19th Century Imperialism: Asia

India: Jewel in the Crown

• 1750’s Mughal Empire weakens and British East India Company defeats Indian troops

• British East India Company rules India until 1858

India: Jewel in the Crown

• Company has its own army led by British officers

• Army is staffed by sepoys: Indian soldiers

India: Jewel in the Crown

Discussion Question:• Why might this be a problem for the British?

• Why is India Britain’s most valuable colony (the brightest jewel in the crown!)?

• Raw materials• New markets• Human resources; 300 million

people!

India: Jewel in the Crown

• Indians forced to produce raw materials for British;

• Forced to buy British goods• Indian competition with British

goods was prohibited

India: Jewel in the Crown

• Modernization!• World’s 3rd

largest railroad, modern road network, telegraph and telephone lines, dams, bridges, irrigation canals

Positive Impact of Colonization:

• Sanitation and public health improved

• Schools and colleges were founded (but English language & Western customs taught)

• Literacy rates increased

Positive Impact of Colonization:

• British held political and economic power

• Restricted Indian-owned industries

• Cash crops result in loss of self-sufficiency & famine

Negative Impact of Colonization:

Negative Impact of Colonization• Indian culture disrupted by

missionaries and racist attitudes• Indians

treated as 2nd class citizens

• “It is the consciousness of the inherent superiority of the European which has won for us India. However well educated and clever a native may be, and however brave he may prove himself, I believe that no rank we can bestow on him would cause him to be considered an equal of the British officer.”

» --Lord Kitchener

Negative Impact of Colonization

Discussion Question:• Have you ever had anyone who

disrespected your culture in some way? (your religion, language, beliefs, etc)

• What did they do and how did you react?

The Sepoy Rebellion• Cultural Conflict:• New rifle cartridges being used

by the Sepoys were made of animal fat

• To use the cartridges the soldiers had to bite off both ends – OUTRAGE! Why?

The Sepoy Rebellion

• The Sepoys refused & rebelled against the British

• British eventually put down rebellion

The Sepoy Rebellion

The Sepoy Rebellion• In 1858 India

was placed under the direct control of the British government

The Sepoy Rebellion• Queen Victoria

of England was given title “Empress of India”

Nationalism Rises• In 1800’s nationalist movement

begins• Indians resent being 2nd class

citizens in their own country• Indian National Congress forms;

calls for self-government• But independence won’t happen

until 1947!

China: Another Jewel

Discussion Question:• Have you ever wanted to trade

someone for something they had that you wanted…but they didn’t want anything you had to offer them?

• What did you do?

China & the West• In the late

18th century, China is ruled by an emperor under the Qing Dynasty.

China & the West• China has chosen isolation• No interaction with western

powers• China is strong politically

because it is largely self-sufficient

The Tea-Opium Connection• China has little

interest in trading with the West, but…

• High demand for tea & silk in Great Britain at this time

• The Chinese DO NOT want to trade with GB, nor do they want manufactured goods from GB

• Restrict trade with the British• Only allowed to use one Chinese

port

The Tea-Opium Connection

• British were determined to find a product that the Chinese would buy in large quantities

The Tea-Opium Connection

• Product?• OPIUM!• Great Britain

floods China with opium from India (Why India?) 1835 – 12 million

Chinese addicted

The Tea-Opium Connection

• The Qing emperor demands the trade stop, but British refused

• Results in The Opium War• GB crushed outdated Chinese

forces

The Opium War

The Opium War• NANKING TREATY

OF 1842:• The Chinese were forced to:

–Open new ports –Legalize the opium trade–Give Hong Kong to GB–Accept extraterritoriality

• Extraterritoriality: • British citizens living in China

were not subject to Chinese laws or courts

The Opium War

• China’s population booms from 1790-1850

• Hunger widespread• Sparks Taiping Rebellion!

Foreign Influence Grows

• Massive peasant army takes control over large areas of China

• Eventually defeated by Qing troops and outside forces BUT…

Foreign Influence Grows

• Other countries took advantage of internal unrest and attacked

• Through treaties, European countries & Japan gain a sphere of influence in China

Foreign Influence Grows

• US feared China would be colonized by Europeans

• Encouraged the adoption of the Open Door Policy

Foreign Influence Grows

Foreign Influence Grows• Open Door Policy:• All countries were given equal

access to trade in all regions of China

• Led to increasing unrest among the Chinese

Foreign Influence Grows• Another rebellion!• Boxer Rebellion: Campaign

against imperial rule and foreign privilege

• Rebellion fails, but Chinese nationalism forces changes in China

Japan: A Unique Story

Discussion Question:• Have you ever been bullied by

someone who threatened to do something to you if you didn’t do what they wanted?

• What did you do?

Japan: Victim• Japan closed to

European influence since 1600s

• Commodore Perry sent to Japan by U.S. President to demand trade rights

• Gives ultimatum – will return in 1 year

Japan: Victim• Japan forced to

sign Treaty of Kanagawa

• US gets open trade with Japan• Japanese are angry shogun gave

in to foreigner’s demands

Japan: Aggressor• Shogun replaced by a

young emperor, Mutsuhito

• Meiji Era – Meiji means “enlightened rule”

• Japan decides to modernize to save culture!

Japan: Aggressor• Studied &

adopted Western ways, including industrialization

• By 1890, Japan had a modern economy & was the strongest military power in Asia

Japan: Aggressor• Wanted to expand their empire

to show they were a powerful nation

• Japan attacked China & Russia!• Takes Taiwan, Pescadores

Islands, Manchuria & Korea

Japan: Aggressor• 1910 Japan officially controlled

Korea–Banned teaching of Korean–Koreans forced to take Japanese names

–Farmers forced off lands; businesses handed over to Japanese

Imperialism in Southeast Asia

Europeans in SE Asia• Dutch ruled whole island chain

of Indonesia, called the Dutch East Indies

• British ruled in Burma (modern Myanmar) & Malaysia

• French ruled directly in Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, & Vietnam)

The U.S. in SE Asia• Spanish rule in

Philippines until U.S. wins Spanish-American War

• U.S. promised to return Philippines to nationalists, but kept as a colony

• Tensions caused by the competition for colonies was one of the underlying causes of World War I

What does this Mean?