Chapter 17.1
The Lure of Imperialism
Focus Your Thoughts . . .
What is imperialism?
What ideas/mentalities might have contributed to this?
Imperialist Activity
 Imperialism – The scramble for territorial control,
specifically, territorial control of land in Africa, Asia,
and Latin America; the extension of a nation’s power
over other lands.
What were we motivated by?
Economic Interests, Military Needs, & Ideology
 Economic Interests – The industrial revolution had brought great
prosperity to the western world; they began looking to other nations for
new customers and new places to invest.
 Military Needs – Industrialized nations created strong navies to defend
their shores and protect their trading interests; these navies needed
bases where their ships could refuel and be repaired.
 Ideology
1.
A sense of nationalism, love of one’s country, made many
individuals interested in imperialism; they felt that territorial
conquests enhanced the nation’s power and prestige.
2. A feeling of cultural superiority , a belief that one’s way of life is
superior to everyone else’s, made many people considered it our
social responsibility to “civilize” less industrialized nations.
The Scramble for Territory
 By the late 1800’s, the British Empire controlled about
one-quarter of the world’s land and population
 In the mid-1800’s Americans believed it was their
manifest destiny to expand westward to the Pacific
Ocean . . . now, people sought to move even beyond
the shoreline, to claim distant islands farther west.
What islands do you think we’re interested in?
T.T.Y.N.
Talk to Your Neighbor
What were the three main reasons that industrialized
nations became imperialist nations?
In addition to “civilizing” less industrialized nations,
what other belief systems or values might we have
been trying to spread through imperialism?
Taking Control of Hawaii
 Eight main islands –
 Niihau
 Kauai
 Oahu
 Maui
 Molokai
 Lanai
 Kahoolawe
 Hawaii
 The most isolated
population center on
the face of the earth
Why would Hawaii, located in the middle of
the Pacific Ocean, be a hot commodity for
imperialist nations?
Sugar Interests Gain Power
 As more and more Americans began to travel to the
islands, investors in the sugar industry began increasing
their control
 With so few native Hawaiians left - the population dropped
from 300,000 to 40,000 thanks to foreigners who brought
diseases – planters brought in workers from China, Japan,
and the Philippines
But . . .
King Kalakaua resented the Americans’ influence over his
government
Plotting Against the King
 A group of American businessleaders, planters, and traders formed a
secret society called the Hawaiian League; its purpose was to
overthrow the monarchy and establish a democracy in Hawaii
 The Sugar Treaty – Allowed Hawaii to export sugar to the United
States tax free . . . in exchange, American’s wanted the port of Pearl
Harbor
 Kalakaua refused
 Americans forced him – at gunpoint – to sign a new Constitution
referred to by the king as the Bayonet Constitution which severely
restricted the power and deprived most Hawaiians of the vote
 This forced King Kalakaua to give up Pearl Harbor
 The United States then revoked the Sugar Treaty anyway, damaging the
Hawaiian economy and forcing them into dependency on the U.S. and
talks of annexation.
What does it mean to “annex” something?
End of the Monarchy
 When King Kalakaua died in 1891, his sister
Liliuokalani became Queen
 Queen Liliuokalani was a Hawaiian nationalist and
wanted to restore power to the monarchy
 Members of the business community plotted to
overthrow her and sent U.S. Marines ashore without
authorization

They surrounded the royal palace aiming machine guns and
cannons and forced her surrender
Annexation
 While President Grover Cleveland was “troubled” by
the events surrounding Queen Liliuokalani’s removal
from power, he was unwilling to send in troops to
defend her
 When William McKinley took over the Presidency,
Hawaii became an American territory in 1898 and,
eventually, the 50th state to join the Union (1959)
It wasn’t until 1993 that Congress issued a formal
apology for the United States’ role in overthrowing
Liliuokalani
Influence in China
 China remained fairly isolated from the rest of the world
 In 1842, Great Britain forced China to open four additional
ports for trade; two years later the United States received
access to these same ports
 China’s rulers struggled to keep foreign interests from
overrunning the country, but the threat wasn’t solely from
Western nations
 Russia, France, Germany and Great Britain also held spheres
of influence

A geographic area where an outside nation exerts special economic
or political control
The Open Door Policy
 The United States was too late to secure a sphere of
influence in China and American leaders feared that
the United States would be shut out of the valuable
Chinese trade, as a result, Secretary of State John Hay
proposed the Open Door Policy
 The Open Door Policy – All nations shall have equal
trading rights in China
The Boxer Rebellion
 With foreign countries now vying for business in China,
antiforeigner sentiments grew and a secret group called the
Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists – known to
Westerners as Boxers – began attacking foreign
missionaries and Chinese Christians
 In June of 1900, they led what became known as the Boxer
Rebellion, laying siege on the capital city of Beijing
 This rebellion was put down by the western nations and
increased support for Hay’s Open Door Policy
T.T.Y.N.
Talk to Your Neighbor
Why did Hay propose the Open Door Policy?
Why would the Western nations think it was in their
best interests to put down the Boxer Rebellion?
Influence in Japan
 Until Japan seized Taiwan from China in 1895, no one would have
thought of the Japanese as imperialists; rather, they were very
isolationist.
 In 1853, the United States began pressuring Japan to open its ports to
international trade by demonstrating their naval strength under the
command of Commodore Matthew Perry who sent a fleet of four
ships to the as-yet unindustrialized nation
 In 1854, aware that they could not defend themselves against a modern
navy, Japan opened its harbors and embarked on a program of rapid
modernization and began eyeing additional territories
 Korea and Manchuria
The problem?
Russia wanted these territories too!
The Russo-Japanese War
 In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War broke out, taking
a toll on both sides . . . by the following Spring,
both sides had had enough
 At Japan’s request, Teddy Roosevelt helped
negotiate a peace treaty, later winning a Nobel
Prize for Peace for his efforts
 Japan was the clear victor in the war with Russia,
and it emerged as a major power and a rival to the
United States for influence in China and the Pacific
sparking concerns
 In 1907, Teddy Roosevelt decided he wanted to
impress upon Japan – and the rest of the world –
just how powerful the U.S. military was . . . And sent
four squadrons of battleships, known as the Great
White Fleet, on a 43,000 mile around-the-world
journey
Assignment
Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and People (Pg. 557)
 Define: What is imperialism?
 Summarize: What were the main incentives for countries to seek new
territories?
 Recall: Why did its location make Hawaii attractive to Americans?
 Draw Conclusions: What role did sugar play in the desire of many Americans
to control Hawaii?
 Elaborate: How did American sugar planters go outside the law to gain control
over Hawaii?
 Describe: What was the Open Door Policy?
 Explain: Why did Americans think they might be at a disadvantage trading
with China?
 Predict: What would have been the likely consequences for the United States
if other western powers had divided China into colonies instead of accepting
the Open Door Policy?
 Identify: Who was Commodore Perry?
 Analyze: Why did the United States want to impress Japan in particular with
the Great White Fleet?