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Imperialism
IMPERIALISM
• Definition: The domination of the political,
economic or cultural life of another country
– “A stronger, more powerful country takes over
a weaker one”
– Colonies
– Protectorates
– Spheres of influence
Imperialism
• Justified as the “White Man’s Burden”
(Rudyard Kipling)
– Idea that technologically advanced Europeans
were morally and socially superior to natives of
Asia, Africa, and the Americas
– Colonies, Protectorates, and Spheres of Influence
Rudyard Kipling
• “Take up the White Man's
burden
• Send forth the best ye
breed
• Go bind your sons to exile
• To serve your captives'
need;
• To wait in heavy harness
• On fluttered folk and wild
• Your new-caught, sullen
peoples
• Half-devil and half-child.”
• - Rudyard Kipling
Kipling’s Book and Disney’s version
Causes of Imperialism
• Economic causes:
– Need for RESOURCES (coal, iron, cash crops,
various other “RAW MATERIALS”)
– Need for MARKETS
– Remember Age of Exploration?
– Remember Mercantilism?
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Gold/Silver
Favorable balance of trade
Colonies for raw materials AND markets
Tariffs on imports from other countries
Examine the map below: What does the red part of the map
represent? What do you think the Caption means?
“The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire”
Causes of Imperialism
• Technological: technology and scientific
advances made it possible for “developed
countries” to take over non-developed
• “Developed” means:
– Industrial
– Modern
– …aggressive
Causes of Imperialism
• Political/Military: need for military bases to
protect financial investments and to
establish political influence (international)
–Military might follows the
MONEY
Causes of Imperialism
• Social/Cultural:
–Western arrogance and ideas of
“saving” the world while profiting in
the process
–Social Darwinism
–Racism
–Christian Missionary zeal
–Greed??
Racism
Racism – Belief in the
superiority of one race.
Race is a SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTION!!
• Race has historically been
used to justify social
inequalities.
• Meaning: instead of saying
something is unfair because
of how the system is set up,
racial markers/identifiers
are used to explain why
some people are
disadvantaged.
Eugenics
• During the early part
of the 20th century,
the idea of racial
superiority was given
scientific credibility
through a field called
eugenics breeding
applied to humans
•
Eugenics is the study
and practice of
selective. Its goal was
to establish racial
purity as a way to
improve society
How are ideas about race reinforced in society?
Example 1: Illustrations from the
book "Types of Mankind" by Josiah
Nott and George Glidden,1854.
Example 2: The top image is of
Jewish men; the bottom, of
rats.
The two images appear
together
in the film "The Eternal Jew",
made in the 1930s by Nazi
filmmaker Fritz Hipler.
Look at both examples
1. What comparisons are
being made?
2. Are the comparisons
favorable or unfavorable?
3. What do you think is the
purpose of making these
comparisons?
4. Look at the year each
example was created.
What was going on at the
time that may help explain
the purpose of the image
Imperialism
• Imperialism spread economic, political, and
social philosophies of Europe throughout the
world.
• Resistance to imperialism took many forms,
including armed conflict and intellectual
movements.
Why did nations pursue Imperialism?
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Empire Building
Economics
Political and Military Interests
Power and Authority
Nineteenth Century – 1800s
British Dominance - called the Victorian Era
after Queen Victoria who ruled for 64 years
Forms of Imperialism
• Colonies – Americas, India, Africa
• Protectorates – Puerto Rico, Philippines,
Guam
• Spheres of influence - China
Forms of Imperialism
Form
Definition
Example
Colony
A country or territory governed
internally by a foreign power
Somaliland in East Africa was
a French Colony
Protectorate
A country or territory with its own
internal government but is under
the control of an outside power
Britain established a
protectorate over the Niger
River Delta
Sphere of Influence
An area in which an outside power Liberia was under the sphere
claims excusive investment or
of influence of the United
trading privileges
States
Economic Imperialism
An independent but less
developed country controlled by
private business interests rather
than other governments
The Dole Fruit company
controlled pineapple trade in
Hawaii
Colonies
• This is an expensive form of imperialism in which a
mother country sets up a bureaucracy to govern the
locals. Under this form, rule can be either direct or
indirect
Protectorates
• In this form of imperialism, local rulers are left in
place with the understanding that they would accept
advice of rulers from abroad, especially on trade,
military or cultural issues.
Spheres of influence
• This is a form of
imperialism in
which an outside
power claims
exclusive trading
or investment
privileges in an
area.
Imperialism in ASIA:
JAPANESE Imperialism
CHINA: Opium War 1839-1842
• Economics of trade balance
• Britain spent too much silver on Chinese
imports
• British East India Co. sold Opium to Chinese
• Chinese lost the war and Hong Kong
CHINA: Western spheres of influence
• Extraterritoriality: Europeans living in China
did not have to live by Chinese laws, but by
their own nation’s laws
• USA’s “Open Door Policy” declares equal
access to China to all European nations…(AND
the USA!)
CHINA: Boxer Rebellion
• Shadow-boxing and the name “Society of the
Harmonious Fists”
• Another attempt to get foreigners OUT of
China
• Failed after allied foreign armies crushed them
and demanded payment for damages
Imperialism
in AFRICA
Imperialism in Africa and Asia
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European domination
European conflicts carried to the colonies
Christian missionary efforts
Spheres of influence in China
Suez Canal – shortened the trip to India
East India Company’s domination of Indian
states
• American opening of Japan to trade
Suez Canal
• Europeans needed a faster way to get from the
Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean
• The French and the Egyptians, with funding from
France, began a canal to connect the two water
bodies.
• Because Egypt could not pay their canal debts,
they sold their shares to Great Britain
• 1882 – Egyptian nationalists rebel against foreign
influence.
• British make Egypt a protectorate and take over
control of the canal.
Effects Cont.
• Resistance to imperialism took many forms,
including armed conflict and intellectual
movements.
• Why did European countries participate in
imperialism and a race for colonies?
• What were some responses of colonized
peoples to European imperialism?
Effects of Industrial Revolution
• Nationalism motivated European nations to
compete for colonial possessions. European
economic, military, and political power forced
colonized countries to trade on European
terms. Industrially produced goods flooded
colonial markets and displaced their
traditional industries. Colonized peoples
resisted European domination and responded
in diverse ways to Western influences.
Responses of colonized peoples
• Armed conflicts (e.g., events leading to the
Boxer Rebellion in China)
• Rise of nationalism (e.g., first Indian
nationalist party founded in the mid-1800s)