The Age of Imperialism

1
The Age of Imperialism

• 1800-1914

2
Imperialism

• One countrys domination of the political,
  economic, and social life of another country.

3
3 Key Factors

• 1. nationalism prompted rival European nations to
  build empires in their competitive quests for
  power
• 2. the Industrial Revolution created a tremendous
  demand for raw materials and expanded markets,
  which prompted industrialized nations to seek new
  territories
• 3. both religious fervor and feelings of racial
  and cultural superiority inspired Europeans to
  impose their cultures on distant lands.

4

• Social Darwinism- survival of the fittest was
  used to express Western cultural superiority over
  Africans and Asians.

5
1899 British writer Rudyard Kipling wrote The
White Mans Burden. In the poem, Kipling
captures the essence of the imperialist attitude.
In ONE paragraph write your interpretation of
this poem.

• Take up the White Mans burden-
• Send forth the best ye breed-
• Go bind 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.

6
P R I M A RY SOU R C E Nor is violent physical
opposition to abuse and injustice henceforth
possible for the African in any part of Africa.
His chances of effective resistance have been
steadily dwindling with the increasing
perfectibility in the killing power of modern
armament. Thus the African is really helpless
against the material gods of the white man, as
embodied in the trinity of imperialism,
capitalistic exploitation, and militarism. EDWARD
MOREL, The Black Mans Burden