AP Euro - New Imperialism

The New Imperialism, 1880–1914 — Detailed Notes 

Definition 

• Imperialism: control of one people by another (political, economic, or cultural).  

I. Old Imperialism (16th–18th centuries) — key points 

• European approach: trading posts and coastal control rather than large territorial empires in Africa and Asia. 

• Portugal: trading posts along west Africa, India, Indonesia; dominant in spice trade in 16th century, later displaced by Netherlands. 

• Netherlands: trading posts in Indonesia and Ceylon; dominated spice trade in 17th century. 

• Europeans often cooperated with local rulers in Asia; trade occurred through coastal centers. 

• Exceptions in the New World: territorial empires and settler/plantation colonies. 

• Spain: large empires in Central & South America; severe subjugation of indigenous peoples. 

• Portugal: Brazil as a sugar colony; massive slave importation. 

• England: colonies on east coast of North America (later the 13 colonies) and Caribbean sugar islands. 

• France: New France (Canada) and Caribbean sugar colonies.  

II. New Imperialism — overview & significance 

• Timeframe: began in the 1880s in Africa (earlier in Asia). 

• Expansion scale: ~7% of world territory under European control in 1800 → ~84% by 1914. 

• British Empire example: by 1900 it controlled ~25% of world population and ~20% of world territory; described as “the Empire upon which the sun never sets.” 

• Methods used by Europeans: military force to control governments, economic exploitation for raw materials, imposition of Western values on colonized peoples. 

• Military/medical advantages: steam ships navigating rivers, superior firearms (Minié bullets, breech-loading rifles, machine guns), and quinine against malaria. 

• Britain’s control of Egypt in the 1880s served as a model for New Imperialism. 

III. Major causes of New Imperialism  

1. Economic motives (markets & raw materials) 

• Surplus goods from the Industrial Revolution produced a search for markets. 

• Colonial populations were often too poor to buy European goods; e.g., Germany’s colonial trade was only ~1% of its international trade; France imported more from colonies than it sold to them. 

• Raw materials sought: ivory, rubber (Congo); diamonds (South Africa); cocoa (Niger); tea (China, Ceylon); cotton (India); spices (Indonesia). 

2. Religion / Missionary work 

• Mid-19th-century religious revivalism in Western Europe pushed missionary activity, especially among middle classes. 

• Missionary efforts were more successful in sub-Saharan Africa than in Asia or Islamic North Africa. 

• David Livingstone’s humanitarian/missionary work and Stanley’s search for him (and subsequent reporting) heightened European interest in Africa and helped bring Leopold II into the Congo.  

3. Strategic / military bases 

• Imperial powers sought naval/military bases to protect interests and preempt rivals (e.g., Britain worried about French and German expansion and potential tariff barriers). 

• Imperialism was a way for latecomers (Germany, Italy) to try to catch up to the established “haves.”  

4. Ideology: nationalism & Social Darwinism 

• Social Darwinism (Herbert Spencer) and “survival of the fittest” rationalized conquest. 

• “White Man’s Burden” (Rudyard Kipling) framed imperial rule as a paternal obligation to “civilize.” 

• Germany and Russia sometimes used imperialism to distract from domestic class conflict and create national unity.  

IV. The Scramble for Africa — chronology & mechanisms 

• 1880: Europeans controlled ~10% of Africa. By 1914: virtually the whole continent except Liberia and Ethiopia. 

• Key drivers: Belgian penetration of the Congo; Britain’s occupation of Egypt; Berlin Conference rules that sped up partition.  

Berlin Conference (1884–85) — essentials 

• Provisions: 

• No claim valid without effective control (occupation). 

• Formal termination of the slave trade (as a stated provision). 

• Purpose: reduce conflict among European powers while enabling partition. 

• Organized by Otto von Bismarck and Jules Ferry. 

• Result: rapid “scramble for Africa”; by 1914 only Ethiopia and Liberia remained independent.  

V. Country-by-country notes (Africa) 

Belgium — the Congo 

• Leopold II used H. M. Stanley to obtain treaties and establish the Congo Free State as his personal possession. 

• Atrocities and severe exploitation for rubber/ivory were exposed; Belgian Parliament made the Congo a colony (1908).  

Britain 

• Egypt (1883 protectorate) became the imperial model; control centered on Suez Canal shares bought in 1875. 

• Sudan: British military expansion south from Egypt; Battle of Omdurman (1898) — Kitchener defeats Sudanese forces (11,000 Sudanese killed; 28 British casualties). 

• Fashoda Incident (1898): near-war confrontation between Britain and France; France backed down partly due to internal problems (Dreyfus Affair). 

• South Africa / Boer War (1899–1902): Cecil Rhodes’ ambitions; discovery of diamonds/gold in Transvaal; conflict vs. Boers; Kruger Telegram from Kaiser Wilhelm II angered Britain; Britain ultimately prevailed and unionized South African colonies in 1910. 

• By 1890 Britain held Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Zanzibar.  

France 

• North Africa: Algeria (since 1830) and Tunisia (1881 protectorate). 

• Held territory in northern Congo basin, Somaliland, Madagascar (1896), and most of Morocco by 1914. 

• French West Africa included Ivory Coast and Saharan holdings.  

Germany 

• Late to colonialism (unified 1871); Bismarck’s Berlin Conference opened the door. 

• Established protectorates: Cameroon, Togoland, German East Africa (Tanganyika), German Southwest Africa (Namibia). 

• German rule could be brutal — suppression of revolt led to mass killings (document notes >50,000 killed in one suppression).  

Italy 

• Late participant; first colony Eritrea (1880s). 

• Defeated at Adowa (1896) by Ethiopia — first major European defeat by African forces; large Italian casualties. 

• Italy later seized Libya in 1912.  

Portugal 

• Controlled Angola and forced labor practices effectively amounted to slavery.  

VI. The New Imperialism in Asia — main points 

China 

• Opium Wars: Britain’s opium trade, Chinese resistance, British military victories. 

• Treaty of Nanking (1842): Hong Kong ceded; four treaty ports opened; extraterritorial rights granted. 

• Second Opium War (1856–1860): more ports opened; China forced into open trade on unfavorable terms. 

• Taiping Rebellion (1850s): massive internal conflict (~20 million deaths); Manchus suppressed it with British help. 

• Spheres of influence: Britain, France, Russia, Japan, Germany carved economic/political zones (e.g., Japan gained Taiwan after 1894–95 Sino-Japanese War; Germany got a 99-year lease on Qingdao and railway concessions in Shandong). 

• Open Door (U.S., 1899): effort to keep China open to all foreign trade (document notes U.S. demand). 

• Boxer Rebellion (1900): anti-foreign uprising crushed by multinational forces. 

• 1911: fall of the Qing/Manchu dynasty; Sun Yat-sen’s republic.  

India (British “jewel”) 

• British East India Company dominance after Seven Years’ War; Robert Clive’s military role; British ousted French influence. 

• Sepoy Mutiny (1857–58): rebellion over grievances, including offensive cartridge greasing (animal fats); spread and eventually crushed; led to end of BEIC rule and direct British parliamentary administration from 1858. 

• British “reforms”/developments: modern secondary education, irrigation projects, railroads (25,000 miles by 1900), cotton industry growth, tea trade, jute plantations; creation of a unified administration. 

• Indian National Congress (1885): platform for educated Indians seeking greater equality and self-government; later led to independence under Gandhi and Nehru (1947).  

Other Asian holdings 

• Britain: Burma (1820s), Malay Peninsula (Malaysia), North Borneo. 

• France: Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos); Pacific holdings: Tahiti, New Caledonia. 

• Germany: Marshall Islands, Samoa. 

• Spanish-American War (1898): U.S. took Philippines, Guam, Hawaii (document lists U.S. acquisitions).  

Japan 

• Forced to open by Commodore Perry (1853) but then rapidly modernized (Meiji Restoration, 1867) and became an imperial power itself. 

• Russo-Japanese War (1904–05): Japan defeats Russia at sea (and gains concessions on land); Treaty of Portsmouth (1905) gives Japan preferred position in Manchuria, protectorate over Korea, part of Sakhalin. 

• Long-term effects: altered Russian focus, contributed to Russian unrest; inspired Asian nationalist hopes.  

VII. Opponents and critiques of imperialism 

• Karl Marx (Das Kapital, 1867): imperialism as the bourgeoisie’s need for expanding markets → conquest. 

• J. A. Hobson: key anti-imperialist theorist. Claims: 

• Imperialism driven by businessmen/bankers wanting markets and profits. 

• Imperialism benefits the wealthy few, not the nation as a whole. 

• If governments raised domestic wages, demand would rise and the need for foreign markets would fall. 

• Hobson influenced socialists; Lenin later linked imperialism to colonial rivalries and war.  

VIII. Key terms 

Old Imperialism 

• A period (16th–18th centuries) when Europeans built coastal trading posts in Africa and Asia rather than conquering territory. 

New Imperialism 

• Late-19th-century wave of European expansion marked by territorial conquest, military dominance, economic exploitation, and imposition of Western values. 

Dr. David Livingston 

• First white man to conduct humanitarian and religious work in south and central Africa. 

H. M. Stanley 

• Journalist who found Livingston and whose reports increased European interest in Africa; helped Leopold II secure control of the Congo. 

Social Darwinism / “survival of the fittest” / Herbert Spencer 

• Ideology claiming stronger nations were justified in conquering weaker ones; used to rationalize European imperialism. 

“White Man’s Burden” 

• Racist, paternalistic belief that Westerners had a duty to civilize “uncivilized” peoples; phrase coined by Rudyard Kipling. 

Rudyard Kipling 

• British writer who coined “White Man’s Burden.” 

Scramble for Africa 

• Rapid European colonization of Africa after 1880, formalized by the Berlin Conference. 

Belgian Congo 

• Region claimed by Leopold II as his personal colony; site of severe exploitation for rubber and ivory. 

Leopold II 

• King of Belgium who privately controlled the Congo Free State until atrocities forced Belgian Parliament to take over. 

Egypt (protectorate) 

• Occupied by Britain in 1883; control of the Suez Canal made it strategically vital. 

Berlin Conference (1884–85) 

• Meeting establishing rules for African conquest: effective occupation required; slave trade ended; sought to prevent European conflict. 

Sudan 

• Region south of Egypt where Britain expanded; site of the Battle of Omdurman and the Fashoda Incident. 

Battle of Omdurman 

• 1898 battle where Kitchener’s forces killed 11,000 Sudanese with modern weapons while losing only 28 men. 

Fashoda Incident 

• 1898 near-war standoff between France and Britain over Sudan; France backed down. 

Cecil Rhodes 

• Prime Minister of Cape Colony; championed the “Cape-to-Cairo” British empire vision. 

Cape Colony 

• British-controlled region in South Africa where Rhodes held influence. 

Boer War 

• War (1899–1902) between Britain and the Boers after the discovery of diamonds and gold; ended with British victory. 

Kruger Telegram 

• Message from Kaiser Wilhelm II congratulating the Boers on resisting Britain; angered the British public. 

Union of South Africa 

• Political union (1910) of Transvaal, Orange Free State, Cape Colony, and Natal under British control after the Boer War. 

Algeria 

• Controlled by France since 1830; part of France’s North African empire. 

Tunisia 

• Became a French protectorate in 1881. 

French West Africa 

• French-controlled region including parts of West Africa such as Ivory Coast and the Sahara. 

Morocco 

• Mostly under French control by 1914. 

Cameroon 

• German colony in West Africa acquired after the Berlin Conference. 

Togoland 

• German colony in West Africa. 

German East Africa 

• German-controlled territory (Tanganyika). 

German Southwest Africa 

• German colony (modern Namibia) where Germany brutally suppressed a rebellion, killing over 50,000. 

Eritrea 

• Italy’s first African colony in the 1880s. 

Ethiopia 

• African kingdom that defeated Italy at the Battle of Adowa (1896), remaining independent. 

Libya 

• Taken by Italy from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. 

Angola 

• Portuguese-controlled colony where enforced labor conditions amounted to slavery. 

Opium Wars 

• Wars in which Britain forced China to continue allowing opium trade; resulted in unequal treaties favoring Europeans. 

Treaty of Nanking 

• 1842 treaty giving Hong Kong to Britain, opening treaty ports, and granting extraterritoriality. 

Spheres of Influence 

• Areas of China under domination of European powers and Japan, where each controlled trade and investment. 

Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) 

• War where Japan defeated China and gained Taiwan; exposed China’s weaknesses. 

Boxer Rebellion 

• 1900 anti-foreign uprising in China crushed by a multinational army. 

British East India Company 

• Company controlling India after the Seven Years’ War until the Sepoy Mutiny ended its authority. 

Sepoy Mutiny (1857–58) 

• Indian soldiers’ rebellion sparked partly by animal-fat cartridges; led to direct British parliamentary rule. 

Indian National Congress 

• Founded in 1885; organization of educated Indians, mostly Hindu, demanding equality and eventually independence. 

Indochina 

• French-controlled territories: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos. 

Meiji Restoration 

• Reform movement (starting 1867) that modernized Japan and transformed it into an imperial power. 

Russo-Japanese War 

• 1904–05 war in which Japan defeated Russia, gaining dominance in Manchuria and a protectorate in Korea. 

Karl Marx (Das Kapital) 

• Argued imperialism was driven by capitalism’s need for expanding markets. 

J. A. Hobson 

• Anti-imperialist theorist who argued imperialism benefited wealthy elites and resulted from insufficient domestic wages. 

IX. Exam / essay guidance (based on document’s essay questions) 

Possible comparative essay: Old vs. New Imperialism — compare methods, scale, motives, and regional differences (trading posts vs. territorial conquest). 

Causal analysis essay: Causes of New Imperialism (economic motives, missionary zeal, military strategy, ideology/social Darwinism). 

Country-methods essay: How imperial powers acquired colonies — be ready to discuss Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy (e.g., treaties, protectorates, military conquest, economic penetration, settlement).