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The term imperialism is Latin in origin, stemming from the
days of the Roman empire. It refers to one country’s
domination of the political, economic, and/or social life of
another country.
Factors that led to the Age of
Imperialism
•Extreme competition among the European
powers
•The need for raw materials for industry
•The desire for exotic goods and resources
•Expansion of markets in which to sell goods
•Nationalistic feelings and national security
(desire to have military bases throughout the
world)
•Religious fervor/missionary motives/
humanitarian concerns
•Belief in racial and cultural superiority; social
Darwinism
Causes of Imperialism
Economic
Motives
The Industrial Revolution created an
insatiable demand for raw materials and new
markets.
Nationalism
European nations wanted to demonstrate their power
and prestige to the world.
Balance of
Power
European nations were forced to acquire new
colonies to achieve a balance with their neighbors
and competitors.
The Europeans’ sense of superiority made them feel
“White Man's
obligated to “civilize the heathen savages” they
Burden”
encountered
Some Weaknesses of non-Western
States:
•The decline and weakening of old empires such
as the Ottomans, Mughals, Qajars, and Qing
•Nationalism within old declining empires (for
example minority groups within the Ottoman
Empire)
•Internal wars in India, Africa (often due to the
draining and dividing effects of the slave trade
in the case of Africa)
•Lack of industrial power and weaponry
•Dependence on Western technology and capital
Who were the major Imperial powers?
Great Britain
France
Belgium
Germany
Italy
Holland
Spain
Portugal
Russia
United States
Japan
Percentage of Territories
Belonging to the European/US
Colonial Powers (1900)
Region
% Controlled
Africa
Polynesia
Asia
Australia
Americas
90.4%
98.9%
56.5%
100.0%
27.2%
SOURCE: A. Supan, Die territoriale
Entwicklung der Euroaischen Kolonien
(Gotha, 1906), p. 254
Throughout the Age of Imperialism, European powers
encouraged their citizens to move to colonies to run
them, keep them loyal, and keep them productive.
This created ethnic class divisions with native peoples
becoming the lower, often suppressed and exploited
class in their own homelands.
As the neo-imperial age wore on, more
and more emphasis was placed on
keeping Europeans and native
peoples separate.
The Berlin Conference
(1884-85)
Analyze
the
message
and point
of this
late 19th
century
political
cartoon.
In 1884 at the request of
Portugal, German
chancellor Otto von
Bismark called together
the major western
powers of the world to
negotiate questions and
end confusion over the
control of Africa.
Bismark appreciated the
opportunity to expand
Germany's sphere of
influence over Africa and
wanted to force
Germany's rivals to
struggle with one
another for territory.
Berlin Conference, continued…
•At the time of the Berlin
Conference (1884), 80% of Africa
remained under traditional and
local control.
•The result was geometric
boundaries that divided Africa into
50 irregular countries.
• This new map of the continent
was superimposed over the 1000+
indigenous cultures and regions of
Africa.
•The new countries divided
coherent groups of people and
merged together disparate groups
who really did not get along.
Berlin Conference, continued…
Fourteen countries were represented by a plethora of
ambassadors when the conference opened in Berlin on
November 15, 1884. The countries represented at the
time included Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark,
France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands,
Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway (unified from
1814-1905), Turkey, and the United States of America.
Of these fourteen nations, France, Germany, Great
Britain, and Portugal were the major players in the
conference, controlling most of colonial Africa at the
time.
Berlin Conference, continued…
The initial task of the conference was to agree that the Congo
River and Niger River mouths and basins would be
considered neutral and open to trade. Despite its neutrality,
part of the Congo Basin became a personal kingdom for
Belgium's King Leopold II and under his rule, over half of the
region's population died.
At the time of the conference, only the coastal areas of Africa
were colonized by the European powers. At the Berlin
Conference the European colonial powers scrambled to gain
control over the interior of the continent. The conference
lasted until February 26, 1885 - a three month period where
colonial powers haggled over geometric boundaries in the
interior of the continent, disregarding the cultural and linguistic
boundaries already established by the indigenous African
population.
Berlin Conference, continued…
Major colonial holdings included:
•Great Britain wanted a Cape-to-Cairo collection of colonies and almost
succeeded though their control of Egypt, Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan),
Uganda, Kenya (British East Africa), South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
(Rhodesia), and Botswana. The British also controlled Nigeria and Ghana
(Gold Coast).
•France took much of western Africa, from Mauritania to Chad (French West
Africa) and Gabon and the Republic of Congo (French Equatorial Africa).
•Belgium and King Leopold II controlled the Congo region (Belgian Congo).
•Portugal took Mozambique in the east and Angola in the west.
•Italy's holdings were Somalia (Italian Somaliland) and a portion of Ethiopia.
•Germany took Namibia (German Southwest Africa) and Tanzania (German
East Africa).
•Spain claimed the smallest territory - Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni).
The Partition of Africa-1884-1885
1. What country took most
territory in West Africa?
2. In what areas did the British
claim control?
3. What two countries were
not colonized? Why do you
think they were not
colonized?
4. What made the partition of
Africa by the European
powers possible in this era
of history?
5. What long term effects
would European created
divisions and boundaries
have on Africa?
In your groups:
1. Go through each document. – decide which
“notion of Africa” is supported by each
document, if any. (If you don’t think the doc
supports any notion, indicate that.)
2. After analyzing all of the documents, decide
which of the “notions” of Africa is most
supported by the documents.
3. Which “notion” is least supported by the
documents?
Essay Prompt:
Analyze the social and economic changes
caused by neo-colonialism in 19th-20th century
Africa.
What does
this
photograph
from the
early 20th
century
reveal about
imperialism
in Africa?
Missionary school in Africa
Case Study: The Dutch in Indonesia
•In the 1600’s, the Dutch gained a foothold in Indonesia
(specifically Java) by paying tribute to local rulers to gain
access to resources (spices.)
•Over time, they secured a monopoly over the spice trade by
intervening in local conflicts and politics. They would help one
side win, and then recruit armies from the local population to
protect their interests.
•They continued to gain land in this way until, by 1750, they
controlled Java.
Indonesian workers
constructing railways during
Dutch colonial period.
This photo was taken in 1872 of Dutch
vehicles, roads and building materials
used in Indonesia.
Spice trade in Indonesia
is still important today.
This is a photo of the first
Cathedral built in Batavia (Jakarta)
by the Dutch.
British Imperialism in India
•British tactics in India were similar to Dutch
tactics in Java.
•Agents of the BEI Co. got involved in local wars
as the Mughal empire disintigrated in the 18th
century.
.
An imperialistic foreign policy was practiced by European nations
and Japan throughout the 1800s and early 1900s. In every case, a
nation would experience industrialization prior to practicing
imperialism on a foreign nation or region. This was due to the
nearly insatiable demand for cheap raw materials and the need
for markets to buy manufactured goods. Of course, nationalism
and racism played a part in foreign policy as well.
•The British East India Company
successfully used “divide and conquer”
tactics to increase their control over entire
regions of the Indian subcontinent.
•This strategy entailed fanning the flames
of religious division between native Muslim
and Hindu groups, and taking advantage of
the political rivalries that existed among
local rulers.
•The British also employed a vast number
of Indian soldiers (sepoys) and officials to
help them manage and govern India.
Sepoy Rebellion - 1857
By 1857 the British army in India included a large number of
Indian soldiers, or Sepoys. The rifle cartridges that were
distributed to the Sepoys had to be bitten to remove a cover
before being inserted into a gun. Rumors circulated among the
Sepoys that this cover had been greased with beef and pork
fat. This angered Muslim Sepoys who were not supposed to
consume pork, and the Hindu Sepoys who were not supposed
to eat beef.
As a result, the Sepoys
revolted against the British
army, which eventually ended
the conflict through use of
force. This resulted in the
British government officially
taking greater political,
economic, and social control
of India.
Sepoy
Soldiers
What is the
point of
view and
purpose of
this political
cartoon?
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
•In the late 19th century, self rule and independence
were gradually achieved by the British territories of
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (termed the White
Dominions by Britain.)
•Reasons why the pattern of imperialism differed in
these territories compared to colonial possessions in
Asia and Africa:
1. small native populations
2. white settlers in these areas exceeded the
indigenous populations by the late 1800’s
3. European settlers poured into these
territories, especially in the second half of the
19th century (think back to all the political
troubles plaguing Europe at the time!)
4. Settlers had experience in western-style
government and had strong cultural ties to
Britain (except for the Quebecois.)
Canada
•Ethnic tensions between English and French settlers led
Britain to pass the Canada Act of 1791 which created
Upper Canada (English) and Lower Canada (French).
•Revolts against British policies in 1837 led to the Act of
Union of 1840, which united Canada and created an
elected legislature for domestic policies. (Britain still
controlled foreign policy and trade issues)
•Westward expansion and immigration increased
Canada’s strength; In 1867 Britain passed the British
North America Act which created the Dominion of
Canada. By 1900, Canada controlled its own foreign
policy.
Australia
•The Kooris (Aborigines) of Australia lived in small
hunting and gathering bands for at least 50,000
years before Britain claimed the territory in 1770.
•By 1788, Britain was sending prisoners to
Australia. These prisoners became the laborers
who built the first white settlements in Australia.
•Britain began to give incentives to free citizens to
encourage settlement; the climate of Australia is
conducive to sheepherding – good for the British
textile industry.
•Discovery of gold in 1851 contributed to the
population boom.
•Demands for self-rule led to the creation of the
independent Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
Close political and economic ties were thus kept
peacefully.
New Zealand
•Also part of Oceana and has a good climate for
raising sheep.
•Original inhabitants are the Maori; they look much
like the Kooris, but the Maoris were farmers.
•Because they were farmers, they were more
resistant to white settlement than the Kooris of
Australia. Decades of violence finally led to the
defeat of the Maoris in the 1870’s. Their
population drastically declined, much like the
population of native North American groups.
•Independence for New Zealand’s European
settlers was achieved by 1907.
China in the 19th – early 20th Century
•List the countries
that developed
spheres of
influence in China.
•Who had the
most land area
under their
control?
•What nonWestern country
developed a
sphere of
influence?
Political Cartoon
from the 1890’s.
What is going on in
this political cartoon?
Who is represented?
What is the point of
view here? In what
country do you think
this cartoon was first
published?