6.2: State Expansion

Imperialism in Africa

• Europe’s relationship with Africa before was largely based on the slave trade

• For much of the 1800s, European influence in Africa remained limited to trading posts

• By late 1800s, Europeans wanted more from Africa
• Europeans wanted palm oil, a lubricant which kept machinery from becoming rusty

British Control of Egypt

• Europeans long dreamed of shortening the sea distance from Europe to Asia

• In 1869, Suez Canal was built in Egypt to greatly reduce the time it took

• When unrest broke out in the Suez Canal region which threatened the canal, the British seized control of Egypt from Ottomans in 1882

• To build the Suez Canal, corvée laborers were used
• These are unpaid workers who were forced to work as a form of taxation

British West Africa

• British diplomacy and warfare to expand in West Africa

• Ex: Britain cut a deal with King Jaja in present day Nigeria, a region filled with palm oil
• British agreed to recognize him as ruler in exchange for trade agreements

• Warfare was used when British were met with resistance

The French in Africa

• French seize Algeria from Ottomans in 1830 and establish a settler colony

• Settler colony = colony where people from the imperial country actually relocate to the colony to live there
• Due to this, huge influx of French, Spanish, and Italian immigrants came to live in Algeria

The Scramble for Africa

• As more and more lands were claimed by Europeans in Africa, tensions between Europeans began to heat up

Berlin Conference

• Held in order to prevent war from breaking out in Europe due to the scramble taking place in Africa

• Held in 1884

• Imperial leaders here carved up Africa in a way that made everyone happy and without sparking war

• The boundaries drawn were for the benefit of the Europeans
• These boundaries however separated long united Africans and combined long standing rival groups
• Would cause big trouble later on

Congo

• King Leopold II of Belgium personally owned the colony of Congo and used it for himself
• Belgian government didn’t own it: he did

• Leopold from this colony became extremely rich

• Enacted policies of extreme brutality towards the Congolese
• Used forced labor to extract ivory and rubber
• Hands of Congolese workers were severed in order to terrorize others into submission
• He brutally exploited both the economy and people of the Congo

• By 1908, Belgian government took over and conditions somewhat improved

Independent Countries

• By 1900 the only two countries unclaimed by Europeans were Liberia and Ethiopia

• Italy attempted to conquer Ethiopia in 1895 but the native forces were too strong for the Italians

Imperialism in South Asia

• Portugal never extended its reach beyond Goa; France had a few trading ports but lost them to England in the Seven Year’s War in the 1750s

• British East India Company slowly claimed more territory from the weakened Mughal Empire

• Eventually the company conquered all of India
• Used sepoys, Indian soldiers

Imperialism in East Asia

• In China, European powers did not directly conquer China but instead utilized economic imperialism

• European powers through superior military strength forced China to bend over to their demands

• European powers carved up China into spheres of influence
• Qing Dynasty remained in power but in each sphere, a foreign power enjoyed exclusive economic privileges and trade rights

• This, along with a weakened Qing government due to internal problems, allowed Europeans to dominate the economic affairs of China

Boxer Rebellion

• Anti-imperialist and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901

• Emerged due to growing resentment among Chinese nationalists towards foreign influence, imperialism, and the spread of Christianity in China

• 100,000 Chinese Christians killed

• Britain, Germany, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Japan crushed the rebellion

• Europeans blamed rebellion on Qing and forced them to pay compensation for losses, further weakening Qing authority and creating more anti-Qing resentment amongst Chinese

Japan

• Became a colonizer

• Modernized military during period of reform called Meiji Restoration

• Also wanted colonial holdings with raw resources

• Expanded into Korea and parts of China, Southeast Asia, and Pacific islands

Imperialism in Southeast Asia

• In the last time period, Portugal and Spain controlled European trade with Southeast Asia

• After 1600, this shifted to Dutch and British

The Dutch in Southeast Asia

• 1641: Dutch East India Company seize control of Spice Islands, where cloves and nutmeg were grown

• Corruption caused the downfall of the Dutch East India Company, so Dutch government takes over its assets

• By mid 1800s the colonies were supporting the Dutch economy through cash crops like tea, rubber, sugar
• Limited rice cultivation (the thing people who lived there ate) which created many hardships for them
• Rubber used for industrial machinery and infrastructure

French in Southeast Asia

• France gain control of northern Vietnam in 1885 after defeating China in a war

• By 1890s, French Indochina consisted of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam

• French, like Dutch, planted cash crops and setup rubber plantations everywhere

The British in Southeast Asia

• British create port of Singapore in 1824

• Chinese immigrants soon made it the most important seaport in Southeast Asia

• Britain too planted cash crops like pepper, tobacco, palm oil, and rubber

Siam

• Only one Southeast Asian nation, Siam (modern day Thailand) did not get subject to European imperialism

• Made strategic alliances with both British and French

• Also modernized to avoid imperialism (similar to Japan)
• Built railroads, setup Western style schools

Australia and New Zealand

• Both colonized by Britain

• Australia established as penal colony in 1788
• Became proper colony when gold and copper found

• New Zealand established as settler colony
• Maori, who inhabited New Zealand, lost to British

U.S. Imperialism in Latin America and the Pacific

• Manifest Destiny = 1800s belief that it was the destiny and right of the United States to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific

• US kicked out Native Americans and forced them to move to migrate to other places through the Indian Removal Act
• This forced relocation became known as Trail of Tears

Monroe Doctrine

• Issued by James Monroe in 1823

• Says Europeans should not interfere with the affairs of the countries in the Americas and only the US could do so as the US was the “protector” of the Americas

Expansion Overseas

• US became major industrial power thanks to stuff like steel during the Second Industrial Revolution

• Economic considerations, as well as feelings of nationalism, drove US to expand overseas

Spanish-American War

• US wins war against Spain in 1898

• US gets Guam, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Philippines

Roosevelt Corollary

• Enacted by Theodore Roosevelt in 1904

• If countries in Latin America demonstrated “instability,” the United States would intervene

• US used this as basis to intervene many times
• Ex: In 1904 US occupied the Dominican Republic until it paid its foreign debts

Great Game

• Great Game = British-Russian rivalry for influence in Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Tibet, and Persia.

• The main reason this happened was because the British and Russians thought they would eventually go to war for who got to control India (although this never ended up happening due to World War I and the Communist Revolution)

• Imperial expansion brought about much of Central Asia under Russia's control until the end of the Soviet Union in 1991