Imperialism Around the World

Building Overseas Empires Vocab Imperialism Protectorate Sphere of Influence Objectives Analyze the expansion of the British Empire. Examine how Imperialism changed the lives of millions around the world.

Motives for Western Imperialism Economic: The Industrial Revolution spurred overseas imperialism because producers needed access to more natural resources. They also saw these new places as new markets to sell their goods. Political/Military: To keep their investments safe and to provide fueling points for merchants, Europeans needed to build naval bases all around the world. They seized harbors and islands all around the world

Motives Continued Nationalism: Countries would seize lands to stop the competition from getting more land. Example: West Africa, France seized land first, Britain and Germany quickly followed to stop French expansion in the region. Social Darwinism: Racist justification by Europeans for dominating other races in the world, especially Africans.

Western Advantages Strong economies from the Industrial Revolution and unified governments gave Europeans the means to begin expanding all over the world. Superior technology like steamboats and the telegraph allowed for rapid expansion and communication. More advanced militaries basically made any battle a massacre for the native peoples. Europeans had machine guns, repeating rifles, and steam powered warships. The only advantage native peoples had was in their numbers.

Types of Imperial Rule French: They used direct rule which meant they sent French officials and soldiers to the colonies to rule. British: They used indirect rule. This meant they used local people to be the rulers. They also encouraged those leaders to send their children to Britain for an education in order to Westernize the children. Protectorate: local rulers are left in charge but are expected to follow the advice of European advisors. This method was less expensive than a colony.

Sphere of Influence A sphere of influence is an area where an outside power claims exclusive trading or investment privileges. Examples: Hong Kong: The British owned exclusive rights to trade and invest in Hong Kong. Hong Kong remained under British control until 1999. The Treaty of Tordesillas: The Spanish and Portuguese divided up South America between themselves.

European Scramble for Africa Europeans first took an interest in gaining land in Africa because of the slave trade. At first Europeans had to stay close to the coast because of how hard it was to travel inland in Africa. This all changed in the 1800s because of the advances in medicine and the invention of the steamboat.

Dr. Livingstone and Henry Stanley Livingstone is the most well known explorer and missionary to visit Africa. He spent 30 years travelling across Africa and interacting with its people. He was extremely opposed to the slave trade. In 1869, Henry Stanley went to Africa to find Livingstone. Livingstone had not been heard from for years. Stanley eventually found Livingstone is what is now Tanzania.

King Leopold II King of Belgium who wanted to expand his territorial claims in Africa. Hired Stanley to explore the Congo River basin. This triggered a land rush in central Africa. The British, Germans, and French all rushed in to claim their part of the land. They did this without asking any African peoples that already lived in the area.

The Berlin Conference France, Great Britain, and Germany were the major players at the conference. They met to decide how they would go about dividing up Africa so that it didn’t come to war between the countries. The main point of argument was the Congo River basin. Belgium benefited the most from the conference. How?

This is the area they met to discuss. The Congo River Basin This is the area they met to discuss. This river was extremely important for accessing the interior of Africa. Whichever country that controlled Africa controlled the way into Africa. The Berlin Act of 1885 made it so European’s had to physically occupy the territory they claimed.

Ethiopia Survives Ethiopia was the only African country to keep its independence throughout the Scramble for Africa. This is because they had already been unified since the early 1800s. They had already begun building modern roads and cities. Their military was also up to date and it allowed them to keep the European’s out.

Map Questions For Your Notes Use all three of the maps in the presentation to answer the following questions in your notes. 1. What area of Africa did Europeans first colonize? 2. On the map on slide 10, which countries held territory in Africa? 3. Slide 13, Why would countries compete over the Congo River? 4. Slide 15, Which countries have territory in Africa now? 5. What is the only independent country in Africa at this time? 6. Which country has the most territories in Africa? Which one controls the most land? (Your best guess)