanians to defeat Colombia in order to build the canal.

Relationship based upon Colonization

• Imperial West– Economy

• Global economy had emerged including machine-made goods, investment capital & technology.

– Industry• Mass-produced goods

from the industrialized world disrupted traditional economies

– Culture• Cecil Rhodes said it best:

“The more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race.”

• Colonies– Economy

• Provided agricultural goods, natural resources & cheap labor.

– Industry• The Indian market was

flooded by British goods, so Indian hand-made weavers could not keep up.

– Culture• Conquered people were

forced to modernize and westernize and came to believe in western superiority.