The Age of Imperialism
1850 - 1914
Important Questions
• How is the Age of Imperialism a logical
next step after the Industrial Revolution?
• What motivated European nations to
colonize Africa, Asia and India?
• What will be the long-term results of
Imperialism on Africa, Asia and India?
Imperialism
• What: the domination of one nation by
another politically, socially, economically
and culturally
• Who: Belgium, England, France, Germany,
Italy, Portugal & Spain
• Where: Africa, Asia & India
Imperialism
• Why: resources, guaranteed markets,
nationalism, military concerns, racism
(Social Darwinism) & the missionary
impulse
• How: advanced European technology like
the Maxim gun, the telegraph, the railroad,
the steamship, medicines like quinine,
African tribalism and a lack of African
unity
Imperialism
• When: 1850 until 1914
–Why do you suppose that it
began around 1850?
–Why do you suppose that it
ended in 1914?
Regroup
• What is imperialism?
• Who was involved and where did it take
place?
• When did it take place?
• How were the Europeans able to dominate
so many larger countries?
Why Did They Do It?
Resources
• Britain is an island with necessarily limited
resources
• Europe too, has limited resources
• What happens if factories run out of coal or
iron or if they need more cotton and can’t
grow it themselves?
Resources
• European factories will need cheap raw
materials to keep the revolution going
• If they don’t get them or if the price is too
high what could happen?
– Remember: production prices must be kept low
in order to move more product & make more
money
Guaranteed Markets
• How many shirts or pants can you own?
• How big is England’s or Europe’s
population?
• Who can trade with a colony?
• Why do colonies exist?
• Why is no competition good for the seller
but bad for the buyer?
Nationalism
• European nations wanted to demonstrate
their superiority.
• The more weaker countries taken over the
more powerful the nation appeared.
• Colonies give nations prestige or “bragging
rights”.
Social Darwinism
• The belief that all human groups compete
for survival, and that the stronger groups
will replace the weaker groups.
• Darwin’s theory of evolution = “survival of
the fittest”.
• It is only natural that strong nations should
dominate weaker nations.
• This is applied to society as a justification of
imperialism.
Military
• Need for naval bases and places to refuel
merchant ships.
• More colonies = More power and security
• More bases allow nations to use force in
more different places and protect merchant
ships.
• Balance of Power!
Economic
• Industrial Revolution creates need
for large amounts of raw materials.
• New markets for finished goods.
• New places to invest profits
• What happens if factories produce
but no one buys?
Missionary Impulse
• People of color seen as inherently inferior or
as “God-less savages”
• It was the duty of the Europeans to “save the
souls” of the people in Africa, Asia & India
• Sent missionaries out to bring them to the
Christian God
• They were doing God’s work so imperialism
was OK
Regroup
• What is a “guaranteed market”?
• Why do European nations HAVE to engage
in imperialism?
• How is Social Darwinism a justification for
imperialism?
• How does religion figure into the
imperialistic impulse?
How Did They Do It?
Divide and Conquer
• Hundreds of different ethnic groups in
Africa
• Dozens of languages
• Traditional African beliefs mixed with
Islam and Christianity
• Large, unmanageable empires
• Low levels of technology
Regroup
• How were the Europeans able to establish
their colonies in the 19th century when they
previously could not?
• What tactic worked well for the Europeans
in creating their colonial empires?
Colonies for Dummies
• There 4 different forms of colonial control
–
–
–
–
Colony
Protectorate
Sphere of influence
Economic imperialism
• There are 2 different types of management
styles
– Direct control
– Indirect control
Colony
• A country or a region governed internally
by a foreign power
• French Indochina (Vietnam)
Protectorate
• A country or a territory with its own internal
government but under the control of an
outside power
• The British in Nigeria
Sphere of Influence
• An area or a region in which an outside
power claims exclusive trading and
investing rights but does not actually
control the government
• Liberia under the influence of the US
Economic Imperialism
• Independent, but less developed, nations
controlled by private business rather than by
another country’s government
• The control of Hawaii by the Dole Fruit
Company
Direct Control
• Officials brought in from mother country to
rule
• No self-rule
• Laws based on European laws
• Official language was the European
language
• Goal: assimilation
Indirect Control
• Locals used to run most government
functions
• Limited self-rule
• Laws based on European laws as well as
local laws
• Benefit: use fewer Europeans and give the
locals a sense of ownership
Regroup
• How many different kinds of colonial
holdings are there?
• What are they?
• How many kinds of control are there?
• What are they? Who used them?
• What is the advantage to indirect control?
Scramble for Africa
• The impact of the Industrial Revolution
allowed Europeans to penetrate Africa’s
interior
• Explorers began to map out Africa in the early
19th century & to learn more about the “Dark
Continent” (why is it Dark?)
• Christian missionaries followed the explorers
into Africa to win souls for Christianity
Scramble for Africa
• By early 1870s it was clear that Africa
would prove to be very valuable to
industrialized nations
• King Leopold of Belgium sent Henry
Stanley to Africa to explore the Congo
River & to set up trade contacts with the
Africans
Scramble for Africa
• Leopold publicly: “Belgium will carry the
light that, for millions of men still plunged
in barbarism, will be the dawn of a better
era.”
• Leopold privately: “I want resources,
markets & profits for Belgium!”
• Leopold’s actions touched off the Scramble
for Africa
Berlin Conference – 1884-85
• To avoid conflict with one another
in Africa, European leaders met in
Berlin, Germany
• With little regard or
representation for Africans, the
European powers set about
carving up Africa.
Berlin Conference – 1884-85
• Why did the Europeans absolutely not want
Africans present at Berlin?
Berlin Conference – 1884-85
• The following guidelines were set
at the conference
–Any sovereign power which
wanted to claim any territory
should inform the other powers
“in order to ... make good any
claim of their own.”
Berlin Conference – 1884-85
–Treaties with African rulers were
to be considered a valid title to
sovereignty.
–Any such annexation should be
validated by effective occupation
By 1900, the only
areas of Africa
remaining independent
were Liberia and
Ethiopia
Regroup
• What was the “Scramble for Africa”?
• What rules does the Berlin Conference set
down and why do the Europeans set them
down?
• Who not invited, or even wanted at the
Berlin Conference? Why?
Zulu Resistance
The Boers
• In the 1830s descendents of the
original Dutch settlers, now
called Boers, migrated into
the interior of South Africa and
began to engage in conflicts
with the Zulu
The Zulu
• The Zulu were a south African
tribe that placed an emphasis on
military organization and skill,
as established by their legendary
leader Shaka Zulu. Under
Shaka’s rule, the Zulu broadened
their land claims throughout
southern Africa.
Zulus vs. Europe
• Battles with the Boer settlers continued
well into the late 1800s, but never truly
threatened Zulu sovereignty.
• Eventually, the Zulu came into the
conflict with the British army as they
expanded their control over southern
Africa and invaded the homeland of
the Zulu
Zulus vs. Europe
• Despite early victories, the Zulu
were eventually defeated by the
technology and vast resources at
the command of the British
troops. Soon, all of southern
Africa would come under British
control.
Cecil Rhodes
• Instrumental in assuring British dominance
of southern Africa.
• Founded the De Beers Mining Company,
eventually controlling 90% of the world’s
diamond production.
• After becoming prime minister of the Cape
Colony (now South Africa) in 1890, he used
his influence to strengthen British control
over the region.
Cape to Cairo Railroad
• Cecil Rhodes’s master plan.
• A railroad line that would link British
colonial interests in Africa between
Egypt and the Cape Colony in southern
Africa.
• Why is “linking” north & south so
important?
Boer Reaction
• The Boers provided heavy and
eventually armed resistance to this
proposal.
• After authorizing an aggressive
invasion of the Boer Republic of
Transvaal which ended poorly, Rhodes
was removed from office.
• Sets the stage for the Boer War.
The Boer War
• 1899-1902 War between Great
Britain and the Boers in South
Africa
• The fighting was vicious, with the
Boers employing guerilla tactics and
the British eventually using 450,000
troops to achieve victory.
The Boer War
• In 1910, the various British
colonies in southern Africa
were united as the Union of
South Africa
Effects of Imperialism
• European nations carved Africa
up with no regard for traditional
tribal boundaries.
• Africa still suffers from
tribalism
Effects of Imperialism
• Modern African nations often
contain several different tribes that
harbor ill feelings towards one
another.
• inter-tribal conflict is a common in
Africa often leading to civil wars
and power struggles within national
governments.
Effects of Imperialism
• Colonization: the Europeans control land,
resources and people in Africa, Asia &
India
• Colonial economics: Europeans control
trade & set up dependent cash-crop
economies
• Christianization: spread of Christianity to
Asia, Africa & India
Positive For Europeans
Positive for Africans
Negative for Europeans
Negative for Africans
Muslim Lands Fall Prey to Europe
• Where is the Ottoman Empire located?
– Anatolia
– Asia Minor
– Modern Turkey
Muslim Lands
• Why would other nations want to control
this area?
– It is the “crossroads of the world”
– After 1869, the Suez Canal becomes critical
• Who wants these lands?
– Britain
– France
– Russia
Muslim Lands
• Why are these Ottoman lands “available”?
– Modernization has failed in the Ottoman
Empire (Suleiman III tried to reform & was
overthrown in 1789)
– Ottoman Empire is the ‘Sick Man of Europe”
– Nationalism within the Ottoman Empire
• Egypt & Greece declared independence, Serbia
received self-rule
Muslim Lands
• Why do the Europeans want these lands?
• Geopolitics
– The policy of taking land for its strategic
location, available resources and/or products
– This policy answers the question “Why would
anyone want the Middle East since it is just a
big desert?”
Crimean War
• 1853-56
• Russia fights Ottomans who are supported
by the British and French
• Russia wants access to Mediterranean Sea
via Bosporus & Dardanelles
• Ottomans win, but continue their slow
decline
Muslim Lands
• Ottomans need to modernize more than ever
• Muhammed Ali (NOT the boxer!!) sent to
Egypt to modernize but turned against the
Ottomans
• He moved Egypt into a monoculture and
had them plant only cotton– why is that
bad?
Regroup
• What is the policy of geopolitics?
• What makes the Ottoman Empire so
valuable?
• Why did the British and French work with
the Ottoman’s to keep Russia out of the
Bosporus and the Dardanelles?
• Why is the Ottoman Empire the “Sick Man
of Europe” in the late 19th century?
Muslim Lands
• Muhammed Ali’s grandson son Isma’il was
behind construction of Suez Canal
• French money & Egyptian labor used to
connect Med to Red
• Project too expensive and Britain occupied
Egypt in 1882 to protect the “life-line of the
British Empire”
The British in India
The British in India
The British in India
Musket
Cartridge
The British in India
The British in India
The British in India
The British in India
The British in India