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Imperialism and Colonial Empires
Imperialism
Causes of Imperialism
Industrial development
New materials were found in territories very far away
New consumer markets were established all over the world.
Rivalry between industrialised countries
They fought to guarantee a supply of raw materials, to secure trade routes and to obtain political prestige.
Intense population growth
33 million Europeans left the continent and moved to other places around the world
Ideological and cultural factors
Europe wanted to ‘civilise’ the rest of the world
The Mother country
The mother country was the imperialist state on which a colony depended. It held all aspects of power
Colonial Territories
Imperialist expansion led to the development of colonialism
This was a system in which the mother country exploited the colonies according to its interests
Colonisation of Africa
In 1885, Germany organised the Berlin West Africa Conference to decide how Africa would be divided
Germany feared that it would miss its opportunity for colonial expansion
The British Empire wanted to establish a large belt of colonies from Egypt to Cape Town
France already controlled the Sahara and its bordering countries
Portugal controlled large inland areas that it had reached from the ports of its old colonial empire
Colonisation of Asia
The Indian Peninsula was colonised by the British
China also felt the effects of imperialism from Europe and the USA
It had to cede control of its mines and allow areas of importance for foreign trade
It also opened up ports in important coastal cities
The British smuggled opium to make large amounts of money and detriment of the population’s health
The Chinese rebelled against this in the First Opium War, but were defeated by the British
The Treaty of Nanking was signed in 1842, the port of Hong Kong became a British royal colony
The Hegemony of the United States of America
They began numerous military interventions to defend its economic and strategic interests
They left the island of Cuba, but reserved the right to military intervention when they deemed appropriate
To achieve this...
they fought Spain
they encouraged Panama to separate from Colombia
they subdued the Philippine rebels in a cruel war that caused nearly a million civilian victims
Types of Colonial Government
3 types of colonial government
Protectorates
Territories where the mother country decided not to intervene in matters of local politics
Dominions
Territories of the British Empire with great autonomy and their own institutions
Colonies
Territories where weak local power allowed mother countries to control all aspects of the country
Consequences of Imperialism
The consequences of colonial expansion were very different from the countries that were colonised.
Colonial expansion consolidated inequalities in the global production of goods
The colonies specialised in producing cheap raw materials
The mother countries manufactured and sold industrial products of higher added value
Colonisation involved violence against the people, leading to atrocities like the genocide
A new social order was imposed, based on racial discrimination against the indigenous peoples
The way in which territories were divided was based on the interests of the occupying powers
Artificial borders were created. This would result in conflicts in the future
Colonisation opened the door to certain advances in industrialised countries
Due to racial discrimination under colonial rule, not everybody enjoyed these benefits
Strategic control over the canals
The great powers wanted the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal to be built for two reasons:
To shorten international shipping routes
For political reasons