European imperialism and its consequences worldwide

Although the Industrial Revolution and nationalism shaped European society in the nineteenth century, imperialism—the domination by one country or people over another group of people—dramatically changed the world during the latter half of that century. Imperialism did not begin in the nineteenth century. From the sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, an era dominated by a  different type of Imperialism, European nations sought trade routes with the Far East, explored the transatlantic western lands and established settlements in North and South America as well as in Southeast Asia. They set up trading posts and gained footholds on the coasts of Africa and China, and worked closely with the local rulers to ensure the protection of European economic interests.

Their influence, however, was limited. In the Age of a new type of Imperialism that began in the 1870s, European states established vast empires mainly in Africa, but also in Asia and the Middle East. Unlike the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century method of establishing settlements, the new imperialists set up the administration of the native areas for the benefit of the colonial power. European nations pursued an aggressive expansion policy that was motivated by economic needs that were created by the Industrial Revolution. Between 1870 and 1914, Europe went through a period of intense industrial development, which quickened the pace of change as science, technology, and industry spurred economic growth. Improvements in steel production revolutionized shipbuilding and transportation. The development of the railroad, the internal combustion engine, and electrical power generation contributed to the growing industrial economies of Europe and their need to seek new avenues of expansion.

The expansion policy was also motivated by political needs that associated empire building with national greatness, and social and religious reasons that promoted the superiority of “Western” society over “backward” societies. Through the use of direct military force, economic spheres of influence, and annexation, European countries dominated the continents of Africa and Asia. By 1914, Great Britain controlled the largest number of colonies, and the phrase, “the sun never sets on the British Empire,” described the vastness of its holdings. Imperialism had consequences that affected the colonial nations, Europe, and the world. It also led to increased competition among nations and to conflicts that would disrupt world peace in 1914.  

As we stated earlier, European imperialism did not begin in the 1800s. In their efforts to find a direct trade route to Asia during the age of Old Imperialism, European nations established colonies in the Americas, India, South Africa, and the East Indies, and gained territory along the coasts of Africa and China. Meanwhile, Europe’s Commercial Revolution created new needs and desires for wealth and raw materials. Mercantilists maintained that colonies could serve as a source of wealth, while personal motives by rulers, statesmen, explorers, and missionaries supported the imperial belief in “Glory, God, and Gold.” By 1800, Great Britain was the leading colonial power with colonies in India, South Africa, and Australia. Spain colonized Central and South America. France held Louisiana and French Guinea, and Holland built an empire in the East Indies. In the first half of the nineteenth century, colonialism became less popular. The Napoleonic Wars, the struggle for nationalism and democracy, and the cost of industrialization exhausted the energies of European nations. Many leaders also thought that the costs to their respective empires outweighed the benefits, especially the cost of supervising the colonies. However, in the mid-nineteenth century, Europe—especially Great Britain and France— began an economic revival. During the Victorian Era, which lasted from 1837 to 1901, Great Britain became an industrial giant, providing more than 25 percent of the world’s output of industrial goods. In France, Napoleon’s investment in industry and large-scale ventures, such as railroad building, helped to promote prosperity. Thus the Industrial Revolution stirred ambitions in many European countries and renewed their confidence to embark on a path of aggressive expansion overseas. The combination of the steamboat and the telegraph enabled the European powers to increase their mobility and to quickly respond to any situations that threatened their dominance. The rapid-fire machine gun also gave them a military advantage and was helpful in convincing Africans and Asians to accept European control. Britain’s occupation of Egypt and Belgium’s penetration of the Congo started the race for colonial possessions in Africa. Suez Canal In 1875, Britain purchased a controlling interest in the Suez Canal from the bankrupt ruler of Egypt who was unable to repay loans that he had contracted for the canal and modernization. of the country. The French, who organized the building of the Suez Canal under Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1859, owned the other shares. The Suez Canal was important because it shortened the route from Europe to South and East Asia. The canal also provided a lifeline to India, which Britain had made part of the British Empire in 1858. In 1882, Britain established a protectorate over Egypt, which meant that the government leaders were officials of the Ottoman Empire, but were really controlled by Great Britain. The British occupation of Egypt, the richest and most developed land in Africa, set off “African fever” in Europe. To ensure its domination and stability in the area, Great Britain extended its control over the Sudan as well. Exploration of the Congo In 1878, Leopold II of Belgium (b. 1835, ruled 1865–1909) sent Anglo-American newspaperman Henry Stanley (1841–1904), to explore the Congo and establish trade agreements with leaders in the Congo River basin. Stanley, in 1871, had “found” the great Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone (1813–1873), who had traveled throughout Africa for over thirty years. When several years passed without a word from him, it was feared that he was dead. Stanley was hired in 1869 by the New York Herald, an American newspaper to find Livingstone. His famous greeting, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume” became legendary, even though there is some question about its authenticity. Stanley’s account of their meeting made headlines around the world and helped make him famous. Stanley eventually sold his services to Leopold II, who had formed a financial syndicate entitled The International African Association. A strong-willed monarch, Leopold II’s intrusion into the Congo area raised questions about the political fate of Africa south of the Sahara. Other European nations were fearful that Belgium wanted to extend control over the entire area. Part I: Subject Area Reviews with Sample Questions and Answers 148 The Scramble for Africa Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898), Chancellor of Germany, and Jules Ferry (1832–1893), Premier of France and considered the builder of the modern French Empire, organized an international conference in Berlin to lay down the basic rules for colonizing Africa. The Berlin Conference (1884–1885) established the principle that European occupation of African territory had to be based on effective occupation that was recognized by other states, and that no single European power could claim Africa. The Berlin Conference led to the “Scramble for Africa.” Between 1878 and 1914, European powers divided up the entire African continent except for the independent countries of Ethiopia and Liberia. Liberia was settled by free slaves from the United States and became an independent republic in 1847. Ethiopia, which was already independent, routed an Italian invasion in 1896. Defeating the Italians assured that the country would stay independent. European countries divided Africa as follows: France The French had the largest colonial empire in Africa, over 3 1 ⁄2 million square miles, half of which contained the Sahara Desert. In 1830, France had conquered Algeria in North Africa. Between 1881 and 1912, France acquired Tunisia, Morocco, West Africa, and Equatorial Africa. At its height, the French Empire in Africa was as large as the continental United States. Great Britain Britain’s holdings in Africa were not as large as France’s but it controlled the more populated regions, particularly of southern Africa, which contained valuable mineral resources such as diamonds and gold. In 1806, the British displaced Holland in South Africa and ruled the Cape Colony. However, the British soon came into conflict with the Boers (farmers), the original Dutch settlers who resented British rule. In the 1830s, the Boers left British territory, migrated north, and founded two republics—the Orange Free State and Transvaal. The Boers soon came into conflict with the powerful Zulus, a native-African ethnic group, for control of the land. When the Zulus and the Boers were unable to win a decisive victory, the British became involved in The Zulu Wars and eventually destroyed the Zulu empire. In 1890, Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902), who was born in Great Britain and had become a diamond mine millionaire, became prime minister of the Cape Colony. He wanted to extend the British African Empire from Cape Town to Cairo and decided to annex the Boer Republic. In the Boer War (1899–1902), the British, with great difficulty, defeated the Boers and annexed the two republics. In 1910, Britain combined its South African colonies into the Union of South Africa. Whites ran the government, and the Boers, who outnumbered the British, assumed control. This system laid the foundation for racial segregation that would last until the 1990s. Germany Late unification delayed Germany’s imperialistic ventures, but it also wanted its place in the sun. Germany took land in eastern and southwestern Africa. Italy Italy was another late entry into the imperialistic venture. Italy took control of Libya, Italian Somaliland, and Eritrea, which is the north-most province of Ethiopia, near the Red Sea. Italy’s efforts to gain control of Ethiopia ended in bitter defeat. Portugal Portugal carved out large colonies in Angola and Mozambique. The Age of Imperialism (1870–1914) 149 Imperialism in Asia India The British took control of India in 1763, after defeating the French in the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763). The British controlled India through the British East India Company, which ruled with an iron hand. In 1857, an Indian revolt, led by native soldiers called sepoys, led to an uprising known as the Sepoy Mutiny. After suppressing the rebellion, the British government made India part of the empire in 1858, as mentioned previously. The British introduced social reforms, advocated education, and promoted technology. Britain profited greatly from India, which was called the “Crown Jewel of the British Empire.” The Indian masses, however, continued to live close to starvation and the British had little respect for the native Indian culture. The Dutch held the Dutch East Indies and extended their control over Indonesia, while the French took over Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam). The Russians also got involved and extended their control over the area of Persia (Iran). China Since the seventeenth century, China had isolated itself from the rest of the world and refused to adopt Western ways. The Chinese permitted trade but only at the Port of Canton, where the rights of European merchants were at the whim of the emperor. Imperialism in China began with the First Opium War (1839–1842), when the Chinese government tried to halt the British from importing opium. This resulted in a war in which Britain’s superior military and industrial might easily destroyed the Chinese military forces. The Treaty of Nanking (1842) opened up five ports to the British, gave Britain the island of Hong Kong, and forced China to pay a large indemnity. In 1858, China was forced to open up eleven more treaty ports that granted special privileges, such as the right to trade with the interior of China and the right to supervise the Chinese custom offices. Foreigners also received the right of extraterritoriality, which meant that Western nations maintained their own courts in China and Westerners were tried in their own courts. Between 1870 and 1914, the Western nations carved China into spheres of influence, areas in which outside powers claimed exclusive trading rights. France acquired territory in southwestern China, Germany gained the Shandong Peninsula in northern China, Russia obtained control of Manchuria and a leasehold over Port Arthur, and the British took control of the Yangzi valley. The United States, which had not taken part in carving up China because it feared that spheres of influence might hurt U.S. commerce, promoted the Open Door Policy in 1899. John Hay, the American Secretary of State, proposed that equal trading rights to China be allowed for all nations and that the territorial integrity of China be respected. The imperial nations accepted this policy in principle but not always in practice. For the United States, however, the Open Door Policy became the cornerstone of its Chinese policy at the beginning of the twentieth century. By the 1900s, China was in turmoil. There was rising sentiment against foreigners because China had been forced to give up so many political and economic rights. This anti-foreign sentiment exploded into the Boxer Rebellion or Uprising (1899–1901).

 The Chinese republic faced many

problems and for the next thirty-seven years, China would continue to be at war with itself and with foreign invaders. Part I: Subject Area Reviews with Sample Questions and Answers 150 Japan Japan was the only Asian country that did not become a victim of imperialism. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Japanese expelled Europeans from Japan and closed Japanese ports to trade with the outside world, allowing only the Dutch to trade at Nagasaki. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry (1866–1925), an American naval officer, led an expedition to Japan. He convinced the shogun, a medieval-type ruler, to open ports for trade with the United States. Fearful of domination by foreign countries, Japan, unlike China, reversed its policy of isolation and began to modernize by borrowing from the West. The Meiji Restoration, which began in 1867, sought to replace the feudal rulers, or the shogun, and increase the power of the emperor. The goal was to make Japan strong enough to compete with the West. The new leaders strengthened the military and transformed Japan into an industrial society. The Japanese adopted a constitution based on the Prussian model with the emperor as the head. The government was not intended to promote democracy but to unite Japan and make it equal to the West. The leaders built up a modern army based on a draft and constructed a fleet of iron steamships. The Japanese were so successful that they became an imperial power. In the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95, Japan defeated China and forced her to give up her claims in Korea. Japan also gained control of its first colonies—Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands—and shocked the world by defeating Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. Japan’s victory was the first time that an Asian country had defeated a European power in over 200 years. Imperialism in the Middle East The importance of the Middle East to the new imperialists was its strategic location (the crossroads of three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa), vital waterways (canals and the Dardanelles), and valuable oil resources. The Europeans divided up the Middle East in the following manner: ■ Great Britain: Britain’s control of the Suez Canal forced her to take an active role in Egypt as well as to acquire the militarily valuable island of Cyprus to secure oil resources for industrial and military needs. The British also secured concessions in Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. Pipelines were built to the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. ■ Russia: Traditionally, Russia sought to gain control of the Dardanelles as an outlet to the Mediterranean Sea and an area of expansion. Russia helped to dismember the Ottoman Empire and gain independence for several Balkan states. ■ Germany: In 1899, German bankers obtained the Ottoman Empire’s consent to complete the BerlinBaghdad Railroad. Consequences of Imperialism The new imperialism changed both Western society and its colonies. Through it, Western countries established the beginning of a global economy in which the transfer of goods, money, and technology needed to be regulated in an orderly way to ensure a continuous flow of natural resources and cheap labor for the industrialized world. Imperialism adversely affected the colonies. Under foreign rule, native culture and industry were destroyed. Imported goods wiped out local craft industries. By using colonies as sources of raw materials and markets for manufactured goods, colonial powers held back the colonies from developing industries. One reason why the standard of living was so poor in many of these countries was that the natural wealth of these regions had been funneled to the mother countries. Imperialism also brought confrontation between the cultures. By 1900, Western nations had control over most of the globe. Europeans were convinced that they had superior cultures and forced the people to accept modern or Western ways.

In the East of Europe Zarist Russia had expanded eastward for more than three centuries. The Russian adventurers and later the armies managed to gradually control the western regions of Siberia, mainly to extract their resources, particularly pelts and minerals, until they reached the Pacific Ocean and beyond. In this invasion and occupation they subjugated the local peoples, which in some cases were eliminates, and in all cases were cruelly exploited.

Therefore the history of European expansion reached a point In which practically al the world was under its control or influence.

Many native nations suffered this conquest and colonization and their effects are feld still today.

Reference:

Reproduced and adapted from:

https://www.tamaqua.k12.pa.us/cms/lib07/PA01000119/Centricity/Domain/119/TheAgeofImperialism.pdf