THE NEW IMPERIALISM

IMPERIALISM

• Imperialism – the domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region – Aggressive expansion
• Where have we seen Imperialism so far in history?

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IMPERIALISM

• Causes of Imperialism
• Economic Interests
• The more area you own the more money you make
• Political and Military Interests
• Nationalism demanded that nations conquer around the world
• Humanitarian Goals
• Many felt it their duty to spread the ways of Western Civilization
• Social Darwinism
• Many embraced the idea of racial superiority

Rudyard Kipling – Author of “The Jungle Book” and the poem “White Man’s Burden”

IMPERIALISM

• Slave trade decimates Africa
• This causes a mad scramble to colonize Africa
• Many nations participate
• Belgium
• Britain
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Portugal
• Spain

IMPERIALISM

• Egypt Seeks to Modernize
• Muhammad Ali – Governor of Egypt (1805)
• Known as the “Father of Modern Egypt”
• Improved tax collection, reorganized the landholding system, and backed large irrigation projects
• Also brought in western military experts to modernize Egypt’s army
• Dies in 1849
• Successors build the Suez Canal

IMPERIALISM

• Iran
• Run by the Qajar Shahs from 1794 to 1925 - Pahlavi Shahs from 1925 to 1979
• Russia and Britain came into Iran and discovered oil
• Both Russia and Britain convinced Iran to grant them access to the oil
• Russian and Britain send in troops to protect their oil interests
• Iranian nationalists and Muslim religious leaders were outraged
• How does this fit into today’s current events?

IMPERIALISM

• The British take over India
• India was home of many cultures and peoples
• When Britain came in they could not unite to prevent it
• British were in India to make money
• They tried to convert Indians to Christianity
• British also worked to end slavery and improve women’s rights
• British also sought to end the Hindu custom of “sati” – widows were expected to join their husbands in death by throwing themselves on the funeral fire

Ganesha – God in Hinduism

Sati

IMPERIALISM

• British required “sepoys”, or Indian soldiers to serve Britain anywhere in the world
• Also allowed widows to remarry
• Finally the British issued new rifles to the sepoys that required soldiers to bite off the tips of cartridges
• The cartridges were greased with animal fat either from cows (sacred) or pigs (forbidden)
• All three acts were against the Hindu religion

IMPERIALISM

• Sepoy Rebellion (1857)
• Sepoys massacre British men, women and children
• British send in more troops and crush the rebellion
• Took revenge for the uprising by torching villages and killing thousands of unarmed Indians
• British Parliament makes India British owned territory
• The appoint a British viceroy to rule India for the crown

IMPERIALISM

• Amritsar Massacre (1919) – 1,100 Indians gathered into a walled field – Indian meetings were prohibited so the British commander ordered his troops to open fire, killing 379 men, women and children
• Many Indians had to fight for the British in WWI
• India sought self-rule

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IMPERIALISM

• Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)
• Studied law in England
• Joined a law firm in South Africa
• Adopted the weapon of nonviolent protest and resistance
• Also known as civil disobedience or refusal to obey unjust laws
• Embraced Hindu traditions
• Inspired India to protest against British rule
• Gandhi inspired Indians to protest for their freedom from British Colonial Rule

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Mohandas Gandhi

IMPERIALISM IN CHINA

• The Opium War - 1839
• Chinese become addicted to Opium
• Britain was supplying Opium to the Chinese even though it was illegal in England
• Chinese outlaw Opium and execute drug dealers
• British refuse to stop supplying China with Opium
• Chinese ships clash with British ships but are outgunned and defeated
• British force Chinese to sign the Treaty of Nanjing
• British gain Hong Kong in the treaty

IMPERIALISM IN CHINA

• In early 1800’s the Qing dynasty was in decline
• Irrigation systems and canals were poorly maintained which caused massive flooding
• This leads to the Taiping Rebellion
• 20 – 30 million die in this rebellion
• Qing dynasty remains intact, but is severely weakened

IMPERIALISM IN CHINA

• War with Japan
• Sino-Japanese War
• Japan is industrialized; China is not
• China is crushed – Western nations move swiftly to carve out areas of China
• British - Yangzi River Valley
• French – Indochina
• Germany/Russia – Northern China
• US – Stayed away
• Qing Dynasty Falls

JAPAN MODERNIZES

• Japan had a policy of isolation
• Everything they did was internal from 1600 to 1853
• This is also the time of the Shogun and Samurai
• Japan was scared by the fact that Western Powers carved up China
• Japan were worried that they would be next
• In 1853 the United States sailed for Japan
• Led by Matthew Perry, they landed in Tokyo Bay and brought a letter from President Franklin Pierce demanding that they open it’s ports for diplomatic and commercial change

JAPAN MODERNIZES

• Japan realizes that it can not defeat the United States so it gives in
• Japan signs the lopsided Treaty of Kanagawa
• The Samurai revolt and appoint a new emperor
• This is known as the Meiji Restoration
• The Emperor sends his samurai to Western nations to learn the ways of Industrialized nations
• Their goal was to beat the West at their own game
• Their motto was, “A rich country, a strong military”

JAPAN MODERNIZES

• Reforms under the Meiji
• Government
• Japan adopts the German form of government – Democracy with a ruler (emperor) having the final say
• Eliminated the special rights of the Samurai – all men were now able to be warriors in the military
• Economic
• Japan moves to modernize and build industry
• Capitalism
• Japan becomes one of the most powerful nations in the world and forces Western Nations to revise lopsided treaties

JAPAN MODERNIZES

• Japan begins to seek Imperialistic goals
• Japan easily defeats China in the Sino-Japanese war
• Japan eventually defeats the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War
• This marks the first time in history that an Asian power defeated a European nation

JAPAN MODERNIZES

• China, Russia and Japan compete for control of Korea
• Japan wins and ultimately makes Korea sign a lopsided treaty
• Japan ruled Korea from 1910 to 1945
• Japan industrialized Korea
• Japan becomes the strongest nation in the East

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

• Western nations fight over this area
• French seize Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia
• Rename it French Indochina
• Dutch take Indonesia
• British take Burma (modern day Myanmar), the city of Singapore and Malaya
• Siam (Thailand) survived European Imperialism – Provided a buffer zone between French and British Territories

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

• United States makes Samoa sign an unequal treaty
• United States is also interested in the sugar plantations of Hawaii – The United States annex Hawaii
• The United States takes the Philippines under control after the Spanish-American War