5.1 - Imperialism

Imperialism

the practice of exerting power/control over a foreign nation

Formal Imperialism

direct control

Informal Imperialism

indirect control

Colony

• Country or territory governed internally by a foreign power.

• Formal Imperialism

Protectorate

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

• Formal Imperialism

Sphere of Influence

• Area in which an outside power claims exclusive investment or trading privileges

• Informal Imperialism

Economic Imperialism

• Foreign power controls a less developed nation's economy through private business interests

• Informal Imperialism

Motives of Imperialism

• Economic Gain: Access to raw materials and new markets

• Geopolitics: Geographic significance of an area

  • like Ceuta being a point of control of the strait of Gibraltar, which gave the Portuguese control of movement between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean

• Racism: Often displayed through the idea of a “Civilizing Mission”, where the white Europeans believed it was their duty (the “White Man’s Burden”) to bring civilization/culture to those they deemed savages.

• Nationalism: Competition between nations, the desire for one’s nation to be the best

• Religion: Typically the desire to spread Christianity (often related to the “Civilizing Mission”)

Imperialism tools of conquest

• Technological superiority

• The Maxim gun, invented in 1884, was the world’s first automatic machine gun.

• The invention of the steam engine allowed Europeans to easily travel on rivers to establish bases of control

• Modes of transportation such as railroads, cables, and steamships allowed close communications within a colony and between the colony and its controlling nation.

• Medications such as quinine allowed Europeans to go further inland than they had been able to before

Imperialism tools of rule

• Bureaucracy

• Currency/taxation

• Education

• Infrastructure