Download Imperialism 1830-1914

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Imperialism is the policy of a stronger nation to create an empire by dominating weaker
nations economically, politically, culturally, or militarily. Europe and the United States had
undergone massive economic and technological changes during the Industrial revolution.
Industrialized nations now required large amounts of natural resources such as coal, oil,
textiles and precious metals in order to sustain this level of advancement. The need for these
resources would begin an era of European and American dominance in the form of
colonization and exploitation of less advanced societies around the world.
 Causes of Imperialism
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Nations required raw materials and natural resources to fuel industrialization.
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Western nations were searching for new markets for their manufactured goods.
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Industrialists were searching for cheap labor sources that they could exploit for profit.
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Competition between industrialized nations over trade rights and colonial possessions.
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Overpopulation caused European nations to search for settlement colonies.
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The concept of “The White Man’s Burden” created the idea that is was the role of Europe
and the United States to “educate” and “protect” the less fortunate ethnicities of the world.
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Social Darwinism or “survival of the fittest” became a popular philosophy among the more
powerful nations and led to ethnocentrism or the judging of other cultures and prejudice.
These concepts would lead to horrible treatment of ethnic Africans, Latin Americans and
Asians during the era of Imperialism.
 China: By 1800, China was a prosperous country with a highly developed agricultural system.
China was not industrialized, but workers in small workshops were able to produce most of
the goods the Chinese needed. Because China was practically self-sufficient, its emperors had
little interest in trading with Europeans. For decades, Europeans could do business only at the
port of Canton. China refused to open other ports to foreigners. The Chinese regarded
European goods as inferior to their own and bought few goods from the European merchants.
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European merchants were determined to find a product the Chinese would buy in large
quantities. Eventually, the British East India company discovered this product, opium.
Opium is a habit forming narcotic made from the poppy plant. (Heroin and Morphine come
from this flower as well) The Chinese government tried to stop the opium trade by appealing
to the British royalty. When they were ignored by the British the argument over opium grew
into a war.
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The Opium wars: (1839-1842 and 1856-60) Great Britain and China became involved in two
wars over the trade and sale of opium. The first war began when British traders began
smuggling opium into China (which was illegal) in order to trade it for tea. So many Chinese
citizens became addicted to the drug that the government ordered British traders to leave the
country. The British responded by sending their navy and army to china and forcing them to
trade. Despite Chinese resistance the more modern British military won and china was forced
to sign The Treaty of Nanking in 1842. The treaty opened Chinese ports to foreign trade and
gave Hong Kong to Great Britain. The second war began after the Chinese searched a British
trade ship “illegally” and Britain , with French support, reacted by invading Peking and
burning the emperor’s palace. The European victory only weakened China further.
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The Taiping Rebellion: (1851-1864) In 1851 China was ruled by the Qing dynasty which was
conservative and corrupt. Many Chinese peasants lived in poverty and lived miserable lives. When a
famine (massive Starvation) broke out, a religious radical named Hong Xiuquan (He was converted
by an American missionary and believed he was the brother of Jesus Christ…) began to stir up the
rural farmers and a rebellion began against the government.
The rebellion grew quickly and overpowered the government troops. The Taiping Heavenly
Kingdom was formed. It abolished private ownership of property, declared men and women equal,
and got rid of social classes. The Heavenly Kingdom also outlawed foot binding and outlawed vices
such as opium, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and prostitution.
The strict rules of the new kingdom attracted the rural peasants but was not popular with the middle
or upper-class citizens. The rebellion began to fall apart in 1861 when foreign powers joined forces
with the Qing government forces. Britain and France intervened to protect their trade rights and
helped crush the rebels. In the end the rebellion was a failure and one of the bloodiest conflicts in
human history. (over 30 million people were killed in the fighting)
The Open Door Policy: In 1899, U.S. secretary of state John Hay proposed that all Western nations
have equal trading rights with China. The result was the formation of Spheres of Influence in
China by Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and Russia. Each area or “sphere” was
controlled by a foreign power and resulted in the distrust and hatred of western powers in China.
The Boxer Rebellion: In 1898, peasants in northern China began to band together into a secret
society known as the "Righteous and Harmonious Fists" or "Boxers“. The Boxers wanted to
destroy the Qing dynasty and to rid China of all foreign influence. The Boxers began massacring
Christian missionaries and Chinese Christians in 1899. By 1900, the Boxer Rebellion had spread into
the capital of Peking. To help their citizens and to protect their interests in China, an international
force of 2,100 American, British, Russian, French, Italian, and Japanese soldiers were sent to crush
the rebellion. Many foreign ministers and their families were killed before the international force
could protect them. Eventually the western armies defeated the boxers and restored order. The Boxer
Rebellion weakened the Qing dynasty's power and eventually led to the Republican Revolution of
1911 that overthrew the emperor and made China a republic.
Girls in China were often forced to “bind” their feet
Poppy Flower Field
Opium Addicts “Chasing the Dragon”
Boxer Rebellion
 Japan: While China had been severely weakened and dominated by foreign powers, Japan
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took a very different approach to westernization. In the 1600s, foreigners had been expelled
and Christianity outlawed in Japan. Japan was still a feudal, agricultural society ruled by
warlords called Shoguns and their Samurai soldiers. Western nations were ignored by the
ruling class and not allowed to set foot on Japanese territory under penalty of death.
This changed in 1853, when the United States sent Commodore Matthew C. Perry and his
battleships to Japan in order to force them to open their ports to trade. The Japanese were
horrified by the modern ships (they called them the “black ships”) and their destructive power.
Japanese officials were forced to sign an unfair trade treaty with the United States.
The Tokugawa shogun’s government was blamed for the dishonor of this treaty and hatred for
foreigners grew among samurai and the daimyo. (feudal lords) After a bloody civil war
between the conservative Samurai and the progressive, industrial minded Japanese
government, the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown and a new Emperor took power. The
Meiji Era, which means “enlightened rule”, was named after Emperor Meiji.
The new Japanese government realized that until Japan caught up with the west
technologically, they would only be exploited by the western powers like China had been.
While culture and the arts had flourished during the period of isolation, the scientific and
industrial revolutions had passed by Japan. This had to change for Japan to compete in the
modern world. Nationalism was used to give Japanese citizens pride in their nation and
unquestioning loyalty to the Emperor.
The government passed reforms that modernized Japan. By 1876, samurai were forbidden to
carry their traditional swords and the warrior class evolved into bureaucrats (politicians).
Peasants who had previously been forbidden to carry weapons were conscripted (drafted) into
a centralized army. The old class system of Japan was abandoned. With amazing speed,
universities were founded, telegraph and railroad lines were built all over the country and a
national postal system was set up. In less than 30 years, Japan had industrialized and become a
world power equal to any western nation.
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The Russo-Japanese War: (1904-1905) Russia and Japan both wanted to
control Manchuria and Korea. Russia refused to give into Japanese demands and saw
them as inferior to other world powers. The Russian government thought victory would
help stop the growing threat of revolution in Russia by inspiring nationalism in their
citizens. Japan, without a declaration of war, attacked Port Arthur and crushed the
Russian fleet in a naval battle. The Japanese continued to dominate the Russians as the
war progressed and at The Battle of Tsushima the Russian fleet was completely
destroyed.
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The war ended when U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt negotiated a peace treaty
between the two countries at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The disastrous outcome of
the war for Russia was one of the causes of the Russian Revolution of 1905. Japan had
shocked the world by defeating the Russians and gained the position of a world power,
becoming the first non-European and non-American imperialist modern state.
Commodore Matthew C. Perry
Commodore Perry’s “Black Ships”
Samurai Warriors
Samurai “Ronin”
(rebel warriors)
Emperor Meiji
 What is Imperialism? What are some of its causes?
 What were the Opium wars? Why did Britain want to control the trade of the
drug in Asia?
 How did the open door policy eventually lead to the Boxer Rebellion?
 Compare and contrast westernization in China and Japan:
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Between 1450 and 1750 European nations traded with Africa, but they set up very few colonies.
By 1850, only a few colonies existed along African coastlines, such as Algeria (French), the Cape
Colony (Great Britain,) and Angola (Portugal). Most African states were free and after the end
of the slave trade in the early 1800s, continued to trade with European powers. In the latter
half of the 19th century, dramatic changes occurred, as Europeans began to explore Africa's
interior, and by 1914, virtually the entire continent was colonized by one or the other of the
competing European countries.
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Dr. David Livingstone and Henry Stanley: (1871) Livingstone, a Scottish missionary, went
to Africa in the 1840s and spent three decades exploring the interior of Africa and setting up
missionary outposts all the way from central Africa to the Cape Colony on the southern tip.
When people in Britain lost contact with Livingstone, journalist Henry Stanley became
famous when he traveled to Africa and found Livingstone after years of traveling. (Famous
quote “Dr. Livingstone I presume?”) The story sparked European interest in Africa and
others followed, including the imperialists.
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The Berlin Conference: (1884-1885) In 1884 Otto von Bismarck called together the major
European powers to negotiate and end the confusion over the control of Africa. At the time of
the conference, 80% of Africa remained under traditional and local control. Once the
conference ended, France, Britain, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Holland had created
new borders that divided Africa into 50 European dominated countries. This new map of the
continent had no feelings for the 1000 indigenous cultures and regions of Africa. The new
countries made no political sense and divided united groups of people and mixed tribes who
really did not get along. This would lead to horrific ethnic conflicts in the future.
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King Leopold II: In 1895, the King of Belgium, Leopold II, created the nation of The Congo
Free State with his own massive fortune. He had promised the Berlin Conference to suppress
the African slave trade; promote humanitarian policies; guarantee free trade within the colony;
impose no import duties for twenty years; and encourage philanthropic and scientific
enterprises. Instead Leopold issued a series of laws that violated these conditions and created
one of the most inhumane and oppressive states in Africa. Leopold reduced the rights of the
Congolese in their land to native villages and farms, essentially making nearly all of the land
his. Instead of stopping the slave trade he made it larger by forcing the natives to work on
rubber plantations.
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Workers had long hours with little pay and rest. Male rubber tappers and porters were treated
mercilessly and driven to death. Leopold's agents held the wives and children of these men
hostage until they returned with their rubber quota. Those who refused or failed to supply
enough rubber often had their villages burned down, children murdered, and their hands cut
off.
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Stories of the brutal treatment of Congolese natives by Leopold II spread around the world
through photographs and newspapers. Eventually the British and Americans investigated and
pressured Belgium to force Leopold II out of power and take over the Congo Free State. King
Leopold had destroyed all evidence linking himself to the atrocities in the Congo and was
never brought to trial for his crimes. The story of the Congo became a typical example of how
European powers exploited and mistreated native Africans for their resources and labor.
Henry Stanley and David Livingstone
“Dr. Livingstone I Presume?”
Africa after the Berlin Conference 1885
King Leopold II
Congolese Rubber Workers
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The Zulu Wars: (1872-1887) In 1816 a tribal chief named Shaka Zulu (leader from 18161828) united the warrior tribe of the Zulus in south Africa. He trained his troops to fight in
formations and use long range attacks to decimate the other tribes in the area. Eventually the
tribe dominated the land and came into contact with the white settlers from Holland known
as Boers. The meeting was not friendly and fighting broke out over the territory. After Shaka’s
death the Boers eventually pushed the zulu tribe back in 1840.
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In 1872, the peaceful Zulu King Mpande died and was replaced by his warrior son Cetshwayo,
who was determined to resist European domination in his territory. In 1878, Cetshwayo
rejected the British demand that he disband his troops, and British forces invaded Zululand
to suppress the Zulus. The British suffered an embarrassing defeat at the Battle of
Isandlwana, where 1,300 British soldiers were killed or wounded but the tide turned in favor
of the British at the Battle of Khambula. Cetshwayo's forces were destroyed by the modern
British rifles and Maxim guns (machine gun), and the Zulus were forced to surrender to the
British. In 1887, faced with more Zulu rebellions, the British formally annexed Zululand, and
in 1897 it became a part of the British Empire.
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The Boer Wars: (1880-1881, 1899-1902) In 1880 the Dutch Boer farmers rebelled against the
British in South Africa because they had annexed the Boer colony called the Transvaal. The
Boers thought the British were weak after their war with the Zulus but were not prepared to
fight against the well trained British troops and were defeated.
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In 1899 the Boers went to war with Britain again over the right to mine the massive gold and
diamond mines that were discovered. The second war was very bloody and the British
suffered heavy loses due to Boer commandos using guerilla warfare and sniper tactics. The
British used brutal tactics like Concentration camps to break the Boer’s will to fight.
Eventually the military and economic superiority of the British defeated the Boers.
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The Fashoda Crisis: Both France and Britain were expanding their empires in Africa in the
1890’s. Eventually the two powers crossed paths at a small village named Fashoda, on the
Upper Nile, in 1898. The two armies did not know whether to negotiate over the territory or
start a battle over it. Both sides claimed Fashoda and the Sudan for their own countries. The
two nations were dangerously close to war but the diplomats knew it was crazy for their
countries to go to war over a distant African village. A truce was reached, France would
recognize the British presence in Egypt and Sudan and Britain would recognize France's
presence in Morocco.
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The Suez Canal: (1859) A French diplomat and engineer, Ferdinand de Lesseps, convinced
the Egyptian government to support the building of a canal. In 1858, he was given the right to
begin construction of the canal and operate it for 99 years, after which time, the Egyptian
government would take over control of the canal. At its founding, the Suez Canal Company
was owned by French and Egyptian investors. Construction of the Suez Canal officially began
on April 25, 1859. It opened ten years later on November 17, 1869 at a cost of $100 million.
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Almost immediately after its opening, the Suez Canal had a significant impact on world trade
as goods were moved around the world in record time. In 1875, debt forced Egypt to sell its
shares in ownership of the Suez Canal to the United Kingdom. However, an international
convention in 1888 made the canal available for all ships from any nation to use. Britain had
once again profited from one of its colonies in Africa.
The Lions of Tsavo
 India: The British had control of India since the 175o’s. India was nicknamed “The Crown
Jewel of the British Empire” because it had always been a source of great trade wealth for
the Empire due to its spices, textiles, jewels and trade routes. It also served as a military and
economic base for all the British Empire’s colonial expeditions in Asia. Soon, India was
considered a model colony. The British East India Company became the wealthiest
corporation in the world from its trade in tea and spices. (and opium…) Raw materials such as
cotton, other commodities and food crops made their way to Britain, where they were
manufactured and bought back to Indian markets.
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The Sepoy Mutiny: (1857-59)As the British wealth grew, they continuously looked for ways to
expand their influence and power over the Indians. By interfering with Indian culture, the
British completely disregarded the local customs and traditions of the natives. When they
supplied the rifles for the Sepoys(native troops who fought for the British), most of whom
were Hindu or Muslim, the British greased the bullets with pork and beef fat, both from
animals that were regarded as sacred or forbidden in Hindu and Islamic culture.
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When the Sepoys learned of this in 1857, they rebelled. The first event was the bloody uprising
at a British fort, in which the Sepoys murdered every European they found. Then they
marched to Delhi and the mutiny spread through central India. It was discovered that 200
European men, women, and children had been murdered. British vengeance was swift and
brutal: suspected mutineers were tied to cannons and executed. Although they were
ultimately crushed after two years of fighting, the Sepoy’s goal of independence was replaced
with the exact opposite. Instead of the British East India Company relinquishing some of its
power to the Indians, the British parliament repressed the natives, took over the entire
country, and sent the last Indian emperor into exile, making Queen Victoria the Empress of
India in 1877.
Shaka Zulu and his warriors
Zulu Wars
Boer commandos during The Boer War
British Concentration camps treated Boers inhumanely
Sepoy Rebellion
 How did Stanley and Livingstone’s meeting effect imperialism in
Africa?
 What effect did the Berlin Conference have on Africa?
 What was the result of the Zulu and Boer wars in South Africa?
 Why did the Indian Sepoy troops rebel against the British?
The United States also became an imperialist power in the late 1800’s. By using the Monroe
Doctrine (Europe was told to stay out of North and South America by the U.S.)and exploiting
the economies of Latin America, the U.S. created military bases and a trading and industrial
empire in the west.
 Bananas: The tropical weather of Central and South America was perfect for growing large
quantities of the these cash crops. Europe and the United States began to heavily invest in
Latin American plantations. In countries like Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rica,
Bananas become a source of wealth. The banana companies are usually owned by foreign
countries like the U.S. or Germany and the profits are taken away from the local economy.
These countries become known as “Banana Republics” due to their dependence on one cash
crop and foreign investment. The United Fruit Company, owned by the United States, was
worth more money than all of the economies of these Banana Republics combined by the
1920’s.
 Sugar: The trade of sugar cane was the oldest cash crop business in Latin America. The days of
the triangular trade and slavery were centered around the massive profits of sugar plantations.
The 1800’s and 1900’s saw little change in this industry other than the abolition of slavery in
1886 by the Spanish empire. In the Caribbean, Cuba and Puerto Rico (still owned by Spain),
were completely dependent on the sugar and rum trade. The field workers had no rights or
benefits and large landowners made the huge profits from the sales. The social inequalities in
Cuba would eventually lead to the Cuban War for Independence against Spain in 1895.
Cuban rebel Jose Marti led the rebellion and Cuba Libre movement which called for the U.S.
intervention that was promised under the Monroe Doctrine. After years of U.S. investments in
the Cuban and Puerto Rican sugar industries, the conflict forced the United States to act on
the side of the Cubans against Spain .
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The Spanish-American War (1898): U.S. newspapers began to cover the Cuban rebels’
struggles against Spain and focused on the harsh and violent tactics of the Spanish army
against civilians. In 1898 the United States sent the USS Maine to Havana harbor to protect
U.S. Citizens in Cuba. During the night an explosion destroyed the ship and killed most of the
crew aboard. The newspapers of William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer used
“yellow journalism” (exaggerated propaganda and headlines) to incite calls for war against
Spain.
 After negotiations broke down between Spain and the U.S. war was declared and American
naval forces were sent to the Philippines (another Spanish colony)and Cuba. Under Admiral
Dewey the U.S. navy crushed the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Manila bay in the Philippines.
The land war in Cuba was more difficult due to the terrain and tropical diseases of yellow fever
and malaria. Theodore Roosevelt led a famous charge of his unit the “The Rough Riders”
up San Juan Hill and defeated the Spanish forces. Eventually Spain was defeated on land and
at sea. The United States became an imperialist power by annexing Puerto Rico and the
Philippines while controlling Cuba Financially.
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The Annexation of Hawaii: (1898) Queen Liliuokalani hated what U.S. influence had done
to Hawaii's culture and economy. White farmers had taken over the sugar, coffee and
pineapple trade while native Hawaiians lived in poverty. Sanford B. Dole (his cousin started
the Dole fruit company) and other American planters wanted to join the U.S. and
westernize. After many political arguments the Queen was overthrown in 1893 and Hawaii
became a republic. In 1898 the U.S. war against Spain made Hawaii a perfect military base so
President William McKinley officially made it a territory. Hawaii did not become a state until
1959.
By the late 1800’s the United States had become the greatest influence in foreign investments
for Latin American nations. Great Britain had been the leader in foreign investments and
banking but U.S. companies and banks bought British interests and became dominant. France
also tried to influence Latin American finance by attempting to build a canal in the Colombian
controlled isthmus of Panama.
 The Panama canal (1888-1914) In 1888 France began digging a canal in the Colombian
province of Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The profits from tolls and the
decrease in travel time would create immense revenue once completed. French builders ran
into extreme difficulties with yellow fever however. Year after year, hundreds of workers died
from the mosquito born disease. As the toll mounted, (20,000 in all) French investors were
angry at the lack of progress, thousands of French investors lost their money. The word
Panama quickly became synonymous with scandal and fraud. About $287 million had been
spent and only 11 miles of canal had been dug. The project looked like a lost cause.
 Theodore Roosevelt became President of the U.S. in 1901 and tried to take over the project.
In 1902, the United States reached an agreement to buy rights to the French canal property and
equipment for $40 million. The U.S. then began negotiating a Panama treaty with Colombia.
Colombia sensed a scam and withdrew its negotiations so Roosevelt and Panamanian business
interests collaborated on a revolution. The battle for Panama lasted only a few hours.
Colombian soldiers were bribed $50 each to lay down their arms; the U.S. Navy anchored off
the Panamanian coast in a show of support. This became known as Gunboat Diplomacy.
 On November 3, 1903, the nation of Panama was born. The U.S. drained swamps and sprayed
tons of pesticide in the area to kill the mosquitos. After years of hard labor ,the Panama Canal
opened on August 15, 1914. It immediately became a large source of profit for the United States
while Panama saw little of it. The Canal was returned to Panama in 1979, it currently makes 1.4
billion dollars a year in profits.
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Queen Liliuokalani
Cuban Rebels 1898
Jose Marti
Yellow Journalism
The Rough Riders
Gunboat Diplomacy
 What is a “Banana Republic”? How did the U.S. profit from them?
 What is “yellow journalism”? Which war did it help cause?
 How did Hawaii eventually become part of the United States?
 How did the United States acquire the Panama Canal? Which
President was responsible for it?