Contents

New Technologies and the World Economy

Means for the New Imperialism
Motives and Ideologies for the New Imperialism
The Scramble for Africa 1880 1900
Imperialism in Asia 1865-1900
The Scramble for China 1800-1905
The Russian Empire 1800-1870
The Ottoman Empire 1800-1870
Free Trade Imperialism in Latin America 1823-1950s
Trade, Technology, and Imperialism: In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perrys fleet sails into Edo
(now Tokyo), demanding that Japan open its ports for foreign trade
New Explosion of Imperialism
Between 1869 and 1914 either by:
Outright conquest and colonial administration
Creation of economic dependencies / indirect influence
Made possible by new technologies and new ideologies of
dominance

Transformation of the World Economy

Industrialisation transformation of world economy

Continuing Industrial Revolution
Steamships, submarine telegraph cables, steel, synthetic dye,
dynamite, synthetic fertiliser, electricity
Growing Global Interdependence
Globalised network of world trade:
Wealthy industrialised west produced manufactured goods
Poor non-west produced raw commodities for the west
Growing Global Finance:
Wealthy British capitalists investing overseas
International Population Movements
European migrations to North America, Australia, South
Africa
Asian migrations around Indian ocean
Indian, Chinese, Pilipino, Japanese
But also Imperialism!
 The New Tools of Empire
Communications
Submarine cables allow international telegraph
Transport
Faster more powerful ships
Steam powered / ironclads / gunboats
Medicine
Quinine protection from malaria
Firearms
Repeating rifles and machine guns
Battle of Omduran (1898)
Casualties: 11,000 Sudanese, 48 British
Motives and Ideologies for New Imp
Political Motives
Status national prestige
Defensive Britain wanted to protect trade routes to
existing colonies
Colonial agents (e.g. governors, officers etc.) wanted to
expand their influence in the colonies
Cultural Motives
Wanted to bring a Western civilization to other peoples
White Mans Burden (Rudyard Kipling, 1899)
Wanted to abolish slavery
Wanted to convert peoples to Christianity
Racism other races immature to rule themselves
Social Darwinism and Survival of the Fittest (Herbert
Spencer, 1880s)
 Motives
Economic Motives
Industrialisation and growing
middle class consumption
stimulated demand for
commodities, minerals
European capital looking to
invest overseas
Export markets for home
produced goods

Published 1917
The Scramble for Africa 1880 - 1900
1. 1882 - High Egyptian debts and a local uprising is used as
an excuse by the British to occupy Egypt
2. 1880s West Africa: French and British push inwards
(informal empire changes to formal empire)
3. 1884-85 Europeans carve up Africa at Berlin Conference
4. 1885 - 1908 - Belgian King Leopold II runs Congo as
personal property
5. 1871 1900 - Discovery of gold and diamonds in
Southern Africa leads to British colonisation
Local Boer (Afrikaner) settlers resist, leading to Boer Wars (1899
1902)
6. 1896 Ethiopians defeated Italians at Battle of Adowa
Khedive Isma'il Pasha, 1830-1895
Imperialism in Asia 1865-1900 Asia by 1914
1865 1876 - Russia expanded land empire eastwards to
conquer Central Asian Turkik states, especially Kazakhstan.
1885 - Burma (now Myanmar) gradually annexed by the British
1885 - Indochina gradually annexed by the French
1870s, 1880s Malaya annexed by British
1898 USA annexes islands of Hawaii
1899 USA purchases Philippines from Spain and crushes
uprising
1900 Dutch annexed northern Sumatra (Dutch East Indies)
Used for
trading/military
bases and to grow
rubber, tobacco,
coffee
 Scramble for China 1800-1905
Qing Empire 1800-1870
A large empire increasingly losing control of provinces and with
a weak military
Large population expansion 1650 to 1800, and fiscal problems
lead to continuous warfare 1800-1870
1850 1864: Taiping Rebellion
Foreign Incursions:
1839 1842: Opium War
1842: Treaty of Nanking extended Treaty Ports from one (Canton) to
five (Canton, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai).
Hong Kong became a British colony
1856 1860: Second Opium War
Widespread fears about modernization, Westernization, and
Christianity
By 1870 the Empress had little control over most provinces to
local warlords, and by 1900 most foreign trade controlled by
European powers
 1894 - 95 First Sino-Japanese
War. Japan occupies Korea,
Formosa
Chinese fleet was large, old,
and slow; Japanese was small,
new, and fast
Foundation of Japanese
imperialism.
Western Process of Concession-
taking
Use an excuse to occupy Chinese port areas. Force long
lease on Chinese.
Force China to allow duty free import from the port
and other trade concessions
Force China to give concessions to build railway lines to
carry traded goods
Britain alone acquired concessions to build 2,800 miles of
railways, though only a few hundred had been constructed by
1907.
Germany occupied the port of Kiaochow on pretext of
protecting foreign missionaries (1897)
Russia occupied ice-free Port Arthur (1898)
Britain already had Shanghai (1842)
Boxer Rebellion 1900-1902
Boxers secret society, anti-foreigner.
Received local government support in many disturbed
provinces, such as the Shantung Province.
In June 1900 Boxers went on the rampage in Peking and
Tientsin.
Boxers besieged the Legation Quarter in Peking
Eight-Nation alliance brought 20,000 armed troops to
Peking to defeat the Boxers.
Europeans extracted money and even more
concessions from Chinese after rebellion.
Russia used the rebellion to tighten her grip on Manchuria
This worried Britain, which backed Japans war against
Russia - Russo-Japanese war 1904-1905
 Russian Empire 1800-1870
Largely rural empire with few
cities and towns
17th, 18th, and 19th centuries:
Eastward and Westward
expansion from Muscovy
By 1814 was a major
European military power
Although interested in
emulating France since 18th C,
little modernisation beyond
military
Loss in Crimean War leads
Alexander II (r. 1855-1881) to
begin reforms
emancipation of the Serfs
(1861); foundation of many
new universities
Ottoman Empire 1800-70
Ottoman Weakness and Reforms
18th and 19th centuries: the Ottomans too weak to control their provinces
Military governors breaking free (e.g. Tripoli, Egypt)
European imperialist intervention (Algeria, Egypt, Greece)
Nationalist uprisings (Greece)
Attempted reforms (European style military units, provincial governors
directly appointed by central control, uniform taxation) only very partially
successful.
Janissary uprisings in Serbia (1804-1813) led to Serbian independence (1833-35)
Uprisings in Istanbul lead to Sultan Selim IIIs overthrow in 1807
Late 19th C legal reform (Tanzimat) to create strong uniform civil law
Some modernisation by 1850s: medical schools, military colleges, use of
foreign textbooks, newspapers, books, more travel, French, import of
European military, industrial and communications technologies (e.g.
printing press), Ottoman Imperial Bank (founded 1840), currency reform,
Promoted trade with Europe: Expansion of European trade not only in
Istanbul but also Beirut, Damascus, Alexandria, Cairo.
But failure to develop widespread industrialisation
Late 19th C Young Ottoman movement tried to introduce liberal reforms,
including a constitution, but failed.
Ottoman Imperial Guard (late 19th C) with Fez
The Eastern Question and the Crimean
War (1853-56)
Russia versus Ottoman Empire, France, Britain
Free Trade Imperialism
Latin America 18231950s
South American and Central American states had
become independent from Spain and Portugal in the
early 19th century.
Britain and the USA gained strong political influence
there through investment:
Railroads
Ranches
Mines
Latin American elite sided with British/Americans
Argentine nationalist Juan Justo:
English capital has done what English armies could not do.
Today our country is tributary to England . . . the gold that the
English capitalists take out of Argentina or carry off in the form
of products does us no more good than the Irish get from the
revenues that the English lords take out of Ireland
Free Trade Imperialism
1823: President Monroe of USA issues declaration
that European states would not be allowed to
interfere in the Americas Monroe Doctrine
1898 Spanish-American War.
America wants to protect its plantation investments in
Cuba
USA gains Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam.
Also Cuba become a puppet government of the US
1904 - 1915 USA constructs Panama Canal