THE NEW IMPERIALISM
Africa “Invaded”
WHAT IS IMPERIALISM?
Imperialism is the domination
by one country of the political,
economic, or cultural life of
another country.
THE NEW IMPERIALISM
 Began
in 1500s.
 1870 – 1914 Europeans established
colonies in African coastal regions.
 Nationalism – rampant competition
among nations to prove their worth
 Industrial Revolution - needed new
sources to buy and sell goods and to collect
natural resources
CAUSES OF NEW
IMPERIALISM…ECONOMY
 Industrialization
throughout Europe
depended on raw
materials
 Countries need to
establish colonies to
provide natural
resources
 Need for new markets
to sell goods
 Place for growing
populations to settle
 Place to invest profits
For Example (Economics)
 Invest
money to build railroad  raw
materials brought out of Africa faster and
more cheaply  able to increase
industrial production
 Build
factory in India  New market
(Indian, British in India)  cheaper
production (cheap Indian labor)
…POLITICS AND THE
MILITARY…
 Weaponry
of the Industrial Age gave
European nations a huge military
advantage over the people of Africa, India,
and China.
 Bases for trade and navy ships
 Power and security for a global empire
 Spirit of nationalism
For Example (Military)
Maxim Gun
 British and the Sudan
(Battle of Omdurman –
suburb of Khartoum)
 British versus Muslim
Dervishes
 British casualties – 482
(using artillery and
maxim guns)
 Sudanese Casualties –
22,700 (using muskets
and spears)

…SOCIETY…
 Wish
to spread Christianity
 Wish to share Western civilization
 Ethnocentrism!
…SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY…
New advancements such
as railroads and
steamships allowed
Europeans to be able to
enter deeper into jungles
and wild areas than
before.
 New weapons
 New medicines
 Improved ships
 Railroads

For Example (Medical Advancements)
 Germ
theory and
the discovery of
quinine (cure for
malaria) gave
Europeans the
physical strength
necessary to
survive in harsh
environments.
HERBERT SPENCER
“Social Darwinism” –
some races are “superior”
to others.
In this case, the belief
that white Anglo-Saxons
are better than the tribal
Africans.
This gave the
justification they needed
to conquer and subdue
native peoples
RUDYARD KIPLING

“The White Man’s Burden” – poem that
offered justification for imperialism.
 Kipling expressed the idea that white
imperialists had a moral duty to educate
people in nations they considered less
developed.
 Missionaries spread western ideas,
customs, and religions to people in Africa.
KING LEOPOLD OF BELGIUM
 Sent
a mission to the interior of Africa to
establish trade agreements with leaders of
the Congo River basin
 Ran Congo as his own PRIVATE estate.
 In the name of “civilizing” the people,
Leopold enslaved the people and cut off
hands of reluctant workers or slow
roasted the ones who couldn’t be
convinced of his benevolence
THE BERLIN CONFERENCE
 In
order to avoid conflict among
themselves, Europeans leaders met in
Berlin, Germany to set up rules for
colonizing Africa.
 Divided Africa with little regard for those
living there.
 In 1850, most of Africa had been free…70
years later, most of the continent was
under European rule
A CONTINENT DIVIDED
SHORT TERM EFFECTS ON
COLONIES
 Large
numbers of Africans came under
European rule
 Local economies became dependent on
industrialization
 Some nations introduced changes to meet
imperialist challenges
 Conflicts between European culture and
native culture
MORE SHORT TERM EFFECTS
 Individuals
and groups resisted European
domination
 Western culture spread to new regions
 Africa’s traditional political units were
disrupted or destroyed
 Famines occurred in lands where farmers
grew cash crops. This was exported for
imperialistic nations rather than food for
local use.
LONG TERM EFFECTS ON COLONIES
 Western
culture continued to influence
much of the world.
 Transportation, education, and medical
care were improved.
 Resistance to imperial rule evolved into
nationalist movements.
 Many economies became dependent on
single cash crops grown for export.
 Slowed economic and political
development of native areas
EFFECTS ON EUROPE
 The
West discovered new crops, foods, and
other products.
 Westerners were introduced to new
cultural influences.
 Competition for empires created and
increased conflict between imperial
powers. These conflicts sometimes led to
war.
 The industrial nations controlled a new
global economy.
NEW CONFLICTS
religious
conflicts – Sudan
 Muslims vs.
Christians vs.
tribes
 African ethnic
conflicts – Rwanda
 Hutus vs. Tutsis
 After WWII, 22
African nations
emerge as military
dictatorships
 African