Imperialism

The rapid growth of industry required resources and markets. The nations of Europe sought to expand their empires. In the late 19 th century, technological advances enabled them to expand into Africa.

Conquest of Africa In the 1860’s Europeans had not yet explored the interior of Africa. It was difficult to travel very far from the coast and many would- be explorers died of malaria. In the 1850’s quinine, a natural malaria cure became widely available. The invention of the steamboat allowed Europeans to travel up swift flowing rivers like the Congo and Nile. Repeating rifles and the Maxim gun allowed European armies to conquer native armed with muskets and spears. The railroad allowed European nations to build and maintain empires not accessible by steamboat.

The Berlin Conference In 1884 and 1885, fourteen European nations met in Berlin. Their goal was to prevent a war over colonies in Africa that might spill over into Europe. The established who already controlled what regions and rules for claiming new territory. No one from Africa was invited.

Justifications Europeans in general, and the British in particular, did not want to see themselves as stealing the land of other nations. Many convinced themselves they were bringing salvation and civilization to the “heathens” and “savages” of Asia and Africa. Others called on a theory called “Social Darwinism”, which states that Darwin’s principles also apply to societies.

British India As the Mughal Empire declined in the 18 th century, the British East India Company began to take control of the region. BEIC was a joint stock company and not part of the British government. By 1757, it was the dominant power in the region and by 1850 had near complete control.

British India The BEIC did much to develop India: building railroads, improving roads, education and medicine—but only because these things would help them turn a profit. To keep order they raised an army of sepoys, local soldiers led by British officers.

The Sepoy Mutiny A century of BEIC rule created growing resentment in the peoples of India. Nobles were upset at loss of property, Muslims and Hindus at Christian missionaries, soldiers at unfair treatment. India was primed for rebellion, all it needed was a spark.

The Sepoy Mutiny In 1856, BEIC introduced a sealed paper cartridge. To load their rifles, soldiers bit then off the cartridge and poured in the powder. A rumor began to spread that the cartridges sealed with beef and pork fat. Hindu and Muslim soldiers found this disgusting and in May of 1857 several dozen refused to accept the cartridges they were issued.

The Raj The soldiers who refused the ammunition were jailed. This caused several sepoy units to mutiny and led to a year-long rebellion. The British government stepped in with regular army troops and took direct control of India.