Overview of European Imperialism

1. Identify and describe some of the
connections between
Industrialization and “New
Imperialism”.

2. Type of
Imperialism
Examples Features Outcomes
Colonial
Imperialism
(Non-settler)
- British West Africa
- Belgian Congo
- British India
- French SE Asia
- Dutch Indonesia
- European military & administrators
- Western ed. & pol. structure gradually
replace the local culture
- Often defended by claims of helping the
indigenous pop.
- “White Man’s Burden”
- Exploitation of indigenous labor
- Monoculture/cash crops hurts natives
- Creation of non-native elite
- Introduction to Western tech., and education
- Imperialist countries ruled by corporations or states modeled by
western policy
Colonial
Imperialism
(Settler colonies)
- British South Africa,
Australia, & New
Zealand
- French Algeria
- North America (U.S. &
Canada)
- Focus on control & use of land
- Settlers remove or dominate the
indigenous pop.
- Often follows contact with sparsely pop.
lands
- Loss/impoverishment of indigenous culture
- Forced conversion to Western business, pol. & rel. ideas
- Creation of non-native elite & mixed native & non-native middle
class
- Often, formation of new “Western” nations
- “White Dominions” (Maj. Euro.) i.e. Brit. NA, Australia
Economic
Imperialism
(Spheres of
Influence)
- British in China
- French in China
- Europeans in Africa
“Scramble for Africa”
- People, & raw & refined materials are
main resources exploited
- Cash crops and mineral resources are
taken out on a large scale
- Exclusive trade rights over other
countries.
- Social/political destabilization based on econ. exploitation
- Opium Wars in China
- Monoculture/cash crops hurts natives
Protectorate - U.S. & Cuba
- U.S. & Panama
- U.S. & Philippines
- Country has own gov’t but…
- “Protecting” country guarantees and
protects safety of the other.
- Protecting country controls foreign
affairs
- favored trade status of protecting country
- “Protection” usually expands to greater level of involvement into
internal affairs i.e. pol. & econ.
Comparing Types of Imperialism
Analysis:
1. Which type of imperialism seems the most complete? Briefly explain.
2. Identify a similar outcome between the non-settler colonies & the spheres of influence. Also, why do you think there isn’t the same outcome in settler
colonies?
3. What do you think is the motivation/s (generally) for the U.S. having protectorate status over the above-listed countries? Panama more specifically?

3. Imperialism
The strong get stronger

4. Great Britain: World’s Greatest Imperial Power
“The sun never sets on the British Empire”

7. U.S. Protectorates

8. 1. political rivalries
2. new markets
a. rubber, copper and gold from Africa
b. tin from Southeast Asia
c. colonies bought products from their “parent companies”
3. new opportunities
a. have lands in other parts of the world for influence
b. individuals looking to get rich
4. “civilizing” missions – trying to convert native populations

9. Earlier period:
Less penetration of interior in
Africa & Asia
Less direct influence on
people’s lives

10. Conquests
inland because –
military, med.,
& indust. (RR)
tech. made it
possible

11. Additional Causes
1. Charles Darwin (1859) - Origin of Species
a. Idea of evolution and “Survival of the fittest”
b. Led to concept of “Social Darwinism”

12. “The White Man’s Burden”: Kipling’s Hymn to U.S. Imperialism
In February 1899, British novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling wrote a
poem entitled “The White Man’s Burden: The United States and The
Philippine Islands.” In this poem, Kipling urged the U.S. to take up the
“burden” of empire, as had Britain and other European nations.
Published in the February, 1899 issue of McClure’s Magazine, the poem
coincided with the beginning of the Philippine-American War and U.S.
Senate ratification of the treaty that placed Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba,
and the Philippines under American control. Theodore Roosevelt, soon to
become vice-president and then president, copied the poem and sent it to
his friend, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, commenting that it was “rather
poor poetry, but good sense from the expansion point of view.” Not
everyone was as favorably impressed as Roosevelt. The racialized notion
of the “White Man’s burden” became a euphemism for imperialism, and
many anti-imperialists couched their opposition in reaction to the phrase.

13. Take up the White Man’s burden—
Send forth the best ye breed—
Go send your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need
To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered folk and wild—
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child
Take up the White Man’s burden
White Man’s Burden - excerpt
What was the “White Man’s Burden?”

14. In Africa

15. Main Idea: Ignoring claims of African ethnic groups,
kingdoms, and city-states Europeans established
colonial claims.
Why: Industrialization fueled European nations to
search for more resources to power their
industries. They wanted new goods and looked to
Africa and Asia for new raw materials.
Now: African nations continue to feel the effects of
colonial rule.

17. Belgium needs to
catch up to other
European nations.
Created a slave based
plantation economy;
rubber production
Ivory collection also
Human rights
atrocities

18. Impacts:
 Depopulation
Overworked
Killed – 10 mill.
Starved; lack of ag.
production
Migration – fleeing
Congo

19. Belgian Congo Rubber & Ivory collection

20. Women held captive
until men return with
rubber quota.
Punishment for not
meeting quotas

22. 1. Influenced by Belgium, Major European countries
colonized Africa
2. Berlin Conference (1884-85) = instead of fighting between
European nations the all met to set down ground rules:
a. any European could claim land in Africa if they told the
other nations and would show they controlled the area
(“Scramble for Africa”)
3. France controlled much of northwest Africa (Algeria)
a. built the Suez Canal (Egypt), Britain came to control it –
provided a more direct route from Europe to Asia; cut out
about 4000 miles and two weeks of travel
4. Britain controlled most of east and south Africa

27. The Boer Wars: 1880-1900
European conflict overseas
Paving the way for Apartheid
(legal segregation/discrimination
in South Africa)

28. I. The Great Trek
a. Dutch Boers (farmers) forced inland from Cape Colony
by British
b. **Caused conflict with natives**: Zulu tribe
c. Shaka Zulu & his Zulu tribe waged unsuccessful wars against
Dutch
II. Diamonds and gold discovered in South African states controlled
by Dutch
a. Great Britain begins moving inland to mine gold and
diamonds
b. Boer Wars (1899 and 1902) – 2 wars between the
Dutch (Boers) and Britain in South Africa
1. British win Boer Wars – Take over Dutch lands
2. Cecil Rhoades (Britain Imperialist) – creates
company that dominates world diamond market and
establishes additional Brit. colony – Rhodesia
3. Brit. Granted region independence = Union of South
Africa in 1910

29. Cecil Rhodes
British Imperialist
What does this
cartoon tell us
about the
British attitude
toward Africa?

33. 1. British East India Company (BEIC) took advantage of Mughal
Empire decline and clamed India as a British colony
a. took control with help from..
nawabs = muslim princes who made agreements with
British, Dutch and French
2. British set up outposts run by “company men”- British officials
a. British soldiers enforced rule in those regions
a. Sepoys – Indian (Hindu & Muslim) troops hired to serve in
army
3. By 1818 Britain controlled vast areas of subcontinent

34. 4. Sepoy Rebellion (1857) – Sepoys (Hindu & Muslim)
angered (religiously) by cow + pig fat used on
cartridges; rebel against British rule.
a. Britain puts down rebellion and takes complete
control/colonizes India
b. Last Mughal emperor is removed
c. Established British Raj (reign) 1858-1947=
although allowed Indians in high ranking positions

39. 5. Imperialism transforms India: Western tech & ideas
a. railroad systems
b. steamboats
c. growth of industrialized cities
d. Exports = cotton, opium, tea, sugar and silk
e. Sati – attempts to ban by British raj
f. Western-style schools
** Indian textile industry drops due to British textile industry
6. Indian Nationalism – Rise of Indian National Congress
a. Enlightenment ideas and revolutions inspire Indians to
preserve their culture
b. 1885 – Indian National Congress created to pursue more
civil service jobs for Indians; improved rights for women
c. INC & Mahatma Gandhi lead independence movement in
1940s

43. British Imperialism in Australia

44. What is a “Settler Colony”?
A “Settler Colony” is a specific colonial formation whereby foreign family units
move into a region and reproduce. Land is thus the key resource in settler
colonies, whereas natural (i.e. spices, cotton, oil) and human (i.e. labor,
existing trade networks, convertible souls) resources are the main motivation
behind other forms of colonialism. Colonialism typically ends, whereas “Settler
colonialism” usually remains and transforms into eventual statehood dominated
by the colonizers.
Examples of Settler Colonies:
Australia
Canada
America
South Africa
More Specifically – “White Dominions”= Decedents of European settlers made
up most of the population in the colonies and controlled the minority native
population decimated by diseases, wars of conquest and immigration policies.
Australia
Canada
Why do you think “Settler Colonies” or “White Dominions” enjoyed a higher
level of social, political and economic stability?

45. Demographic Impact of British
Settlement in Australia
A. Similar to North America
1. Natives (aborigines) forced inland away
from productive lands
2. European disease has negative impact
3. Low level of integration
4. Native population reduced greatly over
time
How do you think Social Darwinism
impacted the treatment of the
aborigines?

46. B. The “White Australia Policy”
1. Immigration Restriction Act – 1901
- Only Europeans (mainly northern) could
immigrate to Australia
- Created a “White Dominion”
- Final portions of act removed in 1973
Why do you think Australia would
implement a “White Australia Policy”, AND
why were they able to easily do so?