DBQ-Imperialism
Historical Context : European imperialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries resulted in the carving up of areas of Africa and Asia into vast colonial empires. As imperialism spread, the colonizers
(western countries) and colony (non-western countries) viewed imperialism differently. They both saw positive and negative effects of imperialism. As you read each document, answer the comprehension questions. Think also about the author’s background and how that might be influencing their reactions to imperialism or their credibility (whether we should trust them).
Document Based Question : Evaluate the new imperialism of the late 19 th
and early 20 th
centuries in Africa and Asia. What were the effects of imperialism for the colonizer (western countries) and the colony (nonwestern countries)?
Document 1 a.
What negative aspects of imperialism does this British scholar point out? (Cite 3)
-
-
-
Document 2 a.
What criticism of imperialism does this author offer?
Document 3 a.
What are two political reasons this group strongly objects to imperialism?
-
-
Document 4- Note, this document was written after the imperialized colonies gained their freedom and were trying to exist on their own.
a.
What are 2 long term negative effects this author says imperialism had?
-
- b.
What does he say was a positive effect of imperialism?
Document 5 a.
What does this proverb imply about the effect of imperialism?

Document 6 a.
Who/what group (imperialized country or imperializing country) does this author state was negatively effected by imperialism? b.
What evidence (facts) does this author provide to show the negative effects of imperialism?
Document 7 a.
What negative effects does Lin Zexu say imperialism is having in his country, China? b.
According to Zexu, how are the British actions/policies hypocritical?
Document 8 a.
What does King Leopold say is the real task he wants Christian missionaries in the Congo to work on? b.
What attitude does King Leopold have toward the native Congolese and their customs? What evidence
(words/phrases) from the text supports your conclusions?
Document 9 a.
What are 2 different ways Leopold’s imperialism is affecting the Congolese, according to Mr.
Casement’s report?
-
-
Document 10 a.
How does this document relate to what you learned in document 9?

Document 11 a.
What are the ways in which the Western (progressive) country benefits according to this author?
-
- b.
What are the ways the non-western country (colony) benefits, according to this author?
-
- c.
What attitude does the author have (or imply) toward the non-western country’s culture and native education, government, or economic systems? d.
Review this author’s background, as explained in the source information. Do you think this author’s views are credible (trustworthy) or biased? Explain your reasoning. This is an inference question.
Document 12 a.
Who (colonizer or colony), according to this author, benefits most as a result of imperialism? How?
Give 2 examples of the benefits.
Group that benefits= __________________________________
How:
-
-
Document 13 a.
Who (colonizer or colony), according to this author, benefits most as a result of imperialism? How?
Give 3 examples of the benefits.
-
-
Group that benefits:
How:
-
Document 14 a.
How according to the author, did the British change India’s economy? b.
Did he believe this change was positive or negative for the people of India? What evidence does he use to defend this position? c.
What are 2 ways he claims Britain benefits from this system?
-
- d.
This author’s conclusions are almost exactly opposite of the conclusions made by the author of document 11. (Go back and review document 11) Which author do you tend to believe more? In other words, which conclusions do you believe are more credible? Why?