AP Euro: Unit 14.3.1 - Modernity and Imperialism 

American and European Imperialism

American Imperialism

• Over 100 wars with Native Americans between 1600 and 1900. Manifest Destiny
• 1867: Purchased Alaska from Russia
• 1893: Hawaii’s monarchs overthrown
• 1898: Took possession of Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam and Cuba from Spain after our war

The Spanish American War

• America and Spain fought the Spanish American War in 1898 over Cuba’s wish to be independent from Spain.
• The US sent a warship The Maine down to Havana harbor to aid Cubans.  
• The Maine exploded on purpose to stir up trouble.
• US Newspapers spread news that the ship had hit a Spanish mine, and stirred up war fever against Spain.
• US Govt went to war based on less than credible evidence against a nation that would rather lose honorably (have people die in battle) than allow people their independence.    
  • No moral high ground 
• The US encouraged Cubans and Filipinos to revolt against Spanish rule and help us help them win independence. 
• The war only lasts around 3 months, but is a complete victory for the US. 
  • What few battles there are, are highly publicized, future president Teddy Roosevelt becomes a national star
• American gains new territories
  • This is tricky because our constitution does not allow us to have foreign colonies
    • We re-write our constitution to allow it
  • New island territories CRUCIAL for refueling US navies (Guam, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Cuba)
  • We don’t really live up to our promises

 Guam, Puerto Rico, Samoa

• STILL US TERRITORIES!
• Though technically US citizens, nobody on these US island territories have ANY voting rights
  • NOT represented by voting members in congress
• Important to maintain for US shipping purposes (especially Guam!)
• America, Britain, and Germany agree to become a triple protectorate for Samoa (island in pacific) 
  • Becomes an exclusively American territory in 1900 

Cuba 

• America didn’t annex Cuba, but it didn’t leave Cuba alone either
  • The Good
    • Helped them build a new code of laws, education system, railroads, infrastructure
  • The Bad
    • Cuba is NOT a sovereign nation, but rather an American protectorate
    • Platt Amendments.  
    • We get to make their foreign policy decisions, exclusive development rights, PERMANENT lease to Guantanamo Bay
  • The Ugly
    • Guantanamo Bay Prison

Imperialism in the Philippines

• Once war with Spain was over, Filipinos expected the US to recognize its promise to give independence.  US “doesn’t think they are ready for self government”
• From 1899 to 1901, the US fought in the Philippines against the guerrilla forces of Emilio Aguinaldo.  
  • Around 5000 US troops die vs over 100,000 Filipinos.  US troops rape, torture, set up concentration camps.
• Eventually a new territorial govt set up (Future president Taft 1st gov) which unequally favored the rich
• Do build infrastructure and modernize the Philippines (roads, bridges, railroads, new schools, etc.)

American Imperialism in Hawaii and Samoa

• Hawaii was an independent Kingdom since 1783 (same year US won Revolutionary War)
• American sugar planters live in Hawaii (using almost exclusively foreign slave-type labor) 
• Overthrew Queen Liliuokalani in 1893 and begged US to annex Hawaii (did in 1898)
• US justifies this annexation claiming if we don’t claim the islands, Germany, Japan, or other foreign powers will.

The Monroe Doctrine and Roosevelt Corollary

• President James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, which claimed the the US would intervene any time a European power attempted to establish a colony in Latin America (they are off limits)
  • Britain backs us up with their navy, and it is effective at keeping European powers out for nearly a century.
• Issued the Roosevelt Corollary in 1904 publicly declaring ourselves the police force guarding Latin America (really American investments IN Latin America) 
  • We send troops to dozens of nations to secure our financial interests.

Northern Africa

• Thousands of years of contact with Europeans.  
• Most of the eastern part of north Africa was under the rule of the declining Ottoman Empire.
• Several successful trade port cities on the northern coast (Algiers, Tunis, Tangier) trade with Europeans and enjoy the small coastal climate region north of the Sahara.
• “Middle Men” exchanging goods from Europe with goods from Africa’s interior 

West African Kingdoms

• Sokoto Caliphate (Islamic, Located in present day Nigeria).
  • Founded by Usman dan Fodio a scholar and preacher who helped unite the people against the previous rulers (Hausa dynasty) 
    • Under his rule (and his successors) they increased literacy and trade
    • Inspired other northern/western Muslim reform movements that created several small nations.
      • These small nations were eager to turn to Europeans for help defending themselves.  Europeans would come in and take over. 

East Africa

• Successful city states (like Mombasa) traded with the Muslims of the middle east and ranged as far east as China in the “monsoon marketplace” (aka Indian Ocean Trade Network)
• Like north Africa, they were the middle men between the Arab nations and Africa’s interior - became extravagantly wealthy

South Africa

• Home to the Zulu nation.
• Brilliant leader Shaka attacked and incorporated many smaller African kingdoms into his own
  • Wanted Africans to discard their differences and unite in order to resist the European invaders.
  • United much of South Central Africa.
• The Zulu fight for independence lasted until the end of the 1800’s

Natural Barriers

• Natural barriers along southwest coast of Africa
• Only way to reach interior from Europe is sailing around southern tip of Africa to east coast

Animals Evolve to Avoid/Compete with Humans

Disease Goes Both Ways

New Technology Allows Exploration

• Europeans weren’t able to overcome Africa’s barriers until the early 1800’s.
• Explorers and missionaries pushed into the interior of Africa
  • Dr. David Livingstone and Henry Stanley explored much of Africa’s interior
    • Made contact with previously unknown people
    • Discovered new trade resources
    • Spread Christianity 
      • Livingstone is anti-slavery and is convinced that the only way Europeans accept the native people is if they convert to Christianity. 
        • So Europeans need to be paternalistic towards their “little brothers”
• Their exploits prompt European rulers to seek new colonies in Africa

Belgians in the Congo

• King Leopold II of Belgium hired Henry Stanley to explore the Congo basin and to make trade agreements with local tribes
• Claimed that he was “carrying a light that will be the dawn of a better era of civilization” (civilize them, and convert them to Christianity) but secretly dreamed of profit.
• Other European nations scrambled to claim other parts of Africa.
• Tales that come out of the Congo about his rule there are ghastly (Should definitely be tried for human rights violations)

The Berlin Conference

• European leaders met in Berlin to decide what to do about creating new colonies in Africa.
• Recognized Belgium’s claim, but agreed that there could be free trade and travel for all Europeans in Africa until a nation had established a government there.
• Within 20 years, almost all of Africa had been claimed by various European groups
• No African nation was invited to the Berlin Conference.

Partition of Africa

• The Belgians use horrible tactics to maintain control of the Congo (mutilations, murder, etc.)
• Dutch settlers displaced by the British in South Africa clash for nearly 100 years with the Zulu nation, eventually destroying them militarily (guns vs spears)
• Samori Toure, resisted the French for years yet Algeria still fell.
• Nehanda and Yaa Asantewaa (Women leaders) fought the British valiantly, but unsuccessfully
• In the end, only two African nations remained independent of European rule.

Ethiopia and Liberia

• Ethiopia
  • Leader Menelik II loved technology
  • Made great efforts to industrialize Ethiopia
  • When invaded, Ethiopians had modern weapons and military tactics so they were able to resist conquest
• Liberia
  • Made up of former slaves from the United States freed after the civil war
  • Since it had a modern government, it was not conquered by Europeans

Muslim Empires in Decline

• In Decline for numerous reasons
  • Corruption 
    • Nobles become too powerful, central governments lose power
  • Religious Unrest (like Usman dan Fodio’s movement, or Muhammad Ahmad’s reform movement in the Sudan, claiming he was the Mahdi-a religious savior of the faith-and weakening the Ottoman Empire)
• Europeans would use their weaknesses to destroy them, and replace them with European colonies (like in Africa)
• Use similar strategies as they did in Africa (pitting people against one another and creating divisions between native people)

The Ottoman Empire

• Already lost several European territories (Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbs, etc.)
• Ruling the diverse culture groups caused local Pashas (nobles) to increase their power to keep order.  
  • As they gained power, they listened less to the Sultan.
  • Rebellions under powerful pashas took place in Arabia, Lebanon, and Armenia.  
• Egypt was actually able to break away
• Crimean War further proved how weak the empire was.  
• Ottoman rulers (Sultans) desperately sought reforms to help them regain control.

Egyptian Independence

• Muhammad Ali was an Ottoman soldier who was appointed as a temporary governor of Egypt (he himself is Albanian, but is called the father of modern Egypt)
• After Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt (and his inability to hold it), Muhammad Ali seized power in 1805 and Egypt was able to break away from the Ottoman Empire.
  • Encouraged local industry, new tax and irrigation systems, land reform, and pursued international trade. Successful
  • Conquered neighboring lands of Arabia, Syria, and Sudan at the expense of the Ottomans

Ali’s Descendants

• Ali’s descendants weren’t so successful.  
  • Lost most of the Middle East back to the Ottomans.
• In 1858, the Egyptian ruler Mohammed Sa’id was convinced by his friend Ferdinand de Lesseps (French) to build a canal linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, cutting the travel time from Europe to the Indian Ocean by nearly half
  • This waterway is called the Suez Canal, and is one of the most traveled waterways on the PLANET even to this day.

The Suez Canal

• De Lesseps used his friendship with Sa’id to exploit him and Egypt.  
  • Canal was dug almost exclusively with Egyptian labor (time and money to feed and pay workers)
  • When Sa’id ran low on money, he sold shares in the canal (made it a corporation)
    • Lots of different investors, but not all shares sell.  De Lesseps announced publicly that Sa’id will buy the rest.  Guilt trips him into buying them (Sa’id will take out millions in loans to accomplish this)
    • When Sa’id can’t pay them, he has to sell his shares in the Canal. British buy them
• A weakened Egypt is conquered by Britain in 1882
• The British collected trillions of dollars from taxes on the canal until 1956 when Egypt would take the canal back.

The Panama Canal

• The US’s most ambitious investment in Latin America.  But Colombia didn’t want to sell the US the land to build it
  • The US helped Panama (a territory of Colombia) break away by giving support to rebel
• With our support, Panama gained independence, then gave the US control of the land to build the canal.
• Took 10 years to build, is truly an engineering wonder.  Cuts the distance between oceans by nearly half if you are coming from the north.  Just as big of an impact on world trade as the Suez Canal.
• Many people in Latin America resent the US presence there.

The Safavid Empire (Persia)

• Constantly under attack from the Mughals (East), the Russians (North), and the Ottomans (West).
• Government collapsed in 1722. New nation Qajar dynasty (Persia) established in 1781.
• New government isn’t strong enough to resist neighbors and European imperialism (who want Persian Oil)
  • Forced to give concessions in territory to have Russia and Britain’s protection against other Europeans.
• British and Russian troops occupy Persia against the wishes of the Qajar and people

Mughal Empire

• Not too different from the Ottoman or Austrian empires in that it had slowly conquered its neighbors for nearly 200 years.
  • The Empire has many different cultures, languages, and religious groups. 
  • Not everyone is happy to be a Mughal
  • Maintaining control of these groups often required violence, which led to further divisions (Breakaway Nationalism)