Download Chapter 16 – Europe in the Late Nineteenth Century: Modernization

Chapter 16 – Europe in the Late
Nineteenth Century: Modernization,
Nationalism, Imperialism
The New Imperialism
The New Imperialism
 New Imperialism refers to the expansion adopted by Europe’s
powers during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
from the Franco-Prussian War to World War I (c. 1871–1914)
 Imperialism should not be confused with colonialism
 In the early modern period Europeans largely explored, settled,
and traded with the rest of the world, but did not dominate it
(with the exception of Spanish America)
 The period is distinguished by an unprecedented pursuit of what
has been termed empire for empire's sake, aggressive
competition for overseas territorial acquisitions and the
emergence in colonizing countries of doctrines of racial
superiority which denied the fitness of subjugated peoples for
self-government
Causes and Influences
 Desire of business to expand globally
 Desire to glorify the nation
 Especially true for the newly unified nations of
Italy and Germany
 Spurred international competition for new
territory
 Social Darwinism – the strong should rule the
weak
 The ‘Civilizing Mission’
 Military and industrial technology
The Scramble for Africa
 The most rapid expansion of European power took
place in Africa
 Little knowledge of African interior until after 1870

Disease; geographical barriers
 Exploration and conquest of interior touched off by
actions of King Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold formed the International Association for the
Exploration and Civilization of Central Africa and
sent Henry Stanley (1841-1904) to the Congo to
secure trading and territorial rights (Stanley had earlier
become famous for his mission to the African interior to
rescue David Livingstone, a missionary explorer)
 The French responded by claiming their own territory
beginning a chain reaction
Africa in 1890
Africa in 1914
The Berlin Conference
 In response to growing tensions, Bismarck and Jules
Ferry (the premier of France) called a conference in
Berlin in 1884
 They sought to establish a peaceful plan for the
development of southern Africa


To claim a territory, they ruled, a nation had to occupy
that territory
Granted Leopold personal rights to the Congo Free
State; he virtually enslaved the population for
economic gain (ivory, rubber)
 Led to a rapid conquest with no attention paid to
natural or cultural boundaries
Leopold’s Treatment of Africans
 This 1908 English cartoon,
"Leopold, King of the Congo, in
his native dress," focuses on the
barbaric practice of cutting off
the hands and feet of Africans
who refused to gather as much
rubber as Leopold's company
demanded. In 1908 an
international human rights
campaign forced the Belgian
king to cede his personal fief to
the Belgian state.
The British in (north) Africa
 British interest in Africa began in 1869 with the
opening of the Suez Canal
 Gained control of Egypt in 1882 through occupation
(promised to leave but never did)
 The British added to their territory by moving against
a Muslim war resisting them in Sudan



Led by Muhammad Ahmad Mahdi, captured
Khartoum and killed the British general there, Charles
Gordon
Resulted in a massive British response and the
massacre at Omdurman (machine guns)
The French were also pushed back by the British at
Fashoda
The British in (southern) Africa
 British expansion in southern Africa began in South
Africa (already a British colony) through the work of
Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902)
 Solidified British rule by acquiring Rhodesia and
getting England involved in a war against the Boers




The Boers, Dutch settlers dating back to the 17th
century, had moved north (the Great Trek, 1835-37) to
avoid British rule
Established two republics – the Transvaal and the
Orange Free State
Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902)
English won at great cost; Boers territories joined to
British territory to form the Union of South Africa in
1910
Other Nations in Africa
 The cost of African imperial possessions was
high for most nations



Italians defeated at Adowa (1896) in Ethiopia
ended their dreams of imperial expansion
Germans administered their colonies
efficiently but gained little (Nambia, Tanzania,
Cameroon, Togo)
Belgian debacle in the Congo cost them more
in terms of pride than it gained them
economically
Legacy and Conclusions
 The rise of the principle of self-determination
 First seized upon by smaller European countries, now
picked up by African and Asian nations
 Resentment and suspicion of the West
 Eventual discrediting of racism and western political
dominance
 Accelerated growth of global economy
 Spread western ideas (languages, democracy,
socialism, industrialization, modern science)