The Age of Imperialism

(1800-1914)

Main Ideas

• Through a “new imperialism”

Westerners sought to control vast

territories

• Colonial export policies often exploited

native populations and opened up

markets for European manufactured

goods while supplying raw goods

• Western nations imposed their values

and institutions

Main Ideas

• Nationalism gave subjects the means

to seek their freedom

• Great social divisions were created

between colonizers and those being

colonized

Key Events

• Competition among European nations

leads to the partitioning of Africa

• Colonial rule creates a new social class

of Westernized intellectuals

• British rule brings order and stability to

India, but with a cost

• The US begins its own imperialist

policies

Imperialism in Africa

• Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium,

Italy, Spain, and Portugal divide Africa

• Muhammad Ali leads revolt against the

Ottoman Empire and established a separate

Egyptian State

• Ali leads Egypt into the modern world, but

British interests (Suez Canal), lead to Egypt

becoming a British protectorate.

Muhammad Ali

Imperialism in Africa

• British also hope to control the Sudan in

order to protect Egyptian interests, but are

defeated by Muhammad Ahmad. British do

eventually gain the Sudan in 1898.

• French gain Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco

• Italy attempts to gain Ethiopia but is defeated.

Imperialism in Africa

• David Livingstone explored Africa for over 30

years. After disappearing he was found by

Henry Stanley. Livingstone and other explorers

fueled popular interest in Africa.

• Belgium claims the Congo region.

Imperialism in Africa

• Boers, or Afrikaners, occupied areas of

South Africa. The British seized these areas

from the Dutch. The Boers formed 2

independent republics. The British eventually

defeated the Boers over the course of two wars.

• Cecil Rhodes founds Rhodesia and largely

influences British policy in South Africa.

Imperialism in Africa

• The Zulu had established an African empire

under Shaka, who had improved the Zulu

military.

• The British and Zulu War only lasted about a

year. Technology and Western discipline

enabled the British to win. However the British

suffered a huge defeat at the Battle of

Isandlwana, which stunned the British public.

The British won against seemingly impossible

odds at Rorke’s Drift.

Shaka

British Rule in India

• The British East India Company was actively

involved in Indian political and military affairs

with its own soldiers= Sepoys who were native

Indians.

• 1857- Sepoy Rebellion: Indian troops

outnumbered British troops by about 230,000 to

40,000 but were eventually crushed. Hindu and

Muslim rivalries hurt the Indian cause

• Kanpur and Delhi massacres

• Parliament transfers power from British East

India Company to the British Government.

British Rule in India

• British viceroy ruled as a representative of

the Queen. Around 3,500 officials ruled 300

million people.

• British colonial government was efficient and

brought stability and order to Indian society.

Upper-caste Indians were given a British

education. A vast railroad system was created.

• Peasant unrest resulted from British rule due

to tax increases and lack of food. Cotton

production hurt the food supply. Most British

colonists considered themselves far superior to

the Indians.

British Rule in India

• 1885- Indian National Congress calls for a

share in the governing process. Muslims want

a separate Muslim league.

• Mohandas Gandhi returns to India in 1915.

He begins a nonviolent resistance movement.

He will be a huge influence in the fight for

Indian independence.

Gandhi

Colonialism in Southeast Asia

• Britain acquires Singapore and Burma.

Singapore was a gateway to China. Burma

helped Britain protect its Indian possessions.

• France forced Vietnam to accept French

protection, thus forming a protectorate.

• Thailand becomes only free state in

Southeast Asia through the work of Kings

Mongkut and Chulalongkorn. Thailand remains

a buffer between British and French

possessions.

King Mongkut King Chulalongkorn

Colonialism in Southeast Asia

• The US, under President William McKinley, turns the

Philippines into an American colony. This helped the

US in trade with China and also protected it from the

Japanese (who would later invade it in WWII)

• Emilio Aguinaldo leads a revolt against the US but is

defeated.

Challenges in East

Asia

1800-1914

Main Ideas

• Western nations used political

persuasion and military strength to gain

trading privileges with China and Japan

• China’s internal problems made it easier

for Western nations to penetrate the

country and strengthen their influence

• Japan’s ability to adopt Western ways

and to maintain its own traditions enabled

it to develop into a modern, powerful

nation

Impact on Today’s World

• Issues raised by the Opium War

continue to be addressed, since drug

addiction and the drug trade remain

major international problems

• Japan has one of the world’s largest

industrialized free markets

• China’s large market continues to

attract Western business and trade

The Qing Dynasty

• Created by Manchus

• lasted over 250 years as the last imperial

Chinese dynasty

• bitterly resented as a foreign, occupying

dynasty

• Famine, rapid population growth and

pressure from European nations led to its

decline

The Opium Wars

• Britain had an unfavorable trade balance

with China and turned to selling opium,

which was grown in Northern India. Tons

were shipped.

• Opium parlors spread throughout China,

creating huge numbers of addicts

• Chinese outlaw opium in 1836

• The Chinese attempted to block British

traders in 1839 but were technologically

inferior and were badly defeated

The Opium Wars

• This led to the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842 in

which the Chinese were forced to open 5

ports, limit taxes on British imports, pay for

war costs, give the British Hong Kong, and

give the British extraterritoriality

The Tai Ping Rebellion

• Led by Hong Xiuquan

• appealed to many because it called for

reforms like giving land to peasants and

treating women as equals

• one of the most devastating civil wars in

history (between 20-30 million believed dead

in a 14 year period)

• eventually put down by Qing forces with

European aid

Hong Xiuquan

Efforts at Reform

• Self-strengthening- idea that China should

adopt Western technology while keeping

Confucian values and institutions

• democracy was considered too radical

• Overall, technology and industry were

improved but the Chinese value system

remained unchanged

The Confucian Code

• state policy from 210 B.C. until A.D. 1912.

• 3 Concepts: 1. the emperor is superior to all

others on Earth and is accountable for all

events that influence the welfare of the people

2. administrators in the government are

selected on the basis of merit and

competence 3. the Chinese people are taught

to value order and social cohesion above

personal gain

• Submission to authority, respect for

tradition, and moderation in all things are key

Efforts at Reform

• (1898) Emperor Guang Xu attempts a reform

campaign but many conservatives at court

opposed it. Also, his aunt the Empress

Dowager Ci Xi opposed them, and eventually

imprisoned the emperor.

Ci Xi

Emperor Guang Xu

Open Door policy

• Proposed by John Hay. Ensured equal

access to the Chinese market for all nations

and preserved the unity of the Chinese

empire.

Boxer Rebellion

• Anti-Western and anti-Christian

• supported by Ci Xi

• members of the “Society of Harmonious

Fists” or “Righteous and Harmonious Fists”

• International response was swift and

crushed the rebellion

Fall of the Qing

• Reforms were attempted to save the

dynasty

• civil service exams were replaced by a

Western educational model

• legislative assemblies formed at local level

but could only “advise” the ruler

• Sun Yat-Sen forms the “Revive China

Society”

Sun Yat-Sen

Fall of the Qing

• Sun devised a 3 stage plan to make China a

democracy: 1. military takeover 2.

transitional phase in which his party would

prepare the people for democracy 3.

constitutional democracy

• advocated 3 principles: nationalism,

democracy, and the right for people to pursue

their own livelihoods

• Ci Xi and Guang Xu both died and Henry Pu

Yi, an infant, became China’s last emperor

Fall of the Qing

• 1911-Followers of Sun Yat-Sen revolt and

the Qing dynasty collapses

• Sun’s party turns to General Yuan Shigai

• Yuan was unsuccessful and despised by

reformers and traditionalists

• Sun’s party becomes the “Guomindang”, or

nationalist party. They attempt a rebellion

against Yuan but fail

• After Yuan’s death in 1916, China slips into

civil war

Yuan Shigai

Isolation in Japan

• 1800- Tokugawa shogunate had ruled Japan for

200 years and isolated it from the outside world

• 1853- 4 US warships led by Commodore

Matthew Perry arrive in Edo Bay (Tokyo Bay).

Perry carried a letter from President Millard

Fillmore (p. 487) asking for the opening of trade

and better treatment of shipwrecked sailors

• Treaty of Kanagawa signed: 2 ports opened,

return of shipwrecked sailors, US consulate

opened

Isolation in Japan

• The main reason for the opening of Japan=

US firepower and Japanese fear of it. When

they first saw the steam-powered ships, the

Japanese described them as “giant dragons

puffing smoke” and “black ships of evil

appearance”

• Many samurai (Sat-Cho alliance) resisted

and wanted no part of the West. In 1868 they

attacked the Shogun and proclaimed the

emperor to be restored.

Matthew Perry Millard Fillmore

Meiji Restoration

• Emperor Mutsuhito, or Emperor Meiji, was

the figurehead of the restoration

• local nobles stripped of titles but named

governors of territories, or prefectures

• Iwakura Mission and Ito Hirobumi sent

abroad to study Western culture and politics

• Japanese economy modernizes

• government based on Germany’s with

Emperor as figurehead and power in the

hands of prime minister and his cabinet

Emperor Mutsuhito

Ito Hirobumi Iwakura Mission

Meiji Restoration

• Military was Westernized and drastically

changed. All Japanese men served 3 years.

Western tactics and weapons adopted.

• Education system modeled after the US.

• Women’s rights improved

• Imperialism was also copied……..

Imperialism

• Japan has very few natural resources and is

small. Japanese leaders felt the only way to

compete would be to expand. (colonize)

• 1894- Rivalry between Japan and China over

Korea leads to war. Japan wins easily.

• Japan also has rivalry with Russia over

influence in Korea. The Russians think little

of the Japanese. 1904- Japanese launch

surprise attack on the Russian naval base at

Port Arthur. They defeat the Russians on land

and at sea and shock the world.

Results

• Japan becomes a new world power