5.2: Imperialism and Nation-State Formation

Welcome back! We have finished and left behind 5.1! Today, I thought we'd knock out all of 5.2, since its a very short section. It talks about the growth of overseas colonies and the establishment of new colonies and transoceanic empires. Warfare and diplomacy resulted and were affected by this. The process was led by Europe, but the US and Japan also participated. Not all states were affected equally, which led to heavy European influence. The growth of these new empires challenged the power of the existing land based empires. New ideas about nationalism (pride for one's country), race, gender, class, and culture developed. These ideas facilitated the spread of transoceanic empires and justified anti-imperial resistance and the formation of new national identities.

5.2 I: Industrializing powers established transoceanic empires

    A: States with existing colonies strengtheded their control over those colonies.

       1) One example of this is the British in India. They strengthened their control in a revolution. In the 1800s, the Indian colony began to rebel against the East India Company. This is known as the Indian Uprising of 1857. The motives of this rebellion was two things: the British caused droughts and famines in India through heavy taxes. India lost its superiority. The second reason is that some troops overheard rumors that the British were going to convert all the Hindu Indians to Christianity. This caused them to rebel. Sadly, the British crushed the rebellion and strengthened their control over India. In 1876, they declared Queen Victoria the empress of India.

       2) Another example is the Dutch in Indonesia. They strengthened their control by building railroads and using steamboats and increasingly destructive weaponry to accomplish their ends. They also made deals with local rulers and merchants who could profit from working with imperialists.

    B: European states, as well as the Americans and the Japanese, established empires throughout Asia and the Pacific, while Spanish and Portuguese influence declined.

       1) The British established an empire in India, taxing them heavily. Later, they built railroads to make commerce revenue collecting more efficient and faster. 

       2) The Dutch established an empire in Indonesia, demanding taxes, building railroads, industrializing, and making deals with the locals.

       3) The French gained control over Cochin China (southern Vietnam). They used favorable treaties backed by the threat of military action to create the Union of Indochina from Cambodia, Tonkin, Annam, and Chochin China. Money making projects like rubber plantations followed.

       4) The Germans fought with other countries over control of Sub-Saharan Africa, to dominate its peoples, land, and resources. Then, German Chancellor Otto von Bismark established German control over Cameroon and a part of East Africa. 

       5) The Russians gained control of Turkmenistan, some provinces of Afghanistan, and also extended into the Ottoman Empire, Persia, northern India, and China. They built the trans-Siberian railroad to integrate Siberia into the expanding Russian empire.

    C: Many European states used both warfare and diplomacy to establish empires in Africa.

       1) The British had to use warfare to get rid of competing countries and used diplomacy to coordinate with locals to finally gain control over West Africa.

       2) The same combination of tactics worked for Belgium as they took over the Congo.

    D: In some parts of their empires, Europeans established settler colonies.

       1) The British established settler colonies in southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. 

       2) The French established settler colonies in Algeria.

    E: In other parts of the world, industrialized states practiced economic imperialism.

       1) The British and French expanded their own influence into China through the Opium Wars. When the Treaty of Nanjing was formed, China was forced to open its gates to diplomats, allow five ports to open, and reduce tariffs. This allowed their influence to spread.

       2) The British and the United States invested heavily in Latin America.

5.2 II: Imperialism influenced state formation and contraction around the world.

    A: The expansion of US and European influence over Tokugawa Japan led to the emergence of Meiji Japan. This meant that Westernization caused the entire Meiji Restoration. Meiji means "enlightened rule". This is shown in the government. Imperial rule was less absolute and it was seen as combination of "Western science and Eastern values". 

    B: The United States and Russia emulated European transoceanic imperialism by expanding their land boarders and conquering neighboring territories. 

       1) The United States expanded their land boarders westward to make it the country that we know today. Its main reasons for expansion was through the pressures of migration and the demand for raw materials. It expanded through warfare, conquering the Mexican and Indian peoples for their resources and land. The Americans saw this expansion as part of the US's Manifest Destiny-the belief that white Americans had a God-given right control the entire continent, no matter how many Native Americans were killed or displaced. 

       2) Russia expanded to Siberia and other parts of Asia, including the Middle East. This included Turkmenistan, Ottoman Empire, Afghanistan, Persia, northern India, and China. This expanded their empire.

    C: Anti-imperialism resistance took various forms including direct resistance within empires and the creation of new states on the peripheries.

       1) One example of this is the Cherokee Nation. They resisted against US Manifest Destiny a lot and they had good reason to, because all their land was getting stolen. Sadly, this did not work out for them, and the Cherokee had to embark on a famous journey known as the Trail of Tears, so named because of all the deaths that ocurred on the journey.

       2) The Zulu Kingdom was a kingdom in South Africa that had a powerful kingdom since the early 1800s. They constantly resisted the British by using camoflauge and stealth mode. But, they were defeated in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The British justified their rule there by holding and interrogating their king, Cetshwayo, to prove that he was a "dictatorial savage", so the British had to rule.

       3) People established independent states in the Balkans as a form of resistance.

5.2 III: New racial ideologies, especially social Darwinism, facilitated and justified imperialism.

    A: The Portuguese and Spanish used a mix of Christianity and racism to justify domination. This was based on the accomplishments of the Protestant Americans. Their only superiority was their Catholicism, so they used it to justify domination.

    B: Social Darwinism was a type of new "scientific" theories about race to affirm cultural superiority. These came from the ideas of European scientists and doctors, like Charles Darwin. He claimed that nonwhites, women, and members of the working class were less evolved and were in need of domination. This claim was backed up by false measurements in the 1800s, such as the size of the cranium.

Quick Side Note: Scientific racism wasn't just confined to white people. For example, the Japanese considered themselves far more advanced than natives, such as the Ainu, and foreigners, such as the Koreans.

That's all for today. Be sure to come back soon when we discuss 5.3. See you then!