1 / 40

European Imperialism, 1800-1885

European Imperialism, 1800-1885. Section One. An Introduction to Imperialism. What was imperialism?. As an action, it was the indirect or direct exploitation of an alien land or people by a state As an idea, it claimed that an empire based on such actions is desirable and good for a state.

oriel
Download Presentation

European Imperialism, 1800-1885

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. European Imperialism, 1800-1885

  2. Section One An Introduction to Imperialism

  3. What was imperialism? • As an action, it was the indirect or direct exploitation of an alien land or people by a state • As an idea, it claimed that an empire based on such actions is desirable and good for a state

  4. Why did states create empires? • Empires expanded the natural resources available for state use • Empires created new markets for industrial exports • Empires provided opportunities to restless people to serve as soldiers, civil servants, colonists, explorers, and missionaries • Successful empires demonstrated strength and vigor to rival states

  5. Important concepts of imperialism • The metropole and its periphery • The civilizing mission • Informal and formal imperialism • The Great Game

  6. Diplomats, missionaries, and trading companies • They provided valuable geographical and social information on alien lands to the metropole • Their presence or actions frequently created situations that metropoles could exploit for greater interference • Their presence or actions could also shape domestic and international politics

  7. Section Two Three Examples of Imperialism

  8. The Dutch Colonial Empire • The Dutch led the second wave of Europeans to sail east around Africa to trade with Asian civilizations • They developed the joint-stock company, which spread risk among investors for safer returns • Dutch Protestantism encouraged entrepreneurialism

  9. The Dutch East India Company • Founded in 1602, the Dutch East India Company, a joint-stock company, held a monopoly on Dutch trade in Asia • Within seventy years, it was arguably the largest and most successful trading company in Europe at the time • Financial and political troubles led to its dissolution in 1800 with its assets passing to the Dutch monarchy

  10. Dutch South Africa • Colonization began with the founding of Cape Town by the Company in 1652 and progressed as Dutch burghers called Boers immigrated to become farmers and ranchers. • The British seizure of Cape Town in 1815 and their immigration campaign displaced the Boers north and east into Zulu-held territory. • Increasing tension over land led to the Anglo-Boer Wars (1880-1881, 1899-1902) and the creation of nominally independent Boer republics.

  11. The Dutch East Indies • The Company established trading posts on Java in 1603 and used a combination of intricate alliances and callous force to secure and expand its revenues. • Once the Dutch monarchy assumed control, it instituted a bitterly lucrative plantation system and annexed Bali, Borneo, and Sumatra in a series of bloody wars. • Public criticism of colonial rule during the 1860s and 1870s initiated reforms that led to limited economic and institutional reforms.

  12. Dutch East India colonies

  13. The Second French Empire • Pre-1789 France had a large colonial empire: • the Americas • Caribbean • trade in Asia • Late to the Great Game: • political instability • lack of desire • But France was a major imperialist state from 1850 on.

  14. French Algeria • Charles X conquered Algiers in 1830 to improve his extremely poor public image and to eliminate the Barbary corsairs, who plagued southern European shipping • Louis Philippe and Napoleon III continued the conquest of Algeria and declared it as a French territory in 1857 • Approximately 400,000 colonists, called colons or pied-noirs, came to Algeria by 1880, displacing many Algerians and creating long-standing resentment

  15. The French Foreign Legion • Founded in 1831 during the Algerian Campaign, the French Foreign Legion was instrumental to the success of French imperialism. • It was perhaps the most highly skilled military unit of the nineteenth century. • The officer corps was exclusively French, while enlisted men were volunteers from Europe and beyond. • Legionnaires swore loyalty to the Legion, not France, hence its motto: Legion Patria Nostra (The Legion is Our Country).

  16. French Indochina • French missionaries arrived in southern Vietnam during the late 1700s and were tolerated by local rulers until the 1820s. • Napoleon III sent military forces in 1857 that captured Saigon in 1862 and forced a treaty ceding territory and enduring Christian toleration. • Imperial expansion continued, incorporating Laos and Cambodia into the French protectorate of Indochina of 1884. • Colonial plantations grew rice, rubber, tea, and exotic woods for export.

  17. The British Empire • By the beginning of the twentieth century, approximately one-fourth of the world was under some form of British imperial rule • It underwrote much of the British economy, providing and consuming products, and frequently figured in domestic advertisements • It spread the English language, parliamentary government, and entrepreneurial capitalism • It also left a legacy of exploitation, racism, and death on nearly every continent

  18. British India • The British East India Company, which had traded in India since its beginnings, ousted its French counterpart in the 1740s and insinuated itself into Indian politics. • The Company acquired the right to collect taxes for many local rulers, eventually placing them and their land under its control. • The Great Indian Uprising of 1857 convinced the metropole to end Company administration and install a civil service ruled by London, the Raj. • Positions in the Raj became highly competitive and went to the best of British university graduates and the nobility. • Eventually, some Western-educated Indians served, but remained segregated from its subjects.

  19. The China Trade • The British came to China in the late eighteenth century to trade for porcelain, silk, and tea. • The Chinese were reluctant to trade or traded only for silver and gold rather than goods. • To open China to Western trade, the British introduced opium or used military force to extract better trade concessions. • The Opium Wars (1839-1842, 1856-1860) opened China to trade and gained for the British the islands of Hong Kong on a limited lease.

  20. British Africa • Aside from India, Africa was the most active area of British imperialism • Africa was valuable to the British and other imperial powers for its natural resources, arable land, and many strategically valuable locations • Perhaps no man did more to affect the future of Africa and the Empire than Cecil Rhodes and his dream to unite Africa under British rule • Perhaps no imperial war for Africa was more ominous in its implications for European affairs than the Anglo-Boer Wars

More Related