AP World History:New Imperialism 1884 - 1914

Periods 5 and 6

1880-1914 THE NEW IMPERIALISM was characterized by a frantic competition among European nations to gobble up as much of the

world map as possible. This led these nations into conflicts with native peoples and with each other.

I Causes of the New ImperialismA) Economic Causes1. Factories needed natural resources such as rubber, petroleum,

manganese for steel, palm oil for machines2. Wanted new markets to sell factory goods3. Bankers wanted to invest profits4. Colonies gave Europe’s growing population places to move toB) Political Causes1. Steam powered merchant and naval ships needed bases around

world to take on coal and supplies. This led to a desire to take over islands and harbors.

2. Nationalism led to a desire for a global empire to increase your nation's prestige around the world.

Causes of the New Imperialism Continued…C) Social Causes1. Missionaries believed they should Christianize the “ heathens”2. Europeans felt a sense of racial superiority that was “justified” due to the anthropological

theory of Social Darwinism (White Europeans were superior and more advanced than other “races”, so they needed to take care of their racial inferiors).

Lewis Henry Morgan believed (1877) that all cultures passed through these stages of development, although some became "stuck" in a stage.

Level Of Understanding Characteristic

Civilization Alphabet and writing

Barbarism

Upper Iron tools

MiddleDomestication

of plants and animals

Lower Pottery

Savagery

Upper Bow and arrow

Middle Fish subsistence and fire

Lower Fruit and nut subsistence

Rudyard Kipling, The White Man's Burden, 1899

This famous poem, written by Britain's imperial poet, was a response to the American take over of the Phillipines after the Spanish-American War.

Take up the White Man's burden--Send forth the best ye breed--Go bind your sons to exileTo serve your captives' need;To wait in heavy harness,On fluttered folk and wild--Your new-caught, sullen peoples,Half-devil and half-child.

Take up the White Man's burden--In patience to abide,To veil the threat of terrorAnd check the show of pride;By open speech and simple,An hundred times made plainTo seek another's profit,

And work another's gain. Take up the White Man's burden--The savage wars of peace--Fill full the mouth of FamineAnd bid the sickness cease;And when your goal is nearestThe end for others sought,Watch sloth and heathen FollyBring all your hopes to nought.

Take up the White Man's burden--No tawdry rule of kings,But toil of serf and sweeper--The tale of common things.The ports ye shall not enter,The roads ye shall not tread,Go mark them with your living,And mark them with your dead.

Take up the White Man's burden--And reap his old reward:The blame of those ye better,The hate of those ye guard--The cry of hosts ye humour

(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:--"Why brought he us from bondage,Our loved Egyptian night?"

Take up the White Man's burden--Ye dare not stoop to less--Nor call too loud on FreedomTo cloke your weariness;By all ye cry or whisper,By all ye leave or do,The silent, sullen peoplesShall weigh your gods and you.

Take up the White Man's burden--Have done with childish days--The lightly proferred laurel,The easy, ungrudged praise.Comes now, to search your manhoodThrough all the thankless yearsCold, edged with dear-bought wisdom,The judgment of your peers!

Causes of the New Imperialism Continued…D) Technological Causes1. Europeans had powerful armies and navies 2. Europeans had access to new technologies from the Industrial

Revolution such as riverboats, steam driven warships, and the telegraph3. New Medicines such as quinine to fight malaria4. New weaponry such as machine guns and repeating rifles

Machine Guns

In 1861, Doctor Richard Gatling patented the Gatling Gun, a six-barreled weapon capable of firing a (then) phenomenal 200 rounds per minute. The Gatling gun was a hand-driven, crank-operated, multi-barrel, machine gun. The first machine gun with reliable loading, the Gatling gun had the ability to fire sustained multiple bursts. The 1862 version of the gatling gun had reloadable steel chambers and used percussion caps. It was prone to occasional jamming. In 1867, Gatling redesigned the Gatling gun again to use metallic cartridges – this version was bought and used by the United States Army. In 1873, the Winchester Rifle emerged, distinguishing itself as an immensely-popular firearm. In 1887, the first repeating shotguns were released by the company and, in 1903, Winchester again made history when it created the first automatic rifle. And in 1892, as PBS notes, the first automatic pistol was created by Joseph Laumann. Just just one year later — in 1893 — the Borchardt pistol emerged, complete with a separate magazine. Within eight years, automatic weapons were in regular use. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/12/the-history-and-evolution-of-guns-as-told-through-pictures/

Gatling Gun

II The Scramble For Africa

The Scramble for Africa Continued…A) There had been European possessions in Africa since the 16th century (mainly connected with the slave trade), but these were small coastal areas around trading ports. B) Before 1880 only 10% of Africa was controlled by European Powers: colonies dotted along the coast of West Africa (from the defunct slave trade), settlements in southern Africa by Dutch, English & (long held) Portuguese, and Algeria in the north, conquered by the French.C) By 1900 only Ethiopia and Liberia remained free of European control. D) 1865 Leopold II became King of Belgium and gave speeches in which he pushed the glories of exploration and conquest. In the 1870s Leopold set his sights on the heart of Africa and in 1876 sent H. M. Stanley up the Congo to establish trading posts and the beginnings of the Belgian Free Congo State.

Leopold II, King of Belgium “King Leopold II of Belgium was responsible for the deaths and mutilation of 10 million Congolese Africans during the late 1800s. The wealth of modern day Belgium owes much to the people of the Congo River Basin.In a testament to the hideous brutality of the European colonial era and imperialism in its finest form, during the 1880s, when Europe was busy dividing up the continent of Africa like a vast chocolate cake, King Leopold II of Belgium laid personal claim to the largely uncharted Congo Free State. The 905,000 square miles (76 times larger than Belgium) of African rainforest held a vast fortune in rubber plantations, a commodity in high demand in late 19th century industrial Europe.” –Andre C James, 2011

From a Speech by King Leopold II of Belgium delivered in 1883 to Belgium missionaries:

"Reverends, Father, and Dear Compatriots: The task that is given to us to fulfill is very delicate and requires much tact. You will go certainly to evangelize, but your evangelization must inspire above all Belgium interests. Your principal objective in our mission in the Congo is never to teach the niggers to know God. Thus they know already. They speak and submit to a Mungu, one Nzambi, one Nzakomba, and what else I don't know. They know that to kill, to sleep with someone else's wife, to lie and to insult is bad.Have courage to admit it; you are not going to teach them what they know already. Your essential role is to facilitate the task of administrators and industrials, which means you will go to interpret the gospel in the way it will be the best to protect your interests in that part of the world. For these things, you have to keep watch on disinteresting our savages from the richness that is plenty in their underground.”

The Scramble for Africa Continued…E) 1880 France established a French Protectorate on the north bank of the Congo in direct response to the Belgian Congo on the south bank (hence the division that still stands between the two Congos.)

F) 1882 Britain conquered Egypt.

G) 1884-85 The BERLIN CONFERENCE met, in which the Western powers lay the rules for dividing up Africa. Included Germany (under Bismarck), France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

H) 1885 British troops south of Egypt encountered resistance from a Muslim Sudanese army which defeated General Charles Gordon in a massacre at Khartoum.

I) 1898 Sudan was reconquered by British General Horatio Kitchener. Later Kitchener's army clashed with a French force in the regions of the Upper Nile. This almost leads to a European war until troubles at home (most notably the Dreyfus Affair) lead France to pull out.

Dr. Jeff Taylor The Metropolitan State College of Denver, 2003

The Death of General Gordon at Khartoum

The Dreyfuss Affair 1894French officer Alfred Dreyfus is convicted of treason by a military court-martial and sentenced

to life in prison for his alleged crime of passing military secrets to the Germans. The Jewish artillery captain, convicted on flimsy evidence in a highly irregular trial, began his life sentence on the notorious Devil's Island Prison in French Guyana four months later.

The Dreyfus case demonstrated the anti-Semitism permeating France's military and, because many praised the ruling, in France in general. Interest in the case lapsed until 1896, when evidence was disclosed that implicated French Major Ferdinand Esterhazy as the guilty party. The army attempted to suppress this information, but a national uproar ensued, and the military had no choice but to put Esterhazy on trial. A court-martial was held in January 1898, and Esterhazy was acquitted within an hour.

In response, the French novelist Émile Zola published an open letter entitled "J'Accuse" on the front page of the Aurore, which accused the judges of being under the thumb of the military. By the evening, 200,000 copies had been sold. One month later, Zola was sentenced to jail for libel but managed to escape to England. Meanwhile, out of the scandal a perilous national division was born, in which nationalists and members of the Catholic Church supported the military, while republicans, socialists, and advocates of religious freedom lined up to defend Dreyfus.

In 1898, Major Hubert Henry, discoverer of the original letter attributed to Dreyfus, admitted that he had forged much of the evidence against Dreyfus and then Henry committed suicide. Soon afterward, Esterhazy fled the country. The military was forced to order a new court-martial for Dreyfus. In 1899, he was found guilty in another show trial and sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, a new French administration pardoned him, and in 1906 the supreme court of appeals overturned his conviction. The debacle of the Dreyfus affair brought about greater liberalization in France, a reduction in the power of the military, and a formal separation of church and state.http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dreyfus-affair-begins-in-france

III Imperialism in China

This is a French political cartoon from the late 1890s showing nations carving China into spheres of Influence. It is being divided between caricatures of Queen Victoria of Britain, William II of Germany (who is squabbling with Queen Victoria over a borderland piece, while he thrusts a knife into the pie to signify aggressive German intentions). Nicholas II of Russia, is eyeing a particular piece, the French Marianne who seems not to care. The Meiji Emperor of Japan, carefully contemplating which pieces to take. A Chinese official throws up his hands to try and stop them, but is powerless.

Imperialism: China: Spheres of Influence

Imperialism in China Continued…A) Recall that under the Ming Dynasty, China allowed for international trade as long as merchants respected Chinese culture. Zheng He went on 7 major voyages to Africa, South Asia and East Asia. In 1433 Ming China ceased sending out treasure fleets.

Imperialism in China Continued…B) In 1644, northern invaders called Manchus (from the northeast) conquered China and created the Qing Dynasty. To the Chinese, their country—called the Middle Kingdom—had been the cultural center of the universe for 2,000 years. If foreign states wished to trade with China, they would have to follow Chinese rules. These rules included trading only at special ports and paying tribute. The Dutch accepted China’s restrictions. Their diplomats paid tribute to the emperor through gifts and by performing the required “kowtow” ritual. This ritual involved kneeling in front of the emperor and touching one’s head to the ground nine times. The Dutch returned home with traditional porcelains and silk, as well as a new trade item, tea. By 1800, tea would make up 80 percent of shipments to Europe. Great Britain also wanted to increase trade with China. But the British did not like China’s trade restrictions. In 1793, King George III sent a letter to Qian-long asking for a better trade arrangement, including Chinese acceptance of British manufactured goods. This was China’s response:“Strange and costly objects do not interest me… As your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country's manufactures.”

Imperialism in China Continued…C) The growing British thirst for tea, in particular, made Britain increasingly desperate. By the end of the 18th century, the UK imported more than 6 tons of Chinese tea annually. In half a century, Britain managed to sell just £9m worth of British goods to the Chinese, in exchange for £27m in Chinese imports. The difference was paid for in silver. D) The British East India Company hit upon a second form of payment that was illegal, yet acceptable to the Chinese traders: opium from British India. This opium, primarily produced in Bengal, was stronger than the type traditionally used in Chinese medicine; in addition, Chinese users began to smoke the opium rather than eating the resin, which produced a more powerful high. By some estimates, as many as 90% of the young males along China's east coast were addicted to smoking opium by the 1830s. The trade balance swung in Britain's favor, on the back of illegal opium smuggling.

Will you ever look at tea time the same way?

Imperialism in China Continued…E) In April of 1839 Governor Lin of Canton confiscated 42,000 opium pipes and 20,000 150-pound chests of opium, with a total street value of some £2 million. He ordered the chests placed into trenches, covered with lime, and then drenched in sea water to destroy the opium. Outraged, British traders immediately began to petition the British home government for help.F) On July 7, 1839, drunk British and American sailors from several opium clipper ships rioted in the village of Chien-sha-tsui, in Kowloon, killing a Chinese man and vandalizing a Buddhist temple. Qing officials demanded that the foreigners turn over the guilty men for trial, but Britain refused, claiming that the sailors were entitled to extraterritorial rights. Six sailors were tried in a British court in Canton but were freed as soon as they returned to Britain.G) Qing officials declared that no British or other foreign merchants would be allowed to trade with China unless they agreed, under pain of death, to abide by Chinese law, including that outlawing the opium trade, and to submit themselves to Chinese legal jurisdiction. The British Superintendent of Trade in China, Charles Elliot, responded by suspending all British trade with China, and ordering British ships to withdraw.

Imperialism in China Continued…H) These incidents led to The Opium Wars (1839-42). The Chinese were disastrously defeated, and their image of their own imperial power was tarnished beyond repair. The Treaty of Nanjing (1842) was the first of a series of agreements with the Western trading nations later called by the Chinese the "unequal treaties“. Under the Treaty of Nanjing, China ceded the island of Hong Kong (Xianggang) to the British; abolished the licensed monopoly system of trade; opened 5 ports to British residence and foreign trade; limited the tariff on trade to 5 percent; granted British nationals extraterritoriality (exemption from Chinese laws); and paid a large indemnity. In addition, Britain was to have most-favored-nation treatment, that is, it would receive whatever trading concessions the Chinese granted other powers then or later. The Treaty of Nanjing set the scope and character of an unequal relationship for the ensuing century of what the Chinese would call "national humiliations."

Hong Kong

III Imperialism in Japan, 1853A) Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch traders engaged in regular trade with Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries. Persistent attempts by the Europeans to convert the Japanese to Catholicism and their tendency to engage in unfair trading practices led Japan to expel most foreigners in 1639. For the two centuries that followed, Japan limited trade access to Dutch and Chinese ships with special charters.B) There were several reasons why the United States became interested in revitalizing contact between Japan and the West in the mid-19th century. First, the combination of the opening of Chinese ports to regular trade and the annexation of California, creating an American port on the Pacific, ensured that there would be a steady stream of maritime traffic between North America and Asia. Then, as American traders in the Pacific replaced sailing ships with steam ships, they needed to secure coaling stations, where they could stop to take on provisions and fuel while making the long trip from the United States to China. Additionally, the American whaling industry had pushed into the North Pacific by the mid-18th century, and sought safe harbors, assistance in case of shipwrecks, and reliable supply stations. C) Manifest Destiny that motivated U.S. expansion across the North American continent also drove American merchants and missionaries to journey across the Pacific. At the time, many Americans believed that they had a special responsibility to modernize and civilize the Chinese and Japanese (convert them to Protestantism).

The United States and the Opening to Japan, 1853D) In the 1830s, the U.S. Navy sent several missions from its regional base in Guangzhou (Canton), China, but in each case, the Japanese did not permit them to land, and they lacked the authority from the U.S. Government to force the issue. In 1851, President Millard Fillmore authorized a formal naval expedition to Japan to return shipwrecked Japanese sailors and request that Americans stranded in Japan be returned to the United States. He sent Commodore Matthew Perry (who actually was a replacement!). E) In 1852 Perry sailed to Edo (Tokyo) Bay, carrying a letter from the U.S. President addressed to the Emperor of Japan. By addressing the letter to the Emperor, the United States demonstrated its lack of knowledge about the Japanese government and society; the Japanese emperor was little more than a figurehead, and the true leadership of Japan was in the hands of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Perry’s offer was rejected.F) In 1854 Perry returned with 7 ships. On March 31, 1854, Perry cooerced Japan to sign the Treaty of Kanagawa which guaranteed that the Japanese would save shipwrecked Americans and provide fuel for American ships, and opened the opportunity for trade between Japan and the United States. The signing of this treaty signaled the end of Japanese isolation. *Japan decided to sign the treaty rather than be forced to do so like the Chinese.G) The American presence weakened the position of the Tokugawa Shogunate to the point that the shogun fell from power. The Emperor gained formal control of the country in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, with long-term effects for the rule and modernization of Japan. state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/opening-to-japan

President Millard Fillmore’s letter to the Emperor of Japan(presented by Commodore Perry on July 14, 1853)

MILLARD FILLMORE,President of the United States of America to his Imperial Majesty, THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN Great and Good Friend! I send you this public letter by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, an officer of the highest rank in the navy of the United States, and commander of the squadron now visiting Your imperial majesty's dominions. I have directed Commodore Perry to assure your imperial majesty that I entertain the kindest feelings toward your majesty's person and government, and that I have no other object in sending him to Japan but to propose to your imperial majesty that the United States and Japan should live in friendship and have commercial intercourse with each other. The Constitution and laws of the United States forbid all interference with the religious or political concerns of other nations… The United States of America reach from ocean to ocean, and our Territory of Oregon and State of California lie directly opposite to the dominions of your imperial majesty. Our steamships can go from California to Japan in eighteen days. Our great State of California produces about sixty millions of dollars in gold every year, besides silver, quicksilver, precious stones, and many other valuable articles. Japan is also a rich and fertile country, and produces many very valuable articles. Your imperial majesty's subjects are skilled in many of the arts. I am desirous that our two countries should trade with each other, for the benefit both of Japan and the United States. We know that the ancient laws of your imperial majesty's government do not allow of foreign trade, except with the Chinese and the Dutch; but as the state of the world changes and new governments are formed, it seems to be wise, from time to time, to make new laws…”

The Meiji RestorationThe Meiji Restoration was a turning point in Japanese history in 1868 when the last shogun was overthrown and the emperor assumed direct control over the nation. The following Meiji Period (1868–1912) was marked by Japan's opening to the West and the establishment of a strong centralized government.

V Imperialism in IndiaA) During 1450-1750, the weakening of the Mughal Empire in addition to the internal unrest between the Hindu majority and the Muslims led to vulnerability. England established itself as the dominate trader in the Indian Ocean, with the creation of the British East India Company led in India by Robert Clive. Soon, this company raised an army that eradicated all the French from the subcontinent. The BEIC used the crumbling Mughal Empire to establish administrations throughout the subcontinent, and even relied on Sepoys, Indians who worked for the Brits.B) The British completely disregarded the local customs and traditions of the natives. When they supplied the firearms for the Sepoys, most of whom were Hindi or Muslim, they greased the bullet cartridges with pork and beef fat, both from animals that were regarded as sacred or forbidden in Hindu and Islamic culture. When the Sepoys learned of this in 1857, they rebelled “the Sepoy Rebellion”. Although they were ultimately crushed after two years of fighting, the desired effect was the exact opposite of what happened. Instead of the British East India Company relinquishing some power to the Indians, the British parliament stepped in, claiming the entire subcontinent under the British Crown, sending the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II into exile and recognizing Queen Victoria as the Empress of India in 1877. C) Soon, India became considered a model colony. Raw materials such as cotton and tea were manufactured and bought back by Indian markets. The arrangement was very profitable for the British, and also gave them a stronghold in Asia from which they could launch both physical and economic attacks on China such as with the Opium Wars. The Upper Castes of Indian Society were expected to assimilate and become educated in British and Christian culture. The infrastructure, especially the ports and railroads were improved and built.

Sepoys, 1920

The British in India

Focus Questions1. What were the causes and consequences of imperialism in Africa,

China, Japan, and India?2. Was there anything that could have been done to prevent European

imperialism in the 19th century?3. Was European imperialism all bad?4. How has 19th century European imperialism still impacted life today?