Motives Behind Colonization:
National self-interest and the desire for strength and influence around the world.
“mercantilism” - an economic system to unify and increase the power and especially the monetary wealth of a nation by a strict governmental regulation of the entire national economy
Mercantilism
Mercantilism strengthened the government
through the following:
policies designed to secure an accumulation
of bullion
a favorable balance of trade,
the development of agriculture and
manufactures,
the establishment of foreign trading
monopolies
Motives Behind Colonization:
Economic Gain:
New market for goods
Source of raw materials
Cheap labor
The old belief that the possession of gold and
silver meant power.
Motives Behind Colonization:
Religious reasons:
Elimination of other religions
Trade strategy – create a “friendly” space for
trade and commerce
Humanitarian efforts
In the late 19th century - White Man’s Burden
Colonial Powers and Their
Holdings:
Spain – South America, Central America, North
America
Portugal – South America, Persian Gulf coast,
parts of India, parts of Asia and parts of Africa
The Netherlands – Parts of Asia, Indonesia,
North America and Africa
England – North America, the Caribbean, East
Indies, India, Africa and the Middle East
(continued)
France – North America, the Caribbean,
East and West Indies, Africa, the Middle
East
Germany – Africa
Belgium – Interior of Africa
Berlin Conference
14 “Western” nations (Europe and US)
met in Berlin, Germany.
Conference was put together by German
Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck
Nations met to divide Africa for the
Western powers into separate spheres.
Rules from Berlin Conference
Empty resolutions to provide for welfare of Africans.
If any nation is claiming themselves as a
“protectorate” they must notify the signers of the
Berlin Act.
In order to occupy coastal possession, nation must
prove they have sufficient authority (control trade
and transit). Known as “effective occupation.”
Niger and Congo river made free for traffic
Determined to make colonization a less bloody
process
Effects of Conference
Placed boundaries on African groups.
Division of land and people
Africans lost their independence
Treated as inferiors and forced to work for
Europeans
Europeans exploited the mineral
resources (tin, copper, gold, diamonds)
America’s Sphere of Influence
White Man’s Burden
Pro-imperialists said colonization of
Africa was a civilizing mission.
“Cultural Imperialists”
Africans needed help to be civilized
members of society.
Rudyard Kipling’s “The White Man’s
Burden,” 1899 gives the benefits to
colonization.
White Man’s Burden
The burden is in civilizing the world.
Education, religion, law, rule, technology, cleanliness,
society needs to be instituted.
The native peoples are “half devil, half child” and
“heathen”
Imperialists have a condescending attitude
towards the natives and regard them as inferior.
Imperialists will encounter difficulty in an effort to
end war, famine, and sickness.
European men will die for the burden but the
natives will be ungrateful.
Anti-Imperialist Feelings
Native Africans and
anti-imperialists felt
differently
“The Brown Man’s
Burden”
Brown Man’s Burden
The burden of imperialism is not among
the whites, but it falls on the natives.
The “White Man’s Burden” is hypocritical.
The “burden” makes whites rich through
exploitation of resources and labor. The
natives suffer.
True motivating force behind imperialism
is money (“to satisfy your greed”) and land
(“seize on his ports and pastures”)
Settlement Colonies:
Citizens of the colonizing country migrate
and take control of a new area, regardless
of former inhabitants. Settlement occurs
and colonial population grows.
Example: The 13 Colonies of North
America
Dependent Colonies:
Otherwise known as “colonies of exploitation”
Colonies settled by Europeans who came as
planters, administrators or military officers and
established political control over the local
population. Local culture wasn’t
destroyed…instead, the colony becomes
dependant upon the economy of the colonizing
country.
Examples: Nigeria and Ghana
Protectorate Colonies
In this system, the local leader kept his
title, but a specific European country (or
America ) claimed rights to the country.
No other countries were allowed to
interfere politically or economically without
express permission from the colonizing
country.
Example: Puerto Rico
Spheres of Influence:
Otherwise known as informal colonies
When a country interferes with the internal workings of another country but fails to annex it officially. It is an informal agreement that this colony will not be harassed by other would-be colonizing countries.
Example: South American countries following their independence (by America)