The Age of Imperialism

The Effects…• By 1901 industrialized countries would control

virtually the entire world

– They would govern some lands directly, others indirectly through treaties and trade agreements

• Imperialism was the name given to this control and to the growth of these empires

• Britain was the greatest imperial power

– Controlled the largest empire in history…about 25% of the world’s land and people on every continent but Antarctica

Britain’s Lead Was Challenged • As late as 1870 most Britons believed that

colonies were more trouble than worth

– Trade with the United States had actually INCREASED since it had won its independence

– Throughout the 1800’s Britain granted many of its colonies more freedom

• Canada and Australia had some self-rule

• However, Britain’s role in Europe was changing

• In the mid-1800’s Britain was the most powerful country in the world –Its factories out-produced all others, its

navy protected the oceans so that trade between ports was safe, and its banks loaned capital to entrepreneurs all around the world • Investment banks loaned capital for railroads, factories, etc.

• Manufacturers, merchants, and shippers reinvested their money and the cycle made everyone rich

• By the late 1800’s The US and Germany were challenging Britain’s economic hegemony

• Britain also had to safeguard its markets (many countries were taxing British imports to protect their new factories) and its sources of raw materials

• Therefore, Britain looked to its colonies for markets and raw materials

– It tightened its hold on India and added new territories hoping to gain control of trade routes and new business interests

Imperialism and Rivalries• France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands,

Germany, Belgium, Russia and Austria-Hungary all followed the Briton’s lead in acquiring and/or strengthening their control of colonies

• Germany was extremely successful– Gained colonies in the Pacific, Asia, and

Africa (got in on this part last)– Investment bankers made loans to Latin

America – Capitalists built a Berlin-Baghdad RR

• The US and Japan both focused upon East Asia and the US was deeply involved in Latin America

• Africa and Asia were ripe for the taking

• Increasingly, Europeans viewed an empire as a measure of national stature

– The race for colonies became tied to nationalism as well as economic competition

– Pride became more important than profit and countries began to conquer lands that were virtually worthless

European Superiority Complexes • Thanks to the IR, European countries had the

weapons needed to win empires AND the means (steam boats, railroads, telegraph cables, etc.) to control them

• Europeans also regarded their level of technology as proof that they were superior to other races (racism)

– Europeans believed they had the right and duty to carry the results of their progress to other countries (“white man’s burden”)

• Cecil Rhodes, the Englishman who ran the diamond mines in South Africa, believed that the British were the first race of the world and that the world would be better off if the British were in charge

• Missionaries also pushed for expansion because they believed that “civilized” European rule would help them Christianize the world and eliminate “evil” (the slave trade, for example)

• David Livingstone, a minister from Scotland and a missionary to Africa, was upset to see Africans sold into slavery in Arabian, Turkish, and Persian lands

• He believed that the British government alone could end the trade

• His efforts and those of his friends did eventually abolish the East African slave trade as most of that region became part of the British Empire

Imperialism Had Mass Appeal • People in industrialized countries wanted to

hear all they could about the soldiers and missionaries who were guarding the empires, having adventures, and spreading the Gospel

• Novels, poetry, and newspapers glorified imperialism and challenged people to “take up the White Man’s Burden” and civilize non-Europeans

• In doing so, Europeans changed life on every continent