1. Ask students to describe what they see in this cartoon
Ask students to describe what they see in this cartoon. What might the “snake” represent? Why would it have a human head? Who is it coiling around? What do you think it means?
In the rubber coils of the Congo ‘Free’ State, a 1906 British cartoon criticizing the abuses of Leopold II’s rule of the Congo Free State. By selling off large tracts of the Congo to the highest bidder, Leopold opened the door to the rapacious exploitation of people and resources by short- term business profiteers. Reports of atrocities reaching Europe sparked reactions, as shown here, contributing to the decision by the Belgian government to take over formal administration of the Congo in 1908
Imperialism

2. Essential Questions
What enabled Great Britain to lead all other Western powers in establishing imperial rule around the globe in the 1800s?
How did industrialism make it much easier for major industrial powers to impose their rule throughout the world?
How did industrialism add to the motives some European nations felt to carve out vast imperial domains for themselves?

3. Essential Questions (continued)
What major effects did colonial rule have on the societies ruled by the European imperial powers in the 1800s? Were those effects all negative, or were some of them positive as well?
Why did colonized societies respond to Western imperialism in such different ways? Which ways were the most successful for those societies?
What is the legacy of imperialism, both within the imperialist nations and within the societies they came to control?

4. Imperialism is very similar to colonialism, with one major difference: colonial powers settle the countries of which they gain control, while imperial powers do not. The term “imperialism” does not seem to exist prior to the 1800s. Nineteenth-century imperialism was spurred in large part by the Industrial Revolution. The development of new industrial economies in the 1700s and 1800s necessitated the acquisition of raw materials and the desire to gain control of marketplaces; thus, by the mid-1800s, imperialistic actions of strong nations (most notably European nations) started to become policy.
1 Definition is from America: Pathways to the Present (New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005, p. 981).
Imperialism: The policy by a stronger nation to attempt to create an empire by dominating weaker nations economically, politically, culturally, or militarily.

5. How Did Imperialism Begin?
What brought about imperialism during this particular time period?
A coaling station for steamships, Cape Town, South Africa

6. The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the mid-18th century
Britain’s advantages
The spread of industrialization
Throughout most of the 19th century, Great Britain experienced unprecedented power resulting from its position as the world’s first industrialized nation. It also soon became the world’s wealthiest nation. Britain earned the nickname “the workshop of the world” due to its ability to manufacture finished products quickly, efficiently, and cheaply.
By the middle of the 19th century, industrialization had spread across Europe and the United States, aided by the development of railroad links that brought resources to new factories and transported their finished goods to world markets.

7. Economic Motives Industrialized nations sought: Raw materials
Natural resources
A cheap labor supply
New marketplaces for manufactured goods
Economic motives provided perhaps the strongest impetus for imperialism. Nations strove to control weaker nations because they hoped to expand their own economies, acquire raw materials, possibly obtain new sources of labor, and/or gain new marketplaces for their products. Africa became one of the main sources of raw materials for industrializing nations.

8. Technological Advances
The steam engine
Better transportation
Increased exploration
Improvements in communication
Developments in technology influenced colonial expansion and exploration as well. The steam engine revolutionized transportation, powering both seagoing vessels and land vehicles, such as trains. Advances in transportation and communication allowed for increased exploration of more remote regions of the world. Other innovations, such as the telegraph, provided vast improvements in long-distance communication.
One of the first steam engines
The steamboat Herald (with mounted machine guns) on the Zambezi river in Africa

9. British troops fighting forces in Benin in 1897
The Maxim Gun
Changes in weaponry gave European countries an advantage over native populations. In 1885, the Maxim gun was invented; it could fire 500 rounds per minute. The British army began using the guns in 1889.
British troops fighting forces in Benin in 1897

10. Exploration David Livingstone Mapping the “Dark Continent”
British missionary and explorer David Livingstone (1813–1873) was one of the first Europeans to travel across the continent of Africa. His explorations paved the way for Europeans to chart the interior of the “Dark Continent.” By the second half of the 1800s, Europeans had a good idea of the vast natural resources that Africa harbored.
David Livingstone