1. Imperialism
Main Idea: European powers came to rule a large portion of Africa and Asia between 1800 and 1920.

2. Age of Imperialism
Imperialism was when one country ruled or controlled another country – by 1700 many of the European countries had turned their eyes from the Americas to Asia and Africa.
Advances in technology gave Europeans a huge military advantage over Africans and Asians.
The empires of Asia and North Africa were weakening which made them vulnerable to attack.
Imperialism was caused by three things – raw materials, nationalism, and cultural motives.
Colonies would provide raw materials for manufactured goods.
Nationalism, or the sense that one country was better than another, led to the belief that the more colonies one country owned the more power that country would have.
Cultural Imperialism was encouraged by the concept of Social Darwinism, or the belief that natural selection applied to society.
This idea encouraged Europeans to believe that their countries were better than other countries which gave them the authority to “rule” over them and encourage them to adopt European culture.

3. British Imperialism

4. British Imperialism - India
British imperialism was not carried out by the government but by the British East India Company.
When the Mughal Empire in India fell the Indian Empire began to break apart into smaller parts allowing the British East India Company’s leadership to take over Indian lands.
The British East India Company convinced the Indian leaders that they needed British support so that they would compete against one another and depend upon British leadership.
Once the British East India Company was in control they made changed to the education system to introduce the English language, British laws that banned certain Hindu customs, and spread Christianity.
This led the Indian’s to thinking that the British wanted to get rid of Hinduism all together and sparked tensions between the British and the Indians.
India was Britain’s most important colony but for many Indians it was humiliating.
The era of British rule is known as the British Raj, led by the Indian Civil Service (ICS) which was made up of primarily British people.
The British who worked in India in the ICS considered themselves superior to the Indians they served and believed the Indians were incapable of ruling themselves.

5. British Imperialism - India
Many Indians were not satisfied with British rule – there were few opportunities for Indians in government, they felt they had little influence.
The first Indian nationalist movement – Indian National Congress – was founded in 1885 and established by Hindu, English speaking Indians that sought more representation in government.
However, Indian nationalism became more radical when the British announced plans to split the territory of Bengal in two – the British were attempting to make governance easier, but the Hindu’s believed that they were doing this to break them up.
Nationalists responded with swadeshi, or a boycott of British goods in an attempt to return power to the Indian people.

6. British Imperialism - China
Trade with European merchants was profitable for the Chinese, but the Chinese did not view trade with the Europeans as particularly important – as the Qing dynasty lost it’s power over China that quickly changed.
The Chinese overall tried to stay separate from outside nations believing that they were less than them – they had little interest in European goods.
British did discover that the Chinese desired opium, an addictive drug.
Realizing how dangerous opium could be for the Chinese, Chinese rulers banned merchants from moving the drug into the country.
The Chinese launched an attack against the British opium trade but were quickly met with force from the British.
The British forced the Chinese to sign the Treaty of Nanjing, which heavily benefitted the Europeans by forcing the Chinese to open five more ports.
The British, and soon other nations such as Russia, France, and the United States, would all have Spheres of Influence in China, or ports in which they controlled trade.
The United States, however, demanded Open Door Policy, or that China should be open to trade with all countries not just countries with already defined spheres of influence.

7. British Imperialism - China
The Chinese lost faith in the Qing Dynasty and began a series of rebellions.
The Taiping Rebellion was led by Hong Xiuquan and they were able to capture mass amounts of land – including Nanjing – before being put down by the French and British.
20 million Chinese were killed in the process.
After the Taiping Rebellion the Qing Dynasty attempted to reform through westernizing their industries by building more coal mines and railroads.
When the Chinese suffered defeat against their Japanese rivals European powers took advantage of their vulnerability and claimed even more land.
The Chinese again attempted to reform their government through civil service exams and building a modern army.
The Boxer Rebellion began in 1899 in which a group called the Boxers started attacking Christian missionaries and Chinese converts to Christianity.
The Europeans quickly put down the rebellions and captured Beijing – which humiliated the Qing Dynasty even further.
The Qing Dynasty was eventually replaced with a Republic.

8. The Scramble For Africa
In 1880 European countries controlled only a small amount of Africa, but by 1914 only Ethiopia and Liberia remained independent.
This period became known as the Scramble for Africa in which European powers rapidly divided Africa in search of raw materials and political rule.
Europeans had largely outlawed the slave trade and so they did not need slaves any more but rather looked for raw materials to manufacture goods.
Africa reflected power-struggles already developing in Europe between Britain and France – each power sought to have a bigger empire than the other.
European leaders believed that the more land they owned the more respect they would get from other leaders.
Social Darwinism played a particularly strong role in Africa in the sense that Europeans believed that they were better than Africans due to their Christian values, European governments, and customs.
They referred to their influence in Africa as the “white man’s burden,” after a poem by Rudyard Kipling.

9. The Scramble for Africa
New European inventions made taking over the rugged terrain of Africa much easier than it had been previously.
Machine guns gave them a military advantage, new medicines protected them from diseases, and new advancements in transportation such as railroads and steamboats made it easier to travel the continent.
The Suez Canal was built in Egypt to connect the Mediterranean with the Red Sea shortening the trip between Europe to the Indian Ocean.
It would have a significant impact on European trade with their Asian colonies.
European leaders met in Berlin, Germany at the Berlin Conference to divide the African territory.
The European nations ignored the previously existing African boundaries that had been based on ethnic divisions – this would lead to conflict between African ethnic groups.
Africans did not passively accept European claims to rule over them.
The Zulu people, led by Shaka, resisted the European claims over them and fought against British rule.
Menelik II of Ethiopia was the only ruler successful at maintain independence against the European threat by modernizing his army.

10. Scramble for Africa

11. American Imperialism
Americans sought to expand their territories in the Western Hemisphere and defend the Monroe Doctrine, which stated that South and North America were off limits to European imperialism except for previously existing colonies.
After a long revolution in Mexico against President Porfirio Diaz the United States installed a pro-American president Venustiano Carranza.
They went to war with the Spanish in order to gain control over Cuba and the Philippines eventually making both a territory of the United States.
The Americans also helped to declare Panama independent and build the Panama Canal to connect the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean to decrease travel time.
To protect U.S. interests and maintain stability in the region President Roosevelt announced the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine that stated that America would use military force to keep out any European country out of the Americas.