Ideologies of Imperialism (1750-1900)

Imperialism: Ideologies Fueling the Second Wave (1750-1900)

Context: Transition from Maritime Empires

  • The previous period saw Western European states establishing maritime empires focused on:
    • Dominating the Indian Ocean trade.
    • Colonizing the Americas.

Shift in Motivation: Beyond "God, Gold, and Glory"

  • While the traditional motivations persisted, new ideologies emerged due to the Industrial Revolution, adding complexity to imperial endeavors.

Nationalism

  • Definition: A sense of common identity among a people based on shared:
    • Language.
    • Religion.
    • Social Customs.
  • Often linked to a desire for self-rule within a defined territory.
  • Shift in Loyalty:
    • Pre-1750: Loyalty primarily to a sovereign (king, queen, emperor).
    • Post-1750: Increasing loyalty to one's "nation" due to Enlightenment ideas and industrialization.
  • Impact on Imperialism:
    • Fueled imperial ventures as states competed for larger empires to demonstrate power.
    • Dark side: Nationalistic belief in superiority over other nations.
    • Examples:
      • Unification of Italy.
      • Unification of Germany.

Scientific Racism

  • Definition: The pseudoscientific belief that humans can be hierarchically ranked into distinct biological classes based on race.
  • New Aspect: The use of "science" to justify racial hierarchies.
  • Contrast with Previous Views:
    • Earlier divisions based on religion (Christians vs. non-Christian "heathens").
    • Scientific racism shifted the division to the secular realm, using race as a supposedly objective classification.
  • Practices:
    • Phrenology: The study of skull size and shape.
      • Conclusion: White people's larger skulls "proved" their superiority validating imperial projects over "child races".
      • skull<em>white>skull</em>otherskull<em>{white} > skull</em>{other}

Social Darwinism

  • Origin: Applied Charles Darwin's theory of biological evolution to human societies.
    • Biological Darwinism: Species evolve through natural selection; only the fittest survive.
  • Application to Society:
    • Premise: Western industrial societies are deemed the "fittest" due to their wealth and power.
    • Justification for Imperialism: Strong nations should dominate weak nations, mirroring the "survival of the fittest" in nature.
    • fittest=industrialsocietiesfittest = industrial _ societies

Civilizing Mission

  • Definition: The belief that Western societies have a duty to spread their superior civilization to "lower civilizations."
  • Manifestations:
    • Missionary work: Converting colonized people to Christianity.
    • Imposing Western-style education.
    • Reorganizing colonial governments based on Western models.
    • Suppressing indigenous languages and cultures.

Synthesis: The "Stew" of Imperialism

  • These ideologies combined to create the driving forces behind the second wave of imperialism.