Overview of New Imperialism in Africa, India, South and SE Asia

1. Imperialism
The strong get stronger

3.  Imperialism = takeover of a country or territory by a
stronger nation with the intent of dominating the political,
economic, and social life of that nation.
 Types:
 Colonial – occupied and ruled by foreign nation. Nation sets up
government and controls economy.
 Political – dominant country uses diplomacy or military force to
influence internal affairs of weaker country. Break down
governments to establish more “modern governments”
 Economic – control global trade and commerce. Spheres of
influence created – don’t want to entirely control, but influence
trade. Ex) China occupation by US
 Social-cultural – desire to influence a territory to adopt cultural
values and customs of imperialist country. Ex) Schools set up and
students forced to speak English

4. Forms of
Imperialism
Spheres of
Influence
ProtectoratesColonies
Dutch in S.
Africa
Euro. nations
in China
Euro. Nations
in Africa
U.S. In Latin
Amer.
Gr. Brit. In
India

5. 1. colony – territory that an imperial power ruled directly
through colonial officials
2. protectorate – territory with its own government, but its
policies were guided by a foreign power
3. sphere of influence – region of a country where an imperial
power had exclusive trading rights

8. U.S. Protectorates

9. 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

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

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

12. 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”

13. “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.

14. 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

15. What was the “White Man’s Burden?”

16. In Africa

17. 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.

18. 1. colonized by most major European countries
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
b. Muhammad Ali – Ottoman leader of Egypt
i. one of the first kingdoms to come under European control
4. Britain controlled most of east and south Africa
a. gained control of southern African cape colony (Congress of
Vienna)

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

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

25. Belgian Congo Rubber & Ivory collection

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

28. The Afrikan/Boer Wars
1880-1900
Paving the way for
Apartheid

29. I. Dutch (Boers = farmers) forced inland from Cape Colony
by British
a. “Great Trek” = to interior on native land causing
clashes with Zulu tribe
b. Enslaved Zulu tribe
c. create Dutch republics known as the Orange Free States
II. Diamonds and gold were discovered in South African states controlled by Dutch
a. Great Britain begins moving inland to mine gold and diamonds
b. Boer War (1899 and 1902) – was a war between the Dutch
(Boer’s) and Britain in South Africa
1. British win Boer Wars – Takes over Dutch lands
- Afrikaners = name for European settlers who came to
dominate S.A government
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

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

32. •Apartheid “apartness”
becomes official policy
• Exclude blacks from
voting
•Schools, hospitals,
neighborhoods, workplaces
segregated
•Nelson Mandela
(imprisoned anti-Apartheid
leader) and world opinion,
abolish system in early
1990s; held free elections!
Apartheid “Apartness” becomes official policy

36. 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.
a. Sepoys – Indian troops hired to serve in army
3. By 1818 Britain controlled vast areas of subcontinent
a. established British raj (reign) = although allowed Indians in
high ranking positions
4. Sepoy Rebellion (1857) – Sepoy (Hindu) joined forces with Mughal
(Muslim) soldiers against British rule
a. Britain wins and maintains complete control – 1858-1947

39. 5. Economic Imperialism transforms India:
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
g. Western-style schools
6. Indian Nationalism
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
c. INC & Mahatma Gandhi lead independence movement in
1940s

43. 1. Britain:
a. Australia (1770) – Captain James Cooke
i. New South Wales – convicted criminals
b. Fiji
2. France
a. Tahiti
3. United States
a. Hawaii (1898) – was originally visited by
Cooke

46. British Imperialism in Australia

47. 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?

48. 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?

49. 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?