Imperialism

Thesis• Due to the mass production output, population

growth, and societal revolutions caused by Industrialism and the rapid expansion of nationalism, the primate countries of Europe began to see themselves as superior to other world civilizations. Coupling that with an interest to maintaining the balance of power while rapid nation building was occurring on the Continent, these countries began establishing political hegemony and eventually empires throughout much of the known world. And while the merits, drawbacks, and desired outcomes can be argued ad nauseum today, it is undeniably clear that this rush to empire caused European to impact every continent in a socioeconomic, technological, and cultural manner

Empires• Empires are relationships of political control

imposed by some political societies over the effective sovereignty of other political societies. They include more than just formally annexed territories, but they encompass less than the sum of all forms of international inequality. Imperialism is the process of establishing and maintaining an empire.

–Empires by M. Doyle

What is imperialism? - simplified

• Imperialism: seizure of one country by a stronger one for economic and political gain

• Industrialism + Nationalism = Imperialism

Why?• Europeans wanted raw material for their industries

(technology and industry)• Wanted new markets for their goods (industry and

trade)• Natural for Europe to want to expand (population

and technological boom) • New ideas—evolution and germ theory led to ability

to expand (a. more people to do it, b. those could claim they were spreading benefits of modern technology)

• Racism (new theories on science, race and evolution)

• Also competed with each other– Rivalries between Britain, France and Germany led to

colonization in Africa• Result: Africa and Asia were ripe targets for

Europeans

European “superiority”• Nationalism in Europe lead Europeans to

compete with each other – expanding colonial possessions was one way to do this

• Social Darwinism – survival of the fittest– Darwin’s theories applied to humans– Superiority complex

• “White Man’s Burden”– Duty AND a right

Nations competed for overseas empires.Imperialism fostered rivalries.

• Other countries followed Britain’s lead and came to see colonies as necessary for their economic well-being.– The French and Dutch expanded their holdings and by 1900

France had an empire second in size only to Britain’s.– Spain and Portugal attempted to build new empires in Africa.– Austria-Hungary moved into the Balkans.– Russia expanded into the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Siberia.

• Countries that had no colonies set out to acquire them.– Belgium, Italy, and Germany all took over lands in Africa (with

Germany also taking an interest in East Asia & the Pacific islands).

• Thus, the race for colonies grew out of a strong sense of national pride as well as from economic competition.

Forms of Imperialism

Forms 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 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 claims exclusive investment or trading privileges

Liberia was under the sphere of influence of the United States

Economic Imperialism An independent but less developed country controlled by private business interests rather than other governments

The Dole Fruit Company controlled the pineapple trade in Hawaii

Political Hegemony• Very few 19th century empires begin with a direct

invasion of one country over the other– Most start with some type of soft power (cultural,

trade, etc.)– Then for some reason migrate to hard power

• This can be anything from trade disruption (British in India) to wanting to kick out a rival (also British in India) to a desire for natural resources (British in Egypt, etc.)

• Once a country or region has established some type of power (direct or indirect—hard or soft) and influence over another country or region, they are said to have hegemony

• Most modern empires are not empires of conquest, but rather empires of hegemony (USA today)

Empires by land• This does not mean that these empires

involved no part of the sea, rather their focus is not based around the sea

• Most direct form is simply conquest of neighbors (First in Europe, later elsewhere)

• Best example is British in India– Starts as a trading empire, but Brits start getting involved

each time trade is disrupted. Leads to empire.– Start plantation system in India– Official policy was hands off, but not practiced this way.

Got in good with Maharaja’s and other princes.– Indians try to rebel (Sepoy Mutiny) but can’t organize

Brits step in and assume control until 1947

Empires by Sea• Nautical Empires in which focus on a series of

islands for trade (Dutch) or military (USA) reasons– Technology is not good enough to get all the away

around the world without restocking, so islands are needed to serves “bases” to restock

• Influence of Sea Power Upon History leads to storm of SE Asia:– Dutch East India company expands into Indonesia.

Like India, it becomes a colony.– French take control of Indochina (Vietnam)– U.S. takes Hawaii and Philippines– Only Siam (Thailand) remains independent.

Africa before Europeans

• Hundreds of different ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups

• Long history of trade, few colonies

• Inland Africa was a mess: hard to navigate, full of disease, lawless

• Even by 1880s, only 10% of Africa’s coast was ruled by Europeans

• By 1914 - 95% ruled by Europeans

European advantages

• Guns, Germs and Steel• Maxim gun – world’s first machine gun

debuts in 1884• Quinine – helped prevent Europeans from

getting malaria• African disunity – hundreds of different

languages and cultures in Africa• All these are seen as Dutch farmers crush

African professional soldiers

Berlin Conference 1885

• 1880 sees rapid escalation of European conquest of Africa

• Almost led to wars between European nations like the Boer War in South Africa

• 14 nations meet at this conference to set ground rules for conquest (no Africans invited)

• Just had to notify other nations of your claim and prove your ability to manage it

• By 1914, only two independent African nations remained – Liberia and Ethiopia

Types of colonization

• Assimilation = French• Paternalism = British in Africa• Enslavement = Spanish, Portuguese• Change in local culture = British in Asia,

Belgians in Rwanda, Dutch in South Africa• Exploitation (like slavery) = Spanish in

Caribbean, Belgians in Congo• Work camps = Portuguese in Asia, Brits

and Dutch in South Africa

Positive aspects of colonial rule

• Local warfare was reduced• Infrastructure, sanitation and public health

measures helped some areas• Literacy among colonized grew• Colonial products had a market in Europe• Transportation improved (railroads, roads)

but mostly to benefit European colonial masters

• Some people got richer (but not many)

Negative aspects of colonial rule

• Europeans brought new diseases to colonies

• Death of locals resulted in fewer farmers, thus famine became common

• Breakdown of traditional cultures destroyed families and communities

• Political division along artificial lines still haunts countries today