7.6 - New Imperialism: Motivations and Methods

Overview:

Focus: This period saw a new wave of European imperialism, concentrating on Africa and Asia.

Definition: Imperialism is when one country extends political dominance over another.

Motivations for Imperialism:

Industrial Revolution: European states, thriving in the Industrial Revolution, needed raw materials (e.g., cotton, rubber, iron) to fuel their factories and markets to sell their manufactured goods.

Resource Exploitation: Once European nations exhausted their domestic resources, they sought materials abroad. For example, after the British took control of India post-Sepoy Rebellion (1857), they exploited India’s resources, particularly cotton, and used the large Indian population as a market for British goods.

Colonization in Africa: The British colonized parts of West Africa and large territories along the eastern side of Africa to get raw materials such as palm oil and cocoa from West Africa, cotton from Egypt, and gold and diamonds from southern Africa.

Economic Imperialism in China: The British, facing an unfavorable trade balance with China, began smuggling opium into the country. This led to widespread addiction in China and eventually the Opium Wars (1839-1842, 1856-1860), where Britain forcibly opened Chinese markets to British goods.

The Americas Broke Free, but Not Economically: Even as Europeans took colonies in Africa and Asia, most colonies in the Americas had already won independence (Haiti in 1804, Brazil in 1822, and most of Spanish America by the mid-1820s). But these new nations stayed economically dependent on Europe. They exported raw materials like beef, coffee, guano, and nitrates and bought European manufactured goods, and British investors owned many of their railroads, mines, and banks.

Scramble for Africa: European powers, including Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, and Italy, scrambled to claim African territories, leading to tensions among them. King Leopold II of Belgium sped up the race when explorer Henry Morton Stanley, working for him, signed treaties with local chiefs to claim the Congo River basin (1879-1884).

Power and Prestige: Nations competed for territories to enhance their global influence and prestige, leading to a fierce competition for colonies.

Strategic Concerns: After the Suez Canal opened in 1869, it became Britain's shortcut to India, so Britain occupied Egypt in 1882 partly to protect it. Steam-powered navies also needed ports and coaling stations around the world to refuel.

National Rivalries: Colonies became a measure of national greatness. France built a larger empire partly to restore its pride after losing the Franco-Prussian War (1871), and newly united Germany claimed colonies in Africa and the Pacific in 1884-1885 so it would not be left behind. Each power's grab pushed its rivals to grab more before nothing was left.

Social Darwinism: By the late 19th century, the idea of Social Darwinism took root, justifying the domination of “strong” European nations over “weaker” ones in Africa and Asia.

Civilizing Mission: Europeans believed they were bringing the benefits of Western civilization to “primitive” societies. The French called this mission mission civilisatrice (civilizing mission), while Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The White Man’s Burden” reflected the belief that it was the duty of Europeans to civilize non-Western peoples.

Missionaries: Christian missionaries wanted to convert Africans and Asians, and many also built schools and hospitals. The Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone became famous for his goal of bringing "Christianity, commerce, and civilization" to Africa, and his travels built public support in Britain for involvement there.

European Advantages in Imperialism:

Rifled Barrels and Minié Balls: These technological advancements made European guns more accurate and deadly.

How They Worked: Rifling (spiral grooves inside the barrel) makes a bullet spin so it flies straight. The Minié ball (1849) was a cone-shaped bullet that slid easily down a rifled barrel and then expanded to grip the grooves when fired, so rifles could be loaded quickly and still hit targets hundreds of yards away.

Breech-Loading Rifles and Machine Guns: These innovations allowed faster reloading and rapid-fire capabilities, giving Europeans a significant advantage in combat.

Example: The Maxim gun (1884), the first fully automatic machine gun, fired hundreds of rounds a minute. At the Battle of Omdurman in Sudan (1898), British and Egyptian forces killed more than 10,000 Mahdist soldiers while losing fewer than 50 of their own. The British writer Hilaire Belloc joked, "Whatever happens, we have got / The Maxim gun, and they have not."

Telegraph: The ability to send messages quickly over long distances, including underwater cables, allowed better coordination in conquering and maintaining territories.

Railroads: The construction of railroads in colonies facilitated the transport of raw materials and goods, further strengthening European control.

Steamships: Steam-powered gunboats could travel up rivers against the current, carrying troops and guns deep into Africa and China (Britain used them in the First Opium War). Steamships also made ocean voyages faster and more reliable, and the Suez Canal (1869) cut thousands of miles off the trip from Britain to India.

Quinine: The discovery that quinine could fend off malaria allowed Europeans to penetrate the interior of Africa, previously inaccessible due to the disease.

Example: Europeans had called West Africa "the white man's grave" because so many died of malaria. Quinine, made from the bark of the cinchona tree, changed that: on an 1854 British expedition up the Niger River, the Europeans took quinine every day, and none of them died of fever.

Germ Theory and Antiseptics: Louis Pasteur’s germ theory revolutionized medical care, enabling European troops to remain healthier and more resilient during imperial conquests.

Anesthesia, Antiseptics, and Public Health: Anesthesia (ether, first demonstrated in surgery in 1846) and Joseph Lister's antiseptic methods (1867) made surgery far safer, and public health projects like clean water and sewers cut deaths from diseases like cholera in army camps and colonial cities.