19th Century Imperialism

Limits to Pre 19th Century Imperialism The First Age of Imperialism was limited because Europeans enjoyed only limited advantages over other peoples, including… Minor advantages in weaponry and no advantage in disease over Asians. Substantial advantages in weaponry but no advantage in disease over Africans. Considerable advantages in weaponry and awesome advantages in disease over Native Americans. This is why Europeans could conquer virtually all of the Americas Limits to Pre 19th Century Imperialism

The First Age of Imperialism 1800

Just a Century Later… Europeans had conquered… All of Africa save Ethiopia and Liberia (a puppet of the United States). Virtually all of Asia including India – the richest colony in the world. Even China was carved up into Spheres of Influence where Europeans were the de facto rulers In the Americas, societies were controlled by the descendants of Europeans. Just a Century Later…

Imperialism in asia by 1900

Industrial powers carve-up China

Spheres of influence in china in 1910

Imperialism in Africa by 1920

Britain is the greatest Empire builder

America has its own Empire

Social Darwinism and Imperialism Business elites adopted the ideas of Social Darwinism and came to believe… They were superior to the workers they employed in their factories. Because of their superiority, the elites felt no qualms about exploiting their workers. These ideas were expanded to apply to all peoples of color so that eventually Europeans (and white Americans) came to believe… They were superior to all people of color They were entitled to exploit these peoples and their lands They were required to ‘civilize’ these savages Social Darwinism and Imperialism

Rudyard Kipling and others created powerful pieces of art to further substantiate the authority of the West The White Man’s Burden

The link between Industrialism and Imperialism Industrial nations viewed poor and less developed countries around the globe as potential sources of… Raw Materials: raw and unfinished products that could inexpensively be brought to the ‘mother’ country and fed into factories Protected Markets: places where finished products could be sold without the concerns associated with competition The link between Industrialism and Imperialism

During most of the 20th Century, imperialism continued to exist, but it operated differently… After World War One (1914-1918), The Great Depression (1929-1939) and World War Two (1939-1945), the West was no longer willing or able to hold onto their vast empires. Conquered peoples began to demand, sometimes peacefully, sometimes violently, independence. During the 1950’s and 1960’s virtually all colonies gained their political independence. The Last 100 years

Decolonization

Economic independence did not always follow political independence. Vast levels of inequality have continued as western corporations have become the principal mechanisms of imperialism. Only in the last thirty years, as democracy has grown in poor countries, has real economic growth emerged in some of the former colonies, most notably in Asia and South America. Economic Imperialism

Quantitative Macroeconomic History Angus Maddison

So – what conclusions can we reach given what we know about the past and the present?