Document Sample
ch9 Powered By Docstoc
					Imperialism, Colonialism, and
 Resistance in the Nineteenth
Imperialism In The Nineteenth Century
Change and Continuity: Causes of Imperialism

The Legacy of Imperialism

Indentured Labour

Colonial Nationalist Movement
Imperialism In The Nineteenth Century

   A significant shift occurred in the second
    half of the nineteenth century.

   After 1870 and even more dramatically
    after 1885, there was a remarkable
    increase in the European acquisition of
    colonial territories in the South Pacific,
    Asia, and Africa
   In 1870, about 10% of Africa had been
    colonized, whereas by 1895 approximately
    90% had come under European colonial
Before European colonization of Africa in 1880
New Imperialism

   After 1870 European powers began
    to rely more on colonization of formal
    empire, than on informal economic
    ties. This period is called “new
What conclusion can you make from looking at the political cartoon?
    New Imperialism in Asia and the Indies
   From 1870 to 1914, major European powers joined the
    race to acquire colonies and exert their influences over
    indigenous people.
   China was not formally occupied by a European power
    but essentially lost control of trade within its own
    borders as a result of the Opium Wars
   The British, French, Germans, Russians, and
    Americans controlled the majority of the trade in
   In 1868, Japan initiated its own program of industrial
    development and political reform.
   Japan managed to preserve its autonomy, but also by
    1892, had become an imperial power of its own.
Map of Imperialism in Asia
         New Imperialism in Africa

   Within twenty years, from 1880 to 1900,
    every corner of the Earth, from the highest
    mountains in the Himalayas to the most
    remote Pacific island and Antarctica, came to
    be claimed by one or other European power.
   Africa saw the most dramatic colonisation. It
    was divided up as if it had been a cake split
    between greedy European leaders. This was
    called the "Scramble for Africa".
   The key political event in the race for
    colonization in Africa was the Berlin Conference
    of 1884-1885.
   Bismarck called together representatives of 15
    nations to deal with rival colonial claims in Africa.
   Ignoring the rights of existing African kingdoms
    and peoples altogether, European powers
    claimed the right to acquire inland territories by
    expansion from existing coastal possessions.
   To avoid dominance by a single state or war
    between rival colonial powers, the Conference
    agreed that possession involved more than a
    “paper partition” based on claims made over a
    map; they agreed that possession should
    involved effective occupation of the land and
    control over the people.
A Map of Africa (1914), showing the extent of colonization
              Boer War of 1899-1902
   The discovery of diamond
    and gold deposited in South
    Africa made the region
    important strategically and
    economically and the
    ongoing conflict between
    the British and the Boers
    led to the Boer War of
   Boers are the descendants
    of the Dutch settlers in
    South Africa.
Boer piquet near Spion Kop, Jan 1900
British dead after the Battle of Spion Kop, 1900
         Change and Continuity: Causes of
   Unequal Power Relations
       The level of success of a dominant power has
        largely been attributes to its level of technological
       Those with more advanced military technology
        and methods of production have tended to
       The “new imperialism” of the late nineteenth
        century was another example of the
        consequences of unequal power.
   Nationalism and Geopolitics
       According to Eurocentric view, the primary motive
        for colonization was political.
       Governments encouraged by the emerging sense
        of nationalism and the chauvinism of a mass
        electorate, enhanced their power and prestige by
        possessing colonies
       Colonies are provided them with “bargaining
        chips” at the tables of international conferences.
       Do you agree that it is primary motivated by
        politics? Why or Why not?
   Colonies often also carried geopolitical
   It was important because they were placed on
    the map.
   For example: Britain established control in
    Egypt in order to preserve control of the Suez
    Canal, which was vital to maintaining a quick
    trade route to India
   It was not a matter of politics alone
     Proponents of empire claimed that the

       superiority of industrial civilization gave
       Europeans the right to take over
     Do they have that right?
   Others argued that the primary motive for
    empire was economic
     Hobson and Lenin argue that colonies were
      acquired as fields for investment, as the
      urging of capitalists with surplus wealth.
     These investors, some of whom owned
      popular newspapers and had an influence on
      politicians, promoted imperialism to get the
      state to acquire territories and protect their
      overseas investments.
     Lenin predicted that competition for colonies
      would eventually lead to war and revolution.
Common advertisement during Imperialism   Here, a group of
                                          upper-class British
                                          hunters has taken a
                                          break from shooting
                                          tigers in India.
                                          Notice the mingling
                                          of British and Indian
                                          traditions. The
                                          hunters have
                                          traveled with their
                                          Indian servants on
                                          howdahs and
                                          elephants. Yet they
                                          have stopped for
                                          tea (a very British
                                          tradition) and are
                                          eating Huntley &
                                          Palmers Biscuits, a
                                          very British
            The Legacy of Imperialism

   The Economic Legacy
       The shift from commercial capitalism to industrial
        capitalism created greater differences in wealth,
        and it transformed relations between the
        colonizers and the colonized.
       Under industrial capitalism and its doctrine of
        laissez faire, the restraints of the colonial empires
        came under attack, and the new idea of free trade
        became the orthodox economic doctrine.
The Legacy of Imperialism

    Under imposed conditions of free trade, Indian
     handloom weavers could not compete in price
     with British manufactures of cotton cloth, so India
     became an importer of cotton textile and an
     exporter of raw cotton
    Under free trade, a form of nominally predominant
     and colonies in Asia, Africa, and the Americas
     become dependent sources of raw materials as
     well as markets for manufactured goods
A British Merchant's Home in Colonial India
   Prior to the development of the dependent
    relationship of imperialism, most of the
    people in the non-Western world were
    involved in subsistence agriculture – farming
    primarily for themselves.
   Imperialist powers succeeded in forcing
    Native peoples to change to producing
    agriculture for export.
Today, the term is also referred to as “cash crops”. The agricultural
products are grown primarily for exporting purposes. Products such as
banana, pineapple, coffee or sugar canes are grown to be exported to
developed countries’ consumption.
   The imperialist powers need their colonies to supply
    raw materials to support the growth of industrial
    European cities.
   The transformation of local production from a
    subsistence economy to an export economy had
    various effects.
   As more and more land was used to grow cash crops
    for export, these territories would become increasingly
    depend on imports of both food and manufactured
   Created a dependency in the colony
   Mass-produced goods from Europe were far cheaper
    and often of a better quality than locally produced
   What happened to the local entrepreneurs?
   Africans found their lives changed against their will but
    also came to endure working and living conditions
    worse than it was prior to Western intervention
   The process of converting Africans into labourers in a
    cash economy was extremely brutal.
   They often had to work far from their home villages,
    and brutal punishment was inflicted upon them for
    failure to meet the required quotas.
   Adolescent boys were punished by mutilation,
    including the cutting off of ears or hands.
   Failure of particular villagers to meet quotas resulted
    in raids on their home villages, where women were
    raped, children and elderly beaten and houses
In the image, African slaves toil on a pepper plantation in the East Indies as a
dealer samples a peppercorn to see if it is smell or taste is strong enough.
   The economic impact of imperialism had had
    a far reaching consequences.
   The global economic relationship established
    during this period have shaped the modern
    world system and some would argue, are the
    foundation of poverty in developing nations in
    the twenty first century.
   Do you are with this last statement? Why or
    why not?
             Indentured Labour
   The most extensively organized system of
    immigrant labour was the trade of indentured
    labourers from India and China
   A contract to work for a specified period of
    time, usually fiver years.
   Most of men that would work to send money
    back home to their families.
   Though it was technically a voluntary contract
    labour system, it was considered by many to
    be a new system of slavery.
   At the end of their lengthy sea voyage, the
    labourers faced conditions that were bad. There
    were inadequate food, no health care with
    extremely demanding physical work.
   When they had a conflict with their employers,
    they faced a legal system and a police force
    ready to enforce their employer’s conditions.
   These labourers would have to earn money to
    buy their return passage
   Consequently, indenture though intended to be
    temporary, often became a permanent migration
    into a new home.
   Many of the indentured labourers would
    compete with others for employment on the
   Chinese immigrants more commonly worked
    in mining and construction than o plantations.
   Fifteen thousand were recruited from Hong
    Kong to complete the Canadian Pacific
Image of three Chinese
immigrants working on the
construction of the railroad.
Unknown numbers died
during construction.

                     Chinese immigrants worked
                     primarily as labourers and lived
                     largely in the states and
                     territories of the American West
    War and Resistance to Colonization
   Colonial nationalist movements developed a
    sense of belonging to a larger international
    movement of colonized peoples seeking
    liberation from colonialism and racial
   Anti-Western protests, sometime called
    primary resistance movements, organized to
    expel foreigners and restore the culture to its
    original state.
        Colonial Nationalist Movement

   The leaders of nationalist movement in the
    colonies tended to be from the Western-
    educated elite.
   The Indian National Congress
       Founded in 1885, INC was one of the earliest
        colonial nationalist political parties.
       The modernization of agriculture and the
        extension of railroads had changed patterns of
        landholding and had converted some areas to the
        production of export crops
   These reforms had also increased the peasant’s
    indebtedness and their vulnerability to famines
    that struck in the 1870s and 1880s.
   Some Indian nationalists charged the British
    connection acted as an economic drain on the
    resources of India
   British officials viewed them as unrepresentative
    trouble makers until more radical voices and
    popular protest began to change the face of
    Indian nationalism.
B.G. Tilak (1856-1920). At his
own life, Tilak championed the
freedom of the press and
demanded independence from
British rule.
By 1905, Indian Congress
committed itself to the goal of
Indian self-government.
            The Russo – Japanese War
   The victory of Japan over Russia in the Russo-Japanese
    War of 1904-1905 was remarkable in two ways
   Not only had a non-Western power defeated a major
    European power in war, but he conflict had been fought
    using the full arsenal of modern military technology.
   The Russian interest were deflected from Asia to Europe
    and added to the buildup of diplomatic tension that lead
    to the Russian Revolution in 1905.
   The most stunning change occurred in China: The
    Revolution of 1911 brought down the Manchu dynasty
    and proclaimed a new republic based on the principles of
    nationalism, socialism and democracy.
“The fate of the empire rests upon
 this one battle, let every man do
           his utmost."

   Admiral Togo addressing the
   Japanese Fleet 27 May 1905
                Important Themes

   Unco-operative colonies
   The remaining section of “The legacy of
   Agents of human rights advancement
   The Legacy of Emancipation
   The struggle for an Independent Latin America
   Colonial Resistance at the Turn of the Century
Put yourself in the time…

   Read Rudyard Kipling’s “White Man’s Burden”…, and
    compare it to Henri Labouchere’s “Brown Man’s Burden”
   Create a Concept Map starting with Consequences of
    Imperialism, then build out Kipling’s view vs
    Labouchere’s view.

Shared By: