lecture 24 - late european imperialism

describe Effects of the Industrial Rev on Empire

European Empires expanded greatly in the 1800’s

• Massive economic expansion due to the industrial revolution provided both the causes and the means of imperial expansion

  • huge boost to the capabilities of empires in Europe - more money = more conquest

  • businesses created more goods than europeans could buy - new markets 

  • Europeans also needed new raw materials to be able to expand their businesses further, Europe did not have enough resources

describe the pressure release valve

Industrial Revolution leads to a massive population explosion

• Economy was not providing enough economic benefits to support this new population

  • New populations were causing social problems - urban poor were agitating for more rights and higher wages

• European thinkers thought that by allowing for imperial expansion, urban populations would be satiated

  • At home - more work for the poor + Nationalism 

  • Abroad -  populations could leave the urban sprawl and go colonize.

describe the height of pseudoscience

Questioning of old ideas led many Europeans to believe that they could solve everything with “science”

• Ways of thinkings such as Scientific Racism emerge that seek to explain why “Europeans are superior” to the people they are conquering

  • Skull measurements “link” african peoples directly to monkeys - seen as below whites

• Darwin’s theory of evolution used in a bad way

  • Social Darwinism = “the ‘strong’ will conquer the “weak” - serves as justification for conquest

describe the conquest of india

• Facilitated by the British East India Company first

  • As the Mughal Empire was destroyed by rebellion, the EIC made deals and supplied arms to the new states emerging

  • Over time, the EIC started to completely control areas of land around the most profitable ports

  • Company mismanagement led to the EIC losing control of India, ceding control to the British government. 

  • Over the course of 100 years (1750-1850), the British gain control over the entire Indian subcontinent

describe the conquests of africa

New European powers take part in this Scramble for Africa

• A newly united German Empire and Italian Empire join the established powers (Britain/France)

  • To avoid conflict amongst themselves, the Europeans meet together at the Berlin Conference to carve up Africa

  • Even relatively small countries, such as Belgium, begin to colonize large portions of Africa

• The conquest of Africa was defined by several moments of internal weakness and European tech advantage

  • Droughts and other natural disasters weakened the native African states - allowing for the resource rich Europeans to step in

    • Many of these countries would make deals to prevent their countrymen from starving - 

describe china’s century of humiliation

Qing China is not having a good time in the mid 1800’s

• Taiping Rebellion - led by “Brother of Jesus” Hong Xiuquan

  • Western influences + distaste for Chinese government lead to rebellions

  • China is split for nearly 20 years + millions died

  • Peasants very upset at Qing Government - heavy taxes + no rep

• Opium Wars - British vs Qing China

  • China did not want western goods -  west still wants Chinese goods

  • British begin to sell an illegal drug, Opium, to begin breaking into Chinese markets - China hates this

  • China loses literally tons of silver - tries to ban Opium trade

  • British very easily blockade all of China and cause lots of destruction

  • Begin to impose “Unequal Treaties” - Treaties that treat China like a child

describe how China tries to industrialize to overcome European domination

• The Self Strengthening Movement

  • Borrowing industrial + governmental ideas from the West cautiously

  • Tried to fix the Civil Service Exam… again.

  • Bring in many western advisors to begin to help China with military + industrialization problems - trying to catch up

• Boxer Rebellion - 1898

  • Chinese traditionalist rebel against the Qing Government for being too similar to the West - “abandoning Chinese tradition”

  • “The Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists” = Boxers

  • Eight nation coalition came into China to put down this rebellion - China is dependent on outside help to keep their state

    • US, Germany, Russia, Britain, France, Austria, Italy, Japan

describe the sick man of europe

Lost considerable prestige as the defender of Islam as many Muslim areas were colonized

• Also was attacked in Europe by many powers - France + Russia + Britain + Austria

  • Nationalism enabled most of the Balkans to become independent - Greece + Bulgaria + Romania

• Ottomans were slow to industrialization - fell behind European great powers

  • Took out HUGE loans to try to industrialize

  • More eagerly embraced change than China

• Tanzimat = Reforming of the Empire - 1839-1918

describe efforts at ottoman reform

• Young Ottomans - Wanted more western style government (Constitution and representation)

  • Gained what they wanted - then lost it as a war with Russia made the Sultan take back his powers

  • Young Turks - Opposition to the new powerful Sultan, wanted a secular society more defined by their shared turkish roots rather than Islam

  • Young Turks take over government in 1908

describe japan rule during this time

The Tokugawa Shogunate has been ruling Japan steadily for roughly 250 years (1600-1850)

• Very much a feudal society that had many Daimyo that were right on the edge of civil war constantly

  • Strong social hierarchy Shogun > Daimyo > Samurai > Peasants > Artisans 

Huge urban growth during the Shogunate

• Nearly 50% of the population could read and write

• The capital, Edo, had roughly 1 million people in it, one of the largest in the world at the time