04 IMPERIALISM AND COLONIAL EMPIRES

1 IMPERIALISM

During the last third of the 19th century

A large number of territories became controlled by European powers

The most important European states expanded by colonising territories all over the world

The main aim of this expansion was to subject other peoples to imperial states

This political doctrine is called imperialism

CAUSES OF IMPERIALISM

Industrial development

Rivalry between industrialised countries

Intense population growth

Ideological and cultural factors

Required new raw materials that were sometimes found in territories very far away from Europe

The development of European industrial production

Demanded that new consumer markets be established all over the world

Competed with each other to guarantee a supply of raw materials

To secure trade routes and to obtain political prestige

Europe led to more overseas emigration

Between 1871 and 1911, 33 million Europeans left the continent

Europe wanted to ‘civilise’ the rest of the world

As well as colonial expansion

Religious missions were organised to evangelise the colonised peoples

Scientific missions to explore the geography of the new territories

COLONIAL EMPIRES IN 1914

The British Empire was by far the most extensive, followed at some distance by the French Empire

The British controlled almost a quarter of the world, 345 million inhabitants

2 COLONIAL TERRITORIES

Imperialist expansion led to the development of colonialism

The way in which European empires expanded, depended on

This was a system in which the mother country exploited the colonies according to its interests

The circumstances of each colonised territory

Inland Africa was almost completely unexplored

In Asia, there were a number of ancient deep-rooted cultures and religions, such as Islam, and two enormous countries

America had already undergone colonisation and almost all of its countries were independent

COLONISATION OF AFRICA

In 1885, Germany organised the Berlin West Africa Conference

To decide how Africa would be divided amongst the European powers

Because of its late unification, 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

Other powers wanted to prevent this

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

France and Portugal wanted to establish corridors from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the Indian Ocean coast of Africa

COLONISATION OF ASIA

Except for some Portuguese and French enclaves, the Indian Peninsula was colonised by the British, who considered it ‘the jewel in the Crown’

France took control of Indochina and Great Britain of Malaysia

The Dutch replaced Portugal’s former rule over modern-day Indonesia

China was still an independent country

Was ruled by its emperor and ancient institutions

It also felt the effects of imperialist pressures from Europe and the USA

It had to cede control of its mines and allow areas of importance for foreign trade to be divided between the colonists

It also opened up ports in important coastal cities, to international trade

The British took advantage of the Chinese authorities’ initial tolerance of opium consumption

Smuggled the drug to make large amounts of money, to the detriment of the population’s health

The Chinese rebelled against this in the First Opium War, but were defeated by the British

After the Treaty of Nanking was signed in 1842, the port of Hong Kong became a British royal colony

THE HEGEMONY OF THE UNITED STATES IN AMERICA

Despite its anti-colonialist past, the United States began numerous military interventions

To defend its economic and strategic interests

They left the island of Cuba in 1902, but reserved the right to military intervention when they deemed appropriate

To achieve this, they fought Spain, also

They encouraged Panama to separate from Colombia and subdued the Philippine rebels in a cruel war that caused nearly a million civilian victims

3 TYPES OF COLONIAL GOVERNMENT

Colonies

Protectorates

Dominions

Territories where weak local power allowed mother countries to control all aspects of the country

Economic, political and cultural

This model was applied in many parts of Africa, such as the Congo, controlled by the Belgians

France also imposed this model of government in Indochina

Territories where the mother country decided not to intervene

In matters of local politics, controlling only economic matters and foreign relations

This model was used primarily in Asia, like the British protectorate in India

France and Spain had protectorates in Morocco

Territories of the British Empire, occupied almost entirely by a new population of European origin, with great autonomy and their own institutions

4 CONSEQUENCES OF IMPERIALISM

The consequences of colonial expansion for colonising countries were very different from those of the countries that were colonised

The way in which territories were divided

Was based on the interests of the occupying powers and not on local factors

Artificial borders were created, dividing tribes and ethnic groups or joining them together

This would result in conflicts in the future

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 in the Belgian Congo

Colonisation severely altered the social structure of the indigenous populations

A new social order was imposed, based on racial discrimination against the indigenous peoples by the colonists

This resulted in the breakdown of the traditional tribal society

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 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

Trade was linked to usage by the investors and companies involved in the canals’ construction

Most of which were British in the case of the Suez Canal

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