The Age of Imperialism (1870-1914) PDF

# The Age of Imperialism (1870-1914) ## Features of Imperialism Imperialism refers to the struggle for the partitioning of the world by the most powerful European nations. This struggle was extremely prominent between 1870 and 1914, a period that scholars refer to as "The Age of Imperialism". How...

# The Age of Imperialism (1870-1914) ## Features of Imperialism Imperialism refers to the struggle for the partitioning of the world by the most powerful European nations. This struggle was extremely prominent between 1870 and 1914, a period that scholars refer to as "The Age of Imperialism". However, imperialism is not a modern phenomenon. It has its roots in a series of conquests that began with that of America in the 16th century, and which continued right up to the first decades of the 19th century. If this initial phase of colonization happened over many centuries, a second and most recent phase of colonization - already referred to as the Age of Imperialism - happened within a few decades, and resulted in the European colonial powers gaining control over most of the world. Between 1870 and 1914 about one fifth of the world's land surface was annexed by the colonial powers of Europe. If this later phase of colonial expansion was characterized by military and political control, requiring a significant and direct intervention by the European states, the earlier form of colonialism sought to achieve its aims by means of economic penetration. Whilst this "traditional" form of colonialism aimed to control the areas that were most relevant to their economic exploitation, the later colonial struggle between the great European powers was for the control of entire regions. ## Economic Causes Imperialism is a complex phenomenon with several causes. Let us first consider the economic causes. Sometimes, colonial territories gave colonial powers access to new markets and cheap natural resources. They were also ideal places for capital investments. From this point of view, imperialism was one of the ways the Great Powers were able to face the difficult economic period known as the Great Depression, which started in 1873. As European powers adopted protectionist policies, it became increasingly important for advanced economies to control large territories in order to develop trade and investments within them. ## Political and Social Causes The main European states took up the call to engage in power politics, in order to increase their international standing and influence. It became imperative for these states to gain power on the international scene. Britain's leadership position in the world, as well as its economic and political dominance were under threat. As to France, its territorial ambitions in Europe were frustrated by the military failures of Napoleon III. Meanwhile, Germany and Japan - but also the "minor" colonial powers including Portugal, Belgium and Italy - were in the process of consolidating their emerging industrial economies. The Great Powers' expansionist push had the support of the most important industrial groups, the ruling class, and the military elite. The populace, too, supported it. In a context marked by intense social conflicts and huge transformations within various countries, the race for colonial conquests became a means to achieve social cohesion at home, shifting the focus away from domestic problems. ## Ideological and Cultural Features Imperialism cannot be separated from the nationalist and racist ideas which permeated most European societies during the last decades of the 19th century. Unlike the sense of national identity which had emerged from the French Revolution, in this period nationalism was inspired by an authoritative and aggressive ideology based on a sense of cultural and racial superiority. This sense of superiority fomented the expansionist policies of European powers. One of the principles of this ideology was the "right" for powerful and advanced societies to conquer weaker and less advanced ones. ## European Presence in Africa At the end of the 19th century, European powers raced for colonies in both Africa and Asia. On the eve of the Great Partition, that is from the 1870s onwards, there were but few European colonial territories in Africa. The Dutch, the French, the British and the Portuguese had army bases, trading houses and ports, and they controlled small territories. European territorial claims did not exceed 10% of the total African territory. However, by the first decade of the 20th century, this percentage climbed to 90%. Although the presence of European powers in Africa goes back a long time, their interest was concentrated on slave trading and commerce, for they regarded Africa as a gateway to Asian markets. It is only much later that European powers became very keen to acquire colonies in Africa. The partition of the continent was sanctioned during the 1884-1885 Berlin Conference, which was convened by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. It was agreed upon that the colonial powers had to officially declare their colonial claims on the African continent. ## The Partition of Africa By 1914 most of Africa was under the rule of the European colonial powers, namely Portugal, France, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Germany. Italy established a colony in Eritrea and then conquered Lybia in 1912. A detailed map of Africa is provided showing the land occupation by different countries: - France - Italy - Great Britain - Spain - Portugal - Belgium - Germany - Independent ## Colonial Rule in Africa The European colonial powers divided the continent into spheres of influence. Unlike the Spanish colonies in Latin America, or the English colonies in Australia and New Zealand, African colonies were not settlement colonies, characterised by a permanent European presence\. Instead, they were colonies of exploitation, where a limited number of colonists settled in a foreign land to maintain law and order and control its natural resources for the benefit of the homeland. In some instances, colonial powers invested to develop the colony's infrastructure and economy; yet generally, they set up a so-called trade economy\. According to this system, production was in the hands of the natives, who provided minerals and agricultural products that were exported to Europe. Through powerful commercial companies, Europeans monopolised trade, the exports of raw materials as well as the imports of manufactured goods. The most serious consequence of this economic policy was a tendency towards a specialised form of agriculture\. Mixed small-scale farming was replaced with large-scale monoculture production that caused a decline in food self-sufficiency, and created economic dependency. ## India and East Asia In the Eastern hemisphere, the targets of Western imperialist expansion were South-East Asia and China. In India, the "westernisation process" by the British was continuing. In the second half of the 19th century, they ruled most of the subcontinent. If the British and the Dutch had enjoyed colonial possessions in East Asia for several centuries, it is during the latter part of the 19th century that the whole region was carved up amongst old and new colonial powers, including Japan and the United States of America. ## British India With a population of 130 million inhabitants, India was the second most populated territory after China. From the 1750s onwards, the British expansion into India continued at a rapid pace under the umbrella of the British East India Company. After the 1858 Sepoy rebellion (mutiny of Indian soldiers serving in the British Army ), the subcontinent and the independent princedoms were placed under direct British rule. Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1876. A map of India is provided showing the following: - Territories of British India - Portuguese possessions - Indian states - French commercial ports ## China Under Foreign Pressure With its 430 millions of inhabitants, the "Celestial Empire" was the largest and most populated country in the world. At the end of the 19th century China, which had until then followed a policy of isolation towards the West, became a target for British, French, Russian, German and Japanese expansionist policies. These countries began to carve up the country into different spheres of influence. If the economic partition of China did not affect its political union and independence, it still severely limited its sovereignty\. Chinese railways, customs, ports and so on, that is to say a large part of the Chinese economy, were now in the hands of foreigners. This way, instead of becoming the colony of a single power, China became a kind of "semi-colony" of a multiplicity of colonial powers. ## American Expansionism American expansionism moved towards the Pacific Ocean and Central America. Beginning in 1898, the United States started exerting their influence on the newborn Republic of Cuba, and annexing Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Hawaii. These territories were of the utmost commercial and military importance, for the United States were in the process of building one of the most powerful navies in the world, the third largest after the navies of Britain and Germany. In Panama, the U.S. wanted to build a canal to allow ships to pass between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. As the Colombian government denied the U.S. the right to build a canal through Panama, the U.S. incited and backed an insurrection that led to the independence of Panama in 1903. The new government of Panama gave the United States a strip of land, and the right to build and operate the future Panama Canal.