Chapter 16 Europes World Supremacy 1871 1914 Section

Chapter 16: Europe’s World Supremacy, 1871 -1914 Section: 16. 78 Imperialism: Its Nature and Causes

Imperialism • “The colonialism of the late nineteenth century” • Def: Government of one people by another – Other definitions? • Economic, political, military, or cultural hegemony of one nation over another

Imperialism: Its Nature and Causes • Europeans always had tendency to expand (Crusades, exploration) – Especially the British • Colonialism died down with the growth of free trade • Britain was the greatest of the colonial empires of Europe (Sun never sets…) • Spain lapsed after 1588 – Why? • France was ruined through the Napoleonic Wars – Why? • Russia was in a state of disarray – Since Catherine • Many Europeans were indifferent about overseas empires – Was no overt doctrine of expansion • Suddenly in 1870 things changed • By 1900 the West partitioned most of the world among themselves

The New vs. Old Imperialism • Old imperialism was a matter of purchasing desired goods from local suppliers • No territorial ambitions (except America) • Maritime and mercantile with traders in India, Java, Canton simply purchased wares from local (usually coastal) merchant in a cash and carry basis • Protection of trade stations • America had no native state whom the Euros respected and acquiring territory there with capital and a booming sugar trade to protect

New Imperialism • Europeans were no longer content with what local merchants provided and wanted goods that local craftsmen couldn’t produce – Why? • They moved in: • Invested capital, developed infrastructure – set up mines, plantations, docks, warehouses, factories, refineries, RR, banks – homes, hotels, clubs, resorts, roads • Europeanization not acculturation – Locals became wage employees • Lent money to the local leaders to keep the governments cooperative

Political and Territorial Domination • To protect investments Europe moved to territorial domination • After developing a huge financial stake in gov in new territories they wanted secure these investments • Some became colonies – directly governed by white Euros • Protectorates • Native chief of sultan, rajah, prince maintained territory and guaranteed to suppress upheaval • He was usually instructed what to do by a European “resident” or commissioner • Some countries were divided into spheres of influence – No single Euro could gain total power they divided the country into areas where they would have control • Ex. China or Africa

European v. Non European Nations • Modern nation states loomed as enormous power complexes • enormous gulf in power between Europe and non European states opened up by 1875 • Queen Elizabeth had respected the Great Mogul of India, Napoleon pretended to respect the shah of Persia • With the Industrial Revolution (iron and steel ships, naval guns, guns) small number of Euros could dominate • Democratic institutions united peoples in the service of their gov • Financial institutions allowed gov to tax, borrow, and spend without limit • Traditional governments – Were in Decay – Minimum of support form governed • India’s Mogul empire was collapsing before the British got there • Turkey, Persia, China were easily taken • Japan (revolutionized rapidly)

Europeans Impose Their Will • Conflicts between traditional and modern forces • difference was so great that a mere show of force was usually enough for Euros to impose their will • only 75 thousand white troops held India for the British in India • Afghan wars, Burmese wars, Zulu wars passed unnoticed in Europe • Spanish – American war was fought over colonial territory • Boer War (South Africa) • Modern warships bombed coastal cities to force submission

Incentives and motives • (Why are the Europeans so aggressive? ) • Europeans needed the world’s resources to maintain their standard of living • Missionaries were dispatched to remote locations – Quick news by cable of deaths of missionary led to a clamor for military and political action • Scientific expeditions to learn of the world – Fueled by Darwin • Travel by the wealthy – Tiger or elephant hunting or sight seeing was in fashion • Seemed logical to them that they should have same security, gov. no matter where they were • Needed way stations which led to control of the locals

Raw materials • Euros needed material goods that only the tropics could provide • Even lower classes drank tea or coffee each day • Cotton from Africa • Rubber and petroleum • Jute only grew in India and was used to make burlap, twine, carpets • Coconut could be eaten, manufactured into bags, brushes, cables, rope, sails, doormats, coconut oil (used to make candles, soap, margarine)

New Markets • Declining prices demanded greater markets to maintain profits • Tariffs caused industrialized countries to develop a colonial market for itself • Large self sufficient “sheltered” trade unit – Sometimes called neomercantilism • Guaranteeing prosperity for the home country

Profit motive • Money invested in developing countries brought a higher rate of return • Cheap labor • Greater risk of losses • Lack of investment opportunity in the inner zone • Outlet for accumulated capital • Demands went up for civilized control to protect investments • some see this as the reason US gov was being pressured to go into Cuba in the 60 s (billions of $ in capital lost), Kuwait

Socialist critics • Lenin • Ascribed imperialism primarily to the accumulation of surplus capital and condemned it on socialist grounds • J. A. Hobson • An English socialist who wrote Imperialism, the Highest Stage of World Capitalism (1916) • If more of the wealth was given to the workers their would not be capital for export • It the workers had more purchasing power there would be less need for external markets (Ford and the Model T)

Counter arguments • (capitalism was not the lone cause of imperialism) • Need of imports to feed the large population – to sustain industry – to maintain the high standard of living for all – prompted the investment of capital • Non-Europeans often asked for the capital investment • Russia and Italy had little capital to invest yet were imperialistic

Capitalism is King • For the British the capitalistic incentive was primary • Twenty-five percent of British wealth was invested in the empire • Had $20 bil invested outside GB in 1914 • Ten percent of French wealth was invested in the French imperial holdings • Egypt, Suez, South Africa, and Asia • Small fraction of German wealth was exported • Ottoman Empire

Foreign Economic Interests in Russia • France was heavily invested in Russia • Tsar’s power was kept afloat by foreign loans – $2 billion by 1914 • Gov urged French banks to buy Russian bonds – I. e. Imperial incentive was to prop up friendly governments (military alliances) • ex. US give 10 mil to Israel every day

Joseph Chamberlain • • • • • Father of Neville Was a Birmingham manufacturer Believed that the community should take better care of its members British community included the empire Municipal socialism As mayor of Birmingham he started public ownership of utilities Promoted a self-sustaining and self-protecting empire Source of raw materials and food Markets for exports Steady level of profits, wages, and employment Directed independence movements in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand toward imperial federation Alliance for military defense and economic well-being Protective tariffs that favored key components of the Empire Bind the empire together with economic bonds Tariff union (zollverine) Goes against free trade policies Chamberlain died before his plan is realized British Commonwealth of Nations follows a similar plan after WWI

Working classes and imperialism • Workers in western Europe did benefit from imperialism • Wages went up • Prices stayed low • Even Marx recognized that the purchasing power of the workers was increasing – Led to opportunistic or un-revolutionary behavior • Eroded the position of Marxism • Blocked the formation of an international proletariat

Population argument for imperialism • European countries should have colonies for excess population • Lamented that the German & Italian fatherland lost its people to the US • The concept does not hold up to scrutiny • Population continued to migrate to the Americas even with the existence of colonial choices for migration

Diplomacy and imperialism • Competition between imperial nations caused diplomatic challenges • Competing over imperial turf • Needed to cooperate to maintain a balance of power • Having colonies served as a symbol of status • Much of the world was divided up just to create claims to territories • Britain and France had colonies then everyone else had to have colonies • Underlying threat was that if a nation did not have colonies it might become one

Imperialism as Crusade • Imperialism was an outthrust of modern Western civilization • Advocates claimed that it would bring civilization to the world • Faith in modern civilization became a substitute religion • Imperialism was its crusade • British: Rudyard Kipling, The White Man's Burden, 1899 • French: mission civilisatrice • Germans: diffusing Kultur • Americans: blessings of Anglo-Saxon protection • Social Darwinism taught of one race being more fit than another • Civilized whites must keep a guardianship over the rest of the races • Idealism and humanitarianism mixed with greed • Schools and hospitals were built as well as railroads and mines • Missionaries • Expressed with a gross condescension • Kipling and “White Mans Burden”