AP World Unit 6

Imperialism definition

• An empire establishing authority over a foreign country to serve empire, mostly by establishing colonies

Reasons for “New Imperialism“ - Nationalism

• Fueled competition between industrialized powers for global power and prestige

• Enticed states to expand territory and establish colonies overseas to demonstrate power and maintain global dominance

Reasons for “New Imperialism“ - “Civilizing mission“

• Belief that Western culture represented superior form of civilization

• Western Europeans + American imperialists believed they possessed a moral duty to “civilize” people they saw as less advanced

  • Contributed to religious conversion + spreading of Western culture + development of infrastructure

Reasons for “New Imperialism“ - Social Darwinism

• Attempt to apply Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection to humans

  • Europeans twisted the theory into a racial framework

    • Industrial military superiority = biological superiority

    • Scientific racism as a means to justify imperial expansion

Phrenology

• Practice of measuring sizes of human skulls to prove racial superiority

• Data was often skewed with bigger skulls collected from Europeans and smaller skulls collected from other races

Reasons for “New Imperialism“ - Economic factors

• Competition between states to control means of production

• Raw materials + new markets to buy manufactured goods by establishing colonies + sources of cheap labor

Continuity and change in imperialism - Geography

• 1450-1750

  • Europeans colonizes most of Americans in Western hemisphere after trying to get to Asia through maritime expansion

• 1750-1900

  • Imperial expansion in Africa + Asia + Southeast Asia

Continuity and change in imperialism - States participating

• 1450-1750

  • Spain + Portugal dominated imperial expansion

• 1750-1900

  • Spain + Portugal lose control over their colonies due to revolutions

  • British + France + Dutch increased their control over their colonies + increased their colonial presence around the world

  • Germany + Italy + Belgium + United States + Japan emerge as new imperial powers

Belgian Congo

• Individual -> state control

• King Leopold II’s private colony

  • Used humanitarian/the “civilizing mission” to justify his rule over the Congo

  • Exploited the colony for raw materials (specifically rubber) for industrialization + luxury goods and resulted in death of ~10 million Congolese

• Belgian government pressured to annex the Congo by other European powers and place it under direct state control

British East India Company

• Private -> state control

• British government assumes control of India due to Sepoy Rebellion where the Indian soldiers were allegedly forced to use weapons greased with cow fat

Dutch East India Company

• In Indonesia

• Dutch government took control after it became bankrupt + corrupt + unable to compete

Diplomacy in the process of imperialism

• Berlin Conference (1884-1885)

  • European Powers divided up Africa with little regard for the African population

  • Split ethnic groups or put rival groups in the same territory -> domestic conflicts after decolonization

Warfare in the process of imperialism

• France conquered Algeria from Ottoman Empire and used a “scorched earth policy” (destroy everything that won’t obey our rule) to maintain control

• Britain established colonies/seized trading posts in West Africa (Nigeria + Ghana + Sierra Leone + Gambia) to secure raw materials (palm oil + gold)

Settler Colonies in the process of imperialism

• British people migrated to Australia and New Zealand to reshape indigenous societies through land displacement/seizure + cultural suppression

Industrialized powers expanding - United States

• Driven by Manifest Destiny

  • Belief that it was a divine calling to expand

  • Involved displacing the indigenous + moving them to reservations + enforcing assimilation policies

  • Example - Louisiana Purchase + wars with Mexico and Spain that helped solidify control over North America

Industrialized powers expanding - Russia

• Exposed military weakness when lost Crimean War

• Fueled by Pan-Slavism (uniting all Slavic people under Russian rule even those who are under Ottoman and Austrian rule) + desire for super power status

• Expanded throughout Central + East Asia

Industrialized powers expanding - Japan

• Most dominant “non-western” power in Asia following Meiji Restoration

• Similar mentality to Pan-Slavism, all Asians should be united under one rule

• Conquered Korea + Manchuria + parts of China

Yaa Asantewaa War/War of the Golden Stool

• British wanted to conquer Asante Kingdom for access to gold and resources

• Rebellion led by Queen Waa Asantewaa

• British won and got the Asante Kingdom as a colony

Wassoulou Empire (present day Guinea + Mali + Cote d'Ivoire) controlled by French

• Samory Toure used guerilla warfare to challenge French conquest

• Got absorbed as a colony for French empire

Sepoy Rebellion (1857)

• British allegedly greased the rifles of the Indian soldiers with animal fat which violated religious beliefs of Hindu + Muslim soldiers (Sepoys)

• Resulted in British East India Company transferred to British state and establishment of British Raj/British rule in India

Tupac Amaru Rebellion in Peru

• Led by Tupac Amaru in response to oppressive taxes and forced labor via the mita system

• Rebellion crushed and execution of Amaru + his family + his supporters by Spanish

Indigenous groups creating states in response to state expansion - North America

• Westward expansion + Indian Removal Act of 1835

• Displaced Cherokee + other indigenous nations from their home to Oklahoma Territory

• There they established a semi autonomous state with legal system + constitution until they lost their autonomy and got marginalized when Oklahoma became part of the United States

Indigenous groups creating states in response to state expansion - South Africa

• Shaka Zulu unifying Zulu Kingdom

  • Centralized + implemented effective military technologies + strategies to expand the empire and resist foreign influence

  • Powerful state until got colonized by British

Indigenous groups creating states in response to state expansion - Ottoman Empire

• “Sick man of Europe” declines

• Britain + France + Russia supported independence movement in the Balkans

• Greece (1830) + Serbia (1878) + Romania (1878) + Bulgaria (1908) gained independence through movements centered around ethnic nationalism

Xhosa Cattle Killing Movement in South Africa

• British brought disease that wiped out Xhosa cattle

• Religious prophecy prophesied that if the rest of the cattle were wiped out, healthier cattle would arise and their ancestors would come back to help drive out the Europeans

• Xhosa people followed prophecy but it didn’t come true so they were hit with famine

• British then turned them into a colony

Sokoto Caliphate

• Usman dan Fodio criticized Hausa Kingdoms for oppressive taxations + exploitation + failure to apply Sharia Law by creating a syncretic version of Islam with indigenous African traditions

• Led political jihad (fight against enemies of Islam to protect Islamic community) that resulted in Sokoto Caliphate

• Was one of the most powerful + centralized states in Africa until it fell to the British after Berlin Conference

Ghost Dance Movement

• Native American Shaman in the United States preached that a ceremonial ghost dance would summon a messiah

  • That messiah would bring peace +restore the buffalo + cause the white settlers to vanish

• Gained followers among native tribes -> helped native Americans organize and resist American expansion

• Wounded Knee Massacre ended the organized resistance and America continued expanding westward

Export economy

• Focuses on producing raw materials to export

Subsistence farmers

• Produced diverse range of crops to support local communities prior to export economies

Development of export economies

• Imperial states transformed colonies into monocultures

  • Focused on one raw material/extraction of one mineral to be exported to the imperial state so it can be used for manufacturing

  • Colonies unable to sustain themselves and became dependent on imperial states

Reason for export economies - The need for raw materials in order to compete to access/control the means of production (specifically raw materials)

• Examples of colonial economies being dependent on imperial states

  • India + Egypt exporting cotton for British

  • West Africa exporting palm oil

    • Plantations operated through enslaved labor

  • Pacific + Atlantic islands exporting guano

  • South Africa + the Congo extracting + exporting minerals

Reason for export economies - Increasing demand for food as urban populations of the imperial state grew

• Colonies provided sugar + coffee + meat + other foods to imperial states

  • Example

    • Argentina + Brazil had large scale ranching operations to produce beef for export

• Colonial agriculture designed to satisfy external demands rather than the needs of the local population

Economic effects of export economies on colonial societies - Increasing economic dependence of colonies on imperial states

• Became reliant on imported goods -> extra vulnerable to fluctuations in global markets (cough Great Depression)

• Profits went back to imperial state rather than investment into colonial infrastructure or local industry (deindustrialization) + hindered accumulation of private capital in colonies

Economic dependence -> economic imperialism

• Imperial powers exert control through economic dominance > direct rule

• Allowed imperial states to extract resources + dominate trade + exploit labor while avoiding the costs of direct colonization

Economic imperialism in China with the Treaty of Nanjing

• Marked the beginning of spheres of influence in China

• Dominated by Britain + France + Germany + United States

Economic imperialism in Argentina

• British invested in Argentina’s infrastructure (railroads + trading port in Buenos Aires) which served as transportation connecting British factories in the region

  • Supported extraction + exportation of Argentina’s raw materials -> benefited British

• Economy remained vulnerable to external exploitation + dependent on British

• Development of local industries hindered + dependent on market in Europe

Sphere of influence

• Outside power claiming exclusive investment + trading privileges in an area

Colony

• Country/region governed internally by a foreign power

Protectorate

• Country/territory with its own internal government but under the control of an outside power

Environmental factors of global migration - Demographic changes/population growth

• Advances in medicine + improved sanitation + diversified diets + increased life expectancy

• Overpopulation in rural areas sped up the process of urbanization

Environmental factors of global migration - famine

• Irish Potato Famine

  • Mass starvation and death

  • Many Irish emigrated, mostly to the U.S.

Technological factors of global migration - advancements in transportation

• Railroads - reduced cost + time of domestic travel

• Steamships - made long distance international migration faster + cheaper + more reliable

Circular migration

• Migrants returning home after earning wages abroad and returning with new skills

Examples of Circular migration

• Lebanese merchants -> Argentina + Brazil for economic reasons and to avoid treatment as Christians in a mostly Muslim region (Ottoman Empire)

• Japanese agricultural workers -> Hawaii + California + other Pacific regions

• Italian industrial workers -> Argentina for work and returning with new skills and capital

Economic factors of global migration - Voluntary migration

• People seeking higher wages to escape from poverty + unemployment + limited opportunities

Examples of Voluntary migration

• German + Irish + Italian immigrants -> urban centers in eastern coast of the United States

• Chinese immigrants -> West coast of United States to work on railroad construction

• “Industrially-skilled” migrants (like British engineers + geologists) -> South/South East Asia + Africa to develop infrastructure

Economic factors of global migration - Atlantic Slave trade + coerced migration

• Continued early in this period before declining under abolitionist pressure in early 1800s

• Convict labor

  • Prisoners performed hard labor like railroad construction

  • In penal colonies of British Australia + French Guiana in Africa

Economic factors of global migration - Semi Coerced migration

• Indentured servitude continued and expanded to meet labor demands as chattel slavery declined

• British government facilitated migration of Indian laborers to Caribbean + Africa + Southeast Asia and Chinese laborers to labor in Malaysian tin mines

Shifts in gender roles social + cultural structures due to migration

• Men mostly sought jobs in urban centers + cash cropping endeavors and migrated to find higher wages

  • Left mostly women in the country of origin

• Women started to take on more demanding and traditional male roles

• Women also started to lead households

• Women started to gain economic autonomy + independence by selling surplus crops in local markets

Ethnic enclaves

• Areas within cities where large numbers of people from the same ethnic and cultural background settled

  • Helped preserve native languages + religious practices + traditional foods

  • Contributed to cultural diffusion

Nativism

• Belief that native borns should be prioritized over immigrants

• Immigrants filled the low wage jobs that native borns avoided + contributed to economic growth

  • Still faced hostility + resentment fueled by racial + ethnic + cultural prejudice

Examples of Nativism by the United States

• Irish + Italian immigrants faced social + economic marginalization for not being perceived as white in the United States

• Chinese immigrants in the United States and Australia faced nativist backlash

  • Congress passed Chinese Exclusion Act that banned almost all Chinese immigration into the United States

Examples of Nativism by the British

• Britain enacted White Australia Policy

  • Restricted Asian immigration to Australia