The time period of 1750-1900 CE was a time of modernization and westernization following the Enlightenment and Age of Exploration which propelled Europe into being the central power of the world. It started off with the Industrial Revolution in Britain along with the emergence of capitalism which modernized European technology, weaponry, and ideas as well as giving them the desire for wealth all of which created a foundation for European imperialism in various parts of the world. Asia and Africa both fell victim to European imperialism, but to different extents both politically where Asia mostly retained autonomy while Africa fell under direct rule and socially where Africans fell victim to slavery and exploitation to a much greater degree …show more content…
Its existence was beneficial to Europe so they were allied with them and known as the “Sick man of Europe.” In addition to the Ottoman Empire being kept alive by Europe, Japan was able to emerge as a power that rivaled Europe by accepting Western influence and going through the Meiji Restoration rather than trying to resist as what occured in China and Korea as seen in document 3 where Fukuzawa Yukichi states “It is better for us to leave the ranks of Asian nations and cast our lots with civilized nations of the West.” Fukuzawa Yukichi was a highly educated Japanese man who was influential in Japan’s acceptance of Western ideas resulting in Japan’s power. Even Egypt which experienced it own modernization, westernization, and rise in power due to the reforms by Muhammad Ali was opposed and conquered by Europeans as seen in document 4 which referring to Egypt’s army expansion states, “ It was this force that conquered the Ottoman province of Syria, …show more content…
In Africa, punishment was purposely done by mutilating the hands of slaves who were unable to extracted the desired amount of raw material (rubber) as seen in document 6 where Edmund Morel states, “...Congo State troops were in the habit of cutting off the hands of men, women, and children in connection with the rubber traffic…” Despite being European, Edmund Morel was clearly against imperialism in Africa which shows the extent of the atrocities committed there to the Africans. Asia, specifically the Chinese, on the other hand suffered unintentionally as a result of opium exported to China by Britain which was damaging the society by making many addicted leading to Lin Zexu taking action as seen in document 5 where he essentially begs Queen Vitoria to stop opium exports and questions her about European morals on trading harmful substances just to make a profit. Lin Zexu was a powerful scholar official who played a major role in the outbreak of the Opium Wars which China lost leading to the Treaty of Nanking. It was not out of malicious intention and racism as in Africa, but rather more of a lack of consideration and greed for money. Asia did not experience a slavery as extreme as that in
Imperialism is a term used to define a country extending its power through military or diplomacy over another country. The term, in the nineteenth century, included various actions, such as economic exploitation and cultural imperialism. This could include anything involving two groups with one having some degree of control over the other for their own gain. The cause of this change in world relations in the nineteenth century cannot be traced back to one reason. Possible contributing factors comprise of nationalism, social darwinism, and the hope for economic power.
In the nineteenth century, Europeans had a desire to explore the boundless world in front of them and impressive transportational technology like steamboats to get them places. The desire to become “imperialists,” the desire to make an empire by conquering weaker countries, was also strengthened by a racist worldview that Africans and Asians needed the influence of Europe’s “civilized” society. So Europe set off, each nation vying for its own colonies, to wage wars, create treaties and expand their borders. It sounds glamorous on the surface, but in reality, millions of natives lost their lives in the desperate struggle to save their homeland from the greedy invaders.
European imperialism accelerated between 1870 and 1920 because of economic, political, and social forces. The Industrial Revolution stirred ambitions of European nations to follow imperialism. The economic force of the desire for resources, Britain’s “sun never sets”political force, and the social force is known as “the white man’s burden” were most responsible for the new imperialism that began in 1870 and 1920. There were several economic forces that led to a new wave of imperialism between 1870 and 1920. Countries all had a desire for resources.
Throughout the early nineteenth century, the ideas of expansionism swept through the United States The belief in Manifest Destiny, that the United States was destined to spread across the continent of North America, gave reason behind the allocation of new territories and acceptance of new states. However, the debate over the legality of slavery in the national identity, made it difficult to adopt new areas into the control of the United States with ease. In the later portion of the nineteenth century, expansionism was mainly motivated by imperialism. The United States was determined to become a leading world power and the belief in the survival of the fittest, Social Darwinism and the idea of the “Gospel of Wealth”, the rich helping those
After the Civil War, the United States had begun to prosper because of this second industrial revolution. With this property, the people had begun to expand across the whole of the United States causing the frontier line within the US to disappear, which lead to the rise of the idea of imperialism and stronger foreign policy. Because of the rise of yellow journalism, the closing of the frontier line, the expansion of the United States Navy, and the rise of colonization of foreign European powers within Asia, debates and conflicting views had begun to arise on the idea of imperialism and whether or not it is a good idea to expand overseas and become a world power. Advocates for the expansion of the United States argued that it was the duty of
The United States is an ever-evolving country that learns and benefits from not just its mistakes but right doings as well. Imperialism is the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies. Many imperialists claimed moral responsibility as the reason to expand American land claims, the anti-imperialists decried it because of the negative effects on the colonized. In both camps, the issue of race relations was the source of most similarities and differences. The pro-imperialist group felt it was the duty of the American race to colonize others and subjugate those peoples without offering citizenship, while the anti-imperialists felt it was unfair to foreigners to
As the world approached the 20th century, several powers grew desperate far more land and more control. Between the 1870 and 1900 years, Africa and Asia faced European imperialist aggression, diplomatic pressures, military invasion, and eventual conquest and colonization. The event that happened in Africa and Asia during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had pushed African and Asian to make important political decisions in order to properly respond to Western imperialism. In that period, neither African people or Asian had the power to stand against to the Western imperialism, and eventually both continents had to sign unequal treaties that forced them to open their ports and cities to foreign merchants.
In the nineteenth century, new connections transformed West Asia and Africa. The international slave trade was banned and eventually replaced with new kinds of commerce. Also, West Asia and North Africa, as the Ottoman realm sought to halt its decline by adapting some western ways, it alienated Arab Muslims and lost its North African dominions, which eventually came under European sway. If the Great War, later called World War I had never happen. European rule would continue to overwhelmed West Asia and North Africa.
What was the driving force behind European Imperialism in Africa? Between 1500 and 1800 the Europeans knew little about the interior of Africa their presence was to buy and sell slaves for pots, cloth, and weapons and set sail to America. Late as 1870 ten percent of Africa was under Europeans control and most was along edges by 1914 ninety percent of Africa was in control four years later. Due to the countries that held African colonies in 1914 that involved the British, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spain, and Belgian. France and Britain were the main conquer in African colonies, because there conqueror of land in Africa.
The American Historian and Diplomat George Kennan once said that “The very concept of history implies the scholar and the reader. Without a generation of civilized people to study history, to preserve its records, to absorb its lessons and relate them to its own problems, history, too, would lose its meaning.” Humans must heavily analyze the past via themes when reviewing sources in order to understand the past through our ancestors eyes. This is why the themes of the 3Cs, Change, Comparison and Connection are fundamental. Connection must be considered due to the way countries can affect each other, such as the way the Industrial Revolution had a widespread impact across the world.
During the age of imperialism Europe had a lot of advantages that lead to the success of the continent. Imperialism is when a country’s power is extended. The age of Imperialism was when new colonies were developed and expanded, this occurred during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Europe wasn’t only a more advanced area but there were also many geographic advantages. The Europeans were very capable of conquering most of the known world during the this time in history because of geographic luck also the animals that were in the continent and the weapons they had caused Europe to have a great advantage.
Colonialism and Imperialism affected our world both positively and negatively. On one hand, Imperialism has often been linked with racial segregation, manipulation, and hardship. On the other, it has been said that many colonial powers contributed much in terms of schools, roads, railways, and much more. Whether this time period was constructive or harmful, it has played a large part in shaping our lives today. European Imperialism started long before the 1800’s.
Before the Opium War broke out in 1942, the knowledge of the west in China is limited, the Chinese official and the emperor were reading text written in the Ming
From the 1880s to the 1990s there was a Scramble for Africa, it was known as the imperialist period when Africa was partitioned, invaded and colonized by European powers. Colonialism can be defined as the “practice of domination which involves the subordination of one people to another” (Kohn, 2012). In this case the subordinate group was the Africans. By the 1900s the majority of Africa was under the control of the Europeans except for Liberia and Ethiopia. This sudden interest in Africa by the various European powers were due to a number of reasons.
They started forming resistance movements to fight against the vise. Africans who cooperated with Asians and Europeans in the trade were sought and killed. However, because of the secretive nature of the business, it was difficult to eradicate slavery. Some strong kingdoms sold captives of war to the Europeans, and therefore could not be stopped from engaging in the trade. The need for the European manufactured products in West Africa forced middlemen to carry out their slaves search with determination.