New Imperialism 1800-1914
- Imperialism: domination by one country over the political, economic, or cultural system of another country
- Wasn't new in the 1800s- Europeans countries had been doing this since 1492
- What was new was the extent they began dominating the world, especially in Africa and Asia
- Industrial Revolution was the trigger- European countries were rich and had military technology that helped them control the rest of the world
- Economic Motivations
- Western countries needed raw goods or natural resources to keep industrialization going
- They needed rubber, petroleum, manganese for steel and palm oil for machinery
- Colonies = new markets and consumers to buy
- Political Motivations
- Need for naval bases around the world islands used to refuel coal for steam-powered ships
- Nationalism- source of prestige and competition with other European countries
- Social/Humanitarian Motivations
- Europeans' duty to civilize other people
- Social Darwinism: idea that wealthy people are superior to others
- Racist argument:Europeans take over the world because they were superior race
- Uses Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution to support racism
- Religious Motivations
- Attempt to spread Christianity combined with advantages of Western civilization
- David Livingstone- Scottish missionary/explorer who gathered evidence against the slave trade
- Weakness of Non-Western States
- Ottoman Empire plagues by Nationalist revolts
- Mughal Empire- India - Fragmented between groups like the Ottomans
- Qing Dynasty - China - Over population, addiction to opium, corruption, extravagant imperial court
- General Western Advantages
- Strong, well organized governments
- Strong, stable economies
- Powerful militaries
- Western Technological Advantages
- Steam ships - could move upstream and weren't dependent on wind currents
- The telegraph helped armies and countries communicate with one another
- Machine guns (Gatling gun, and Maxim gun)
- Western Medical Advances
- Malaria- parasites infect your red blood cells, carried by mosquitoes. Kept Europeans from Africa for a long time
- Quinine- malaria treatment, kept Europeans alive allowed them to be in Africa
- Resisting Imperialism
- The native peoples were strong and ought against Western expansion
- They were mostly unsuccessful because of the superior technology the foreigners had
- Anti-Imperialists
- People in Europe and US who opposed imperialism known as anti-imperialists
- Argued it was hypocritical to support democracy at home, but suppress people abroad
- Direct Rule
- Countries (especially France) sent officials and soldiers to rule the colonies directly
- Indirect Rule
- British used local rulers to govern their colonies
- These officials were trained in Europe
- Supposed to follow he advice of the European leaders
- Less expensive and less rebellions; didn't require a big military
- Sphere of Influence
- Exclusive privileges (trade or economic) withing a certain area
- Europeans began to carve up China