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Notes: Jarrett Book – Chapters 16
Chapter 16
Imperialism: Europe Reaches Out
European Imperialism
 Imperialism: political and economic control of one area or country by another
o Examples
 Persia and Rome conquered neighbors to build empires
 Colonization
 The gaining of independence by the Americas after their colonization was a setback for
European imperialism
o European rulers questioned the value of colonies if they could just gain independence
The British “Raj” (Reign) in India
 During the 18th century, Britain had defeated many to establish control in India
o This brought changes
 No more widow suicide
 First RR in 1853
 Muslims and Hindus lived together – peacefully
 Missionaries spread Christianity
 British schools and colleges opened
 English became the language of government
 The British brought good changes, but many Indians were still upset with the changes to their
traditional customs
The Sepoy Mutiny (1857)
 Britain was able to stay in control of India because the people were split on how they felt about
the British
o Britain used sepoys (Indian soldiers) in their army
o There was revolt by some of the sepoys, it spread but was crushed by the British army
with their loyal sepoys
o British government took official control of India
 Abolished the East India Company
 Queen Victoria became the Empress of India
The Impact of British Rule
 Government
o Unified India with single system of law and government
o Provided jobs
o Increased education opportunities
o English as a unifying language
 Economic
o Built roads, bridges, RR’s, telegraph wires
o However, cottage industry in India was hurt because they couldn’t compete with British
manufactured goods
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Health
o
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Social
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Built hospitals
New medicines
Famine relief
This led to population increase without a similar increase in economic opportunities
British looked down on Indians
Indian culture was treated as inferior
Indians were inexpensive workers for the British
 Worked long hours
 Terrible conditions
Other British Colonies
 Britain also took Cape Colony from Holland on the tip of Africa and several West Indies islands
 Continued to hold Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore
Other European Colonies
 France
o Colonies in West Indies
o Trading posts in W. Africa and India
o Algeria in N. Africa
o Indochina
 Dutch
o Dutch West Indies
 Spain
o Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico
 Appeared that Imperialism was over after the Americas gained their independence
o But between 1880-1900 Europe was controlling almost every corner of the earth
The Causes of “New Imperialism”
 Why did Imperialism suddenly revive
o Technology
 Steamboat – could travel up river inland in Africa
 Telegram – could communicate with settlements in the interior
 Railroads – ships goods and raw materials from one colony to another
 Medicines –
 Quinine – treat malaria
 Antiseptics
 Both made living and exploring in the tropics easier
 Rifles – used to control people
 Motives for Imperialism
o Belgium, Germany and Italy – wanted colonies to establish power on world stage
o Britain seized Egypt for the Suez Canal – shortest route from Britain to India
o Preserve the balance of power – with everyone taking other areas, everyone else felt
compelled to do the same
o Obtain natural resources and markets to sell goods
o
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Kipling’s “White Man’s Burden” duty of Europeans to spread their culture to Africa and
Asia
Technology
o Steamships, rifles, telegraphs, better medicines – allowed travel deep into Africa, Asia
and the Pacific
Economic Motives
o Need for raw materials to keep factories busy
o New markets to sell goods
Political Motives
o Wanted colonies in order to demonstrate power
o Sought to preserve the balance of power among themselves
Social Motives
o Social Darwinism
 Superior cultures should spread their beliefs (Christianity)
Sometimes Imperialism was met with opposition
The Scramble for Africa
 1870: With exception of France in Algeria and Britain in South Africa, Europe controlled very
little of Africa
 Most activity was limited to coastal trading posts
 Interior remained isolated
o Immense diversity of cultures
o Many different political structures
 This changed over the next 20 years
o European explorers mapped out the interior of Africa and Europe took control
 1880’s: local revolted
o Threatened use of Suez Canal
 Shortest route from Europe to E. Africa, India and East Asia
 Britain shut it down, took Egypt and then the Sudan
 France, Italy, Germany and Belgium wanted parts of Africa too
o Diamonds and gold
o Berlin Conference: European leaders divided up the rest of Africa
 In the end only Ethiopia and Liberia remained independent
Major Imperial Powers
 European powers with colonies in Africa
o Great Britain
o France
o Germany
o Belgium
o Portugal
o Italy
 African peoples were treated harshly
o Many killed as examples to make others work harder
 Britain controlled almost the whole Eastern seaboard of Africa
o Rhodes planned a rail system down the entire eastern side of Africa
The Legacy of Imperialism in Africa
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Prior to Imperialism in Africa the boundaries were loosely drawn
o They were based on different tribal and ethnic groups
o When the lines were drawn with Imperialism, there was no thought about the preexisting tribal boundaries
o Wherever they wanted the set up mines and cash crops
 To be sold in Europe
o Native Africans were used as cheap labor
o Europeans brought Western technology and ideas
o Thus, Imperialism was good and bad for Africa
Positive Effects
o Lifespan increase: medicines and better nutrition
 Led to increase in population
o Modern transportation and communications
 Telegraphs, railroads and telephones
o Improved education and greater economic opportunities
 Served as administrators in the army
Negative Effects
o Erosion of traditional African values; destroyed existing relationships
o Africans treated as inferior; forced to work long hours, for low pay, in horrible
conditions
o Divided by ignoring tribal, ethnic and cultural boundaries – this led to tribal conflicts
Informal Imperialism
 This is when Europe did not control an area directly but their power still dominated the area’s
economy
The European Powers and China
 China had remained united under emperors
 China had remained isolated
 China lacked military technology to defeat Europe’s attempts at Imperialism
 The west was interested in China because
o Had huge population to sell goods to
o Had valuable raw materials
o Produced local goods desired by Europeans
 Thus, Europe installed an informal Imperialism
o China’s rulers remained in power
o But were subject to foreign pressure
The Opium Wars (1839-1842)
 1800’s
o Britain began selling opium in China to make money to buy tea
 Chinese government opposed this and sentenced opium dealers to death
 Britain retaliated by declaring war
 China was defeated and opium sales continued
 This damaged the Chinese economy
 Created chaos
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Created political instability
China was forced to open several treaty ports
o Giving British new trade privileges
 British established “spheres of influence”
o Areas in China under their complete economic control
o Cheap British textiles hurt Chinese industry
o Other nations began to demand their own “spheres of
influence” in China
All this weakened the Qing Dynasty
o They realized they were no longer the “Heavenly Middle Kingdom”
Revolts occurred
o Millions of Chinese were killed
o China’s rulers put down the Taiping Rebellion with Europe’s help
America’s Open Door Policy
 Fearing it would be shut out of China’s profitable trade, the United States proposed equal
trading rights for all nations in China in 1899
Boxer Rebellion (1899-1900)
 A Chinese group calling themselves “Boxers” rebelled against the foreign influence in China
o Hundreds of foreigners in the cities were killed in the riots
o An international force of foreign powers ended the Boxer rebellion
 U.S. played a key role in ending this rebellion
o U.S. troops and ships in the nearby Philippines
o U.S. wanted China to remain independent
 Thus prevented powers from further dividing up China
 Kept it “open” to trade with all nations
The Opening of Japan
 19th Century
o Had cut off foreign trade in 1639 fearing foreign influences
o Citizens not allowed to travel out of Japan to other countries
o Foreigners were banned from Japan
 Except at one Dutch outpost
The United States Opens Japan
 1853 – U.S. sent navy (led by Matthew Perry) to Japan
 Wanted better treatment of shipwrecked sailors
 New markets
 Establish a port where their ships to China could stop to obtain supplies
 Fearing what happened to China, Japan opened their doors to trade
The Meiji Restoration
 Samurai and Daimyos (nobles) did not like the opening of trade with the west
 Under the criticism and Shogunate collapsed and the previous “puppet” emperor was restored
to power
 Emperor Meiji
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Was convinced that Japan had to become more westernized in order to avoid Western
domination
 Sent scholars to retrieve
 Advanced technologies
 Foreign customs
 Took visits from foreign ministers
 Built steamboats and railroads
 New constitution
Japan became first non-western country to copy and adapt Western ways
Latin America
 Spain lost most of its colonies in the Americas but retained
o Cuba
o Puerto Rico
o Few Caribbean island
 Cubans rebelled against sugar cane owners because of harsh conditions
o Spanish army was sent to stop the rebellion with brutal force
o Many Americans sympathized with the Cuban rebels
o 1898: battleship U.S.S. Maine was blown up in Havana harbor
 Killed 250 American sailors
 U.S. declared war and quickly defeated Spain
 This was the Spanish-American War
 America acquired its first colonies
o Puerto Rico
o Guam
o Philippines
 Cuba became independent in name but remained under U.S. influence
 U.S. took Hawaii as a new colonial empire
 Many American opposed colonization but realized it was necessary to keep up with the
Imperialistic movement
 Meanwhile
o Independent nations in Latin America became dependent on Britain and the U.S. for
trade and economic prosperity
o Thus Latin America came under “informal” imperialism
 The Panama Canal
o U.S. wanted to build a canal across the narrow isthmus of Panama
o This would make the journey between the Atlantic and the Pacific only half as long
o But Panama was still a part of Columbia
 Columbia was asking a high price for permission to build the canal
 Theodore Roosevelt
o Encouraged Panama rebels to declare their independence from Columbia
o He protected the rebels – who gave the rights to the U.S. to the strip of land or the
Panama Canal Zone
o Ten years to complete
o U.S. had to protect the canal: both during the building and after
o Monroe Doctrine
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American presidents repeatedly sent armed forces to intervene in the Caribbean
area