New Imperialism of late 1800s

1
New Imperialism of late 1800s
2
As late as 1879, more than 90 percent of Africa
was ruled by Africans. Why then did European
nations embark on the sudden scramble for
Africa?

• Within ten years, most of Africa was invaded and
  divided among European colonial powers.
• Egypt, the wealthiest and most heavily populated
  African nation, fell into heavy debt as a result
  of attempts to win independence from the Ottoman
  Empire.
• That debt allowed Great Britain to assert control
  over the Egyptian government, and especially over
  the Suez Canal.
• In West Africa, the French extended the railroad
  system inland to open trading opportunities for
  French merchants.
• King Leopold of Belgium invested heavily in the
  establishment of trading posts in the Congo.
• Consequently, German chancellor Bismarck convened
  the Berlin Conference of 1884 and 1885, and
  Europeans decided that the former loose trading
  empires in Africa would be replaced by effective
  occupation.
• Effective occupation meant that national military
  forces would be required to establish an
  acknowledged colonial presence.
• There were various economic gains sought by
  different European powers throughout Africa
  resulting in the choppy divisions of the Berlin
  Conference.

3
Briefly describe the nature and manner of
late-nineteenth-century European colonial
administration. How was the cooperation of
indigenous peoples important to colonial
administration?

• Fiscal restraints had an enormous impact on the
  administration of European colonies, which were
  expected to support themselves and earn a profit
  for their home governments if possible.
• Where it existed, local trade was taxed toward
  those ends. In most places, local economies
  underwent drastic restructuring to pay expenses
  and earn profits.
• The amount of control exerted by European home
  governments varied widely.
• For instance, regions with large numbers of
  Europeans, such as Australia and Canada, had more
  autonomy.
• Protectorates retained their traditional
  governments, but Europeans oversaw and advised
  them.
• Administrative methods referred to as direct and
  indirect were employed throughout the empires and
  best demonstrated by the British and French
  models.
• Many local government schemes involved the
  cooperation of local elites.
• In colonies administered by Europeans directly,
  local people trained or educated in Europe were
  also used to assist the government.

4
How was imperialism in Latin America from 1869 to
1914 more economic imperialism?

• As Europe and America industrialized, the Latin
  American economy became increasingly focused on
  exporting raw materials, especially agricultural
  goods.
• Latin American countries were not colonized
  during this periodin part because of the Monroe
  Doctrinebut the nature of their economies left
  them prey to a form of economic imperialism often
  referred to as free-trade imperialism.
• Europe and the United States invested heavily in
  South American railroads, which used U.S. and
  European equipment and expertise. Imported
  equipment ensured that Latin American steel and
  machinery industries had no chance to develop.
• Nations regularly fell into debt as a result of
  those internal improvement schemes and often
  failed to repay their loans.
• European and U.S. banks frequently requested
  their governments assistance to coerce
  repayment.
• The United States sent troops to Latin America to
  ensure repayment of loans.
• It also began a revolution in Colombia in order
  to build the Panama Canal, and intervened
  militarily in Cuba, particularly after the
  Spanish-American War. In addition, the United
  States also acquired Puerto Rico from the Spanish
  government after that war.
• This type of imperialism eventually leads to
  economic dependency.

5
One purpose of the New Imperialism was to extend
the European and U.S. economic spheres into
tropical environments, which supplied products
not available in temperate climates. What was the
nature of this demand and its role in the world
economy?

• The New Imperialism was not simply intended to
  add vast territories to national boundaries.
• Euro-Americans used economics and technology to
  create a new global economy, with peoples in
  newly conquered lands supplying raw materials as
  well as new markets for manufactured goods.
• Copper for electrical wiring, cotton for textile
  mills, rubber for transportation, and especially
  gold and diamonds all brought great new wealth to
  the United States and Europe.
• Because of the large amounts of capital needed
  and the increased risks of overseas investment,
  businessmen sought the backing of their
  governments and the military.
• Political motives were as varied as the different
  nations involved.
• Examples include the attempt by France to avenge
  the humiliation of the Franco-Prussian War, the
  desire of the British to protect its Indian
  colony, and the eagerness of the new German state
  to become a global power.
• Cultural motives included the Christian revival
  in late-nineteenth-century Europe and America.
• Missionaries and missionary societies wanted not
  only to spread the influence of their respective
  religions around the globe, but also to abolish
  slavery and bring monogamy, modern medicine,
  hygiene, and education to the heathen.

6
How did the New Imperialism affect Southeast
Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hawaii?
What impact did the Suez Canal have on
imperialism in that region?

• Before 1869, much of East Asia had already been
  claimed by colonial powers.
• Britain controlled most of India and Burma, Spain
  occupied the Philippines, the Netherlands
  colonized the East Indies, and France had settled
  parts of Indochina.
• The Suez Canal did not encourage Asian
  colonization rather, it was because of those
  colonies that the canal was built.
• After 1869, the British assumed control over the
  remainder of Burma and Malaya, and the Dutch
  consolidated control of the East Indies.
• The only independent state in the region was
  Siam.
• The region was important to Europeans because it
  had fertile soil and a history of intensive
  agriculture.
• For Europeans, it was an ideal area to grow
  products that could thrive only in tropical
  areasproducts such as tobacco, chinchona,
  rubber, sugar, tea, and coffee.
• Population in those colonies grew, and intensive
  agriculture displaced peoples from hunting and
  gathering and subsistence agriculture.
• Christian missionaries and Western education also
  had important effects on indigenous peoples.
• Large numbers of Chinese and Indians were
  brought into those colonies to fill shortages of
  labor.
• During a war with Spain, the United States
  annexed Hawaii in the aftermath of that war, it
  purchased the Philippines.
• Sugar plantations in both territories brought
  profits to U.S. business.
• However, the United States fought a longer and
  far bloodier war against the Filipino people than
  it had against the Spanish.

7
What were some of the technological advances that
allowed European nations and the United States to
conquer vast new territories?

• Euro-American domination of the oceans was
  perhaps most important.
• The Suez Canal was central to the extension of
  rapid transport. Steel ships grew in size, and
  improvements in engines allowed ships to travel
  farther with less coal.
• Submarine telegraph cables speeded up
  communication.
• Gunboats extended possibilities for river travel
  not available to sailing ships.
• The discovery and use of quinine reduced
  malaria-related deaths to levels that stimulated
  European expansion.
• Weapons technology included breechloading
  repeating rifles, smokeless powder, and machine
  gunsinnovations that indigenous peoples could
  not reproduce.
• The Sudanese defeat at Omdurman ended the century
  with a clear illustration of the domination of
  modern Western firearms technology.

8
How did the New Imperialism disrupt indigenous
life in Asia and Africa? How did indigenous
populations respond to these invasions?

• European colonial administration affected
  different places in different ways and that
  indigenous peoples responded to the European
  invasion in a variety of ways.
• Some people fought while others cooperated and
  even welcomed European protection from their
  local enemies.
• Others still continued to live as they had before
  European invasion.
• There were disruptions associated with colonial
  rule such as changes in land holding, commercial
  transactions, handling of legal disputes.
• Also traditional rulers lost all authority.
• The economy was transformed as Europeans demanded
  the planting of cash crops and the gathering of
  resources.
• These demands forced may indigenous people off
  their land or to become sharecroppers.
• Many were recruited to work for the Europeans at
  extremely low wages.
• Also people were relocated for the purpose of
  work throughout the empire, for example, Chinese
  workers in Malaya and Indian workers in Africa
  changed the ethnic composition of the colony.
• Many of the disruption were not immediately
  apparent such as the devastation heaped on the
  Congo by King Leopold creating elements of
  society that could not take care of themselves as
  a generation of handless people were created by
  Leopolds agents during the growth of his rubber
  industry . (King Leopolds Ghosts)