Imperialism Exam Notes

Rationales for Imperialism

Imperialism (1750-1900): Motivated by nationalism, economic desires, religious duty, and a belief in biological superiority. Led to conflicts in Asia and Africa.
- Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden" used to justify colonization.

Nationalist Motives

European powers expanded into Asia and Africa to assert national identity.
- Britain sought new lands after losing American colonies, expanded in India, Australia and Southeast Asia.
- France expanded into Algeria, South Pacific, Senegal, and Indochina.
- Italy and Germany sought colonies for economic, strategic, and prestige reasons.
- Japan expanded into Korea and Taiwan (Formosa).

Cultural and Religious Motives

Colonizers condescendingly viewed colonized people as children needing "civilizing."
Racism: Colonial powers believed in their inherent superiority; pseudoscientists tried to prove inferiority of non-white races.
Social Darwinism: Used to justify imperialism, arguing the spread of European/U.S. power proved white superiority.
Cultural imposition: Colonizers imposed language, political/educational/religious institutions on colonies.
Missionaries aimed to "civilize"; set up schools, provided medical care, and worked to end slave trade.

Economic Motives

Economic motives were justifications for imperial expansion.
Companies like the British, French, and Dutch East India Companies sought to maximize profits through trade treaties.
Industrial Revolution spurred desire for raw materials and markets.
East India Company: Granted monopoly on England's trade with India in 1600. Traded cotton, silk, indigo, and spices. Expanded influence from Persian Gulf to East Asia. Engaged in the slave trade and illegal opium trade with China.
Dutch East India Company (VOC): Monopoly on trade between Cape of Good Hope and Straits of Magellan. Focused on islands around Java, replacing Portuguese control. Corruption led to government control in 1799, creating Dutch East Indies.
"New Imperialism": Britain sought raw materials (cotton, wool, jute, etc.) and markets (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa).
Second Industrial Revolution: Other nations challenged Britain; sought markets and raw materials in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.

State Expansion

King Leopold II's abusive rule in Congo led to Belgian government intervention.
European nations, the United States, Russia, and Japan expanded through conquest and settlement.

Imperialism in Africa

Europe sought goods from Africa, such as palm oil, gold and ivory.
1800s: European presence limited to trading posts except for French seizure of Algeria (1830) and Dutch/British settlers in South Africa.
Military technology and quinine aided expansion.
Suez Canal (1869): Shortened water route to Asia. Britain seized control of Egypt in 1882.
British West Africa: Colonies established for freed people and to stop the export of enslaved people.
France in Africa: Drove Ottomans out of Algeria (1830), established trading posts in Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Niger.

The European Scramble for Africa

Berlin Conference (1884-1885): European powers agreed to colonial boundaries in Africa.
Artificial borders divided societies and united rival groups, causing warfare in later independent states.
South Africa and the Boer Wars: British fought Afrikaners (Dutch settlers) for land.
- Boer Wars (1880-1881, 1899-1902): British drove Afrikaners and Africans into concentration camps with poor conditions.
Congo: King Leopold II exploited Congo for personal profit, resulting in the death of millions. Belgium took control in 1908, improving conditions.

Imperialism in South Asia

Portugal, France, and England competed for control of India.
British East India Company encroached on the Mughal Empire, eventually controlling the entire Indian subcontinent.
- Recruited sepoys (Indian soldiers).

Imperialism in East Asia

China: Maintained its own government but was divided into spheres of influence by European nations.
- Taiping Rebellion weakened the Qing government; anti-imperialist Boxers attacked Chinese Christians and Western missionaries.
Japan: Rapidly industrialized after the Meiji Restoration. Sought lands and resources in East Asia, including parts of China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Pacific islands.

Imperialism in Southeast Asia

Dutch seized control of the Spice Islands (Indonesia) in 1641.
- Dutch East India Company (VOC) controlled spice trade. Corruption led to government control in 1800.
France gained control of northern Vietnam after the Sino-French War in 1883-1885. Controlled Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam (French Indochina).
British controlled Malay Peninsula, Burma (Myanmar), and northern Borneo.
Siam (Thailand): Remained independent through diplomatic relations and modernizing reforms.
Australia and New Zealand: Britain established a penal colony in Australia (1788) and annexed New Zealand (1839).

U.S. Imperialism in Latin America and the Pacific

Monroe Doctrine (1823): U.S. opposed European intervention in the Americas and sought to be an imperial power.
Manifest Destiny: Belief in the right to expand to the Pacific Ocean.
U.S. acquired Alaska (1867) and gained territories from Mexico.
Took control of Hawaii, Guam, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines after the Spanish-American War.
Roosevelt Corollary (1904): Stated that the U.S. would intervene in Latin American countries demonstrating "instability."

Indigenous Responses to State Expansion

Nationalist movements emerged in response to European imperialism, often led by Western-educated elites.

Resistance and Rebellion in the Americas

Proclamation of 1763 restricted British colonists' access to Native American lands.
Cherokee Nation assimilated but was forced off their land after gold discovery (Indian Removal Act of 1830).
Ghost Dance movement sought to restore Native American lands and traditions but was suppressed at the Wounded Knee Massacre (1890).
Túpac Amaru II led an indigenous revolt against Spain in Peru (1780-1781).
French Intervention in Mexico: Mexican conservatives conspired with France to overthrow Benito Juárez, but Mexicans forced the French to withdraw and executed Maximilian.

South Asian Movements

Indian Rebellion of 1857 (Sepoy Mutiny): Sepoys rebelled against British use of greased rifle cartridges, leading to direct British rule (the Raj).
Indian National Congress (1885): Established by British-educated Indians to call for self-rule.

Southeast Asian Resistance

Vietnam: Emperor Ham Nghi resisted French rule.
Philippine Resistance: José Rizal started Liga Filipina, leading to the Philippine Revolution. The U.S. gained control after the Spanish-American War, sparking the Philippine-American War.

Resistance in Australia and New Zealand

Australia: Aboriginal people resisted European settlement; thousands were killed.
New Zealand: Maori Wars broke out as European settlers encroached on Maori lands.

African Resistance

Sokoto Caliphate: Created in West Africa by Usman dan Fodio to purify Islam. Subdued by the British in 1903.
Xhosa Cattle Killing Movement (1856-1857): Xhosa killed cattle in belief that spirits would remove British settlers, resulting in famine.
Anglo-Zulu War: British defeated the Zulu Kingdom in the 1870s.
Samory Touré's War: Samory Touré resisted French attempts to annex West Africa (1883-1898).
Mahdist Revolt: Muhammad Ahmad declared himself the Mahdi and led a revolt against Egyptian and British rule in Sudan (1881-1898).
Yaa Asantewaa War: African war led by a woman, in the Asante territory against British for the golden stool.

Global Economic Development

Imperialism influenced by economic motives.
Industrial Revolution in Europe created demand for raw materials from Asia, Africa, and South America.

Technological Developments

Railroads: Lowered transportation costs and opened up colonial markets for manufactured goods. Primarily benefited colonizers.
Steamships: Allowed transport of people, mail, goods, and perishables over long distances.
Telegraph: Transformed communications, allowing news to travel instantaneously.

Agricultural Products

Shift from subsistence farming to cash crops (tea, cotton, sugar, oil palms, rubber, coffee) for commercial value, leading to food shortages.
Demand for meat led to cattle ranches in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
Guano: Mined for use as fertilizer.

Raw Materials

Colonies became export economies.
Cotton: Shifted production from Britain's
southern colonies, as Britain's textile mills got 80 percent of theircotton from the United States
Rubber: Development of vulcanization led to increased demand; plantations established in Southeast Asia.
Palm Oil: Machinery in Europe's factories created a demand for palm oil from West Africa.
Ivory: Used for piano keys, billiard balls, knife handles, and ornamental carvings.
Minerals: Silver (Mexico), copper (Chile), tin (Bolivia), gold (Australia, South Africa), diamonds (South Africa).
Diamnonds (South Africa): Found to be rich with the resources in these areas. Becomes part of a racist, economic plan in South Africa.

Global Consequences

Consequences of Commercial Extraction: Farmers only allowed to raise raw crops, led to a loss of agricultural diversity as well as depletion of land fertility. This became an increasing issue for many former colonies.

Economic Imperialism

Raw materials shifted from Asia and Latin America to industrialized states.

Economic Imperialism in Asia

India: English East India Company dominated textile trade, shifting from spices to cotton and silk textiles in the 1600s.
Dutch East Indies: Dutch East India Company focused on agricultural production, introducing the Culture System (forced labor) in 1830.
China: British traders sold Opium to Chinese and made them pay in silver, leading to the Opium Wars (1839-1842, 1856-1860). China was weak compared to the strong nations.
Spheres of Influence: Countries like Japam, France, and Russia gave China different "spheres of influence" for trading in China.

Economic Imperialism in Africa

Land converted to cash crop production (cotton, cocoa, palm oil), leading to food shortages.
Egypt embraced cotton as a cash crop.
Kenya: Native peoples were moved to reserves with poor soil and bad climates while white settlers benefited.
African farmers were also prohibited from participation in cash crops.
Slavery: French paid soldiers in slaves, slavery was abolished in French Empire in 1848.

Economic Imperialism in Latin America

Britain replaced Spain as Latin America's major trading partner. Corporations traded in tropical fruits as well.
Investors often used help from other powerful governments to come in and get what was wanted/needed.
Argentina: British investors developed farming and infrastructure.
Chile: Economic development based on copper exports.
Brazil: Declined rubber industry after Malaysia began growing rubber at a lower cost.
*Central America and the Caribbean: Foreign investors made governments follow their conditions. Also came about the term, “Banana Republics."

Economic Imperialism in Hawaii

A group of American businesses and sugar planters in Hawaii overthrew the constitutional monarchy in 1893 with plans to be annexed by the US. In 1898, it was annexed by America.

Causes of Migration in an Interconnected World

Global economy and transportation promoted migrations.

Migration through Labor Systems

Desire for low-wage labor and labor exploitation.
Migration through labor systems caused even the coerced and semi-coerced migration of people.
Asian contract Laborers:
Slavery in 19th century was slowly abolished, labor was still desired, so countries turned to other forms of coerced labor. It was hard to find laborers so they used immigrants, most usually immigrating from Asia.
Indentured Servitude: Was put on immigrants who worked for the cost of transport to poor communities with greater opportunity.
British Penal Colonies:
*The British government shipped convicts to perform hard labor for very little pay. They performed labor for free settlers as well as road and railroad construction. It was eventually stopped because it wasn't harsh but it made Australia's economy succeed.
French Penal Colonies: Convicts were underfed and forced to do hard labor in various islands from Africa to Asia.

Migration in the Face of Challenges

Diaspora is often implied as mass emigrations for years.
India: Poverty drove Indians to leave the subcontinent to work as indentured laborers.
China: Did not start until the late 19th century when people sought gold as well as opportunity in the states.
*Ireland: People left Ireland for political reasons as well as the Potato crop failure also know as The Great Famine.
Italy: Poverty was the number one reason why people left during the time, because farmers did not have a great time making a living.

Migration to Settler Colonies

Large populations of British citizens to other English speaking colonies such as Canada, South Africa, Australia, or New Zealand. They commonly did not stay long term.
Argentina: Most of
the British who settled in Argentina during the 19th century were not trying to escape poverty or persecution. They were primarily businessmen, traders, bankers, and engineers. They invested to improve resources, while also expanding export trades.

Migration, Transportation, and Urbanization

Improvements in transportation technology allowed some who migrated for work reasons to return to their home societies

Effects of Migration

19th century migration led to demographic changes and ethnic enclaves.

Changes in Home Societies

Male migration led to women becoming more autonomous.
Migrants sent remittances back home.

Effects of Migration on Receiving Societies

Enclaves were more common in urban cities, where populations found their local cuisine from their home countries.
Chinese Enclaves: Chinese thrived under colonial rule in many countries.
- Immigrants came to places such as California when they sought gold. When the construction of The Transcontinental Railroad, the Chinese proved helpful.
Indian Enclaves: Indians moved around countries like: Mauritius, Natal, and South Africa where they soon constructed railroads. Most of them had different caste systems. Many Indian's worked in slave, sugar, coffee, and rubber farms and plantations.
Irish Enclaves: Most of the Irish's faced hardships because of anti immigrant, Nativity sentiment, in the united States. Though the majority of Irish immigrants created a decent living with their family.
Itallians in Argentina: Immigrant's made up more than 55% in Argentina. As a result , Italians made enormous contributions to Argentine culture and language.

Prejudice and Regulation of Immigration

Immigrants were targets of resentment, because immigrants competed for jobs, they also became targets of resentment.
It even became so bad, that people became institutionally discriminated
Regulation in the United stats:

The Chinese were hated so bad.
*that in 1892, congress banned
further Chinese immigration by

passage of Chinese exclusion act (1943).

White Australia: The white, natives of Australia did not want asian miners in the region causing restrictions.
*In November of 1861, the New South Wales Legislative Council passed the Chinese Immigration Regulation and Restriction Act in November of that year.
*In the gold industry, it was said, that, they would be in cahoots, and take all of the jobs away.

Causation in the Imperial Age

Many things lead to a Industrial expansion, from 1750 to 1900. The biggest thing being the manufacturing capacity, The more and more countries took interest of industrial factories and expansion, the more and more production of goods increased.

Changes in Standards of Living

*Real Wages signifies the amount which services and goods, can be bought.
*In many places pollution was on a rise, cities were being over crowded, and wars were escalating. Due to problems with all of these reasons, many people did not go up in living standards.

Overseas Expansion

*Domestic Markets could no longer consume the amount of goods that was needed. The goal of economic economies was to increase the amount of exports by a good amount.

Seeds of Revolution and Rebellion

Western powers were able to achieve this level of dominance because of advances in military technology, ship building, and medicine. People went up against the power governments by protesting and striking with nationalization.

Migration and Discrimination

Significant populations took refuge in the rural parts of the world
Many immigrants were faced with racism and discrimination, because of where they migrated from. Also because there wasn't all to many jobs at the time .