Imperialism: Motives and Control

• Imperialism is the domination by one country over another's political, economic, or cultural life.

Motives for Imperialism

• Creating an empire for resources was a key motive.
• The "white man's burden" ideology and social Darwinism also played a role.
• The "white man's burden" was the idea that Europeans needed to educate non-white populations.
• Rudyard Kipling was a proponent of the "white man's burden".
• Social Darwinism, based on Charles Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest, led to the belief that white people were the "fittest".

Forms of Imperial Control

• A protectorate involves local rulers accepting advice from European advisors on trade or missionary activities.
• Indirect rule involves governing a country through its own leaders.
• Direct rule entails sending officials from the colonizing country to administer colonies.
• Extraterritoriality is the right to live under one's own laws and be tried in one's own courts in another country.

British Imperialism

• Britain wanted Singapore for its water route to China.
• Burma was desired for a land route to China and to protect possessions in India.

French Imperialism

• France sought control of Vietnam to emulate England's empire-building in Asia.

Thailand's Independence

• Thailand avoided imperialism by westernizing under King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn.

Filipino Resistance

• Filipinos, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, rebelled against American forces due to unmet independence aspirations; the rebellion was ultimately suppressed.

Sepoy Mutiny

• Sepoys were Indian troops.
• The Sepoy Mutiny was triggered by the use of new rifles with cow or pig lard, offensive to Hindu and Muslim sepoys.
• Several Sepoy regiments marched to Delhi, and rulers of different kingdoms joined the rebellion in 1857.
• The British government removed viceroys and switched to direct rule following the Sepoy Mutiny.

Spanish-American War & US Acquisition of the Philippines

• The United States acquired the Philippines following the Spanish-American War.
• Cuban patriots had been fighting for independence from Spain for decades, the US entered aiding in their victory.

Indian Nationalism

• The Indian National Congress was a group of liberal Indians who favored greater democracy, self-rule, and western-style modernization while representing primarily Hindu interests.
• The Muslim League was founded in 1906 to protect Muslim interests in South Asia.
• Mohandas Gandhi, a peaceful protester, was jailed.

Chinese Resistance to Foreign Influence

• China isolated itself, deeming itself superior and resistant to trade with other countries.
• The British refused to stop trading Opium, leading to the Opium war.

Opium War & Treaty of Nanjing

• Despite opium being outlawed, the British refused to halt the trade, insisting on the right to free trade, leading to the Opium War.
• The Treaty of Nanjing, signed after the Opium War, granted Britain five new ports for trade, extraterritoriality, and abolished Chinese tariffs on British goods.

Boxer Rebellion

• The Boxer Rebellion was initiated by a secret society called the Righteous Harmonious Fists, who were frustrated with foreign presence and natural disasters.
• The Boxers were hostile to Christian missionaries and converts, killing thousands and destroying churches.
• The Boxers aimed to expel "foreign devils" and attacked foreign communities across China in 1900.
• A Western alliance, including the US, Great Britain, and France, intervened militarily to suppress the Boxer attacks.
• The Empress initially supported the Boxers but reversed her stance when they retreated.

Japanese Imperialism

• Japan westernized to avoid being imperialized and became an imperial power itself.
• Japan took over Korea and Manchuria.

Gunboat Diplomacy & Treaty of Kanghwa

• Gunboat diplomacy is a military tactic using naval presence to force surrender without direct attack.
• The Treaty of Kanghwa opened two Japanese ports to American ships (not for trade) and granted the US more trading rights, including the "most favored nation" clause.

Sino-Japanese War & Treaty of Shimonoseki

• The Sino-Japanese War was fought between China and Japan for control of China.
• The Treaty of Shimonoseki, which ended the Sino-Japanese War, granted Japan land in China and railroads in Manchuria.

Russo-Japanese War

• In the Russo-Japanese War, Japan defeated Russia, marking the first time in modern history that an Asian power humbled a European nation.

Egypt & the Suez Canal

• Muhammad Ali, an Albanian Muslim soldier, was appointed governor of Egypt and is sometimes called the "Father of modern Egypt".
• Ali led an unsuccessful attempt to remove Napoleon from Egypt and introduced political and economic reforms.
• The Suez Canal is a 100-mile waterway linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas, built by Ferdinand de Lesseps.
• The Suez Canal shortened the sea route to South and East Asia.
• The British gained access to the Suez Canal by buying shares from the Egyptian ruler, who was unable to pay loans.

European Exploration of Africa

• David Livingstone, a missionary-explorer, wrote sympathetically about the people he met in Africa and opposed the slave trade.
• Henry Stanley was sent to find David Livingstone.

Berlin Conference

• The Berlin Conference was held in Berlin to avoid bloodshed in the division of Africa, with no Africans invited.
• The Berlin Conference recognized Leopold’s private claim to the Congo Free State but called for free trade on the Congo and Niger rivers.
• European powers could not claim any part of Africa unless they set up a government office and sent officials to rule local rulers.

Berlin Act

• The Berlin Act was the byproduct of the Berlin Conference in Africa.
• The Berlin Act was created to provide a peaceful division of Africa.
• The Act ended some adopted ideas of:
  • Freedom of trade
  • Freedom of navigation
  • A Declaration relative to the neutrality of the territories comprising the Conventional basin of the Congo.
  • Effective occupation
  • Disputes were to be talked out.
  • Slavery is abolished
  • Protection of Africans through westernization

Boer War & Treaty of Vereeniging

• Boers/Afrikaners were Dutch farmers.
• The Boer War was fought when gold and diamonds were discovered in Boer republics after the British acquired the Cape Colony.
• The Treaty of Vereeniging ended the Boer War.

Racial Superiority

• This is the belief that one race is superior to another.

Latin American Independence

• Latin Americans were inspired by other countries' freedom to seek their own independence.
• The Napoleonic Wars affected Latin American wars for independence because Spain was preoccupied with fighting elsewhere.
• Peninsulares were Westerners born in their own country.
• Creoles were the children of peninsulares, born in a different country.
• Mestizos were of mixed race.

Monroe Doctrine

• The Monroe Doctrine, issued by President James Monroe, declared that the American continents were not to be considered for future colonization by European powers.
• Caudillos were Spanish military or political leaders.

Leaders of Latin American Independence

• Miguel Hidalgo led the Mexican movement for independence from Spain.
• Jose de San Martin led revolutions throughout South America.
• Simon Bolivar also led revolutions throughout South America.