The New Imperialism

1. The New Imperialism 10.4.1: Describe the rise of industrial economies and their link to imperialism and colonialism (e.g., the role played by national security and strategic advantage; moral issues raised by the search for national hegemony, Social Darwinism, and the missionary impulse; material issues such as land, resources, and technology.

2. What was it? • According to historian John Lowe, imperialism involved “the assertion of European political influence or control over other territories, especially in Africa and Asia, involving some measure economic exploitation.”

3. Who were the important imperial powers? • Great Britain was the strongest naval power and had troops in six continents • France also had troops scattered around the globe, but had much less territory than Britain. • Others: the United States (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Philipines Hawaii, and Panama); Russia (central Asia); Germany and Italy (minor holdings in Africa); Portugal (small holdings Africa and Asia); Japan (involved in China, North Korea, and Pacific Islands); Netherlands (small holdings in South America and Asia)

8. When did it happen? • In the late 1800s especially the last quarter of that century • Some argue that different forms of imperialism continue today

9. Why did it happen? • “The very diversity of the empires of the great powers in itself suggests that a multi-causal explanation of imperialism is more appropriate than a reliance on simple universal economic forces.”

10. Why did it happen? • Economic Forces • “New Imperialism” started after the industrial revolution and was both promoted and aided by its development. • The need for raw materials that were not available domestically • The need for new markets to sell industrial products • The industrial revolution also played a major role in the era of “new imperialism” by providing what one historian has called the “tools of empire”: steam boats, quinine (a remedy for malaria); the Gatling and the maxim gun (machine guns); breechloader rifles; telegraph cable.

11. Why did it happen? • Social-Darwinism • Based Charles Darwin’s ideas about evolution presented in his book On the Origin of Species (1859) • Provided the rational of “survival of the fittest” and “might makes right” • “The simplistic concept of ‘survival of the fittest’ could be used to justify the right of ‘superior races’ to lord it over indigenous societies in Africa and Asia. Similarly, the application of pseudo-Darwinist ideas to relations between nations called for policies which served the ‘struggle for existence.’”

13. Why did it happen? • “White Man’s Burden” • This title from a Rudyard Kipling poem refers to the duty of “white men” to spread civilization to “new-caught sullen peoples, half-devil, and half-child.”

14. Why did it happen? • “Irrational Nationalism” • “By relating imperial expansion to great power rivalries, historians… have emphasized the role of prestige in an era when colonial empires came to be regarded as status symbols….”

15. Why did it happen? • Strategic and National Interests • Concern of governments for secure trading routes like those through the Suez Canal and around the Cape of Good Hope • Concerns over naval power, sea lanes, and ports • Alfred Thayer Mahan’s The Influence of Seapower Upon History (1890) argued “that the greatness of empires rest on the potency of their seapower. • Trading posts and Free Trade • “Open Door Policy” in China

16. Why did it happen? • Missionaries • Only six major missionary societies operated in Africa by 1800, mostly in coastal regions. • By 1880, there were thirty-seven, many of which had penetrated deep into the continent. • They came to fight against slavery and to “save souls.” • “Besides preaching the gospel, converting people to Christianity, and translating the Bible into various African languages, these missionary societies promoted agriculture; taught such skills as carpentry, printing, and tailoring; and promoted trade, literacy, and Western education.”

17. Why did it happen? • Missionaries • Helped lay the groundwork for later imperialism by mapping inner portions of the continent, establishing connections, and promoting more contact. • David Livingstone • Explored southern Africa • First European to traverse the continent. • After Livingstone fell ill with Malaria, he lost contact with the outside world fore several year, and Henry Morton Stanley, and explorer and newspaper writer, was sent to find him.

18. Why did it happen? • Missionaries • “The greatest social impact on the missionary revolution by 1880… was the further stratification of African societies into a relatively small Christian educated elite….”

19. Why did it happen? • Adventure • For many people who enlisted in armies, imperialism was about adventure and proving one’s masculinity.

20. Why does it matter? • The extraction of material wealth from Africa following the previous extraction of human beings may help to explain the current struggles in Africa. • Imperial rivalries created tensions between European powers and may explain the beginning of the First World War. • Anti-imperialist movements led to military struggles for liberation in the twentieth century (Vietnam and India for example). • Destabilization continental populations