DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION:
TECHNOLOGY AND IMPERIALISM
DIRECTIONS
The following question is based on the accompanying documents. (The documents
have been edited for the purpose of this exercise). The question is designed to test
your ability to work with and understand historical documents. Write an essay that:

Has relevant thesis and supports that thesis with evidence from the documents.

Uses all or all but one of the documents.

Analyzes the documents by grouping them in as many appropriate ways as
possible and does not simply summarize the documents individually.

Takes into account both the sources of the documents and the authors’ points of
view.
ESSAY PROMPT
Analyze the relationship between technology and 19th century imperialism and its
impact on colonial peoples. Decide whether technology made it easier to obtain or to
maintain empires.
Based on the following documents, discuss the influence and impact of technology
on 19th century imperialism. What types of additional documentation would help
access the impact of technology during the Era of Colonialism?
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Among the many important events of the 19th century, two were of tremendous
importance. One was the Industrial Revolution; the other was the domination and
exploitation of Africa and Asia by the Europeans, Americans, and later the
Japanese. Historians believe the two were interconnected – technological
advancements made imperialism successful, while colonies were often acquired as
for their resources and their markets. Colonial peoples, on the other hand, had a
different perspective and both industrialization and imperialism profoundly
affected these peoples.
Copyright @ 2001 by Paul William Philp
1
DOCUMENT 1
Li Hung-Chang, Chinese scholar and Manchu minister, comments in support of
modernization of China, 1872
“The westerners particularly rely upon the excellence and efficacy of their guns,
cannon, and steamships, and so the can overrun China. The bow and spear, small
guns, and native-made cannon, which have been used by China, cannot resist the
rifles. The sailing boats, rowboats, junks, and gunboats, which have hitherto been
employed, cannot oppose their steam-engined warships.
Therefore, we are
controlled by the Westerners.”
DOCUMENT 2
BRITISH MILITARY DEATH RATES IN AFRICA FROM MALARIA
BEFORE AND AFTER QUININE’S INTRODUCTION AS RECORDED IN
THE UNITED SERVICE JOURNAL AND NAVAL AND MILITARY MAGAZINE
In Great Britain
In West Africa
In Sierra Leone
In the Gold Coast
In Gambia
On Royal Naval
ships off coasts
Before 1817 – 1836
After 1858 - 1860
Before 1850 – 1855
4
After 1858 Document
- 1860
Before 1819 – 1836
After 1858 - 1860
Before 1823 – 1827
After 1858 - 1860
Before 1850 – 1855
After 1858 - 1860
Before 1825 – 1845
After 1858 – 1860
15 people per 1000
16 people per 1000
250 – 750 people per 1000
50 –100 people per 1000
483 people per 1000
36 people per 1000
668 people per 1000
50 people per 1000
692 people per 1000
52 people per 1000
65 people per 1000
22 people per 1000
DOCUMENT 3
Macgregor Laird, explorer and famous British shipbuilder, a speech, 1832
“We have the power in our hands – moral, physical, and mechanical . . . the
third, bequeathed to us by the immortal Watt. By his invention every river is laid
open to us, time and distance are shortened. If his spirit is allowed to witness the
success of his invention, I conceive one application of it that would receive his
approbation more than seeing the mighty streams of the Niger, Nile, Indus, and
Ganges stemmed by hundreds of steam-vessels, [is] carrying the glad tidings of
peace and good will toward men into the dark places of the earth.”
Copyright @ 2001 by Paul William Philp
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DOCUMENT 4
SHIPPING DISTANCES BETWEEN LONDON, ASIA, AND AUSTRALIA
BEFORE AND AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE SUEZ CANAL
Via:
London to Bombay
London to Calcutta
London to Singapore
London to Hong Kong
London to Sydney
Cape of Good Hope
19,755 km.
22,039 km.
21,742 km.
24,409 km.
23,502 km.
the Suez Canal
11,619 km.
14,970 km.
15,486 km.
18,148 km.
22,492 km.
% Saved
41
32
29
26
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DOCUMENT 5
Japanese treaty with the Government of Korea, 1905
2. “As to the construction of the railways between Seoul and Pusan, and
between Seoul and Inchon which is referred to in the reform plan, the Korean
government, so long as their public finance is not strong enough, shall enter
into a contract with the Japanese government or a Japanese company and
start the construction of said railways.
3. As to the telegraphic lines, which have already been laid between Seoul and
Pusan and between Seoul and Inchon by the Japanese government, the
Korean government shall conclude a treaty and shall maintain them.
4. The Korean government shall employ Japanese on the recommendation of
the Japanese government as legal and political advisors for the execution of
the Korean administrative reforms.
6. In order to promote further amity and encourage commerce between the two
countries, the Korean government shall open a port for foreign trade in the
province of Cholla.”
Copyright @ 2001 by Paul William Philp
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DOCUMENT 6
John Cristopher Willis, director of Peradeniya Botanic Gardens in Ceylon, from
his 1909 book
“The great development of European planting enterprise in the more civilized
and opened-up [colonies] has revolutionized the primitive agriculture or rather
has built up a modern agriculture beside it. The [colonial powers] will not permit
that the rich and as yet comparatively undeveloped countries of the tropics
should be entirely wasted by being devoted merely to the supply of food and
clothing wants of their own people, when they can also supply the wants of the
colder zones [with] so many indispensable products”
DOCUMENT 7
G. V. Joshi, Indian teacher and schoolmaster, and economist, an essay, 1884
“We are not opposed to the growth of railroads. They are good in their own way
as providing cheap transit, and promoting national solidarity, and facilitating
trade movement. But it is on no grounds justified in bringing the foreigner with
his talent and capital into the country, and suffering him to appropriate
permanently the national field of improvement, to the exclusion of the native
element, and forming the nucleus of a domineering foreign aristocracy. The value
to the British nation was measured by the quality of raw material, which the
resources of Indian agriculture enabled it to export for the feeding and
maintenance of the Lancashire manufactures. India was to devote all its energies
to raise the raw exports; and canals, railroads and improved communications
were to be pushed on at any cost to facilitate the export of raw articles and the
import of English manufactures. India’s own industrial needs were of no
consequence.”
DOCUMENT 8
Petition of Natives of Bengal (India), Relative to Duties on Cotton and Silk,
addressed to the British government and signed by 117 high Bengali, 1831
“That of late years your Petitioners have found their business nearly superseded
by the introduction of the fabrics of Great Britain into Bengal, the importation of
which augments every year, to the great prejudice of native manufactures. Your
Lordships must be aware of the advantages the British manufactures derive from
their skill in constructing and using machinery, which enables them to undersell
the unscientific manufacturers of Bengal in their own country.”
Copyright @ 2001 by Paul William Philp
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DOCUMENT 9
Treaty of an Oil Concession by the Iranian Government to William D’Arcy,
founder of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, 1901
“The Government of his Imperial Majesty the Shah grants to the concessionaire
a special and exclusive privilege to search for, obtain, exploit, develop, render
suitable for trade, carry away and sell natural gas petroleum throughout the
whole extent of the Persian Empire. This privilege shall comprise the exclusive
right of laying the pipelines and also the right of constructing and maintaining
wells, reservoirs, stations and pump services, factories, and other works and
arrangements that may be deemed necessary. The government grants all
uncultivated lands belonging to the state which the concessionaire’s engineers
may deem necessary; as for cultivated lands belonging to the state, the
concessionaire must purchase them. The government also grants the right of
acquiring all and any other lands or buildings necessary for the said purpose,
with the consent of the proprietors.”
DOCUMENT 10
Amir Boktor, Egyptian economist working for the British, 1923, his book
“Technical schools are graduating a number of students annually, but the lack of
factories and private enterprises makes it difficult for these graduates to earn a
living. There is also reason to believe that these [English] technical schools do not
take into account the needs of the country. In the big cities, strange to say, the
majority of the people employed in repairing, oiling, and all kinds of work
pertaining to motorcars, even selling gasoline, are Europeans. Likewise, electric,
water, and gas companies supplying Cairo, Alexandria, and other cities employ
Europeans. Tramway companies in Cairo and Alexandria are owned by
Europeans; the motormen and the conductors, however, are Egyptians.”
DOCUMENT 11
Smet de Naeyer, Premier of Belgium, 1904, a report to the Parliament
“In this sinister and mysterious continent a state has arisen introducing into
Central Africa the benefits of civilization. Cities, which rival our seaside resorts,
light up and animate the banks of the [Congo]. The Moyamba Railroad, the
cataract railroad, and the Great Lakes Railroad pierce the heart of the
Equatorial forest; sixty to eighty steamers ply the Congo and its affluents, this
regular service of postal communication, this telegraph line these hospitals. All
these things, born of yesterday give to the traveler the impression that he is
travelling, not in the barbarous Central Africa, but in a country which has been
conquered by European civilization.”
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DOCUMENT 12
Udo Akpabio, Anang (Nigerian) chief, comments to the Reverend W. Groves in
1936 when asked which were better, the “old days” or modern times.
“Things have changed very much during the last few years. The beginning of
[colonial] administration and taxation has not all been well. Before taxation we
were informed that the price of palm produce would be raised, but now [palm]
oil and palm kernels are very little valued by the Europeans. As palm produce is
the chief means of living, I do not know what the life of the people will be in a few
years. On the other hand there are advantages derived from this fashion of
government. The are many new and better roads throughout the district. We
have no trouble carrying loads. Motors bought from the tax money do all this.
Many bridges have been built. In some places where the people have to walk
many miles for their water, deep wells have been made in their towns.”
DOCUMENT 13
OVERSEAS TELEGRAPH CABLES BUILT BY GREAT BRITAIN, c. 1900
1850
1852
1856
1857 – 1858
1859
1861
1862
1865
1866
1871
1873
1875
1876
1879
1885
1901 – 1902
1902
U.K. to France
U.K. to Ireland @
U.K. to Turkey, Egypt @ to Yemen @ to Pakistan @
U.K. to Canada @ and the United States
Egypt @ to Yemen @
Malta @ to Egypt @
Pakistan @ to Persian Gulf
U.K. to the United States
Across Europe to Persian Gulf; to Malta @, Egypt @ to India @
India @ to Malaysia (Singapore) @ to Vietnam to Hong Kong @
to Shanghai, China to Indonesia to Australia @
U.K. to Brazil and Argentina
Argentina to Peru
Australia @ to New Zealand @
Yemen @ to East Africa @ to Mozambique to South Africa @
U.K. to Sierra Leone @ to Ghana @ to Nigeria @ to Congo to
Angola to South Africa @
South Africa @ to Ceylon @ to Singapore @ to Australia @
Canada @ to Fiji @ to New Zealand @
190,000 miles in the World; 72% owned by Great Britain
@ indicates countries controlled by Great Britain
Copyright @ 2001 by Paul William Philp
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FOOTNOTES: TECHNOLOGY AND WESTERN IMPERIALISM
1. Daniel R. Headrick, The Tools of Empire: Technology and European Imperialism
in the 19th Century (New York: Oxford University Press, 1981), 122.
2. Headrick, The Tools of Empire, 62 – 70 passim.
3. Headrick, The Tools of Empire, 17.
4. Daniel R. Headrick, The Tentacles of Progress: Technological Transfer in the Age
of Imperialism, 1850-1940 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), 26.
5. Bonnie G. Smith, Imperialism: A History in Documents (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2000), 49.
6. Headrick, The Tentacles of Progress, 210.
7. Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield, The Human Record: Sources of Global
History, 3rd Ed., Volume II: Since 1500 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,
1998), 341-343.
8. L. S. Stavrianos, ed., The Epic of Modern Man: A Collection of Readings
(Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966), 263.
9. Andrea and Overfield, 319-321
10. Headrick, The Tentacles of Progress, 311-312.
11. James Hanscom, Leon Hellerman, and Ronald Posner, eds. Voices of the Past:
Readings in Modern History. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1967), 151.
12. Stavrianos 295-296.
13. Headrick, Tools of Empire, 157 – 164 in passim.
Copyright @ 2001 by Paul William Philp
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BIBLIOGRAPHY: TECHNOLOGY AND WESTERN IMPERIALISM
1. Allen, H. C. Great Britain and the United States: A History of Anglo-American
Relations, 1785 – 1952. New York: St. Martin’s Press, Inc., 1955.
2. Andrea, Alfred J., and James H. Overfield. The Human Record: Sources of
Global History, 3rd Ed., Volume II: Since 1500. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1998.
3. Bailey, Thomas ed., The American Spirit: United States history as Seen by
Contemporaries. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1963.
4. Hanscom, James, Leon Hellerman, and Ronald Posner, eds. Voices of the Past:
Readings in Modern History. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1967.
5. Headrick, Daniel R. The Tentacles of Progress: Technological Transfer in the Age
of Imperialism, 1850-1940. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
------------------------. The Tools of Empire: Technology and European Imperialism
in the 19th Century. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.
6. Smith, Bonnie G. Imperialism: A History in Documents. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2000.
7. Stavrianos, L. S., ed. The Epic of Modern Man: A Collection of Readings
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
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VOCABULARY: TECHNOLOGY & 19th CENTURY IMPERIALISM
1.
NEW IMPERIALISM
2.
IMPERIALISM AND A. J. HOBSON
3.
IMPERIALISM – THE HIGHEST STAGE OF CAPITALISM AND V. I. LENIN
4.
THE INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER UPON HISTORY AND A. J. MAHAN
5.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
6.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Telegraphs, cables
7.
TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION: Railroads, steamships, canals
8.
TROPICAL MEDICINE
9.
TROPICAL AGRICULTURE (CASH CROPS)
10.
BERLIN CONFERENCE OF 1885
11.
OPIUM WARS
12.
BOXER REBELLION
13.
COLONIAL WARS
14.
COLONY
15.
PROTECTORATE
16.
SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
17.
SHELTERED MARKETS
18.
GUNBOAT DIPLOMACY
19.
WESTERNIZATION VS. MODERNIZATION
20.
‘PROFITABILITY OF COLONIES’ MYTH
21.
TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY
22.
TECHNICAL MONOPOLIES
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