AGE OF IMPERIALISM1850-1914

SECTION 1: IMPERIALIST DIVIDE AFRICA

Main Idea: Ignoring the claims of African ethnic groups, kingdoms and city-states, Europeans established colonial claims

Why it Matter Now? African nations continue to feel the effects of the colonial presence of 100 years ago

AFRICA BEFORE IMPERIALISM

Divided into hundreds of ethnic and linguistic groups

Some converted to Islam and Christianity

1,000 different languages African armies were able to

keep Europeans out for 400 years

Europeans stayed on the coast

Couldn’t navigate the rapid rivers until the steamboat

NATIONS COMPETE FOR OVERSEAS EMPIRES

Europeans and Americans learned about Africa through travel books and newspapers

Europeans who entered the interior: explorers, missionaries

and humanitarians who opposed the slave trade

THE CONGO SPARKS INTEREST David Livingstone, traveled with Africans to find

the source of the Nile, never heard from until 10 years later

Stanley found Livingstone Stanley came back later and signed treaties with

local chiefs of the Congo and the Congo came under Belgium rule

MOTIVES DRIVING IMPERIALISM Imperialism= intent of

dominating the political, economic and social life of the people of a particular nation

Industrial Revolution led to the need to add land and new markets

Economic competition Technology Racism Social Darwinism= “survival

of the fittest” “Westernize” the foreigners

FORCES ENABLING IMPERIALISM

Why were they able to “take over?”:

1. Europeans were technologically advanced Maxim gun= 1889, world’s

first automatic machine gun 2. Europeans could control

their empire better Steam engine, railroads,

cables and steamers 3. Medicine invented

Quinine= malaria 4. Africans were not unified

languages

BERLIN CONFERENCE DIVIDES AFRICA 14 European nations

met to avoid Europeans countries fighting over Africa= Berlin Conference (1884-1885)

No African ruler attended these meetings

Only Liberia and Ethiopia remained free from European control

DEMAND FOR PRODUCT SHAPES COLONIES

Many believed that European goods would be bought in abundance by Africans- they weren’t

Great mineral sources in Africa Gold and diamonds in South Africa

3 GROUPS CLASH OVER SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa is a history of Africans (Zulu), Dutch (Boers) and British

ZULU EXPANSION

Local wars Shaka= Zulu chief Shaka used highly

disciplined warriors and good military organization to create a large centralized state

Successors were unable to keep the kingdom against the British invaders and the Zulu land became part of British-controlled land

BOERS AND BRITISH SETTLE IN THE CAPE

Dutch came to the Cape of Good Hope to establish a way station for their ships

Boers= Dutch settlers, Dutch for “farmers,” took over native Africans’ land and established large farms

British settlers and Boers clashed over land and slaves

Boers moved north= Great Trek

Boers fought with Zulu and other African tribes whose land they were taking

BOER WAR When diamonds and gold

were discovered many rushed to South Africa

Boer War= British vs. Boers First modern “total war”-

raids, guerilla tactics against the British, British burned Boer farms and imprisoned women and children in disease-ridden concentration camps

Who won? Britain

SECTION 2: IMPERIALISM: CASE STUDY: NIGERIA

Main Idea: Europeans embarked on a new phase of empire-building that affected both Africa and the rest of the world

Why it Matters Now? ****Many former colonies have political problems that are the result of colonial rule***

COLONIAL CONTROL TAKES MANY FORMS

Europeans were determined to shape the economies of the lands to social lives of the people

Wanted the people to adopt European customs

FORMS OF COLONIAL CONTROL

1. Colony= a country or a region governed internally by a foreign power

2. Protectorate= a country or territory with its own internal government but under the control of an outside power

3. Sphere of Influence= an area in which an outside power claims exclusive investment or trading privileges

4. Economic Imperialism= independent but less developed nations controlled by private business interest rather than by other governments

PATTERNS OF IMPERIALIST MANAGEMENT

Indirect control- (Britain and US) relied on existing political rulers, goal is to develop future leaders

Direct control- (France) Africans couldn’t govern themselves Paternalism= governed in a fatherly way,

providing for their needs, but not giving them any rights

Assimilation= local populations absorbed into French culture

A BRITISH COLONY: NIGERIA British swayed the

group’s enemies to help fight the Africans

British claimed Nigeria for their palm-oil trade

Because of diversity in Nigeria it was too hard to control directly, so British ruled Nigeria indirectly

AFRICAN RESISTANCE

Some Africans tried to resist Europeans, but all but Ethiopia were unsuccessful

UNSUCCESSFUL MOVEMENTS

Maji Maji Rebellion: Germans vs. Africans Africans believed in a “magic water” that

would turn the German’s bullets into water Germans mowed down Africans by the

thousands

ETHIOPIA: A SUCCESSFUL RESISTANCE Menelik 2: emperor of

Ethiopia Played the Europeans off

each other About to sign a treaty with

Italy but he found a mistranslation in the treaty (giving Italy all of Ethiopia, not just a part) and declared war

Battle of Adowa: one of the greatest battles in the history of Africa, the Ethiopian forces defeated the Italians and maintained their nation’s independence

IMPACT OF COLONIAL RULE

Positive Impact: reduced local warfare, humanitarian efforts increased, life span increased, technology increased

Negative Impact: Africans lost land and independence, death from disease, traditional African cultures, politically divided

SECTION 3: MUSLIM LANDS FALL TO IMPERIALIST DEMANDS

Main Idea: European nations expanded their empires by seizing territories from Muslim states

Why it Matters Now? Political events in this vital resource area are still influenced by actions from the imperialistic period

OTTOMAN EMPIRE LOSES POWER

Ottomans have expanded but they weren’t able to hold back the European imperialist powers

REFORMS FAIL Suleiman 1: last great

Ottoman sultan died Succession of weak

sultans Corruption financial

losses Ottomans fell further

behind Europe Selim 3: tried to

modernize, but was overthrown

Lands Ottomans had conquered became very nationalist and fought for freedom

EUROPEANS GRAB TERRITORY

Geopolitics= interest in or taking of land for its strategic location or products

World powers wanted certain locations

Ex: Russia wants access to Med. Sea through the Black Sea

RUSSIA AND THE CRIMEAN WAR Crimean War: Russia vs.

Ottoman Empire Britain and France enter

on side of Russia and defeat Ottomans

First War: Women like Florence

Nightingale, established positions as army nurses

To be covered by newspaper correspondents

Crimean War revealed weakness of Ottomans

EGYPT TRIES REFORM Egypt and Rea Sea- strategic

location New leader: Muhammad Ali Ottomans sent him to govern

Egypt, but he broke away from control

He and his heirs became rulers of Egypt

Plantation cash crop= cotton Isma’il- Muhammad’s

grandson Suez Canal= connected Red

Sea and Med. Egypt couldn’t pay debt, lost

Canal to British British occupied Egypt

PERSIA PRESSURED TO CHANGE Russia and Britain compete

to commercially exploit Persia

Persia, to gain economic prestige, granted concessions to western business to operate certain areas or products (ie: oil in 1900’s)

Persian people did not like their leaders who tried to “westernize” ie: riots over selling tobacco

to the westerners

SECTION 4: BRITISH IMPERIALISM IN INDIA

Main Idea: As the Mughal Empire declined, Britain seized Indian territory until it controlled almost the whole subcontinent

Why it Matters Now? India, the second most populated nation in the world, has its political roots in this colony

SETTING THE STAGE

British had trading posts at Bombay, Madras and Calcutta (British East India Company)

Mughal Empire kept trading under control, but the Empire was now declining

BRITISH EXPAND CONTROL OVER INDIA

British took advantage of weak Mughals

Battle of Plassey victory over Indians, from that time on, East India Company was the leading power in India

EAST INDIA COMPANY DOMINATES

Easy India Company ruled India with little interference from British govt.

Company even had its own army

Led by British officers and staffed by sepoys, or Indian soldiers

“JEWEL IN THE CROWN”

Britain was going through Industrial Revolution and India supplied materials

“Jewel in the Crown”= the most valuable of all Britain’s colonies

Britain restricted India’s economy from operating on its own

India became valuable after railroad was established

Crops: tea, indigo, coffee, cotton, opium

IMPACT OF COLONIALISM

Positives: Technology like, railroads, telephone, dams,

bridges and irrigation canals allowed India to modernize

Sanitation and public health improved Schools and colleges were founded, literacy

increased British troops ended local warfare

Negative: British held most of the power, racism,

restricted Indian industries

INDIANS REBEL British tried to convert to

Christianity Indians resented racism by

British Sepoy Rebellion

Sepoys learned that the cartridges to their rifles were sealed with beef and pork fat (against religion)

Sepoys refused to use rifles and the British jailed all who wouldn’t obey

Sepoys rebelled and marched to Delhi (Sepoy Mutiny)

Both armies tried to slaughter each other

Took the East Company 1 year to control region again

Muslims and Hindus couldn’t unite to beat British

TURNING POINT

Result of Rebellion: British govt. took direct control of India, fueled racist attitude of British towards the Indians, increased distrust b/t British and Indians

Raj= referred to British rule over India from 1757-1947, divided India into 11 provinces

INDIAN NATIONALIST MOVEMENTS BEGINS

Ram Mohun Roy= well educated Indian, “Father of Modern India,” wanted to modernize India and get them out of foreign rule

Nationalism- Indians didn’t like that they were second class citizens in their own country

Founded: Indian National Congress and Muslim League that called for self-government

SECTION 5: WESTERN POWERS RULE SOUTHEAST ASIA

Main Idea: Demand for Asian products drove Western imperialists to seek for possession of Southeast Asian lands

Why it Matters Now? Southeast Asian independence struggles in the 20th century have their roots in this period of imperialism

SETTING THE STAGE

Europeans also went to Southeast Asia, part of the Pacific Rim, the countries that border the Pacific Ocean

Strategic location to get to China

WESTERN RIVALRIES FOR PACIFIC RIM LANDS

European powers now noticed the importance of the Pacific Rim

British- Singapore French- Indochina Germans- New Guinea, Marshall and

Solomon islands

PLANTATION PRODUCTS SPUR COMPETITION

Land of Southeast Asia was perfect for planting agriculture

Sugar cane, coffee, cocoa, rubber, coconuts, bananas and pineapples

DUTCH EXPAND CONTROL

Dutch East India Company- expanded rule

Indonesia= then called the Dutch East Indies

Many Dutch settlers came to live in Indonesia

Forced locals to plant 1/5 of their land to export crops

BRITISH TAKE THE MALAYAN PENINSULA Singapore served as a

stopping point to China Singapore became one of

the busiest ports British gained control of

Malaysia and Burma (modern-day Myanmar)

British encouraged Chinese to move to Malay and work, many did, and Malaysians became a minority

Still today conflict exist between the Chinese and Malay

FRENCH CONTROL INDOCHINA French entered

Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia= French Indochina

French imposed culture on the Indochinese

Used direct colonial management

Did not encourage local production

Rice was main export crop

Peasants became angry because all rice was exported and not used to feed native population

COLONIAL IMPACT

Positives: Economies grew in world market scene Roads, harbors and rail systems Education, health and sanitation improved Most of the improvements benefitted the

Europeans more than the natives

Negative: Migration of different cultures and racial make-

ups resulted in what racial and religious clashes that are still seen today

SIAM MAINTAINS INDEPENDENCE Siam (Thailand) maintained

independence during colonial imperialism

Siam became a neutral zone between British and French, who both held this territory

King Mongkut- king of Siam, started schools, reformed legal system, reorganized government Local Govt. built their own

railroad system and ended slavery

Because modernization came from their own government, they did not experience the negatives of colonial rule

US ACQUIRED PACIFIC ISLANDS

Many Americans did not like the idea of colonial rule, because they were a colony

Others believed it was the destiny of the US to become a world power

THE PHILIPPINES CHANGE HANDS Spanish American War gave the

US: Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico

Philippines did not like trading one imperialistic leader for another

Pilipino leader, Emilio Aguinaldo, said that the US promised the Philippines freedom after war

Pilipino nationalists declared independence and established the Philippine Republic, but the US put down independence and said they would help prepare them for self-rule

Americans exploited the Philippines for crops they wanted

HAWAII BECOMES A REPUBLIC US had interest in Hawaii for location

and sugar American sugar plantations

accounted for 75% of Hawaii’s wealth

Many US business leaders wanted to annex Hawaii to not have to pay heavier import taxes added by the McKinley Tariff Act

Queen Liliuokalani- Hawaiian Queen, she called for more political power but US businessmen plotted and had her removed from office

Sanford Dole, a wealthy plantation owner was named President and he asked for the US to annex Hawaii

At first, President Cleveland refused, but 5 years lasted Hawaii was annexed