Late Nineteenth Century Imperialism

Objective  To understand the causes of European imperialism of the late 19 th century  To understand the extent of European imperial expansion  To understand the consequences of European imperialism for Europe and the developing world

Definitions  Imperialism “ extending a nation ’ s influence directly or indirectly over weaker areas ”  Colonialism Taking direct control of an area and turning it into a colony under a nation ’ s authority  Nationalism Belief that an ethnic group should rule itself Belief that one nation is better than all the others

Motives  Economic Goes back to the Industrial Revolution- as more industry, there is more of a need for raw materials to use in factories, materials to sell, and many people are becoming VERY rich and need a place to invest that money.  Political Belief that the more colonies you have; the more power and prestige you have  Religious To spread Christianity; but missionaries needed to be protected. There was a feeling of superiority by Christians that wanted to spread that.

The Mercantile System

Motives (cont.)  Exploratory Many people were interested in finding new plants, insects, etc. to develop medicines Feeling of Necessity since the Western Hemisphere had successfully rebelled and could no longer be exploited in a colonial way.  Ideological The idea that white race was superior to ANY other race which was considered inferior. Charles Darwin ’ s survival of the fittest philosophy applied by politicians to society in general: “ We are better and we will conquer you! ”

Positive effects of imperialism for European Countries  Source of natural resources  New markets for manufactured goods of mother country  Investment opportunities  Source of new products like kiwi, coffee, papaya  Combined DEMOCRATIC ideal with local traditions, but it often was not inclusive for natives (only white and European)

Positive effects of imperialism for area imperialized  Improved HEALTH CARE standards  Built hospitals, roads, ports, railroads, schools, etc. but were these being built because of natives or for Europeans that were living there? They needed railroads for mother country to move goods, hospitals to care for European that lived there, etc. So not really being done to benefit the colony, but to help the mother countries economy.  Specialized markets created such as cotton, tea, rubber but profit dominated by Europeans.

Negative effects of colonialism  Racism: white European culture was superior  Identity altered: Borders, labor structure, language, social and political structure all changed by the Europeans to fit their own model.  Exploitation: of land, natural resources and labor to benefit the mother country. Many natives died  Religious conversion: destroyed local traditions

Negative effects of colonialism (cont)  Destruction of Traditional Cultures: Cultures of Asia, Central Asia, Africa, South America all seen as inferior and wrong so must be altered.  Colonial Economy Dependent on mother country. Economies had been set up to benefit the mother country. Native industries were not developed and labor was not trained in management. Still exists today.

The Effect of Imperialism on Asia  Europeans became interested in 1500 because of the riches of Asia  By the 1800 ’ s most of Asia had fallen under the control of Portugal, Spain, Great Britain, and the Netherlands  In 1855, the U.S. convinced Japan to open its ports to ships from the U.S.  Eventually Russia, France, and Japan joined the race for raw materials, markets, and wealth

The Effect of Imperialism on Asia

 First time Eastern culture met Western culture  Eventually Asians became dissatisfied. Imperialist nations had made huge profits while the majority of Asians suffered in poverty.  Asians wanted to regain control of their homelands.  A spirit of nationalism swept the continent.

The Effect of Imperialism on Africa  In the 1400 ’ s Europeans discovered that slaves could be bought along the African coast from tribal rulers who had taken prisoners of war Rulers would sell their prisoners in return for cloth, guns, and iron , 10 million slaves were shipped to North America and South America where they were sold to owners of sugar and cotton plantations  By the 1800 ’ s many Europeans took a dim view of the marketing of human beings

The Effect of Imperialism on Africa  In the early 1800 ’ s a half dozen countries became involved in a spirited land rush that saw nearly all of Africa fall into European hands

The Effect of Imperialism on Africa

How did the Industrial Revolution lead to Imperialism?  Natural Resources Needed materials to keep their factories running (coal, iron ore, gold, silver, tin, and copper)  Markets Nations needed places to sell their manufactured goods  Benefit to mother country Nation let its colonies buy only those goods manufactured in the mother country- the nation that controls a colony

Connection to Themes  How did Nationalism help Imperialism? Some countries thought that an empire (colonies) would make them look more important.  How did Militarism help Imperialism? Mother countries could use their colonies as military bases. Road to WWI…all of this nationalism, race for empire, militarism and overall competition will feed into one of the world’s worst conflicts from