This document summarizes European imperialism between 1871-1914. It discusses the main motivations and impacts of imperialism in Africa, Asia, and India. In Africa, Europeans scrambled to partition the continent beginning in the 1880s. In Asia, Japan modernized to avoid colonization and eventually became an imperial power itself by defeating Russia. In India, the British East India Company was replaced by direct British rule after the 1857 rebellion.

1. Imperialism, Colonialism,
and Resistance (1871-1914)

2. Imperialism
■“Imperialism” generally refers to the quest
for rights and possessions in other peoples’
lands.
■19th century imperialism meant control by
the West of areas in Africa as well as the
Middle East and Far East, with no
intention of establishing any Western
settlements.

3. ■Europeans brought with them
Westernization and industrialization.
■Imperialism involved the extension
of sovereignty, the opening of
markets, and work of Christian
missionaries.
■For Westerners, imperial success
gave a nation prestige and power.

4. ■Associated with developments in
industrial capitalism.
■Europeans were competing for markets,
new raw materials, and profitable
investments.
■1902, English reformer J. A. Hobson
coined the term “the scramble for Africa.”
New Imperialism

5. Before European Colonization of Africa in 1880

6. 6

7. ■Hobson believed that
imperialism benefited only the
wealthy class of Western
Europe, who realized high
returns on their investments.
New Imperialism

8. ■The scramble for territory and
authority abroad was an extension
of diplomatic and national rivalries
at home.
■Territories were acquired abroad to
prevent others from gaining an
advantage.
New Imperialism

9. What conclusion can you make from looking at the political cartoon?

10. ■Britain saw rivals abroad,
especially Germany, as threats to
the balance of power in Europe.
■Imperialism was about power and
sovereign states saw imperial power
as a supplement/addition to
national sovereignty.
New Imperialism

11. Put yourself in the time…
■Read Rudyard Kipling’s “White Man’s Burden”…,
and compare it to Henri Labouchere’s “Brown
Man’s Burden.”

12. ■China turned to reform, adopting
Western diplomacy and aiming to
modernize Chinese armed forces in the
mid 19th century.
■A small number of government schools
taught Western languages, international
law, mathematics, science, and
engineering.
China

13. ■The influence of foreigners,
especially missionaries, provoked a
revolt in 1900.
■Chinese Christians attempted to
use foreign pressure to prohibit
traditional religious celebrations and
favour themselves in land disputes.
China

14. ■This angered farmers and
agricultural labourers in the north.
■Men in this region formed a secret
society called “Boxers,” after a form
of martial arts they practiced.
■Began to kill missionaries and
Chinese converts.
China

15. ■Hundreds of foreigners were
killed in Beijing before an
international military force
reached the capital.
■Known as the Boxer Rebellion.
China

16. 16

17. ■Opium War, Great Britain forced
China to accept trade on its
terms.
■A number of European nations
and the United States established
“treaty ports” in China.
China

18. 18

19. ■The United States, supported by
Britain, proclaimed an “Open Door”
policy in 1899.
■Designed to keep the territorial
integrity of China, while maintaining
concessions; used to prevent Japan and
Russia from annexing Chinese territory.
China

20. ■Chinese were able to maintain their
independence despite Western influence.
■They created their own steamship lines
to compete with British and other
Europeans.
■Introduced Western spinning and
weaving technology and shipped cotton
textiles to the West.
China

21. ■China faced an imperialist
threat from a rapidly
industrializing Japan.
■1894, Japan went to war with
China over disputes regarding
Korea.
China

22. ■Japanese army, trained and supplied in
the Western manner, won easily!
■Known as the Sino-Japanese War
(1894-1895).
■Signed Treaty of Shimoneseki (1895), in
which Japan forced China to cede
Formosa and the Liaotung Peninsula and
recognize Korea as a sovereign state.
China

23. ■Harshness of this treaty
worried Western powers and
made them realize that a new
important rival, and possible
enemy or ally, was on the
scene!
China

24. ■Until the arrival of
Commodore
Matthew Perry in
1853, Japan was
relatively isolated
from the rest of the
world.
Japan

25. ■Using the threat of force, Perry
successfully demanded that the Japanese
government open two ports.
■1854, Americans forces “unequal treaties”
on Japan, which under the Tokugawa
shogunate (military government) was a
decentralized state, unprepared to deal
with the new circumstances.
Japan

26. 26

27. ■Many Japanese demanded the real
government authority be returned to the
emperor.
■Resulted in the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
■Involved rebuilding the Japanese state,
following Western model of centralized,
unitary government.
Japan

28. ■From 1870s to 1890s, the old samurai
military forces of the shogun and daimyo
gave way to European-style imperial army.
■Imperial navy was also created.
■Samurai were replaced in the civil service
by men from new modern schools.
■Education became compulsory for girls
and boys.
Japan

29. ■Japan had a
constitution and
had transformed
itself into an
industrial and
military power.
Japan

30. ■Rather than fall victim to
imperialism, Japan joined the
Western powers as an imperial state.
■After renegotiating the “unequal
treaties” and defeating China in
1894, Japan was recognized by the
West as a major power.
Japan

31. ■Japan became Britain’s ally and defeated
Russia in 1905 in the Russo-Japanese War.
Japan

32. ■Japan also had ambitions on
Manchuria - which clashes with Russia.
■Russia wanted to build railways into
Manchuria and gain concessions in
Korea - Japan considered this part of its
sphere of influence.
■Tried to negotiate, unsuccessfully!
Russo-Japanese War

33. 33

34. ■In 1904, Japan attacked Port
Arthur, Russian base in
Manchuria.
Russo-Japanese War

35. ■Russo Japanese War lasted 16
months (1904-1905).
■Japanese were successful in part
because Russia could not supply
its navy and troops, and because of
Russian military incompetence.
Russo-Japanese War

36. ■Treaty of Portsmouth gave Port
Arthur to Japan and confirmed Japan’s
interests in Korea.
■Marked the first time since the
Renaissance that a non-European state
had defeated a major European power.
■Balance of power had changed!
Russo-Japanese War

37. ■1857-1858, India experienced a large uprising
against the British, led by Muslim and Hindu
sepoys - soldiers trained in European military
tradition - joined by several Indian princes.
■Rebellion was quashed by British, aided by
loyal Indian troops.
■Known as the Sepoy Mutiny by the British.
■Indians call it the Great Rebellion.
India

38. ■Led to India losing its independence.
■The British East India Company no
longer administered the subcontinent,
and India came under control of the
British parliament.
India

39. ■British governed India with a civil
service composed of a small European
elite of about 3500 persons in 1900.
India

40. ■They administered a subcontinent of 300
million people!
■Spoke many different languages.
■Composed of Hindus, Muslims, and
other religions.
■Native princes continued to rule in
accordance with British policy in local
areas.
India

41. ■In 1876, parliament proclaimed Queen
Victoria Empress of India.
■She promised her Indian subjects that all
treaties would be respected, the government
would cease further annexation of territories,
and allow the remaining princes to continue
to choose their heirs (as long as they
acknowledged her as the Empress of India).
India

42. A British Merchant's Home in Colonial India

43. ■Between 1858 and 1914,
British Raj (means
“rule” in Hindi) became
entrenched in India.
■Goal was to create a
class of Westernized
Indians, through
education.
India

44. ■1885, the Indian National Congress
was formed.
■Concerned with Indianization of the
administration.
■By the mid 1890s, some nationalists
began to criticize the modernization
of the Congress.
India

45. B.G. Tilak (1856-1920). At
his own life, Tilak
championed the freedom of
the press and demanded
independence from British
rule.
By 1905, Indian Congress
committed itself to the goal
of Indian self-government.
Indian nationalism
challenged both Britain and
the local princes who co-
operated with the British.

46. ■Suez Canal opened in
1869 by the French.
■Came under control
of the English in 1875.
■Control of canal cut
travel time in half!
Partition of Africa

47. ■European’s began to explore further into the
African continent and realized the numerous
economic possibilities of areas like the
Congo.
■To exploit the area, King Leopold II of
Belgium (1865-1909) founded a private
company that gained international
recognition of its sovereignty over the Congo.
Partition of Africa

48. ■France moved into Tunisia,
Morocco, and the area west of the
Belgian Congo.
■Italy moved into the east.
■Germany began to press into areas
in central and southwest Africa in
1884.
Partition of Africa

49. A Map of Africa (1914), showing the extent of colonization

50. ■1885, Congress of Berlin was called to
deal with the partition and development
of Africa.
■By 1914, ALL of Africa, except Ethiopia
and Liberia, was part of the imperial
spheres of Belgium, England, France,
Germany, Italy, Portugal, or Spain!!!
Partition of Africa

51. A Map of Africa (1914), showing the extent of colonization

52. ■European states viewed the African
continent as open for business and
exploitation and ripe for missionary activity.
■They had little regard for African society
and culture.
■Strong racial element as European
countries viewed themselves as models for
all civilizations.
Partition of Africa

53. ■Tensions developed not only between
Europeans and Africans, but also
between European nations themselves.
■The area around the Cape of Good
Hope (South Africa) had been colonized
by the Dutch in the 17th century, but
came under British control in 1806.
Partition of Africa

54. ■Dutch settlers, known as Boers
(meaning farmer in Dutch), moved
out of the area when the British
outlawed slavery.
■They established two independent
republics, the Transvaal and the
Orange Free State.
Partition of Africa

55. ■When diamonds were discovered in
these areas in the 1870s and gold in
the 1880s, a large number of British
entered the areas.
■Boers deeply resented new
immigrants and prevented them from
taking part in political life of the area.
Partition of Africa

56. ■1899, British declared war on the
Boers.
■Lasted 3 years and they had to commit
over half a million men to the conflict.
■Ultimately, the Boers were defeated
and the two republics became part of
the British Empire.
Partition of Africa

57. Boer piquet near Spion Kop, Jan 1900

58. British dead after the Battle of Spion Kop, 1900