1. AGE OF IMPERIALISM
1850-1914

2. SECTION 1: IMPERIALIST DIVIDE
AFRICA
 Main Idea: Ignoring the claims of African
ethnic groups, kingdoms and city-states,
Europeans established colonial claims
 Why it Matter Now? African nations continue to
feel the effects of the colonial presence of 100
years ago

3. AFRICA BEFORE IMPERIALISM
 Divided into hundreds of
ethnic and linguistic groups
 Some converted to Islam and
Christianity
 1,000 different languages
 African armies were able to
keep Europeans out for 400
years
 Europeans stayed on the
coast
 Couldn’t navigate the rapid
rivers until the steamboat

4. NATIONS COMPETE FOR OVERSEAS
EMPIRES
 Europeans and
Americans learned about
Africa through travel
books and newspapers
 Europeans who entered
the interior:
 explorers, missionaries
and humanitarians who
opposed the slave trade

5. THE CONGO SPARKS INTEREST
 David Livingstone, traveled with Africans to find the
source of the Nile, never heard from until 10 years
later
 Stanley found Livingstone
 Stanley came back later and signed treaties with local
chiefs of the Congo and the Congo came under
Belgium rule

6. MOTIVES DRIVING IMPERIALISM
 Imperialism= intent of
dominating the political,
economic and social life of the
people of a particular nation
 Industrial Revolution led to
the need to add land and new
markets
 Economic competition
 Technology
 Racism
 Social Darwinism= “survival
of the fittest”
 “Westernize” the foreigners

7. FORCES ENABLING IMPERIALISM
Why were they able to
“take over?”:
 1. Europeans were
technologically advanced
 Maxim gun= 1889, world’s
first automatic machine gun
 2. Europeans could control
their empire better
 Steam engine, railroads,
cables and steamers
 3. Medicine invented
 Quinine= malaria
 4. Africans were not unified
 languages

8. BERLIN CONFERENCE DIVIDES
AFRICA
 14 European nations
met to avoid
Europeans countries
fighting over Africa=
Berlin Conference
(1884-1885)
 No African ruler
attended these
meetings
 Only Liberia and
Ethiopia remained
free from European
control

9. DEMAND FOR PRODUCT SHAPES
COLONIES
 Many believed that European goods would be
bought in abundance by Africans- they weren’t
 Great mineral sources in Africa
 Gold and diamonds in South Africa

10. 3 GROUPS CLASH OVER SOUTH
AFRICA
 South Africa is a history of Africans (Zulu),
Dutch (Boers) and British

11. ZULU EXPANSION
 Local wars
 Shaka= Zulu chief
 Shaka used highly disciplined
warriors and good military
organization to create a large
centralized state
 Successors were unable to
keep the kingdom against the
British invaders and the Zulu
land became part of British-controlled
land

12. BOERS AND BRITISH SETTLE IN
THE CAPE
 Dutch came to the Cape of
Good Hope to establish a way
station for their ships
 Boers= Dutch settlers, Dutch
for “farmers,” took over native
Africans’ land and established
large farms
 British settlers and Boers
clashed over land and slaves
 Boers moved north= Great
Trek
 Boers fought with Zulu and
other African tribes whose
land they were taking

13. BOER WAR
 When diamonds and gold
were discovered many rushed
to South Africa
 Boer War= British vs. Boers
 First modern “total war”-
raids, guerilla tactics against
the British, British burned
Boer farms and imprisoned
women and children in
disease-ridden concentration
camps
 Who won? Britain

14. SECTION 2: IMPERIALISM: CASE
STUDY: NIGERIA
 Main Idea: Europeans embarked on a new phase
of empire-building that affected both Africa and
the rest of the world
 Why it Matters Now? ****Many former
colonies have political problems that are
the result of colonial rule***

15. COLONIAL CONTROL TAKES MANY
FORMS
 Europeans were determined to shape the
economies of the lands to social lives of the
people
 Wanted the people to adopt European customs

16. FORMS OF COLONIAL CONTROL
 1. Colony= a country or a region governed
internally by a foreign power
 2. Protectorate= a country or territory with its
own internal government but under the control of
an outside power
 3. Sphere of Influence= an area in which an
outside power claims exclusive investment or
trading privileges
 4. Economic Imperialism= independent but less
developed nations controlled by private business
interest rather than by other governments

17. PATTERNS OF IMPERIALIST
MANAGEMENT
 Indirect control- (Britain and US) relied on
existing political rulers, goal is to develop future
leaders
 Direct control- (France) Africans couldn’t govern
themselves
 Paternalism= governed in a fatherly way, providing
for their needs, but not giving them any rights
 Assimilation= local populations absorbed into
French culture

18. A BRITISH COLONY: NIGERIA
 British swayed the
group’s enemies to
help fight the
Africans
 British claimed
Nigeria for their
palm-oil trade
 Because of diversity
in Nigeria it was too
hard to control
directly, so British
ruled Nigeria
indirectly

19. AFRICAN RESISTANCE
 Some Africans tried to resist Europeans, but all
but Ethiopia were unsuccessful

20. UNSUCCESSFUL MOVEMENTS
 Maji Maji Rebellion: Germans vs. Africans
 Africans believed in a “magic water” that would
turn the German’s bullets into water
 Germans mowed down Africans by the thousands

21. ETHIOPIA: A SUCCESSFUL
RESISTANCE
 Menelik 2: emperor of
Ethiopia
 Played the Europeans off
each other
 About to sign a treaty with
Italy but he found a
mistranslation in the treaty
(giving Italy all of Ethiopia,
not just a part) and declared
war
 Battle of Adowa: one of the
greatest battles in the history
of Africa, the Ethiopian forces
defeated the Italians and
maintained their nation’s
independence

22. IMPACT OF COLONIAL RULE
 Positive Impact: reduced local warfare,
humanitarian efforts increased, life span
increased, technology increased
 Negative Impact: Africans lost land and
independence, death from disease, traditional
African cultures, politically divided

23. SECTION 3: MUSLIM LANDS FALL
TO IMPERIALIST DEMANDS
 Main Idea: European nations expanded their
empires by seizing territories from Muslim states
 Why it Matters Now? Political events in this vital
resource area are still influenced by actions from
the imperialistic period

24. OTTOMAN EMPIRE LOSES POWER
 Ottomans have expanded but they weren’t able to
hold back the European imperialist powers

25. REFORMS FAIL
 Suleiman 1: last great
Ottoman sultan died
 Succession of weak sultans
 Corruption financial
losses
 Ottomans fell further
behind Europe
 Selim 3: tried to
modernize, but was
overthrown
 Lands Ottomans had
conquered became very
nationalist and fought for
freedom

26. EUROPEANS GRAB TERRITORY
 Geopolitics= interest in
or taking of land for its
strategic location or
products
 World powers wanted
certain locations
 Ex: Russia wants
access to Med. Sea
through the Black Sea

27. RUSSIA AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
 Crimean War: Russia vs.
Ottoman Empire
 Britain and France enter on
side of Russia and defeat
Ottomans
 First War:
 Women like Florence
Nightingale, established
positions as army nurses
 To be covered by newspaper
correspondents
 Crimean War revealed
weakness of Ottomans

28. EGYPT TRIES REFORM
 Egypt and Rea Sea- strategic
location
 New leader: Muhammad Ali
 Ottomans sent him to govern
Egypt, but he broke away from
control
 He and his heirs became rulers of
Egypt
 Plantation cash crop= cotton
 Isma’il- Muhammad’s grandson
 Suez Canal= connected Red Sea
and Med.
 Egypt couldn’t pay debt, lost
Canal to British
 British occupied Egypt

29. PERSIA PRESSURED TO CHANGE
 Russia and Britain compete
to commercially exploit
Persia
 Persia, to gain economic
prestige, granted concessions
to western business to
operate certain areas or
products
 (ie: oil in 1900’s)
 Persian people did not like
their leaders who tried to
“westernize”
 ie: riots over selling tobacco to
the westerners

30. SECTION 4: BRITISH IMPERIALISM
IN INDIA
 Main Idea: As the Mughal Empire declined,
Britain seized Indian territory until it controlled
almost the whole subcontinent
 Why it Matters Now? India, the second most
populated nation in the world, has its political
roots in this colony

31. SETTING THE STAGE
 British had trading
posts at Bombay,
Madras and
Calcutta (British
East India
Company)
 Mughal Empire kept
trading under
control, but the
Empire was now
declining

32. BRITISH EXPAND CONTROL OVER
INDIA
 British took
advantage of weak
Mughals
 Battle of Plassey
victory over Indians,
from that time on,
East India Company
was the leading
power in India

33. EAST INDIA COMPANY DOMINATES
 Easy India Company
ruled India with little
interference from
British govt.
 Company even had its
own army
 Led by British officers
and staffed by sepoys, or
Indian soldiers

34. “JEWEL IN THE CROWN”
 Britain was going through
Industrial Revolution and
India supplied materials
 “Jewel in the Crown”= the
most valuable of all
Britain’s colonies
 Britain restricted India’s
economy from operating on
its own
 India became valuable after
railroad was established
 Crops: tea, indigo, coffee,
cotton, opium

35. IMPACT OF COLONIALISM
 Positives:
 Technology like, railroads, telephone, dams, bridges
and irrigation canals allowed India to modernize
 Sanitation and public health improved
 Schools and colleges were founded, literacy increased
 British troops ended local warfare
 Negative:
 British held most of the power, racism, restricted
Indian industries

36. INDIANS REBEL
 British tried to convert to
Christianity
 Indians resented racism by British
 Sepoy Rebellion
 Sepoys learned that the cartridges
to their rifles were sealed with beef
and pork fat (against religion)
 Sepoys refused to use rifles and the
British jailed all who wouldn’t obey
 Sepoys rebelled and marched to
Delhi (Sepoy Mutiny)
 Both armies tried to slaughter each
other
 Took the East Company 1 year to
control region again
 Muslims and Hindus couldn’t unite
to beat British

37. TURNING POINT
 Result of Rebellion:
British govt. took direct
control of India, fueled
racist attitude of British
towards the Indians,
increased distrust b/t
British and Indians
 Raj= referred to British
rule over India from
1757-1947, divided India
into 11 provinces

38. INDIAN NATIONALIST MOVEMENTS
BEGINS
 Ram Mohun Roy= well
educated Indian, “Father of
Modern India,” wanted to
modernize India and get
them out of foreign rule
 Nationalism- Indians didn’t
like that they were second
class citizens in their own
country
 Founded: Indian National
Congress and Muslim
League that called for self-government

39. SECTION 5: WESTERN POWERS
RULE SOUTHEAST ASIA
 Main Idea: Demand for Asian products drove
Western imperialists to seek for possession of
Southeast Asian lands
 Why it Matters Now? Southeast Asian
independence struggles in the 20th century have
their roots in this period of imperialism

40. SETTING THE STAGE
 Europeans also
went to Southeast
Asia, part of the
Pacific Rim, the
countries that
border the Pacific
Ocean
 Strategic location to
get to China

41. WESTERN RIVALRIES FOR PACIFIC
RIM LANDS
 European powers now noticed the importance of
the Pacific Rim
 British- Singapore
 French- Indochina
 Germans- New Guinea, Marshall and Solomon
islands

42. PLANTATION PRODUCTS SPUR
COMPETITION
 Land of Southeast Asia was perfect for planting
agriculture
 Sugar cane, coffee, cocoa, rubber, coconuts,
bananas and pineapples

43. DUTCH EXPAND CONTROL
 Dutch East India
Company- expanded
rule
 Indonesia= then called
the Dutch East Indies
 Many Dutch settlers
came to live in
Indonesia
 Forced locals to plant
1/5 of their land to
export crops

44. BRITISH TAKE THE MALAYAN
PENINSULA
 Singapore served as a
stopping point to China
 Singapore became one of the
busiest ports
 British gained control of
Malaysia and Burma
(modern-day Myanmar)
 British encouraged Chinese
to move to Malay and work,
many did, and Malaysians
became a minority
 Still today conflict exist
between the Chinese and
Malay

45. FRENCH CONTROL INDOCHINA
 French entered
Vietnam, Laos and
Cambodia= French
Indochina
 French imposed culture
on the Indochinese
 Used direct colonial
management
 Did not encourage local
production
 Rice was main export
crop
 Peasants became angry
because all rice was
exported and not used to
feed native population

46. COLONIAL IMPACT
 Positives:
 Economies grew in world market scene
 Roads, harbors and rail systems
 Education, health and sanitation improved
Most of the improvements benefitted the Europeans
more than the natives
 Negative:
Migration of different cultures and racial make-ups
resulted in what racial and religious clashes that are
still seen today

47. SIAM MAINTAINS INDEPENDENCE
 Siam (Thailand) maintained
independence during colonial
imperialism
 Siam became a neutral zone
between British and French,
who both held this territory
 King Mongkut- king of Siam,
started schools, reformed legal
system, reorganized
government
 Local Govt. built their own
railroad system and ended
slavery
 Because modernization came
from their own government,
they did not experience the
negatives of colonial rule

48. US ACQUIRED PACIFIC ISLANDS
 Many
Americans did
not like the idea
of colonial rule,
because they
were a colony
 Others believed
it was the
destiny of the
US to become a
world power

49. THE PHILIPPINES CHANGE HANDS
 Spanish American War gave the
US: Philippines, Guam and
Puerto Rico
 Philippines did not like trading
one imperialistic leader for
another
 Pilipino leader, Emilio Aguinaldo,
said that the US promised the
Philippines freedom after war
 Pilipino nationalists declared
independence and established the
Philippine Republic, but the US
put down independence and said
they would help prepare them for
self-rule
 Americans exploited the
Philippines for crops they wanted

50. HAWAII BECOMES A REPUBLIC
 US had interest in Hawaii for location
and sugar
 American sugar plantations accounted
for 75% of Hawaii’s wealth
 Many US business leaders wanted to
annex Hawaii to not have to pay
heavier import taxes added by the
McKinley Tariff Act
 Queen Liliuokalani- Hawaiian Queen,
she called for more political power but
US businessmen plotted and had her
removed from office
 Sanford Dole, a wealthy plantation
owner was named President and he
asked for the US to annex Hawaii
 At first, President Cleveland refused,
but 5 years lasted Hawaii was annexed