The High Tide of ImperialismThe High Tide of Imperialism

2020

The Spread of Colonial RuleThe Spread of Colonial Rule Expansion into Africa and Asia

“Christians and Spices” said Vasco da gama raw materials and markets

The Motives Economic National Grandeur Moral purposes

The Tactics From: Limited to controlling regional trade network and

established a few footholds for trade and missionary work To: solidifying hold over their territories for security

control, national prestige, before economic interests

The Spread of Colonial Rule, cont’dThe Spread of Colonial Rule, cont’d

Global land grab By 1900, almost all Africa and Asia under colonial rule

Exceptions:• Japan

• Strategy of political and economic reform

• Thailand• Used as buffer state

• Afghanistan and Ethiopia• Remote location and mountainous terrain

• Iran

The Colonial SystemThe Colonial System Resistance from societies with long traditions of national

cohesion

Direct and indirect rule

Philosophy of Colonialism Social Darwinism – “survival of the fittest” Comfortable theory: brought benefits of Western democracy,

capitalism, and Christianity to tradition-ridden societies Enabled primitive peoples to adapt to challenges of modern

world Ignored brutal aspects of colonialism; persuaded that both

parties would benefit

The Colonial System, cont’dThe Colonial System, cont’d Assimilation or Association?

The French rationalization• Assimilation: Transform colonial societies in the Western

image• Association: Collaboration with local elites while leaving local

traditions alone• Aroused resentment among local population• Returned to ‘force by arms”

The British• No assimilation - treated subjects as culturally and racially

distinct

India Under the British RajIndia Under the British Raj

Territories owned by East India Company, British crown, local maharajas, and rajas

Colonial Reforms Order and stability Education - Thomas Babington Macaulay

• Educated elites, and girls Outlawed sati, ended brigandage, thuggee Introduced railroads, the telegraph, and postal service

Costs of Colonialism British textiles supplanted Indian textile industry Zamindar system

Failed to bring benefits of modern science and technology Psychological effects

India Under British Rule, 1805-1931 India Under British Rule, 1805-1931

The Company Resident and The Company Resident and His PuppetHis Puppet

Colonial Regimes in Southeast AsiaColonial Regimes in Southeast Asia “Opportunity in the Orient”: The Colonial Takeover in

Southeast Asia British – Malayan peninsula: Singapore, Burma French – Indochina: Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos American – Philippines

The Nature of Colonial Rule Indirect rule and some direct rule

Administration and Education Slow to create democratic institutions Slow to adopt educational reforms

Economic Development Reluctant to take up “white man’s burden” Slow economic development

Colonialism and the CountrysideColonialism and the Countryside

Many continued to live by subsistence agriculture Emphasis of cash crops for exports created plantation

agriculture Peasants worked as wage laborers on rubber and tea

plantations for poverty wages “shanghaied” Taxes and population growth were a burden on rural areas Migration to the sitty led to squatter settlements modern economy created “Modernizing elite” or

entrepreneurial class

Colonial Southeast Asia Colonial Southeast Asia

Empire Building in AfricaEmpire Building in Africa The Growing European Presence in West Africa

Slave trade• Abolished by all major countries in the world by 1880s

“Legitimate trade” More permanent presence

• Gold Coast and Sierra Leone• Liberia

New class of Africans “Informal Empire”

Imperialist Shadow over the Nile Napoleon Muhammad Ali Suez Canal, 1854-1869 Sudan Algiers

The Opening of the Suez CanalThe Opening of the Suez Canal

The Suez CanalThe Suez Canal

Empire Building in AfricaEmpire Building in Africa

Arab Merchants and European Missionaries in East Africa Increase slave trade for plantation agriculture in

East Africa and islands off the coast• Réunion (sugar), Zanzibar (cloves)

Rise of Western interest against slave trade and Christian missionary activity

• David Livingstone – 1841• Abolitionist cause• Slave market at Zanzibar closed in 1873

Legacy of ShameLegacy of Shame

Bantus, Boers, and British in South AfricaBantus, Boers, and British in South Africa

Boers – Afrikaans-speaking farmers Great Trek – mid-1830s Believed that white superiority was ordained by god Set up the Orange Free State and the South African

Republic (Transvaal) British

Abolished slavery in British Empire in 1834 More sympathetic to rights of local African population

Zulus, a Bantu people, fought Europeans but were defeated and confined to reservations

The Struggle for Southern Africa The Struggle for Southern Africa

The Scramble for AfricaThe Scramble for Africa European rivalries Trade Missionary factor Superiority in firearms Belgium’s claim on the Congo Conference of Berlin, 1884 Britain and France at Fashoda; France backs down

Colonialism in AfricaColonialism in Africa

European governments ruled with least effort and expense

Indirect Rule in West Africa Preserve African political traditions because

thought Africans were inherently inferior to white race so incapable of adopting European customs and institutions

Relied on existing political elites and institutions• Cameroon• Nigeria

Africa in 1914 Africa in 1914

Colonialism in Africa, cont’dColonialism in Africa, cont’d British Rule in East Africa

Kenya White settlers sought self-government and dominion status, but British

avoided racial tensions. British established separate government organs for European and African

populations British Rule in South Africa

Higher percentage of European settlers Growing division between English-speaking and Afrikaner elements Discovery of gold and diamonds source of problems Boer War – British defeated Afrikaans Concession: gave power to vote only to whites in self-governing colonies British created independent Union of South Africa for Afrikaans in 1910

• Cape Colony, Natal, and Boer republics• Representative government only for European population

British: Basutoland (Lesotho), Bechuanaland (Botswana), Swaiziland, Rhodesia

Revere the Conquering Heroes Revere the Conquering Heroes

Colonialism in Africa, cont’dColonialism in Africa, cont’d

Direct Rule, French style Direct rule – centralized administrative system Governor-general, commissioners, local administrators Assimilate Africans into French culture rather than

preserve natives traditions Africans eligible to run for office and serve in French

National Assembly Relative absence of racist attitudes, superiority of

Gallic culture, belief in universality of human nature

Women in Colonial AfricaWomen in Colonial Africa Mixed impact on rights and status of women in Africa Sexual relationships changed Colonial governments tried to bring an end to forced marriage,

bodily mutilations (clitoridectomy), and polygamy. Missionaries educated women and encouraged them to organize

themselves to defend their interests End of matrilineal systems:

European settlers dealt with males while women restricted to traditional farming methods

Men used chemical fertilizer, women used manure Men transported goods using bikes and trucks, women carried

goods on heads Restrictions on women’s freedom

The Emergence of AnticolonialismThe Emergence of Anticolonialism Stirrings of Nationhood

Imperialism brought a consciousness of modern nationhood

Introduction of western ideas of citizenship and representative government

New elite Traditional Resistance: A Precursor to Nationalism

Led by existing ruling class Resistance in India Peasant revolts

Religious ResentmentReligious Resentment Sudan – Mahdi – strong Islamic overtones India - The Sepoy Rebellion – 1857

Sipahi, horseman or soldier – native troops hired to protect British interests

Enfield rifle had cartridges covered with animal fat or lard which had to be bitten off

Hindus do not eat animal products and Muslims do not eat pork

Full-scale mutiny supported by uprisings in rural areas British suppressed rebellion with arms and armies

Discussion QuestionsDiscussion Questions What were the causes of the new imperialism of the 19th C,

and how did it differ from European expansion in earlier periods?

What were some of the major consequences of British rule in India, and how did they affect the Indian people?

What factors were behind the “scramble for Africa,” and what impact did it have on the continent?

How did the subject peoples respond to colonialism, and what role did nationalism play in their response?