WORLD HISTORY notes
Chapter 24 – New Imperialism
IMPERIALISM

Expansion by gaining colonies
Reasons for Imperialism
Economics
o Industrial Revolution created need for resources and new markets to sell their goods
o Banking
Politics
o World prestige
Military
o Setting up naval bases around the world to protect colonies
o Nationalism
 Colonies were needed for national security
Humanitarian
o Europeans held a “paternalistic” view of Africans
 Saw them as children that needed guidance
Religious
o Missionaries spread Christianity, medicine, law
 Europeans viewed African culture as “degraded” and outdated
 Dr. David Livingstone / Henry Stanley
 Spoke out against slave trade
 Wanted to open up the heart of Africa to Christianity and trade
Social Darwinism
o Racial superiority
 Survival of the fittest
o “White Man’s Burden”
 Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem called “White Man’s Burden”
 Europeans viewed themselves being better and it was their job to civilize the “heathen savages”
o Jingoism
 Britain’s aggressive foreign policy towards Africa
 “extreme” nationalism
 use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what it perceives as its
national interests
 excessive bias in judging one's own country as superior to others
Arguments against Imperialism
.
“tool of the rich”
Immoral
o Developing democracies in their countries, but imposing their power over other people
Forms of Imperialism
Direct Rule (France)
o Send officials and soldiers to govern colonies
o Turn colonies into provinces controlled by “mother country”
Indirect Rule (Great Britain)
o Used local leaders to govern
o Children of local leaders went to England for their education
 Groomed future leaders to continue British rule and lifestyle
Imperialistic Countries
Belgium
France
King Leopold II
Congo
Northern Africa
Great Britain
South Africa
India
o Influence started with British East India Company
o Used Sepoys (Indian soldiers) to fight in India and overseas
 Foreign travel was an offense in the Kshatriyas class
o Also passed a law legalizing Hindu widows to marry
 Upset Hindus, felt like a Christian conspiracy to undermine Hinduism
o Sepoys were imprisoned when they refused to bite of the ends of rifle cartridges
 Cartridges were greased with animal fat – cows
 Cows are sacred to Hindus
 1857 Sepoy Mutiny
o Rebelled against British influence
 British disrespect for Indian culture
 Viewed British as trying to impose Christianity
 Heavy taxes
 British use of shells greased in cow/pig fat
 Insulting to Hindus and Muslims
China
China set limits on foreign trade
1839 Opium War
o British began trading Opium from India to China for Chinese Tea
o Chinese government outlawed Opium
 British refused to stop the Opium trade
 British navy defeated Chinese navy
 1842 Treat y of Nanjing
o British received an indemnity
o British received Hong Kong
European countries pressuring China to modernize
o 1899 Open Door Policy
 Open Chinese trade to everyone equally
o 1899 Boxer Rebellion
 Goal was to drive out “foreign devils”