Download Imperialism: A Western Dominated World

Imperialism: A Western
Dominated World
• Economic, political, and military interests
spurred European imperialism in the 1800s.
Other motivating factors included
humanitarianism, religious fervor, and racism.
Europeans of all classes supported imperialism.
The imperialist powers of Europe established
colonies, protectorates, and spheres of influence
all around the world.
Motives for the New Imperialism
• Industrial Revolution had created strong
European economies and strong
confidence among Europeans themselves.
• Between 1870 and 1914 Europeans
brought much of the world under their
control.
• Economic Interests:
– Natural resources (i.e. rubber, petroleum,
palm oil, etc.)
– Wanted to expand their markets around the
world
– Bankers wanted new ventures to invest in
– Establishing colonies was a good outlet for
Europe’s rapidly growing population
• Political and military interests:
– Steam=powered merchant ships and naval
vessels needed bases around the world to
take on coal and supplies
– Nationalismwhen one country seized land in
an area (i.e. Africa and India) other nations
would seize lands around them to halt their
expansion
– Increase Prestigesome acquired colonies to
make themselves look good
• Humanitarian and religious goals:
– Many westerners felt concern for their “little
brothers” beyond the sea missionaries,
doctors, and colonial officials believed they
had a duty to spread what they saw as the
“blessings of western civilization.” (“White
Man’s Burden”)—page 633
• Social Darwinism:
– Survival of the fittest and natural selection
– Some people believed that European races
were superior to all other races and imperial
conquest was seen as “survival of the
fittest.”this led to millions of non-westerners
being robbed of their cultural heritage.
• Empire builders and critics:
– Many people supported imperialism at this
time in history but there were also
criticssome said that imperialism was a tool
of the rich, others called it immoral.
– Many pointed out that Westerners were
moving toward more democracy at home, but
were imposing undemocratic rule on other
people.
Why did Western Imperialism Succeed?
• European nations had grown stronger
– Strong economies, well-organized governments,
powerful armies and navies
– Superior technology and improved medical
knowledge
– Technologyi.e. the Maxim machine gun, Malaria pills
repeating rifles, and steam driven warships
Steam Ships
Maxim gun
Why did Western Imperialism Succeed?
• Other nations had weakenedOttoman
Empire, Mughal India, and Qing China.
• Wars among African nations and the slave
trade had drained their resourcesnewer
African nations were not strong enough to
resist western expansion