The Height of Imperialism 1800–1914 Key Events As you read this chapter, look for the key events in the history of imperialism. • Competition among European nations led to the partition of Africa. • Colonial rule created a new social class of Westernized intellectuals. • British rule brought order and stability to India, but with its own set of costs. • As a colonial power, the United States practiced many of the same imperialist policies as European nations. The Impact Today The events that occurred during this time period still impact our lives today. • Rhodesia became the nation of Zimbabwe. • India adopted a parliamentary form of government like that of Great Britain. • The United States gave up rights to the Panama Canal Zone on December 31, 1999. • Europeans migrated to the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. World History Video The Chapter 21 video, “Imperialism,” chronicles imperialism on three continents. Sir Thomas Raffles, founder of Singapore 1848 1855 Mexico loses almost David Livingstone is half of its territory to first European to see the United States Victoria Falls 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1819 British colony of Singapore founded Victoria Falls, in Zimbabwe 644 British family celebrating Christmas in India, c. 1900 Zulus meet the British. 1896 1900 1879 Britain and France Virtually all of HISTORY Zulu king meets agree to maintain Southeast Asia with British Thailand as a is under ambassadors buffer state European rule Chapter Overview Visit the Glencoe World History Web site at 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 tx.wh.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 21–Chapter Overview to preview chapter information. 1880 1884 1898 1910 “New France makes The United Emiliano Zapata imperialism” the Vietnam States defeats leads peasant begins Empire a Spain for movement in protectorate control over Mexico the Philippines Emiliano Zapata 645 David Livingstone Livingstone expedition in Africa, c. 1855 Livingstone in Africa Why It Matters n 1841, the Scottish doctor and missionary David Living- During the nineteenth and early stone began a series of journeys that took him through twentieth centuries, Western colo- Imuch of central and southern Africa. Livingstone was a gen- nialism spread throughout the non- tle man whose goal was to find locations for Christian mis- Western world. Great Britain, Spain, sions on behalf of the London Missionary Society. He took Holland, France, Germany, Russia, great delight in working with the African people. and the United States competed for Livingstone’s travels were not easy. Much of his journey markets and raw materials for their was done by foot, canoe, or mule. He suffered at times from expanding economies. By the end of rheumatic fever, dysentery, and malaria. He survived an the nineteenth century, virtually all attack by armed warriors and a mutiny by his own servants. of the peoples of Asia and Africa Back in Great Britain, his exploits made Livingstone a were under colonial rule. Although national hero. His book Missionary Travels and Researches in Latin America successfully resisted European control, it remained eco- South Africa was a best-seller. People jammed into lecture halls nomically dependent on Europe and to hear him speak of the beauty of Africa. As the London Jour- the United States. nal reported, “Europe had always heard that the central regions of southern Africa were bleak and barren, heated by History and You Territorial and poisonous winds, infested by snakes... [but Livingstone trade dominance are among the pri- spoke of] a high country, full of fruit trees, abounding in mary goals of imperialist nations. shade, watered by a perfect network of rivers.” Create a map of either Asia or Livingstone tried to persuade his listeners that Britain Africa to help you understand how the various imperialists viewed needed to send both missionaries and merchants to Africa. those regions. Code the territories Combining Christianity and commerce, he said, would according to exports or European achieve civilization for Africa. dominance. 646 Colonial Rule in Southeast Asia Guide to Reading Main Ideas People to Identify Reading Strategy • Through the “new imperialism,” West- King Mongkut, King Chulalongkorn, Com- Identifying Information Make a chart erners sought to control vast territories. modore George Dewey, Emilio Aguinaldo showing which countries controlled what • Colonial export policies exploited native parts of Southeast Asia. populations and opened up markets for Places to Locate European manufactured goods. Singapore, Burma, Thailand, Philippines Spain (until 1898) Preview Questions Holland Key Terms United States (after 1898) imperialism, protectorate, indirect rule, 1. Why were Westerners so determined France direct rule to colonize Southeast Asia? 2. What was the chief goal of the West- Great Britain ern nations? Preview of Events ✦1850 ✦1870 ✦1890 ✦1910 ✦1930 ✦1950 1887 1896 1930 France completes its control France and Great Britain agree to Saya San leads of Indochina maintain Thailand as a buffer state Burma uprising Voices from the Past In 1860, E. Douwes Dekker wrote a book on the Dutch colonial system on the island of Java. He said: The [Dutch government] compels [the Javanese farmer] to cultivate certain prod- ucts“ on his land; it punishes him if he sells what he has produced to any purchaser but itself; and it fixes the price actually paid. The expenses of transport to Europe through a privileged trading company are high; the money paid to the chiefs for encourage- ment increases the prime cost; and because the entire trade must produce profit, that profit cannot be got in any other way than by paying the Javanese just enough to keep him from starving, which would lessen the producing power of the nation. Dutch plantation in Java, ” mid-1800s —The World of Southeast Asia: Selected Historical Readings, Harry J. Benda and John A. Larkin, eds., 1967 Dekker, a Dutch colonial official, was critical of the havoc the Dutch had wreaked on the native peoples of Java. The New Imperialism In the nineteenth century, a new phase of Western expansion into Asia and Africa began. European nations began to view Asian and African societies as a source of industrial raw materials and a market for Western manufactured goods. No longer were Western gold and silver traded for cloves, pepper, tea, CHAPTER 21 The Height of Imperialism 647 and silk. Now the products of European factories “all great nations in the fullness of their strength have were sent to Africa and Asia in return for oil, tin, the desire to set their mark upon barbarian lands and rubber, and the other resources needed to fuel Euro- those who fail to participate in this great rivalry will pean industries. play a pitiable role in time to come.” Beginning in the 1880s, European states began an In addition, imperialism was tied to Social Dar- intense scramble for overseas territory. Imperialism, winism and racism. Social Darwinists believed that the extension of a nation’s power over other lands, in the struggle between nations, the fit are victori- was not new. Europeans had set up colonies in North ous. Racism is the belief that race determines traits and South America and trading posts around Africa and capabilities. Racists erroneously believe that and the Indian Ocean by the sixteenth century. particular races are superior or inferior. Racist beliefs However, the imperialism of the late nineteenth have led to the use of military force against other century, called the “new imperialism” by some, was nations. One British professor argued in 1900, “The different. Earlier, European states had been content, path of progress is strewn with the wrecks of especially in Africa and Asia, to set up a few trading nations; traces are everywhere to be seen of the posts where they could carry on trade and perhaps [slaughtered remains] of inferior races. Yet these some missionary activity. Now they sought nothing dead people are, in very truth, the stepping stones less than direct control over vast territories. on which mankind has arisen to the higher intellec- Why did Westerners begin to increase their search tual and deeper emotional life of today.” for colonies after 1880? There was a strong economic Some Europeans took a more religious and motive. Capitalist states in the West were looking for humanitarian approach to imperialism. They argued both markets and raw materials, such as rubber, oil, that Europeans had a moral responsibility to civilize and tin, for their industries. Europeans also wanted primitive people. They called this responsibility the more direct control of the areas with the raw materi- “white man’s burden.” als and markets. These people believed that the nations of the West The issue was not simply an economic one, how- should help the nations of Asia and Africa. To some, ever. European nation-states were involved in heated this meant bringing the Christian message to the rivalries. As European affairs grew tense, states “heathen masses.” To others, it meant bringing the sought to acquire colonies abroad in order to gain an benefits of Western democracy and capitalism to advantage over their rivals. these societies. Colonies were also a source of national prestige. To some people, in fact, a nation could not be great Reading Check Describing What were four primary without colonies. One German historian wrote that motivations for the “new imperialism”? Major Regions of European Control Southeast Africa India In the late 1800s a “new imperialism” Asia flourished, with most of the major European countries attempting to Britain take control of territories in Asia and Africa. Belgium 1. Identifying Look at a political France map of Europe in Chapter 20. Which European countries did Germany not try to colonize parts of Asia or Africa? Italy 2. Analyzing It has been said about one of the countries identified in Netherlands the chart that “the sun never sets” on this particular empire.