Imperialism

Define imperialism

• policy of conquering and ruling other lands

• domination by one country of another’s region’s political, economic, or cultural life

What was New Imperialism? What were the causes?

New Imperialism (later 1800s) –Africa, India, China

• period in which industrial nations scrambled for territories that would provide them with raw materials and serve as markets for their manufactured goods

AFRICA is a great example of New Imperialism and race for colonies broke out in late 1800s

ORIGINS

a. Industrial Revolution- need for resources drives further expansion

• Britain becomes leader in the race for colonies but WHY?

1. raw materials & new markets

2. technology to communicate long distances and to defeat natives

b. Nationalism

• pride in colonies was a symbol of the nation’s power and prestige

• Often driven by pride and not profit

• “There’s never been a great power without great colonies.”

1. place in the sun

2. gain military bases and war materials

c. Humanitarian

i. civilize natives; had duty to spread what they saw as blessings of western civilization

ii. Religious

d. Population growth

How did the British and French administer their colonies? (Direct Rule vs. Indirect Rule)

Direct (French)

• French Assimiliation: sending officials and soldiers from France to administer their colonies

  • viewed colonies as part of France

  • expected the Africans to assimilate

  • goal to impose French culture on their colonies and turn them into French provinces

  • Africans would get all rights and privileges of French citizenry

  +: citizen, treated equally

  -: lose culture and identity, need to speak French

Indirect

• Spheres of Influence- China

  • privileges

  • control China’s economy

  • Don’t have to follow laws (had extra-territorial rights)

• Britain- prepare natives for self-government

  • saw themselves as parents

  • African rulers from village government councils “native authorities”

  • British officials kept peace – uphold British law

  • Dominions
    +: culture preserved

Why were the Europeans in Africa?

• relied on Africans to bring slaves and trade goods, such as ivory and gold

• interest in Africa increased during the Age of Imperialism

• Spurred on by trading companies and desire for adventure, European explorers explored rivers of Africa, began pushing into the interior

Define 5 motives for rushing to create colonial empires (hint: look at your chart for Analyzing

Imperial Motives)

Economic motives: included the desire to…

• make money

• expand and control foreign trade

• create new markets for products

• acquire raw materials and cheap labor

• compete for investments and resources

• export industrial technology and transportation methods

Political motives: based on a nation’s desire to…

• gain power

• compete with other European countries

• expand territory

• exercise military force

• gain prestige by winning colonies

• boost national pride and security

Religious motives: included desire to…

• spread Christianity

• protect European missionaries in other lands

• spread European values and moral beliefs

• educate people of other cultures

• end slave trade in Africa

Exploratory motives: based on the desire to…

• explore “unknown” or uncharted territory

• conduct scientific research

• conduct medical searches for the causes and treatment of diseases

• go on an adventure

• investigate “unknown” lands and cultures

Ideological motives: based on cultural values such as…

• the belief that the white race was superior

• other cultures were “primitive“

• Europeans should “civilize” peoples in other parts of the world

• great nations should have empires

• only the strongest nations will survive

What two African countries remained independent of European control in 1914?

Ethiopia and Liberia

• Menelik II began to modernize Ethiopia

  • hired European experts to plan modern roads and bridges and set up a Western school system

  • imported latest weapons and European officers to help train his army

• therefore when Italy invaded Ethiopia they were prepared

Berlin Conference 1884-1885

• purpose to prevent bloodshed/fighting and to divide up Africa

• agreed that a European power could not claim any part of Africa unless it had set up a government office there

David Livingstone

• doctor and missionary

• explored the interior of Africa

• stories of his explorations were read in England and US

• discovered a set of water falls that he called Victoria Falls

• wanted freedom and justice for enslaved people

• wanted to achieve dream of combining commerce, civilization, and the Christian religion

  • expedition was a failure

• searched for source of the river nile, disappeared for five years and was thought to be dead until Stanley found him

• asked the world to abolish the slave trade in his last letter

Cecil Rhodes

• imperialist who had made a fortune in mining diamonds in southern Africa

• dreamed of building a “Cape to Cairo” railway to link British possessions from Cape Town, South Africa, to Cairo, Egypt

• helped Britain extend its African empire by one million square mi

• tricked King Lobengula into giving him his territory, named Rhodesia

Boer War

• boers- descendants of Dutch settlers

• discovery of gold and diamonds in the Boer republics led to conflict with Britain

• British won

  • united Cape Colony and former Boer republics into the Union of South Africa

Rudyard Kipling

• wrote the white man’s burden

  • duty for white ppl to civilize others

  • portrays imperialism as benefitting non-Europeans

Henry Stanley

• journalist who went to Central Africa to find Livingstone who had not been heard from for years

  • “Dr. Livingstone, I presume”

• proposed to open up trade with the friendly African tribes by making roads more practicable, easy, and safe for the natives to travel

Mary Kingsley

• went to West Africa to investigate the beliefs and customs of the inland African tribes

• French education didn’t benefit the African students

• criticised missionaries for attempting to convert the people of Africa and corrupt their religions

Gladstone

• Led “Peelites”, argued for free trade and a permanent end of tariffs

• joined Liberal party, enacted major Liberal reforms

• imperialism is a creed that will contaminate people

Disraeli

• led protectionist Conservatives

  • continue policy of tariffs

• advocate of imperial glory, expanding empire

• favored by Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria/Prince Albert

Queen Victoria

• wanted England to be dominant and rule as much of the world as possible

Prince Albert

• England should bring people trade, education, progress, and better standards of living

Apartheid

• system of racial segregation of the African and other non-white population of South Africa by white settlers

• was a significant consequence of imperialism.

Commonwealth

• an association of nations that were historically part of the British Empire

• includes countries that were once colonies of the British Empire.

dominion

• self-governing territories within the British Empire

• had their own parliaments and were largely autonomous in their internal affairs while recognizing the British monarch as the head of state.

Crimean War

• fought between Russia and an alliance of Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia over control and influence in the territories of the declining Ottoman Empire.

• Britain won

Suez Canal

• waterway connecting the Mediterranean and Red seas

• greatly reduced the travel time between Europe and Asia

• to Britain, it was a “lifeline” to India, where its influence was increasing

Raj

Period of British direct rule in India from 1858 to 1947.

Sepoys

• Indian soldiers serving in the British East India Company's army.

• helped the company expand its control of India

Why Has India called the "Jewel in the Crown"?

• britain considered it the most valuable of all of the colonies due to resources, economy, and location

Ram Mohan Roy

• great scholar

• felt India could learn from the West, at the same time wanted to revitalize and reform traditional Indian culture

• condemned traditions: rigid caste distinctions, child marriage, sati (widow join her husband in death by throwing herself on his funeral pyre), and purdah (isolation of women in separate quarters

• set up educational societies that helped revive pride in Indian culture

• hailed as the founder of Indian nationalism

Why did India under British rule not develop industry?

• British policies favored raw material extraction, hindering the growth of industries in India.

When and why did the British government assume control of India?

• British Crown took direct control after the Sepoy Rebellion in 1858.

As resentment of British rule in India grew what sort of things began to happen?

• Led to protests, movements for independence, and eventually the Indian independence movement.

What was the immediate cause of the Sepoy Rebellion? Result?

• Cause: Introduction of rifle cartridges greased with animal fat, against religious beliefs.

  • sepoys were outraged bc they felt the British were violating their religious laws and customs

• Result: Harsh British suppression and the end of the East India Company's rule.

Gandhi

• Hindu, nationalist

• leader of India's independence movement

• known for nonviolent resistance (satyagraha meaning “soul force”).

Muslim League

• formed by Muslims to protect the rights and interests of Muslims in India

• granted independence as Pakistan

• Jinnah became Pakistan’s first leader

Indian National Congress

• Advocated for Indian representation in the British Indian government and administrative reforms.

When does India gain its independence? What were the terms of their independence?

• Gained on August 15, 1947.

• India became a sovereign nation, divided into India and Pakistan due to religious differences

Who is India's first prime minister?

Jawaharlal Nehru

Rowlatt Acts

• gave power to British gov to arrest individuals without trial

• restricted freedom of speech and assembly

• reason for this was that they are liable to terrorism

Amritsar Massacre

• thousands of Indians, unaware of ban on public meetings, gathered for a Hindu religious festival in Amritsar

• army officer ordered soldiers to open fire killing and wounding many

Tokugawa Shoguns

• reimposed centralized feudalism on Japan

• closed Japan to foreigners- Japan developed in isolation and economy expanded

Matthew Perry

• president Millard Filmore sent naval Commodore Matthew Perry to deliver a letter to the Japanese government urging Japan to open up its ports to western trade or be destroyed in one years time

Treaty of Kanagawa-1854

• Japan replied to Matthew Perry by opening 2 ports for the US to take on supplies

Meiji Reform and Modernization

• When Tokugawa Shogun stepped down, Emperor Mutsuhito brought a new sense of national pride to Japan

• Mutsuhito felt the best way to counter Western influence in Japan was to quickly modernize, industrialize, and militarize

• this began the Meiji Era (“enlightened rule”)

• modeled navy after

• modeled government and army after Germany

• modeled educational system after the US

• Japan transformed from a weak isolated nation to a powerful, industrial nation

• Nationalism grew bc of pride in newfound strength

Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)

• Japan looked to defeat their biggest Asian competitors: China

• fought between Japan and China for trading rights in Korea

• Japan drove China out of Korea, destroyed Chinese navy, gained a foothold in Manchuria

Russo-Japanese War (1904)

• war fought between japan and russia for control over Manchuria, a region rich in resources in North Eastern China (borders Korea)

• Japan defeats the much larger Russians

Japanese Annexation of Korea

• Japan attacked Korea, Korea became a Japanese protectorate

• Japan annexed (took over) all of Korea

• Japan set out on a brutal campaign to destroy Korean culture and take over their businesses and industries

What products did the Chinese possess that the Europeans wanted desperately?

tea, silk, porcelain

First Opium War

• British brought opium from India to Canton

  • many chinese became addicts

• Chinese emperor forbade opium imports

  • war between British and Chinese

• Britain’s advanced navy crushed China’s outdated ships (steamships)

Treaty of Nanjing

• Four additional British ports in China

  • Amoy, Ningpo, Foochow, Shanghai

• British control over Hong Kong 100 year lease

Lin Zexu

• was given job to stop opium trade

  • wrote letter to Queen of England, never delivered

  • blockaded all foreigners in Canton factories

  • dissolved opium in river trenches

“Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace” and the Taiping Rebellion

• Hong Xiuquan wanted to topple the hated Qing dynasty, recruited followers to build a “Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace” - the Taiping

  • called for radical change

• Goal- all people would share China’s immense wealth

• almost toppled the Qing dynasty, but Qing gov survived

extraterritorial rights

• granting foreign nationals immunity from local laws

Spheres of influence

• crushing defeat in Sino-Japanese War revealed China’s weakness

• Western powers moved swiftly to carve out spheres of influence along the Chinese coast (areas in china where foreign powers held exclusive trading rights and privileges)

Open Door Policy

• policy to keep Chinese trade open to everyone on an equal basis

Boxer Rebellion

• groups of Chinese peasants formed a secret society, the Righteous Harmonious Fists (aka Boxers)

• demanded that foreigners leave china (bc they were polluting the land with their non-Chinese ways)

• European imperialists, americans, and japanese put down the rebellion

General Charles Gordon

• uprising in sudan, he was sent by the british gov to find out what was going on

• Gladstone refused to send British troops to Khartoum to help Gordon, when he did it was too late and Gordon was cut into pieces

Edmund Morel (Heart of Darkness Reading)

• British journalist who exposed the human rights abuses in the Congo Free State under King Leopold II of Belgium

• his investigations brought attention to the exploitation and suffering of Congolese people, contributing to the end of Leopold’s rule in the Congo

Great Salt March

• lead by Gandhi

• nonviolent protest against the British government’s control of the sale of salt

Spinning Wheel

• Gandhi popularized the spinning wheel (charkha) as a symbol of self-reliance and resistance against British goods. He encouraged Indians to spin their own cloth as a protest against British textile imports, promoting self-sufficiency.

Hindustan Republican Association:

Bhagat Singh

Chandrashekhar Azad

Ram Prasad Bismil

Shivaram Rajguru

John Saunders

• HRA called for the overthrow of British colonial rule through violence

• founded by Ram Prasad Bismil

• Kakori Train Robbery: HRA's attempt to obtain funds through a train heist, resulting in arrests and trials.

• Evolution into Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA):

  • Shift: Influenced by Bhagat Singh; aimed at socialist ideals and resistance against British oppression.

• Lala Lajpat Rai's Death: Triggered a revenge plot leading to John Saunders' assassination (mistaken identity).

• HSRA's Actions:

  • Central Legislative Assembly Bombing: Bhagat Singh's deliberate non-fatal bombing, courting arrest to highlight their cause.

  • Imprisonment and Hunger Strike: Singh's imprisonment and hunger strike gained national support.

• Leadership and Decline:

  • Leaders' Fate: Executions of Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and Chandrashekhar Azad led to a leadership void.

  • HSRA's Fragmentation: Regional differences increased after Azad's death, leading to the organization's split.