TIMELINE
1819 – British colony of Singapore
1848 – Mexico loses almost half of its territory to the
United States
1855 – David Livingstone is first European to see
Victoria Falls
1879 – Zulu king meets with British ambassadors
1880 – “New Imperialism” begins
TIMELINE, CONT
1884 – France make the Vietnam Empire a protectorate
1896 – Britain and France agree to maintain Thailand as a
buffer state
1898 – The United States defeats Spain for control over the
Philippines
1900 – Virtually all of SE Asia is under European rule
1910 – Emiliano Zapata leads peasant movement in Mexico
COLONIAL RULE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
Vocabulary
 Imperialism – extension of a nation’s power over other
lands
 Protectorate – political unit that depends on another
government for its protection
 Indirect rule – local rulers are allowed to maintain their
positions of authority and status in a new colonial
setting
 Direct rule – local elites are removed from power and
replaced with a new set of officials brought from the
mother country
THE NEW IMPERIALISM
Nineteenth century - Western expansion into Asia and
Africa begins
1. These nations were a source of industrial raw
materials
2. Market for manufactured goods
Oil, tin, rubber needed to fuel European economies
IMPERIALISM, CONT.
1880s – Europe begins to scramble for overseas
territory.
Instead of “trading posts” in countries, Europe looked for
direct control of countries.
Europeans wanted more of a direct control over raw
materials that were being imported
REASONS FOR EXPANSION
Strong economic motive
Looking for economic markets for
products
Raw materials – rubber, oil, tin needed
Looking for more direct control of areas
with raw materials
REASON FOR EXPANSION, CONT.
Heated rivalries with European states
 Colonies source of national prestige for countries
 European states sought to acquire colonies abroad in
order to gain an advantage over their rivals
Imperialism tied to Social Darwinism and Racism
 Best survive and certain races are superior to others
REASONS FOR EXPANSION, CONT.
Europeans also saw Expansion as a religious obligation
to spread Christianity
Humanitarian approach – Europeans had a moral
responsibility to civilize “primitive” people
 “white man’s burden”
Major Regions of European Control
Southeast
Asia
Britain
Africa
Britain
Belgium
France
France
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Netherlands
Portugal
Portugal
Spain
Spain
India
Britain
COLONIAL TAKEOVER IN SE ASIA
Great Britain
 “The sun never sets on the British empire.”
 Singapore – major stopping point for traffic going to or from
China.
 Burma – wanted control to protect its possessions in India.
FRANCE
Missionaries in Vietnam
 Local authorities saw missionaries as threat to
Confucian doctrine
Makes Vietnamese Empire a French protectorate
(dependent on France for protection)
FREE STATES
Siam (Thailand) - only country in SE Asia free
King Mongkut (The King and I)
Son, King Chulalongkorn
 Both promoted Western learning and maintained
friendly relations with the major European powers
In 1896, Britain and France agreed to maintain Siam as
an independent buffer state in SE Asia
THE UNITED STATES
1898: Spanish-American War
 Under the leadership of Commodore George Dewey, the
U.S. defeats Spain in Manila Bay in the Philippines.
 President McKinley makes the Philippines a colony.
Emilio Aguinaldo revolts against the U.S. but U.S.
keeps control
 Takes control of Puerto Rico and Guam
DIRECT VS. INDIRECT RULE
Dutch East Indies example of Indirect Rule. Local landed
aristocrats controlled their own government. Indirect
rule was less costly and more convenient
Burma had direct rule as the monarchy opposed colonial
rule.
Indochina had both
COLONIAL ECONOMIES
Raw materials
 Burma – teak wood
 Malaya – rubber and tin
 East Indies – spices, tea, coffee and palm oil
 Philippines – sugar
Plantation agriculture in
some countries
 Peasants worked as wage laborers owned by foreign
investors
BENEFITS OF COLONIAL RULE
Beginning of modern economic system
Colonial governments built railroads, highways, and other
structures
Export market raised up entrepreneurial class
Most countries were against colonial rule though