The New Imperialism

Sections 1 & 2

1. Building Overseas Empires

Ch. 9—The New Imperialism

1. Building Overseas Empires

Many western countries built overseas empires in the late 1800s. This expansion, referred to as imperialism, is the domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region. In the 1800s, Europeans embarked on a path of aggressive expansion called the “new imperialism.” There were several causes. The Industrial Revolution was one. Manufacturers wanted access to natural resources, as well as markets for their goods. Colonies also were an outlet for Europe’s growing population. Leaders claimed that colonies were needed for national security. Industrial nations seized overseas islands and harbors as bases to supply their ships.

1. Building Overseas Empires

Nationalism played an important role, too. When one European country claimed an area, rival nations would move in and claim nearby areas. Europeans felt that ruling a global empire increased a nation’s prestige. Missionaries, doctors, and colonial officials believed that they had a duty to spread Western civilization. Behind the idea of the West’s civilizing mission was a growing sense of racial superiority. Many Westerners used Social Darwinism to justify their domination of non-Western societies. As a result, millions of non-Westerners were robbed of their cultural heritage.

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1. Building Overseas Empires

Europeans had the advantages of strong economies, well- organized governments, and powerful armies and navies. Superior technology, such as riverboats, the telegraph, and the Maxim machine gun enhanced European power. Africans and Asians tried to resist Western expansion. Some people fought the invaders. Others tried to strengthen their societies by reforming their traditions. Many organized nationalist movements to expel the imperialists.

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1. Building Overseas Empires

The leading imperial powers developed several systems to control colonies. The French practiced direct rule. They sent officials and soldiers from France to run the colony. Their goal was to impose French culture on the natives. The British, by contrast, relied on indirect rule. To govern their colonies, they used local rulers. In a protectorate, local rulers were left in place but were expected to follow the advice of European advisors on issues such as trade or missionary activity. In a sphere of influence, an outside power claimed exclusive investment or trading privileges, but did not rule the area.

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1. Building Overseas Empires

IMPERIALISM

Imperialism

• The domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region.

Imperialism

• European imperialism starts up again (but did not begin) in the 1800s
• Europe in the 1800s—
• Already won states in the Americas sometime after 1492, set up colonies in South Asia, and gained toeholds in Africa and China.

Imperialism

Although they had gained all of these territories, the European Imperialist countries began to gain considerable power in the 1800s, which fueled their desire to expand.

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1. Building Overseas Empires

Protectorate

protectorate

A system of indirect rule.

In order to govern their colonies, the British relied on this system. They used sultans, chiefs, or other local rulers. Local rulers were left in place but were expected to follow the advice of European advisors on issues such as trade or missionary activity.

protectorate

• Cheaper than colonization
• Requires less military forces

protectorate

Hawaii became a protectorate of the United States and strong pressure was put on Hawaii to make trade exclusively with the U.S.

1. Building Overseas Empires

sphere of influence

sphere of influence

• An area in which an outside power claimed exclusive investment or trading privileges.
• Another form of imperialism—the sphere of influence, like a protectorate, was one form of Western control.
• Europeans carved out most of these spheres in China to prevent conflicts among themselves.

sphere of influence

2. The Partition of Africa

Ch. 9—The New Imperialism

2. The Partition of Africa

Before the scramble for colonies began in the 1800s, North Africa was under the rule of the declining Ottoman empire. West Africa experienced an Islamic revival inspired by Usman dan Fodio. In East Africa, port cities carried on a profitable trade. Zulus were a major force in southern Africa. A brilliant Zulu leader, Shaka, conquered nearby peoples. Groups driven from their homelands by the Zulus migrated north, conquering other peoples and creating powerful states.

2. The Partition of Africa

For many years, Europeans had been trading along the African coasts. In the 1800s, contact increased as European explorers began pushing into the interior of Africa. One of the best-known was the missionary explorer Dr. David Livingstone. In 1869, the journalist Henry Stanley trekked into Africa to find Livingstone, who had not been heard from for years. Other missionaries followed explorers such as Livingstone. They built schools, churches, and medical clinics, often taking a paternalistic view of Africans.

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2. The Partition of Africa

About 1871, King Leopold II of Belgium hired Stanley to arrange trade treaties with African leaders. Leopold’s action prompted Britain, France, and Germany to join in a scramble for African land. Eventually, without consulting any Africans, European leaders met in Berlin to divide the continent of Africa among themselves. In the following years, Europeans expanded further into Africa, often exploiting African people and resources. In southern Africa, the Boer War began when Britain wanted to claim Boer land. The Boers were descendants of Dutch farmers. The British wanted the land because gold and diamonds had been discovered there.

2. The Partition of Africa

Africans fought back against European imperialism. In West Africa, Samori Touré fought French forces. Yaa Asantewaa was an Asante queen who led the fight against the British in West Africa. Another female leader was Nehanda of the Shona in Zimbabwe. In most cases resistance was not successful. However, Ethiopia was able to keep its independence. Earlier, Ethiopia had been divided up among a number of rival princes who then ruled their own domains. Menelik II modernized his country and trained an army, successfully resisting Italian invaders.

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2. The Partition of Africa

The Age of Imperialism caused a Western-educated African elite to emerge. Some admired Western ways. Others sought independence through nationalist movements.

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2. The Partition of Africa

Usman dan Fodio

Usman dan FOdio

• A scholar and preacher who denounced the corruption of the local Hausa rulers and who called for social and religious reforms based on the sharia, or Islamic law.
• Usman inspired Fulani herders and Hausa townspeople to rise up against their European rulers.
• Usman and his successors set up an Islamic state in Northern Nigeria.
• Under their rule, literacy increased, local wars decreased, and trade improved.

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2. The Partition of Africa

Shaka

SHaka

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• A ruthless and brilliant Zulu leader who, between 1818 and 1828, engaged in war and conquered many nearby people.
• He absorbed their men and women into Zulu regiments, which were military units.

SHaka

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• Shaka’s conquests set off migrations and wars creating chaos across much of the region.
• He is considered the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom

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SHaka

2. The Partition of Africa

paternalistic

paternalistic

• To see as children in need of guidance. Missionaries, like most Westerners, took a paternalistic view of Africans.
• Missionaries believed that African cultures and religions were “degraded.”
• They also tried and urged Africans to reject their own traditions and favor Western civilization.
• PA=Father

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2. The Partition of Africa

Dr. David Livingstone

Dr. David Livingstone

The best-known Christian explorer and missionary of his time during the age of Imperialism.

For 30 years, Dr. Livingstone traveled around Africa and wrote about the many people he met. His writing portrayed he had more sympathy for natives than most Europeans. He opposed the slave trade and believed that the only way to stop it was to bring Christianity and trade to Africa.

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2. The Partition of Africa

Henry Stanley

Henry Stanley

• A journalist who is best known for finding Dr. Livingstone in Central Africa.
• In 1869, Stanley took a trip to Central Africa to try and track down Dr. Livingstone who had not been heard from in years.
• Stanley was successful in 1871 when we found Livingstone in what is today Tanzania.
• Stanley greeted him with the now-legendary phrase, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

2. The Partition of Africa

King Leopold II

King Leopold II

King of Belgium, who hired Stanley to explore the Congo River and arrange trade treaties with African leaders.

Leopold publicly spoke of his civilizing mission “that for millions of men still plunged in barbarism will be the dawn of a better era”, but privately he dreamed of conquest and profit.

Leopold’s activities in the Congo River set a trigger which led Britain, France, and Germany to press rival claims to the region.

2. The Partition of Africa

Boer War

Boer War

A war that took place between the Boers, who were the descendants of Dutch settlers living in South Africa, and Great Britain.

In 1815, Britain clashed with the Boers. The British had acquired Cape Colony, so many Boers fled from the British, migrated north, and set up their own republics.

In the late 1800s, the discovery of gold and diamonds, found in the Boer area, led to conflict with Britain—leading into the Boer War.

The Boer War lasted from 1899 to 1902, involved guerilla fighting, and ended with a British victory.

2. The Partition of Africa

Samori Toure

Samori Toure

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A man who fought French forces in West Africa, where he was building his own empire during a time where the Algerians were battling the French for years.

This area is now known as Guinea

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Samori Toure

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Once part of a series of West African Empires (Ghana, Mali, and Songhai), Guinea was wrested from Muslim rule by a French military incursion in the mid-1800s and declared a French Protectorate in 1849.

Local opposition, led by Samori Touré, at the end of the 19th century, failed to remove French control, and it was not until 1958 that the country achieved independence.

2. The Partition of Africa

Yaa Asantewaa

Yaa Asantewaa

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• An Asante queen who led the Asante war against the British.
• When the Asante king was exiled, the Asantes put themselves under the control of their queen, Yaa Asantewaa.

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Yaa Asantewaa

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Asante people are found in Ghana

2. The Partition of Africa

Nehanda

Nehanda

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• A woman of the Shona in Zimbabwe who was a clever tactician but who was captured and eventually executed.
• Nehanda’s achievements inspired later generations to fight for their freedom.

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2. The Partition of Africa

Menelik II

Menelik II

• A reforming Ethiopian leader who decided to modernize his people in order to resist European imperialism.
• There was a Christian kingdom inside of east Africa known as Ethiopia, which managed to resist Europe’s colonization and maintain independence.
• Inside of Ethiopia there were many rival princes who ruled their own domains, but in the late 1800s, Menelik II decided to modernize his colony.
• He hired European experts to help him set up modern bridges and roads, as well as set up a Western school system.

Menelik II

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• He also imported modern weapons, from Europe, and hired European officers that helped him train his army.
• In 1869, at the battle of Adowa, Ethiopians defeated Italian invaders and was the only African nation to maintain independence.

2. The Partition of Africa

elite

elite

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• An upper class; during the Imperial age, Western-educated African elite emerged. Some middle-class Africans admired the Western way and rejected their culture, while others valued African traditions and condemned Western ways. They argued that the Western ways only gave liberty and equality to the whites.

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elite