Europe’sEurope’s

““NewNew”” ImperialismImperialism

(1815-1914)(1815-1914)

WhatWhat is is ImperialismImperialism??

The policy of extending a nation’s authority by territorial acquisition

or by establishing an economic and political hegemony (domination)

over other nations

BackgroundBackground (1815-1870)(1815-1870)• European expansion goes back to the 15th century• The Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and

British colonial empires followed one another for the next 400 years– They are all western, maritime powers

• By the 1820s several countries lost their colonial connections without suffering economically– By 1815: France lost most of her possessions in

America and the east & Spain her South American lands, and Britain had lost her 13 American colonies

– By 1822: Portugal lost Brazil

• However, it is not necessary to cross sea, rather than land, to become an imperial power– Russia, the only European power to

continue its expansionist policy throughout the 19th century, made rapid advances into southern and central Asia • They continued to move against the

declining Ottoman Empire• Moved into Central Asia and the Sea of

Japan

The 1870sThe 1870s• During the 1870s, the European powers

developed a new interest in overseas expansion, especially in Africa and Asia

• European states soon spread their control over 10 million square acres and 150 million people– ~1/5 of the world’s land area– 1/10 of the world’s population

• European expansion moved quickly, and it was soon regarded as a necessary action to become a great power

What makes it “new”?What makes it “new”?

• The number of contestants for empires increased

• Many people believed that this was their nation’s last opportunity to build or enlarge an empire

• Advocates and opponents of colonial expansion felt the need to sway public opinion

What were the reasons What were the reasons for Imperialism?for Imperialism?

1. Economic Reasons

2. Cultural/Religious/Social Reasons

3. Strategy and Political Reasons

4. Irrational Reasons

Reason #1:Reason #1: EconomicsEconomics • Nations sought ways of finding markets

beyond Europe, where tariffs caused economic barriers between nations

• There were demands for new sources of raw materials

• Manufacturers needed new markets for their goods– British explorer Henry Stanley advised a group of

Manchester manufacturers to target Africa, which contained 30 million people who all needed clothes

Economic AnalystsEconomic Analysts• J.A. Hobson (1858-1940)

– In Imperialism: A Study (1902), he attributed the colonial expansions to great financiers of western and central Europe who wanted to increase their wealth through overseas investment

– Usually taken to mean that the real impulse was always one of capitalistic greed for cheap raw materials, advantageous markets, good investments, and new areas of exploration

– Said “excessive capital in search of investment” was only possible due to the unequal distribution of wealth. He called for social reform and equal distribution

– ““If the consuming public in this country raised its standard If the consuming public in this country raised its standard of consumption to keep pace with every rise of productive of consumption to keep pace with every rise of productive powers, there could be no excess of goods or capital powers, there could be no excess of goods or capital clamorous to use imperialism in order to find markets.”clamorous to use imperialism in order to find markets.”

• V. I. Lenin (1870-1924)– Elaborated Hobson’s argument in

Imperialism: the Last Stage of Capitalism– Emphasized the finance capital rather than

industrial. Financiers were the powers behind imperialistic policies

– Said “Imperialism is the monopoly stage of capitalism,” or the last stage of a dying system

– Saw imperialism as “a direct continuation of the fundamental properties of capitalism in general,” and that “the war of 1914 was on both sides imperialist.”

– This was a convenient and persuasive case for explaining WWI in economic terms

Reason #2: Reason #2: Cultural/Religious/SocialCultural/Religious/Social

• Social Darwinism– Saw life as a constant struggle

for survival, with the stronger peoples surviving at the expense of the weaker. Countries that failed to expand were seen as losing. Believed that the advanced white race had an obligation to civilize the less developed, “backward” peoples of the world. • “Your new-caught sullen peoples, half-devil

and half-child.” – Rudyard Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden” (1899)

• Missionary Activity– An upsurge in Christian missionary

activity by Catholics and Protestants. They sought to make disciples of all nations and to bring the advantages of European civilization to those they regarded as heathens tragically ignorant of the teachings of God

– They demanded that Western governments give them political and even military support

– David Livingstone (Scottish) – Originally an African medical missionary, he later returned under government auspices as an explore “to open a path for commerce and Christianity.” Died in Africa in 1873, his body sent under navel escort to be buried in Westminster Abbey as a national hero

• Colonies as Source of Profit & Econ. Security

– Argued that the empire’s profit would finance a program of domestic reform and welfare

• New Land

– The colonies would attract a European country’s surplus population

• However, most European emigrants went to areas NOT controlled by their countries

–North America

–South America

–Australia

Reason #3:Reason #3: Strategy and PoliticsStrategy and Politics

• Strategic and political considerations were important in bringing on the New Imperialism. An example was the rush for African colonies in the 1880s.– Britain sought control of the Suez Canal in order to

protect her trade route to India; as a result, she gained an interest in Egypt and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

– Germany’s acquisition of the Cameroons and East Africa improved her diplomatic position

– France acquired Algeria in order to compete w/G.B and Tunisia to keep it from Italy. Also annexed much of West Africa, the Congo, and the island of Madagascar

• Perhaps the greatest pressure to build colonies resulted from the tension between the great European powers

• Germany under Bismarck’s guidance encouraged the French to build colonies in Africa, thinking that this might take their minds off their loss of Alsace-Lorraine. Soon afterwards, afraid they were being left out, they started to colonize.

• Rather than leading to European stability, it threatened to cause war. In 1905 and 1911, France and Germany almost went to war over a dispute concerning Morocco.

Imperial Expansion in Africa to 1880mperial Expansion in Africa to 1880

Imperial Expansion in Africa to 1880Imperial Expansion in Africa to 1880

Partition of Africa, Partition of Africa, 1880 –19141880 –1914

Partition of Africa, Partition of Africa, 1880 –19141880 –1914

Reason #4:Reason #4: The Irrational ElementThe Irrational Element

• The 1880s “Scramble for Africa”– Germany’s annexations started a wild scramble

to acquire the rest of Africa. In 1875, less than 1/10th of Africa had been turned into European colonies; by 1895, only 1/10th remained unclaimed, even the areas that were neither profitable nor strategic. Soon, Spheres of Influence were set up all over Africa.

– “Empire in the modern period was the product of European power: its reward was power or the sense of power.” – D.K. Fieldhouse

Criticism of Economic Criticism of Economic MotivesMotives

• Economic factors played a huge role in imperial development—but they were not the ONLY nor MOST important factors

• Some colonies had abundant raw materials, while others had few or none

• The poor people of African and Asia did not provide a sizeable market for European goods

• Some colonies had many opportunities for investment, while others did not

• In the race for colonies, the imperial powers appeared more interested in acquisition than in economic advantages

Imperialism in ChinaImperialism in China

• China became a center of imperialist activity in the 1890s as the Manchu dynasty became incapable of controlling the country

• Great Britain, already in control of Hong Kong, developed a sphere of influence in the Yangtze River valley

• The French focused on the Kwangsi and Kweichow provinces in the south, near Indochina

JapaneseJapanese InterventionIntervention• 1894 – Japan went to war with China, opening a new

phase of imperialism• Japan’s emergence as a major power was shocking, as

they had isolated themselves from the outside world until 1854, when American Commodore Matthew Perry was able to get Japan to establish commercial relations

• In the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, Japan easily won• Fearing an advance of Japanese power in China, Russia,

Germany, and France intervened• The Germans and Russians took advantage of Japan’s

setback, while France and Great Britain also expanded their interests in China

Asia, 1880–1914Asia, 1880–1914

Asia, 1880–1914Asia, 1880–1914

The New American EmpireThe New American Empire• The United States joins the ranks of imperialist powers

• Alaska is purchased from Russia in 1867

• 1878 – the USA requires rights to a naval base in Pago Pago in the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific

• Growing American interests in Hawaii led to its annexation by the USA in 1898

• 1898 – The Spanish-American War resulted in the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine Islands.

• Cuba becomes, in effect, an American protectorate

• American focus their attention on the Pacific, as well as the Caribbean and Central America, still reluctant to get involved in European affairs (The Monroe Doctrine)

What made it all Possible?What made it all Possible?

• Improved Technology!– Steam boats allow river navigation– Electric telegraph aids communication– Quinine water prevents Malaria (“The White Man’s Grave”)

• 1825 death rate in West Africa = 77%

• 1888 death rate in West Africa = 7%

– Advanced fire arms defeat natives• Enfield Rifle (1853)

• Smith & Wesson (1855) – repeating rifle

• Winchester (1867)

• Maxim gun (1884)

Important not to Forget…Important not to Forget…

• The Brutality of Colonialism– Huge numbers of Africans and Asians lost

their lives in the European pursuit for empires– Ex:

• In the Congo, which the King of Belgium initially held as personal property, Belgian soldiers used to brag about being able to line up five Africans in such a way as that only one bullet was used to kill them. They cut off natives’ limbs for the slightest infraction of rules to terrorize the others into obeying.

Students: Analyze patterns of global change in the era of New Imperialism in at least two of the following regions or countries: Africa, Southeast Asia, China, India, Latin America, and the Philippines.

1. Describe the rise of industrial economies and their link to imperialism and colonialism (e.g., the role played by national security and strategic advantage; moral issues raised by the search for national hegemony, Social Darwinism, and the missionary impulse; material issues such as land, resources, and technology).

2. Discuss the locations of the colonial rule of such nations as England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Portugal, and the United States.

3. Explain imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long‑term responses by the people under colonial rule.

4. Describe the independence struggles of the colonized regions of the world, including the roles of leaders, such as Sun Yat‑sen in China, and the roles of ideology and religion.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Discuss the development of the inequality in the global economy that resulted from the industrialization of Europe.

• Describe the development and growth of worldwide trade and the development of the world market.

• Discuss the opening of China and Japan to outside contact and trade with the European world.

• Describe the penetration of European civilization into Egypt and the resulting effects.

• Discuss the causes and consequences of the growth of the population of Europe in the pre‑World War I era.

• Describe the type of people who emigrated from Europe, the major sources of emigration, and the causes for their emigration.

• Describe the type of people who emigrated from Asia, the major sources of emigration, the causes for their emigration, the resistance to Asian immigration.

• Discuss the growth and impact of the "new imperialism" upon the continent of Africa and its people.

• Describe the career of Cecil Rhodes and what his attitudes suggest about the causes of imperialism.

• Describe the growth of the "new imperialism" in Asia. • Discuss the causes of the new age of imperialism in the late nineteenth century. • Describe and discuss the criticism of the motives and effects of the new

imperialism. • Describe the general responses to the new imperialism by the governments and

peoples of Africa and Asia. • Describe the growth of the British domination of India and its effects. • Describe the opening of Japan to Western civilization and the effects of that

opening upon Japan and its people