the age of western imperialism. new imperialism 1870’s-1919 “the policy of extending a...
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CH 17The age of Western Imperialism
New Imperialism 1870’s-1919 “the policy of extending a nation’s
authority by territorial acquisition or by establishing economic and political hegemony over other nations”
The Age of British Imperial Dominance 1st half of the 19th century-
settlements that became nations of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and expanded parts of India
Focus on the Imperialism of free trade
Britain becomes the “workshop” of the world
Free trade and the absence of government controls-unlimited growth of wealth
The Opium Wars with China
British desire to import Chinese tea, silk, porcelain-Chinese disdain for British goods
British sell opium to Chinese Manchu Dynasty resists 1839-1842-Opium Wars Unequal treaty systems- British get Hong Kong- Chinese forced to open ports Most favored Nation status
India-The Crown Jewel
British India-Current day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
Central to the Imperial strategy of the British empire
India-vast non-white population with numerous political allegiances, complex social arrangements, and non-Western religions (Hinduism and Islam)
1st ruled by the British East India Company
The Great Sepoy Mutiny-1857 Sepoys-Indian troops revolt against
British officers Cultural issue of offense over cartridges
used with soldiers muskets Pork or beef fat? 10,000 of Britons and Indians killed
Government of India Act-1858-transferred political authority to the British crown
Crown control of India
Tried to restrain the “civilizing mission” of British
Tried to work more closely with local Indian rulers
1/3 of India under rule of Indian princes that swore allegiance to crown
More British troops stationed in India
Queen Victoria-the Empress of India
Indian nationalism
1885-Founding of the Indian National Congress
1887-Founding of the Muslim League
The New Imperialism
1870-1900-west gained control of 150 million people
1/5th of the world’s area and 1/10 of population
Included United States and Japan New techniques of direct or indirect control
Direct Colonial rule Protectorates-placed officials in foreign state to
oversee its government Spheres of influence-received special
commercial and legal privileges
Motives
Economics??
Imperialism A Study J.A. Hobson Capitalists and bankers behind imperial
ambitions
Imperialism The Highest Stage of Capitalism Lenin “Imperialism is the monopoly stage of
capitalism”
Other motives
1. “civilizing mission”2. Prestige and power of nation-state3. The eastern Question of the decay
of the Ottoman Empire4. Weaknesses in the Qing Dynasty in
China5. Geopolitical strategic interests
The Partition of Africa
“Scramble for Africa” 1900-85% of Africa controlled by
Europeans
France and Italy
Algeria-1st taken in the 1830’s-became the most important colonial possession of France-considered an extension of France
Tunisia-1881-1882-Protectorate Morocco-1901-1912-Protectorate Local rulers retained as French
puppets
Italy-seized Libya from Turkey in 1911-1912
British in North Africa
1869-Suez Canal built by French engineers Connected med Sea to the red Sea India becomes more important market for
British goods British government purchase controlling
interest in canal Egypt in debt to European creditors 1881-Nationalist rebellion British send troops and defeat Egypt never an official colony, British
dominate
British in North Africa
British desired political and military stability
Built naval base at Alexandria Rise of Egyptian Islamic militancy-The
Muslim Brother hood
British determination to secure the Upper Nile and the Sudan
1898-Fashoda Incident-Tense incident between French and British in Sudan
Fashoda Incident
West Africa
1895-French West Africa had 12 million
British had 4 West African Colonies-Sierra Leone, Gambia, The Gold Coast (Ghana), and Nigeria
Nigeria run by indirect control-most successful for British missionaries-largest Christian population of Africa
The Belgian Congo
Personal property of King Leopold 2 of Belgium
1876-Formed the International African Association
Recruited Henry Stanley-journalist who had searched and found Dr David Livingstone
1885-Berlin Conference gave Congo to Leopold
Brutal economic exploitation and slave labor
The Heart of Darkness
The Berlin Conference
1885-The Partition of Africa Process of power sharing in Africa German entry into arena of imperial
competition
South Africa
Dutch settlers in Cape Colony-1600s British dominance in the 1830’s Dutch farmers-Boers-Great Trek north and
east of the cape Afrikaner states Natal, Transvaal, and the
Orange free State
1886-Gold discovered 1899-Boer War British v Boers British Concentration Camps Boers Guerilla tactics
Union of South Africa-1910 Racial system of Apartheid-decades
of oppression, racial tensions, and economic exploitation
Expansion in Asia
Russia-Tsars consolidated control around Balkan Sea
Russians did not regard the nomads of Asia as equals
Transcaucasus regions
Christian Georgians, Armenians, and Azerbaijanis
The Muslim peoples of the Caucasus regions-Chechnya, Dagestan, and Circassia
Imam Shamil of Chechnya and Dagestan surrendering to Russian general Baryatinsky in 1859
Nomads of central Asia
Vast Steppe of central Asia where the Kazakhs lived
Southern Middle Asia-1860’s Present day Uzbekistan, Turkistan,
and the areas bordering Afghanistan-Muslim AreasRussian-British Rivalry over Afghanistan
“the Great Game”-Sometimes brought Russia and GB to the state of war
Caption from a 1911 English satirical magazine reads: "If we hadn't a thorough understanding, I (British lion) might almost be tempted to ask what you (Russian bear) are doing there with our little playfellow (Persian cat)."
French and IndoChina
Indo China-Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia
Roman Catholic Missionaries 1862-French forces controlled Saigon 1880’s-France controlled all of Indo
China Vietnamese Catholic Converts-
minority Large scale plantations-source of tea,
rice, coffee, and rubber
French in Indochina
The United States and Imperialism 1853-Commodore Matt Perry and Japan 1867-US buys Alaska from the Russians 1893-American based coup in Hawaii 1898-Victory in the Spanish American War US has informal protectorate in Cuba, and annexes
Puerto Rico US annexes the Philippines and Hawaii 1903-US secures canal zone in Panama from
Columbia 1904-US starts building the Panama Canal 1907-Sailing of the Great White Fleet and (1914)
completion of the Panama Canal
China and the Boxer rebellion Qing Dynasty in state of near
collapse Western powers had forced China to
give special status 1899-US under SOS John Hay
proposes Open Door Notes US feared that Europe and Japan
would close China off to American interests
Wanted free and equal access to Chinese markets
Boxer rebellion
Chinese Secret Society-the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists
Hatred of foreign missionaries Kill the “foreign devils” 1900-Attack on the foreign legate in Beijing August 1900-Foreign army occupies China 1901-Qing agrees to execute the officials
who had helped the rebellion 1912-Collapse of the Qing Dynasty
French troops behead Boxers
US Marines sent to China
Russian Cannons firing
Japanese Marines
Troops of the Eight nations alliance of 1900. Left to right: Britain, United States, Australian colonial, British India, Germany, France, Russia, Italy, Japan
Tools of Empire
Western domination based on technological domination
Naval superiority
1830’s-rise of steam powered iron warships
“gunboat diplomacy”
Nemesis and the Opium Wars The “devil ship”
Tropical Diseases
Malaria constant problem for Europeans
Quinine pills the solution Enabled the rapid exploration and
partition of Africa Cultivated in Dutch East indies and
British India
Firearms
Fully barreled rifles Mid 1850’s-British Lee-Enfield Rifle 1900’s-Use of maxim Machine guns Use of dum-dum bullets
Missionary Movements
1900-Evangelical Protestant Missionaries-over 10,000 missionaries in India
Providential moment for the evangelization of non-Christian peoples in the Asia and Africa
French Roman Catholics-Society for the Propagation of the faith-Vietnam and China
Over ½ million members
Women and Missionary Activity Women and Cultural practices oversees 1. Ottoman empire-harems for affluent
women 2. India-practice of sati 3. China-Foot binding of young girls
Missionaries had “civilizing” intentions to try to help women, many female missionaries traveled abroad
Sati
Footbinding
Issues with Missionaries
Tensions with imperial administrationsMissionaries established schoolsFear that missionaries might be a
destabilizing forceEngaged local peoples in way that admin
could not-learned languagesIndigenous religious movements
establishedReligious divide between northern and
southern hemispheres
takeaways
1. Missionary goals were dynamic and changed
2. enormous amount of printed materials 3. Skilled at pressuring their own
governments for missionary freedom-opposition to colonial authorities
4. Non-western Christians moving Christianity away from Western dominance
5. Made Christianity a world wide faith for the 1st time