1. 10.4 Lecture – New Imperialism

2. I. The New Imperialism: Motives and Methods A. Imperialism 1. One country dominates the political, economic, and social life of another country. a. Wanted people to adopt European customs 2. 1800-1914 3. Nationalism promoted rival European nations to build empires in their competitive quest for power. a. Characterized by an explosion of territorial conquests even more rapid than the Spanish conquests of the 16th century. 4. The industrial revolution created a tremendous demand for raw materials and expanded markets, which promoted industrialized nations to seek new territories. a. Europeans seized territories in Africa and Central Asia, and both Americans. b. 10 million square miles and 150 million people fell under the rule of Europe and the United States in this period. c. The imperial powers used economic and technological means to reorganize dependent regions and bring them into the world economy as supplies of food and raw materials and as consumers of industrial products.

3. 5. Religious fervor and feelings of racial and cultural superiority inspired Europeans to impose their cultures on distant lands. 6. Europeans and Americans were influenced by economic, cultural, and political motives for new imperialism. B. Forms of Control 1. Colony – A country or a territory governed internally by a foreign power. 2. Protectorate – A country or a territory with its own internal government but under the control of an outside power. 3. Sphere of Influence – An area in which an outside power claims exclusive investment or trading privileges. 4. Economic Imperialism – An independent but less developed country controlled by private business interests rather than other governments.

4. C. Methods of Management / Control 1. Indirect Control – Relied on existing political rulers. a. These local officials handled much of the daily management of the colony. b. Each colony had a legislative council. 1. Included colonial officials as well as local merchants and professionals nominated by the colonial governor. 2. Direct Control a. Viewed Africans as unable to handle complex business of running a country. b. Paternalism – Providing for their needs but not giving them rights. c. Brought in own bureaucrats and did not train local people in European governing tactics. d. Assimilation – local populations would adopt French culture and become like the French 1. All local schools, courts, and businesses were patterned after French Institutions 2. Still regarded Africans as inferior to the French

5. D. Political Motives 1. The great powers were competitive and hypersensitive about their status. 2. Armies fighting frontier wars found it easier to defeat their neighbors E. Cultural Motives 1. 19th century saw a Christian revival in Europe and North America a. Catholics and Protestants found new missionary societies. 1. Built churches and taught Christian doctrine. 2. Built schools and hospitals b. Regarded non-believers as a “heathen.” c. Export their own norms of “civilized behavior 2. Determined to abolish slavery in Africa and bring Western Education, medicine, hygiene, and monogamous marriage to all the world’s people. 3. Many women joined missionary societies to become teachers and nurses; positions of greater authority than they couldn’t hope to find at home. a. Their influence often helped soften the harshness of colonial rule..4. Many Europeans and Americans equated technological innovations with “progress” and “change for the better.” a. Western technology proved the superiority of Western ideas, customs, and culture. b. Non – Western peoples could achieve, through education, the same cultural level as Europeans and Americans.

6. 5. Racism a. Assigned different stages of biological development to peoples of different races and cultures. 1. Europeans believed that Western civilization was superior to the civilization of the colonial people. 2. Social Darwinism – survival of the fittest i) Belief that white Europeans were the fittest people in the world and they had a duty to spread Western ideas to the uncivilized people. b. Divided humans based on physical appearance and ranked these races in a hierarchy that ranged from “civilized” at the highest level down through “semi – barbarous,” “barbarian,” and finally at the bottom “savages.” c. Caucasians were already at the top of this ranking. 1. An excuse for permanent rule over Africans and Asians.

7. F. Economic Motives 1. Influence from Industrialization a. Stimulated a demand for minerals 1. Copper for electrical wiring, tin for canning, chrome and manganese for the steel industry, coal from steam engines, gold and diamonds. b. Industrial crops 1. cotton and rubber 2. Sugar, coffee, tea, and tobacco 2. Argument to respective countries was the need to secure sources of tropical raw materials and protected markets from their industries. G. The Tools of Imperialists 1. Empire builders needed the means to achieve their objectives at a reasonable cost. a. Means were provided by the Industrial Revolution b. Technological innovations began to tip the balance of power in favor of Europe.

8. 2. Europeans had dominated the oceans since 1500, and their naval power increased still more with the introduction of steamships. a. First steamer reached India in 1825 and was soon followed by regular mail service in the 1830s. b. The long voyage around Africa was at first too costly for cargo steamers, for coal had to be shipped from England. c. Building of the Suez Canal and the development of increasingly efficient engines solved this problem and led to a boom in shipping to the Indian Ocean and East Asia. d. Global network of submarine telegraph cables connecting Europe with North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and across the Pacific. e. Europeans were much weaker on land than on the sea. 1.Gunboats for Europeans were a success.

9. 3. Invaders often found themselves hampered by other natural obstacles. a. Falciparum Malaria – found only in Africa, was so deadly to Europeans that few explorers survived before the 1850s. 1.1854 a British doctor discovered that the drug quinine, taken regularly during one’s stay in Africa, could prevent the disease. 2. Sanitary precautions reduced the annual death rate among whites in West Africa from 250-750 per thousand and in the early 19th Century to 50-100 per thousand after 1850. 4. The development of new and much deadlier firearms in the 1860s and 1870s shifted the balance of power on land between Westerners and other peoples. a.1880s produced two more innovations 1. Smokeless powder: did not foul the gun or reveal the soldiers position. 2. Repeating rifles: could shoot fifteen rounds in fifteen seconds.

10. H. Colonial Agents and Administration 1. Once colonial agents took over a territory, their home government expected them to cover their own costs and, if possible, return some profit to the home country. 2. Colonialism a. The system of administering and exploiting colonies for the benefit of the home country. 3. Protectorates a. Colonies that retained their traditional governments, but a European “consul-general” to advise them. 4. One important factor was the presence or absence of European settlers. a. Encouraged to elect parliaments and rule themselves. b. Early years of New Imperialism, colonial administrations consisted of a governor and his staff, a few troops to keep order, and a small number tax collectors and magistrates. c. In addition, colonial governments educated a few local youths for “modern” jobs as clerks, nurses, policemen, customs inspectors, and the like.

11. 5. Women to the Colonies a. By the 1880s the British Women’s Emigration Association was recruiting single women to go out to the colonies to marry British Settlers. b. The arrival of white women in Asia and Africa led to increasing racial segregation. c. Many colonial wives found themselves in command of numerous servants to follow the complex etiquette of colonial entertainment in support of their husband’s official positions. 1. They found opportunities to exercise personal initiatives, usually charitable work involving indigenous women and children. 2. Their efforts were always subordinate to the work of men.

12. II. The Legacy of Colonial Rule A. Negative 1. Africans lost control of land and independence. 2. Many died of new diseases, like smallpox. 3. Lost thousands to death in the resistance to Europeans. 4. Famine due to cash crop plantations. 5. Loss of traditional cultural ways. 6. Boundary changes created conflict and devastation. B. Positive 1. Reduced local welfare. 2. Improved sanitation, provided hospitals and schools. 3. Lifespan increased and literacy improved. 4. Local goods were sold in the international market.