World History – Imperialism
In the late 1800s, European nation-states followed a policy of
imperialism. In imperialism, a strong country takes over the
political, economic, or social life of a weaker nation. Great
Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and other European
nations acquired weaker countries as colonies throughout
South and East Asia and Africa.This process, which came to
be known as New Imperialism, happened very rapidly and
expressed the aggressive and irrational side of human nature.
What spurred this interest? In a word - industrialization. They
wanted more resources to fuel their industrial production. They
competed for new markets for their goods. Many nations
looked to Africa as a source of raw materials and as a market
for industrial products.
Why study the Age of Imperialism?
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The Rhodes Colossus – cartoon by Edward Linley
Imperialism helped establish national powers
Sambourne, published in Punch after Rhodes
that continue to influence world events.
The roots of global community were planted
announced plans for a telegraph line from Cape
during this dynamic period.
Town to Cairo in 1892. Cecil Rhodes stands astride
Many current conflicts have their roots in this
the whole of Africa.
colonial era, when longtime enemies were
forced together by imperial nation building.
The colonial influence in African and Asian
counties persists today in language and in
educational and other cultural systems and institutions.
The uses and abuses of power that characterize this era offer lessons for modern nations with
rapidly changing roles on an increasingly complex world stage.
The struggles for independence in Southeast Asia have roots in imperialism.
Essential Question
-
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What motivated European
imperialism?
How do you believe imperialism
played a role in the development of
our world?
How did Western nations come to
dominatemuch of the world in the
late 1800s?
Objectives
-
Analyze the causes of the “new
imperialism.”
Explain why Western imperialism
spread so rapidly.
Describe how imperial governments
ruled their empires.
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Start Here …
Which of the following statements do you agree with? Support your response.
1.
2.
3.
4.
A stronger country has the right to take over a weaker country.
A strong country should never interfere with weaker countries.
A strong country should use its strength to help weaker countries.
A strong country should use its strength to gain the most economic advantages possible from
weaker countries.
Write your response here.
Chapter 12, Section 1,Building Overseas Empires, pp. 388-391
Great Britain and other Western countries built overseas empires in the late 1800s. Advances in
science and technology, industry, transportation, and communication gave these industrialized
nations many advantages.
Armed with new economic and political power, Western nations set out to
dominate the world.
Motives Driving the New Imperialism
In the late 1800s, Western imperialism expanded aggressively.
•
Imperialism is the domination by one country of the political,
economic, or cultural life of another country or region.
•
Although Europeans had established colonies earlier, they had previously had little direct
influence over people in China, India, or Africa.
The strong, centrally governed nation-states of Europe were greatly enriched by the Industrial
Revolution.
•
Encouraged by their new strength, these nations embarked
on a path of expansion—the new imperialism.
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The Forces Behind the “New Imperialism”
• New sources of raw materials
• New markets to sell goods
• New ventures and enterprises
Political and military needs
• Naval refueling bases
• Stopping the expansion of rivals
• Promoting national security and prestige
• Aggressive national pride, known as jingoism, fueled competition for colonies. It means
patriotism in the form of aggressiveforeign policy.Jingoism also refers to a country's ad
vocation of the use of threats or actual force against peaceful relations, either economic or
political, with other countries in order to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests.
Economic needs
Imperialism was also driven by genuine humanitarian and religious goals.
• Missionaries, doctors, and colonial officials saw it as their duty to spread the blessings of
Western civilization.
• These benefits included medicine, law, and the Christian religion.
Behind the West’s civilizing mission was also a senseof racial superiority.
• Social Darwinists applied Darwin’s theory of natural selection to societies.
• They saw imperialism as nature’s way of improving the human race.
• As a result, many non-Westerners lost their cultural heritage.
Herbert Spencer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Directions: Use the information provided to answer the following questions.
1. Describe the four main motives of the new imperialists.
2. Who stood to “profit” or “gain” from each of the factors that led to the new imperialism?
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A British poster from 1927 called 'Jungles Today Are Gold Mines Tomorrow'
Study this source carefully.
1. What impression does this source give of life in the British Empire in terms of the following
issues:

The treatment of native peoples in the British Empire?

Whether native people were involved in running their own countries?

The benefits of economic development in the empire?

The economic benefits of the empire to Britain?
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2.Explain whether you think this source gives a positive or negative view of the empire.
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The Rapid Spread of Western Imperialism
From 1870 to 1914, imperialist nations gained control over much of the world.
•
Explorers, missionaries, soldiers, merchants, and settlers led the way.
•
Imperialism found support among all classes of society, including bankers, manufacturers, and
workers.
Western expansion succeeded for a number of reasons.
Disadvantages of the
non-Western nations
Advantages of the
Western nations
•
•
•
•
•
•
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The Ottoman and Chinese civilizations were in decline.
The slave trade had damaged African nations.
They had strong economies and well-organized governments.
They had superior technology in weapons, communication,
medicine, and transportation.
Asians and Africans resisted but were over-powered by weapons such as the Maxim machine
gun.
Some tried to strengthen their societies by reforming their Hindu, Muslim, or Confucian
traditions.
Educated Africans and Asians tried to form nationalist movements to expel the imperialists.
Within Western nations, a small group of anti-imperialists opposed empire building.
•
Some saw imperialism as a tool of the rich.
•
Some felt it was immoral.
•
Others saw it as undemocratic. Westerners were moving toward greater democracy at home,
they argued, but were imposing undemocratic rule on others.
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Directions: Use the information provided to complete the chart. Think beyond those discussed or
listed in the book/reading material.
Western Strengths
Weaknesses
Non-Western Strengths
Weaknesses
Afterwards – Think about what the chart shows. Answer this question, “Were the western and nonwestern countries evenly matched?” Why or why not? Support your response. When you are finished
writing your response, share it with the person sitting next to you.
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Comparing Viewpoints – European Conquest of Africa, page 390
Directions: Read the primary source excerpts and answer the following questions.
1. What is Cecil Rhodes argument for imperialism?
2. What is Chief Kabono’s argument against it?
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Forms of Imperial Rule
Imperialist nations developed several ways to rule their colonies.
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France generally ruled directly.
Britain generally ruled indirectly.
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French administrators were sent.
The goal was to impose French culture.
Local rulers were left in charge.
The children of the ruling class were educated in
England.
The goal was to groom or “Westernize” future
leaders.
Two other forms of rule were through protectorates and spheres of influence.
Protectorates
Spheres of Influence
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•
•
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Local leaders were kept in office.
Colonial advisors told them what to do.
This method was less costly.
Colonial powers claimed exclusive right to trade or
invest in a particular area.
The goal was to prevent conflict with other colonial
powers.
Directions: Answer the following question.
1. Which form of managing imperial interests do you think would be most effective and why?
Support your response.
Afterwards –When you are finished writing your response, share it with the person sitting next to
you.
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Chapter 12, Section 2 - The Partition of Africa, pp. 392-398
In the late 1800s, Britain, France, Germany, and other European powers began scramble for African
territories. Within about 20 years, the Europeans had carved up the continent and dominated millions
of Africans.
Essential Question
Objectives
How did imperialist European powers
claim control over most of Africa by the
end of the 1800s?
1. Describe the forces that shaped Africa.
2. Explain why European contact with
Africa increased during the 1800s.
3. Understand how Leopold II started a
scramble for colonies.
4. Describe how Africans resisted
imperialism.
Africa in the Early 1800s, pages 392-393
What does Africa look like before the Europeans came? As you are reading the textbook and the
chart think about Objective 1 – Describe the forces that shaped Africa.
African regions varied in history and religion.
North Africa
West Africa
East Africa
• Since before 1800, this region was part of the Muslim world. In the
early 1800s, the Ottoman Empire controlled this area.
• Site of an Islamic revival in the early 1800s led by Usman danFodio,
who called for Sharia law (Islamic law) and exclusion of Europeans
• In the forests, the Asante gained control.
• More than a dozen Islamic leaders rose to power, replacing older
rulers or founding new states in the western Sudan. Some leaders
and states chose to trade with Europeans.
• Muslims had long carried out a profitable trade in cities such as
Mombasa.
• Slaves, ivory, and copper were exchanged for Indian cloth and
firearms.
Read the
section on
Southern
Africa on page
393. Explain
how the Zulus
tried to protect
their kingdom.
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Answer …
1. What effects did Islam have in Africa?
2. What were two main forces of change before imperialism spread?
The slave trade was in decline but continued to have an impact on Africa.
•
In the early 1800s, European nations began to
outlaw the Atlantic slave trade.
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Sierra Leone and Liberia were formed as
settlements for former slaves.
•
By 1847, Liberia was an independent republic and
retained its independence despite the growth of
imperialism.
•
The East African slave trade to Asia continued.
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European Contact Increases, page 394
From the 1500s through the 1700s Europeans traded along the African coast. Africans wanted to
trade with Europeans but did not want to “house them.” Resistance by Africans, difficult geography,
and diseases all kept Europeans from moving into the interior regions of the continent. Medical
advances and river steamships changed all that in the 1800s.
Directions: Read about the explorers, missionaries and Dr. Livingston on page 394.As you are
reading think about Objective 2 - Explain why European contact with Africa increased during the
1800s.
1. Why were explorers and missionaries held in high regard by Europeans?
2. What impact did explorers and missionaries have on Africa?
3. How might Africans have felt about them?
4. The best known of the missionaries was Dr. David Livingstone. For thirty years he
crisscrossed East Africa. Livingstone believed trade and Christianity were the ways to end the
slave trade. He blazed a trail that others followed. In 1871, the American journalist Henry
Stanley trekked across Africa to “find” Livingstone. Stanley found Livingstone in present-day
Tanzania, greeting him with the now-famous words “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.”
Activity
Directions: Within your group organize a debate on whether or not imperialism was advantageous
for Africans. Try to have an even number of on each side. One side will debate yes/pro; the other will
debate no/con. Yes/Pro will deliver their comments first, then No/con. Remember to listen to what is
being said because you will answer the reflection question at the end.
Give each side three minutes to prepare for the debate. Points to consider:
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Europeans brought medicine and education to Africa and ended slavery.
Europeans violated Africans’ right to self-determination, destroyed traditional societies and
exploited the people and their land and resources without fair compensation.
Reflection: What did you learn from the other side’s presentation?
Each side must turn in their debate notes.
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A Scramble for Colonies, pages 394-396
Directions: Watch the DVD “The Scramble for Africa” and write down 5 facts.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Here’s Objective 3 - Understand how Leopold II started a scramble for colonies. Read pages 394-396
and answer the questions.
1. How did Leopold II gain colonies in the Congo River basin?
2. What was the Berlin Conference? Why do you think the Europeans did not invite the Africans?
3. Why did the Belgium government take away King Leopold II’s colonies?
4. What areas did France grab?
5. What areas did Great Britain control?
Other European nations sought colonies as well.
Additional European powers who sought colonies included:
• Germany
• Italy
• Portugal
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Africans Resist Imperialism, pages 297-298
Finally,Objective 4 - Describe how Africans resisted imperialism.
Directions – Read pages 297-298 and answer the questions that follow.
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The French faced resistance from the Algerians and from SamoriTouré in West Africa.
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The British battled Zulu leader Shaka and Asante queen YaaAsantewaa.
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Another woman warrior who resisted imperialism was Nehandaof the Shona people.
These efforts at resistance failed. However, in the 1900s, a newelite of Western-educated Africans
would forge nationalist movements to pursue independence.
Answer … Describe how Africans resisted European imperialism.
1.
Read Ethiopia Survives and Biography – Menelik II. Page 397
1. How did Menelik II preserve Ethiopian independence?
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Chapter 19, Section 3
African Nations Gain Independence, pp. 662-668
Background …
The great liberation of African from European
colonialism dramatically transformed the global political
picture. A total of ninety new countries emerged
(worldwide) between the mid-1940s and the 1990s. Well
over a billion people – a third of the earth’s population – gained their independence of
foreign rule.
The liberation struggles were a complex, confusing business, but some general
patterns can be detected.
The leaders of the various movements for colonial emancipation tended to be
both Westernized and charismatic. As Western-educated people, they could deal
effectively with their European rulers. They knew the game. Those who did not know
how to play the game because they were not educated in Western schools were at a
considerable disadvantage.
The strength of many colonial revolts also resided in powerful independence
parties put together by the new colonial leadership. These intensely nationalistic
organizations were strongly centralized on the person of the leader. They helped to
overcome regional, religious, tribal, or other differences within the colony, to articulate
common demands, and to mobilize mass support for challenges to colonial authority.
After independence was achieved, however, these parties tended to become a
stronger focus for loyalty than the new nation itself. In some places, they became the
core of one-party governments.
In some of the emerging nations, bitter and sometimes long-drawn-out
revolutions were fought before independence was achieved. In general, however, a
relatively low level of violence – by comparison, say, with the long revolutions of the
first half of the century – accompanied the great liberation.
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Achieving Independence
In the decades after World War II, Europe’s colonies in Africa became independent nations. Some
achieved independence peacefully. In other countries, the fight was more violent.
In country after country, bands played new national anthems, and crowds cheered the good news.
However, as Africans celebrated their freedom, they also faced many challenges.
Before
Essential Questions
-
How does a newly independent
country build a new country?
What challenges did new African
nations face?
After
Objectives
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Describe how Africa’s colonies gained
independence.
Explain how Africans built new
nations.
Analyze the recent histories of five
African nations.
Growing Unrest
• Negritude movement - pre-World War II celebration of African culture
• War effort emboldens Africans; Europeans question colonial policy too
• Colonies take different paths to freedom; some peaceful, some violent
• Many African colonies become new nations in years after World War II
• Most new African nations struggle to become stable and strong
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New Nations Emerge in Africa
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Africa has great geographic diversity including deserts, savannas (grasslands), and tropical
rain forests.
Africa has many resources, which under imperialism had benefited the colonial powers.
– Fertile farmland
– Mineral wealth
– Cash crops
Ghana Leads the Way
• British colony, Gold Coast, is first to gain independence in 1957
• Kwame Nkrumah - a socialist leader ousts Britain from Gold Coast
•Nkrumah serves as first president, attempts to modernize countryby nationalizing businesses
and building a huge power dam.
•His policies hurt economybecause they led
to massive debt; he is eventually ousted from
power
• Army begins long rule in 1966
• After a coup in 1981, the economy grew
stronger and power was restored to the
people of Ghana.
• Military officer Jerry Rawlings took
control.
• The economy, based on exports of
gold and cacao, improved.
• Rawlings peacefully handed over power after losing an election in 2002.
Kenya Claims Independence
•A group of Kikuyu militants, called Mau Mau by the British,
began attacking white settlers in the 1950s.
•The British jailed Kikuyu spokesman
Jomo Kenyatta, who had long
called for nonviolent resistance.
•Violence continued on both sides.
•Kenya wins independence in 1963;
Kenyatta becomes president
• Daniel arapMoi follows Kenyatta,
ruling harshly, corruptly
•
Moi resigns in 2002; new party gains power through free elections
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Algeria Struggles with Independence
Algeria wins independence from France in 1962 after a violent armed
struggle.
•Over a million French citizens lived in Algeria. France did not wish to
leave or to give up oil and natural gas wells.
•From 1945 to 1962, Algerian guerrillas waged war against the
French. Algeria became independent in 1962.
•The military took over Algeria and fought Islamist rebels. The conflict
slowed in 1999, but the tensions still remain.
Civil War in Congo
Economic rivalries plagued the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, formerly the Belgian Congo.
•Congo wins independence from Belgium in 1960
•
Civil war soon broke out when the copper-rich Katanga province tried to
break away.
•
Belgian mining companies supported Katanga, and Cold War superpowers backed rival
leaders.
•
In 1965, Mobuto SeseSeko took over in a military coup.
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His corrupt 30-year rule bankrupted the Congo.
•
Mobutu was finally driven from power in 1997, but civil war continued.
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In 2006, Joseph Kabila became president in the nation’s first free elections in 41 years.
Nigeria
Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, gained
independence in 1960.
•
Discovery of oil in 1963 gave hope for a better future, but prosperity has
been elusive.
•
The nation has faced military coups and ethnic rivalries.
•
In 1966, Ibos in the South set up the republic of Biafra.
•
The rebellion failed and half a million Biafrans died of violence or starvation.
•
Conflict continued despite free elections in 1999.
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South Africa Struggles for Freedom,
Chapter 20, Section 2, pages 686-688
Background …
The struggle for freedom in South Africa was
different than elsewhere.
• South Africa gained its independence in
1910 as a white-ruled nation.
• Whites made up less than 20 percent of
the population but controlled the
government and the economy.
• In 1948, the existing racial segregation was expanded into the system of
apartheid.
• The white majority government passed racial laws that severely restricted the
black majority.
Essential Question
Objective
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ANC = African National Congress
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established in _____________
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Sought _______________________ rights for blacks in South Africa
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In 1931 the ANC began to organize _______________________ protests &
_________________________
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It’s leader? _________________________________________

South African government began to further _________________________ freedoms of
1948
blacks

Government launched system of _________________________________
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Definition? System of separating South Africa into racial group under
____________________________
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Four groups of South Africa?
- Schools, hospitals, playgrounds & beaches were all _____________________

Definition? - Set apart according to race
New laws for blacks
 Who they could ______________________

____________________ they could live

Where to go to _______________________

What _______________________ they do

Blacks couldn’t own ________________ or _______________ an apartment in
_________________ territory
- white territory = ____% of South Africa (including rich diamond & gold mines)
The __________________________ Policy – 1959

S.A. Parliament created separate ______________________, or homelands for blacks

Each _____________________________ was to have its own homeland

Eventually they would become ______________________________________

Homelands were the ________________________________ lands in South Africa

Description? Cheap _______________ & _________________ (no heat, electricity,
running water


Blacks = _____ of population but only _____ % of the land! Was theirs

Blacks couldn’t leave homeland without a ___________________
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Don’t have a pass?
-
Only blacks with _________________ could get passes
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RESULT? Families were ___________________
Why not speak up? We have no choice in the matter.

Criticize the government … and go to ________________ or house arrest (banning)

Books & ___________________________ were censored

Police were strong (________________________ was common)

Whites were given ___________________ & were trained to use them
_________________________________________ - 1960

Hundreds of _________________________ marchers met to protest
_____________________________

RESULT? Police open fire: kill 69 & injure 186

It’s called the…

It isolated South Africa

The government banned the ANC and many were jailed
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ANC went “__________________________________”
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Formed a more ___________________________ wing
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Umkhonto we Sizwe – AKA “____________________________ of the Nation”
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What did it do? Turned to ____________________ (blew up RR & public
buildings)
-
Mandela charged with ______________________ & sentenced to jail for life
SASO - 1969

Stands for…South African Student Organization

Started by black university students

Led by ______________________________________
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“___________________________ in South Africa must be ______________________,
or changed”
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“Let’s protest”
___________________________________ - 1976


Police fire on students protest the mandatory use of ___________________ language
in school
______ students killed
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
Biko was eventually __________________________ & killed in ________________
1980’s = Protests & Riots


Reaction by S.A. gov’t = ____________________________
September 1984 – April 1985
____ Africans killed, ____ Africans injured, ___________ arrested
South Africa became an international __________________________

1970 – ________ from Olympics

1977 – United Nations ______ South Africa out

1986 - ____________ imposed sanctions on South Africa

discouraged _______________________ from doing business there
1989 - ____________________________________ is elected president of South Africa

“I’m determined to transform South Africa”

1990 – _________________ was unbanned and _________________ freed (ANC leader)

1991 – Parliament repeals segregation laws & President ___________ announces that
sanctions will be lifted

1991 – International Olympic Committee lifts its 21 year old ______________ on South
African athletes
Mandela reminds everyone that legal barriers were gone but not ____________________ ones

“We can’t afford _____________________________”

“Whites still have all the _______________”

“We still can’t ____________________________”
1994 – DeKlerk held 1st universal elections
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