Nationalism
&
Imperialism
Agree or Disagree?
• _____ The goals and ideals of
different political groups often make a
move toward unification difficult.
• _____ Threats from outside forces
are not usually a factor in the
unification of a country.
• _____ A shared history and common
traditions may lead to a desire for the
establishment of a unified nation.
The Italian
Peninsula,
1815
1848: Year of Revolutions
Causes:
• Poor harvests
• Food shortages
• Economic depression
• Unemployment
• Desire of people for
increased political
power and civil
liberties
• Nationalism and
political liberalism
At the barricades
• Italian for “resurgence”
• Period of cultural nationalism
and political unification
• Peasants struggled against
landowners
• Middle class sought
expanded rights and
opportunities
• Secret societies and growing
literary traditions advanced
love and loyalty for Italy and
a commitment to Italian unity
and independence
Risorgimento
Giuseppe Mazzini
• 1805–1872
• Imprisoned 1830–1831,
then exiled
• Founder of “Young Italy”
• Almost all of his
revolutionary efforts
against foreign rulers
would fail
• But emerged as the
leading spokesman for
Italian patriotism
Mazzini on Italy
“O, my brothers, love your Country! . .
. Country is not only a mere zone of
territory. The true country is the idea to
which it gives birth; it is the thought of
love, the sense of communion which
unites in one all the sons of that
territory . . . And so long as you are
ready to die for humanity, the life of
your country will be immortal.”
Summary of Italian Unification
• Passion for a free and united
Italy initiated by charismatic
nationalists
• Unification realized by
aggressive leaders
• Political manipulation
contributed significantly
• Foreign powers overthrown
• Spirit of nationalism began to
unite Italians despite cultural,
social, and regional differences
Italian stamp
commemorating Mazzini
The German Confederation
*The red outline indicates the German confederation.
1848 in the German
Confederation
• Middle class sought
constitutional government,
property rights, security, and
prosperity
• Artisans struggled against
industrialists and capitalists,
sought to protect guild
system
• Workers demanded suffrage
and socialist reforms
• Peasants sought security in
land ownership
German peasant workers
• Expanding industrial
economy altered economic
and political climate in
Prussia
• Otto von Bismarck, architect
of German unification
• Bismarck motivated to
consolidate and expand
German power
• Bismarck not motivated by
sentimental aspects of
nationalism
• German cultural nationalism
would emerge in concert with
German unification
German Unification
Germany, 1866–1871
Otto von Bismarck
• 1815–1898
• 1847: elected to the
Prussian Landtag
• 1851–59: Prussian
minister to Frankfurt
Parliament
• 1859–1862: Ambassador
to St. Petersburg
• 1862: Ambassador to
Paris
• 1862: Minister-President
of Prussia
“Blood and iron” Policies
Zollverein (Customs Union)
German railroads
• Established 1834, in
Prussia
• Customs barriers
eliminated
• Later expanded
across multiple
German states
• Expansion of industry
and commerce
followed
• Germany’s middle
class strengthened
Postage stamp commemorating the
coronation of Kaiser Wilhelm I
“One Kingdom, One People, One God”
Realpolitik (politics of reality)
“. . . our task was the
establishment or
foundation of German
national unity under
the leadership of the
king of Prussia.”
Bismarck
—from Bismarck’s
memoirs
Eugene Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People
German Unification Overview
• 5 Great Powers of Europe
• Wars of the mid-1800s greatly
strengthened one of the Great
Powers (Prussia became
Germany)
• Balance of power had broken
down
Russia 1800-1905
Russia covers 10,000 miles across Europe and Asia
Territorial gains included Siberia 1600 (Ivan the Terrible), Black Seas and Caspian Seas (1775), and
the Sakhalin Islands 1860s
Trans- Siberian Railroad completed in1900
Russian Culture
Peter Tchaikovsky “1812 Overture”
• Commemorates Russia’s victory over
Napoleon
• Expresses love of the motherland (Russia)
and its people [Nationalism]
• Introduction- simple violin melody of a
Russian hymn.
• Development- expansion of melody and
development of tensions (war) with
additional instruments- cellos, trumpets,
drums
• Climax- Church bells, Cannons, bring the
piece to a close to celebrate the victory
Reform and Reaction
• Alexander I- “one
• Suppressed opposition to
church, one
rule, limited freedom of
government, one
speech
language” (18011825)
• Suppressed revolts,
• Nicholas I- (1825started a secret police
1855)
• Alexander II (1855- • Freed the serfs, started
1881)
the Duma (Russian
Congress)
Nicholas II 1894-1917
• Industrialism continues
in Russia with iron and
steel industries
• Strengthens military
• Trans-Siberian
Railroad completed in
1900.
• Political (people want
democracy) and
economic (no land
reform, poor working
conditions) problems
1905
Revolution
• Tsar Nicholas II
crushes peaceful
protest
• After 1905
Revolution, Tsar
promises economic
and political
reform, but does
not see them as
priorities.
Imperialism
Imperialism
• the policy of extending a
nation's economic,
political, and/or social
control over a weaker
nation; the policy of
extending territory or
establishing dominance
over another nation.
Agree or Disagree?
• _____ An industrialized country can
easily control a country that is not
industrialized.
• _____ Imperialists should expand into
locations that benefit their need to
transport goods and raw materials.
• _____ Imperialists should expand into
areas that have natural resources
they can use.
Types of Imperialism
• Colony - direct control by the mother country
• Protectorate - Native ruler remains in place, but
with foreign power's advisers
• Sphere of Influence - Foreign power has
exclusive rights to development
• Concession - Foreign power has right to
develop one specific aspect of the economy
• Lease - Foreign power rents an area from a
less developed country
Cause #1
1. Economic
•
Need for raw materials (coal,
cotton...) and markets
• Trade
• Source of cheap labor
• Invest excess capital at a high
rate of return
• Make loans to colonies for
building railways, steamship
lines...
Cause #2
2. Political
• Acquire territory
• Obtain bases and outposts for military
• Establish a government; belief colonies were unfit to
self-govern
• Desire for great power status (colonies meant power
and prestige)
• Ambitions of power, glory, and national greatness
• Demonstrate the power of their military and strength of
their weapons
Cause #3
3. Social
• Spread Christianity to the
colonies ("White Man's Burden")
• Belief of superiority
• Evolution/"survival of the fittest"
(Social Darwinism)
• Duty to spread their race,
beliefs, and Western culture
• Educate the colonies
Colonial Empires around the World
Imperialism Around the World
Imperialism in Africa
Imperialism in Africa
Main Ideas:
• Ignored the claims of
African ethnic groups,
kingdoms, and city-states
• Europeans established
colonial claims
Why it matters today:
• African nations continue
to feel the effects of the
colonial presence of 100
years ago.
How did it happen?
• Explorers, missionaries, and reporters go in to Africa
• Some make claims on the land
• Greed, nationalism, racism, and philanthropy motivate
European colonialism.
• Superior arms, the steam engine, medicines, and
African rivalries help Europeans dominate Africa
• Berlin Conference divides land among European
nations
• Divisions ignore ethnic and linguistic groupings
• Europeans take advantage of the natural resources
• Africans treated cruelly, exploited, and subject to
unfair battles
Did they ever resist?
• Of course!
• However, there was a lack of organization
and weapons
• Ethiopia was successful
– played Europeans against one another
– meanwhile stockpiled weapons
– eventually declared war on the Italians & won
Impact on Africa
Positive
Negative
• reduced local warfare • lost control of land &
freedom
• humanitarian efforts
– improved sanitation • new diseases
– hospitals
• famines
– schools
• breakdown of
• increased lifespan &
traditional culture
literacy rate
•
men
forced
to
leave
• economic expansion
villages to work in
– brought markets,
mines
or
govt.
projects
railroads, dams, &
• boundary issues
phone lines
Imperialism in Africa
• Which European
countries
colonized Africa?
• Why would
Madagascar be
colonized before
Uganda?
• Which country
was not colonized
by a European
nation? Why Not?
Imperialism in China
Big Problems in Little China
•
•
•
•
•
Little interest in trade with the west
British have unfavorable balance of trade
Solution: smuggle in opium
Result: 12 million addicted Chinese
Aftermath: War breaks out when British
refuse to stop trading the drug
Opium Wars
• British merchants:
– earned huge profits by
smuggling opium
– brought it from Turkey and
India
1839
– Chinese troops tried to stop
smuggling and started war
1842
– British won the Opium War
– Signed first of many
treaties with China
Opium Smokers
Treaty of Nanjing
• Gave Hong Kong
to Britain
• opened four other
ports to British
trade
• Criminal cases
involving British
citizens would be
decided back
home
The signature page of the Treaty of Nanjing,
which ended the Opium War between Britain
and China.
What do you think???
• Pretend you are a
Chinese citizen. How
would the Treaty of
Nanjing make you feel?
Explain.
Problems Increase
• Treaties are disgraceful
• poverty & political corruption create problems for
China
• 14 year Taiping Rebellion expressed the discontent of
the Chinese people as peasants revolted against the
leaders
• Govt resists modernization
• Spheres of influence (West & Japan)
• Open Door Policy with the U.S. (allows trade, but
protects from colonization)
• Boxer Rebellion- expressed discontent of foreign rule
– unsuccessful but brought nationalism
– govt began to reform
Taiping Rebellion
• Opium War hurts the
Qing Dynasty
• Rebellion:
– Taiping rebels versus
the Qing Dynasty
• Qing got help from
European countries
– wanted the dynasty to
win so the treaties
could remain in effect.
• Qing Dynasty stayed in
power
Imperialism
• Imperialist nations had
won their struggle for
power in China
• Great Britain, France,
Germany, Russia, Japan
– all take large sections of
China as Spheres of
Influence
– What did that mean?
• had exclusive trading rights
The Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion
 Empress Ci Xi
 Hated foreigners
 encouraged secret
groups to chase the
foreigners out of China
 Society of Righteous and
Harmonious Fists, also
known as the “Boxers”
 Hated foreigners
(Europeans)
 Secretly worked with
the Empress to chase
out the foreigners
A company of the Bengal Lancers escorts
Count Alfred von Waldersee, supreme
commander of the Allied forces that helped
suppress the Boxer Rebellion, to the Meridian
Gate of the Forbidden City.
The Boxer Rebellion
 June 1900:
 Boxers killed 100’s of foreigners and
1000’s of Chinese Christians
– Took control of Beijing
 European countries sent 25,000
troops
 Killed 1000’s of Chinese
 Boxer Rebellion is a failure
 Foreigners remain in China
Loss of the Mandate?
 Chinese
people were
losing respect
for the
dynasty 
seek change
Sun Yixian
• 1905–Revolutionaries form the United
League  later called the
Kuomintang, or the Nationalist
Party
• Sun Yixian named leader
–Attacked Qing troops without
success
The Revolution of 1911
1908 2 year old Prince Pu Yi
became emperor of
China
• 1911– Sun Yixian becomes
first president of the
new Republic of China
Imperialism in India
Effects of Imperialism in India
• British East India Company
• 1857 Sepoy Rebellion leads to British
control of the subcontinent
Gandhi
-Considered the Father of Indian
Independence
Methods usedboycotts of products which were held
by a British monopoly – cloth, and salt
Civil Disobedience -Non-violent
protests, marches,
• “ We will not strike a blow, but we will
receive them.”
• “They may torture my body, break my
bones, or even kill me. Then, they will
F
have my body, but not my obedience”
a
• In the end, you (the British) will walk
m
out (leave India) because 100,000
o
Englishmen simply cannot control
u
350 million Indians if those Indians
s
Quotes refuse to cooperate. Peaceful,
nonviolent, noncooperation until you
yourself see the wisdom of leaving.”
India’s Independence
• Major Problems:
– Diverse cultures
– Poverty
– Industrialization
• Conflict between Hindus and Muslims
led to a separation and the creation of
the Muslim nation of Pakistan
Effects of Imperialism on the European
Countries:
• Clash/War between the European Countries
• Europeans lost lives in wars to control native
people in India, Africa, and China
• Feeling of superiority prevented imperialists
from seeing the value and learning from other
cultures
• Europeans became economically dependent on
the cheap raw materials and markets of the
colonies
• Cultural diffusion - influenced the art, food,
language, and clothes design
Effects of Imperialism on
Conquered People:
Positive:
• Infrastructure improved
• Education improved
• Access to medical care increased
• Food supply increased
• Economic development stimulated
• Internal conflicts decreased
Effects of Imperialism on
Conquered People:
Negative:
• People with common culture separated
• Natural resources exploited
• Native cultures damaged
• Economic self-sufficiency lost
• Cash crops overemphasized
• Family life disrupted
• Native life expectancy diminished