The New
Imperialism
Imperialism: Its Nature and
Causes
The New Imperialism of the
late nineteenth century
differed both economically
and politically from the
colonialism of earlier times.
The older empires had
been maritime and
mercantile, with
European traders
purchasing goods from
local merchants in places
such as India, Java and
Canton.
The exception to this had
been the Americas which
had no goods the
Europeans wanted, hence
the creation of plantations
to grow cash crops.
The Impact of the Industrial Revolution.
The desire for raw
materials and new
markets caused a
massive investment of
capital for the creation
of ports, roads,
railroads, mines –
taking over the
productive economies
of foreign territories.
European nations
also invested
money and
energy to prop up
friendly foreign
rulers in order to
protect these
investments.
Followers of Karl
Marx, such as
Vladimir Lenin,
believed that
Imperialism was the
natural outcome of
capitalist greed and
corruption.
Competition between
Nation-States.
Colonies could provide ports and
coaling stations for navies and provide
a strategic presence throughout the
world.
National Prestige
Once the
scramble for
colonies began,
failure to enter
the race was
perceived as a
sign of national
weakness.
Nationalism
The unification of
Italy and Germany
and the increasing
power of nationalist
feelings led countries
to increasingly call
for territorial
expansion.
Social Darwinism and Racism
The belief that
“superior” races
must dominate
“inferior” races
through force
and prove to the
world their
superiority.
Religious Imperialism
Many European missionaries and humanitarians
espoused the idea that Europeans had a duty to
civilize and Christianize the savage and ignorant
peoples of the world.
The White Man’s Burden
Take up the White Man’s burden
Send forth the best ye breed
Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives’ needs.
--Rudyard Kipling
New Domination
European
countries now
aspired to political
and territorial
domination in
these so called
“backwards”
countries.
Degrees of Colonialism
Some areas became outright
“colonies” directly ruled by
Europeans.
Others were protectorates in
which the local ruler was
maintained and controlled by a
European “resident” or
“commissioner.”
Some places, such as China
and Persia, where no single
European power could exert
total control, the region was
divided into “Spheres of
Influence.”
The Creation of Empires
By the nineteenth century an enormous
economic gulf had opened between the
western and non-western countries.
The expansion of
the European
colonialism
happened to
coincide with a
period of political
and economic
decay in the nonwestern world.
Tea Processing Plant in China
Countries such as
Imperial China, the
Mogul Empire in
India and Persia,
which had once been
looked on as superior
cultures, were now
seen to be
“backward” and
weak.
Opium Warehouse Ship
Military Superiority
So great was the
difference in the
mechanics of
power, that a mere
show of force by
the Europeans was
usually enough to
impose their will.
Periodic wars, such
as the Burmese War,
the Zulu War and the
Afghan War, were
seen as
inconsequential
disturbances, much
like the American’s
Indian troubles.
Naval Power
Often the mere threat of a naval
bombardment was enough to control
any situation.
The US threat of
bombardment
against Japan
and the British
use of naval
bombardment in
the Opium Wars
are examples.
The Scramble for Africa
Before 1880,
most
European
colonialism
was limited to
the coastline.
The British
gained control
of Cape town
from the Dutch
during the
Napoleonic
wars.
The Boers Great Trek
The Dutch farmers, unwilling to be British
subjects, pushed into the interior and
created the republics of the Orange Free
State and the Transvaal.
The Battle of Blood River
The Zulu Wars
The Dutch and British
will fight a series of
wars against the Zulu
Nation.
The British defeated
the Zulus in 1879 with
superior fire power.
RORKE’S DRIFT
140 British soldiers hold
off 4,000 Zulu armed
with spears and some
rifles.
Later the same day the British
lose 895 out of a force of 950 plus
some 550 Xhosa allies in an attack
by Zulu warriors at Isandhlwana.
Battle of Isandhlwana
Cecil Rhodes
British
adventurer Cecil
Rhodes created a
monopoly over
the diamond and
gold mines of
South Africa.
Frustrated by the Boers,
he founded a colony to
their north called
Rhodesia.
Cape to Cairo Axis
Rhodes plan of
expansion called for
the creation of a
series of British
colonies running up
the center of Africa
to be connected by a
trans-African
railroad.
Cape to Cairo Axis
The Jameson Raid
In 1895, Rhodes’
plan to eliminate the
Boers by having their
leader Paul Kruger
assassinated is
thwarted when the
leader of the
commando group, L.
Starr Jameson, is
captured.
Paul Kruger
The British put
Jameson on trial but
he is given a light
sentence.
Rhodes is forced to
resign as Prime
Minister of the Cape
Colony.
A letter of
congratulations from the
German Kaiser to the
Boers strains German –
British relations.
The Boer War
In 1899, the
British declared
war against the
Boer republics in
order to “protect
their economic
rights.”
The large and well-equipped Boer
army was initially very successful
– until the British landed
reinforcements.
From the 1900 to 1902 the British
fought a protracted anti-guerilla
war against the stubborn Boers.
Boer Commandos
The British ultimately gained
victory by interning Boer women
and children and by building
blockhouses to cut off large areas.
British troops then combed the
country, section by section until
the Boers surrendered.
Concentration Camp
The Union of South Africa
In 1910, the various
territories of South
Africa were united as
fully self-governing
dominion within the
British Empire.
French Africa
The French
established colonies
on the island
Madagascar and by
1830 had begun the
conquest of
Algeria.
In 1867, a
French company
built the Suez
Canal, but the
British gained
financial control
over the canal in
1875.
British Protectorate
Seeking to protect the Canal
from nationalist interests in
Egypt, the British land troops
and eventually establish a
protectorate over Egypt in
1882.
French West Africa
The French expanded
their territories in the
Sahara to include the
vast area of French
West Africa and
Tunisia and by 1912
controlled much of
Morocco as a
protectorate.
Italy in Africa
Italy, not to be outdone, was
desperate for African
territories.
Despite their defeat by the
Ethiopians, Italy will take
Libya, Eritrea and a portion of
Somaliland.
The Congo
Henry Stanley, the
New York reporter
who found the British
missionary David
Livingstone, was
instrumental in
establishing the colony
of the Congo.
“If you drop that, I will shoot!”
I would have run to him, only I was a coward in the presence of such a mob-would have embraced him, but I did not know how he would receive me; so I did
what moral cowardice and false pride suggested was the best thing--walked
deliberately to him, took off my hat, and said:
"DR. LIVINGSTONE, I PRESUME?"
"Yes," said he, with a kind, cordial smile, lifting his cap slightly.
(from How I Found Livingstone)
Leopold’s Congo
King Leopold II of Belgium used
Stanley to establish his own
personal colony in the Congo
Basin.
The brutal nature of his
“paternalistic” policies led the
Belgian government to take over
the colony.
Germany in Africa
Despite Bismarck’s reluctance
to get involved in colonialism,
the Germans will establish
colonies in East Africa, Southwest Africa, the Cameroons
and Togoland.
The Conference of Berlin
In 1884–85, an international
meeting was called by Bismarck to
settle colonial problems in Africa.
In effect, the conference
legitimized the sovereignty the
European nations were already
exercising over their African
colonies.
Europeans in
Asia
China
The defeat of the
Manchu dynasty by
Britain in the Opium
Wars led to political
and economic unrest
that exploded in the
Taiping Rebellion of
the 1840s and 50s.
The Imperial government was
forced to rely on foreign powers
to put down the rebellion.
The British
army, under the
command of
Charles
“Chinese”
Gordon, was able
to defend
Shanghai from
the rebel army.
Foreign Concessions
Further violence led
to the establishment
of the Treaty
System which
granted concessions
and “Spheres of
Influence” to the
Europeans
throughout China.
Japan
The Shogun military
dictatorship came to
an end in Japan
when the US gun
ships of Commodore
Matthew Perry
forced the opening
of Japan.
The Meiji
Restoration
The power of the Emperor was
restored and the Meiji reign began.
Emperor Mutsuhito
The young Emperor
Mutsuhito instituted
a program of
industrial
development and
militarization equal
to anything seen in
the west.
The Japanese
took the best of
each western
nation and
avidly
embraced the
policies of
imperialism.
The Sino-Japanese War
When Japan began to industrialize, China did
not.
In 1894, Japan and China went to war over
Japanese ambitions in Korea and Manchuria.
China was quickly defeated.
The Boxer Rebellion
Humiliation over
the loss to Japan
and continued
encroachment by
western powers
caused an antiforeigner
uprising in
China.
The rebellion was
led by an
organization
called the Society
of the Righteous
and Harmonious
Fist.
The rebellion was
initially successful
and attacked a
number of foreign
concessions in
around Beijing.
The Dowager
Empress of
China was
forced to call
for foreign
intervention.
The response was quick and brutal, with
a combined allied force of British,
French, German, Russian, American and
Japanese rapidly overwhelming the
Chinese rebels.
The foreign powers gained reparations
and further concessions from the
weakened Manchu government
The Chinese Rebellion
By 1912, the
Nationalists of Sun
Yat-sen toppled
the Manchus and
established the
Republic of China.
The Russo-Japanese War
Japan went to war with Russia over
Manchuria in 1905.
The Japanese navy quickly defeated two
Russian fleets and then agreed to
mediation to end the conflict – this led to
the Portsmouth Treaty.
Annexation of Korea
By 1910, Japanese had forced the
Koreans to agree to annexation.
The Japanese then set their sights on
the Shandong peninsula controlled by
Germany and on Manchuria.
British India
Following the British
defeat of the French
during Seven Years
War, the British East
India Company had
continued to expand its
control over India – at
the expense of the
Mogul Empire.
The Sepoy Mutiny
Indian Sepoys revolted against the British in
1857, when they are forced to bite the ends
off new Enfield rifle cartridges that were
coated in grease.
The Sepoys were brutally
suppressed by the British Army.
Executing the Sepoy Mutineers
After defeating the
Sepoys the British
East India Company
was dissolved and
Parliament took over
direct control of
India.
In 1876, Disraeli
helped crown
Victoria as the
Empress of India.
The British Raj
The British brought modern technology
and a stable government to India but
economic development was to the benefit
of Britain.
By the turn of
the century
almost 2/3rds
of the people of
India were
malnourished.
Famine in India
‘Absolute non-interference with the operations of private commercial
enterprise must be the foundation of their present famine policy.’
The British system
of education
created an Indian
elite of literate
bureaucrats, while
90% of the
population
remained illiterate.
Even for the
upper class
Indians, British
rule remained
degrading and
ultimately led to
the call for home
rule.
The Indian National Congress
By 1883, Indian
nationalists
formed the Indian
National Congress
and began to push
for self
government
The Amritsar Massacre in 1919 led
to Gandhi’s program of nonviolent civil disobedience in
demand of complete independence.