Transcript The “New” Imperialism

The “New”
Imperialism
Western Civilization II
Not New, but Renewed
Colonialism dates back to 1400s 1500s in Africa, Asia and Americas
 Lull in early-mid 1800s for several
reasons:
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– France tried to set up puppet empire in
Mexico during U.S. Civil War, but failed
– Great Britain found indirect economic
control (“informal empire”) more efficient
– Italy & Germany too busy trying to unify
New Motivations
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Industrial capitalism based
on relentless drive to
expand business
– New sources for raw
materials
– New markets for
manufactured goods
– New investments
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Nationalism sparked
competition
Darwinism – “the White
Man’s Burden”
– Assumed racial superiority
– Saw Christian responsibility to
“civilize” & “uplift”
The Scramble for Africa
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Little interest in
African interior
before 1880s
Sparked by Belgian
King Leopold’s
claims in the
Congo
Berlin Conference
(1884) laid out
ground rules
Able to do it due to
advanced
weaponry, not
innate superiority
Egypt & the Suez Canal

Muhammad Ali became
hereditary ruler (khedive) of
Egypt in 1805
– Nominally an Ottoman vassal
– Introduced modern reforms
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French company owned by
Ferdinand de Lesseps
constructed Suez Canal (18541869)
British bought Egyptian gov’t
shares in canal & est.
protectorate (1883-1922)
Muhammad Ali
British Seaways
Fashoda Crisis (1898)
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British helped Egyptians put
down the Mahdi’s revolt in
the Sudan
– Charles Gordon killed in
1885
– Dervishes finally defeated at
Omdurman (1898)
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Cecil Rhodes wanted to
control Nile & build Cape-toCairo railroad
French wanted to connect
Affars & Issas with West
African colonies
Met at Fashoda – French
finally backed down
Charles “China” Gordon
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British seized Cape Colony
from Dutch during French Rev.
wars
Afrikaaners (Boers) left on
Great Trek in 1830s
– Est. Transvaal & Orange Free
State
– Created reservations for blacks
– Gold & diamond mines
discovered
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Boer War (1899-1901) made
Britain seem greedy & ruthless
for conquering Afrikaaners
Self-governing Union of South
Africa est. in 1910
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Boer War (1899-1902)
The Moroccan Crises
France had already seized Algeria &
Tunisia from Ottoman Empire
 Tried to est. control over Morocco
 Kaiser Wilhelm II seized opportunity to
try to make France look bad & isolate it
diplomatically, but failed
 1st Moroccan Crisis (1905-06)
defused by Algeciras Conference
 2nd Moroccan Crisis (1912) resulted
in France gaining control of Morocco
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Sepoy Mutiny (1857-58)
made British decide to
impose direct rule on India
India was “crown jewel” of
British Empire
– Great Britain’s largest export
market
– 10% of all British trade
passed thru Madras,
Calcutta & Bombay

Disraeli made Queen
Victoria Empress of India in
1876
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The British Raj in India
Carving Up Southeast
Asia
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British est. colonies in
Malaysia & Singapore
(1819) & Burma (1826)
France acquired Indochina
(1859-93)
Agreed to keep Thailand
independent as buffer
between them
– Kings Mongkut &
Chulalongkorn introduced
Western education
King Mongkut Rama IV
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Western Colonies in
Southeast Asia
U.S. Imperialism
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Alaska purchased from
Russia, 1867
Samoa divided with
Britain & Germany in
1889; annexed 1899
Sanford Dole led
revolution in Hawaii in
1893; annexed in 1898
Victory in SpanishAmerican War (1898)
gave U.S. Puerto Rico,
Guam & Philippines
The Philippines Theater of
the Spanish-American War
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May 1 - George
Dewey’s fleet
defeats the
Spanish in Manila
Bay
Dewey joined
forces with rebel
leader Emilio
Aguinaldo
Aug. 13 – Manila
surrendered
Effects of U.S. Imperialism
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Dewey denied promising
Aguinaldo independence
Guerilla war vs. Aguinaldo’s
rebels in the Philippines, 18991902
– 200,000 Filipinos killed
– 5,000 Americans killed
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Taft-Katsura Agreement (1905):
U.S. recognized Japan’s conquest
of Korea to protect Philippines
Root-Takahira Agreement
(1907): U.S. recognized Japanese
control of Manchuria to protect
Philippines
Emilio Aguinaldo
Asian Colonies by 1914
The Panama Canal
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De Lesseps tried to build
canal, but stopped by
disease
Hay-Paunceforte Treaty
(1901): Britain allowed
U.S. to build canal by itself
1903 treaty paying
Columbia $10 million and
$250 thousand a year in
rent rejected by Columbia
Philippe Bunau-Varilla
staged revolt in Panama
with U.S. help
Canal completed in 1914
Copyright 2000, Bedford/St. Martin’s
Colonial Rule

Mixed blessing:
– Restored stability in many areas & brought
modern medicine & technology
– Most economic benefits went only to white
colonists, however
– Missionaries often assumed cultural superiority
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Colonial societies never integrated
– French tried harder to assimilate colonial
subjects
– British maintained racial boundaries
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Worked thru local elites whenever possible
– Direct rule only where elites were uncooperative
– Local elites never accepted as equals, however