European Imperialism in Africa/India Unit Notes

Unit SWBAT’s:

• Explain why Euro nations took over parts of Africa and Asia

• Explain the impacts of the Berlin Conference

• Identify the different wats Euro countries ruled foreign countries, the impacts this rule had on conquered peoples, and how people resisted Euro rule

• Decide how effective civil disobedience is in struggles for social justice

Essential Questions

• How did unequal power relations between Euro and non-Euro countries in the 1700s and 1800s impact today’s world?

• Is civil disobedience the best way for oppressed people to resist? Why or why not?

Overview of Imperialism

• What were the economic causes of imperialism? What were the cultural causes of imperialism? What other motives were there for European imperialism?

• What was agreed to at the Berlin Conference?

• What European countries were the most powerful in Africa? What countries were the least powerful?

Berlin Conference

Social Darwinism

Motives: Military, Ideological, Religious, Political, Economic, Exploratory

Imperialism in Africa

• What were similarities in how different African nations experienced imperialism? What were differences?

Ghana

Congo

Algeria

India

• Why was India economically important for Great Britain?

• What was Gandhi’s strategy of nonviolent civil disobedience?

• How did India split when it gained independence from Great Britain

British East India Company

Sepoy Rebellion

The Raj

Indian Civil Service

Economic importance of India for Britain

Mohandas Gandhi

Civil disobedience

Amritsar Massacre

Jawaharal Nehru

Muhammed Jinnah

India-Pakistan Partition

Africa

Notes 1/27

Imperialism: the takeover of a region by a stronger nation, dominating its economic, political, and cultural life

Age of Euro imp: (1850-1914) 

• Euro nations controlled: 

  • All of Africa

  • India

  • East Asia

Causes of imperialism:

• Economic

  • Industrial Revolution created demand for natural resources for mass production

  • Resources came from Africa, Asia

  • Econ competition between Euro nations

    • Wanted natural resources for factories

    • Wanted markets to sell their goods - having a colony to buy goods helps boost econ

• Cultural

  • Non-Europeans seen as inferior

    • Social Darwinism: strong nations had right to rule over weak ones - “survival of the fittest” 

      • certain people become powerful in society because they are innately better. has been used to justify imperialism, racism, eugenics and social inequality

      • Capitalism - people who deserve it will get to the top

    • Responsibility of advanced nations to Christianize uncivilized people

Imperialism in Africa

• Berlin Conference, 1884-1885

  • Euro nations met and set rules for the division of Africa - called the “Scramble for Africa”

    • Any Euro nation could claim land in Africa as long as they could control it

    • Paid no attention to the ethnic divisions in Africa

    • No African leaders attended

Short-Term Effects of Imperialism in Africa

• Loss of land and independence

• People forced to work in Euro owned industries

  • Not always enslaved

• Christianity became more popular

• Minority of Africans were able to gain wealth by aligning with Euro powers

Long-Term Effects

• Artificial boundaries → modern nations of separate ethnic groups → many conflicts from then until today

• Economies geared towards wealth for Europeans, not conquered peoples → most of Africa not industrialized today

• European culture stull present: English, French languages widespread

India

• How was imperialism in India similar/different from African imperialism?

  • One country owned it

  • India was alr strong, so British used civil tactics more

    • Pitting rulers against e/o

    • Causing divide

• What impacts did British imperialism may have had on India?

  • Education, language, culture influenced

    • Many speak English

  • Famines

• 1750s - 1858: British East India Company ruled india

• 1858-1947: British govt directly ruled INdia; Indians resisted British rule

• 1947: India become independent, divided into two countries: 

  • India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim)

British East India Company

• 1750s: British imperialism in India was carried out bu a trading company, the British East India Company

• Originally created for spice trade in East Indies

  • By 1800 it governed much of India

    • Heavily taxed Indians, prioritized crop exports, leading to famine

The Sepoy Rebellion

• 1857 - strained relations exploded into a rebellion

  • Sepoys: Indian soldiers in the BEICo private army

• New type of British rifle caused rebellion

  • A soldier has to bite off the end of an ammunition cartridge, which was greased with pork and beef fat

  • Beef = forbidden for Hindus

  • Pork = forbidden for Muslims

• Sepoys all over northern India rose up against British officers

• 1858 - Rebellion crushed by British govt

• British ended rule of BEICo; British took over India indirectly (indirect rule)

The Raj

• Era of British rule in India is often called the British Raj, a Hindi word meaning “rule”

• The administration of INdia was carried out by the Indian Civil Service (ICS)

  • Employed mostly British, minority was Indian

British Economic Changes

• Economic importance of India

  • Market for British goods

  • Source of raw materials: cotton, tea, dye for cloth, and valuable minerals

• During Raj, the British built railroads, roads, and canals in India

  • Britain invested in transportation to export raw materials out of India and sell British goods

• Goods imported from Britain to India devastated India’s industry

  • India had been a major exporter of textiles to Aisa until the early 1800s

  • The British closed Indian textile factories to prevent competition with British companies

• How was imperialism in India similar/different from imperialism in Africa?

  • More goods/economic based

  • India was unified as one country/people

  • Wanted to make it more modern (for British benefit)

  • Algeria’s resources also were exploited by colonists

  • Sold resources and products back to the people that make them, like in Africa

Independence

• India became independent in 1947

• Three major figures in independence movement:

  • Mohandas Gandhi: Hindu, led nonviolent movement for a united, independent India

  • Jawaharlal Nehru: Hindu, leader of the Indian National Congress, a group struggling for independence

  • Muhammed Jinnah: leader of the Muslim League, an organization struggling to protect Muslim rights in India

• Civil disobedience

  • Not paying taxes, fines, etc as a form of peaceful protest against the govt

  • MLK used this

• British were weakened, lost money, led to decline in power and control, gave up control of India

Division - 1947

• Independence led to division

  • Hindus get their own country (India)

  • Muslims get their own country (Pakistan)

  • Mass migration, violence between Hindus/Muslims

• India, Pakistan, Bangladesh now. East + West Pakistan split in 1970s and gained independence → Bangladesh.