LESSON 1

The New Imperialism

ESSENTIAL QUESTION Why do people trade?

When we realize how imperialism controlled people's lives, we areable to

appreciate the desire for freedom that later spread throughout the world.
The Rise of Imperialism
Why did Europeans expand their empires at the end of the 1800s?
During the late 1800s, Europe's leading countries rushed to gain territory in Asia
and Africa. Three key factors sparked this race for land overseas: (1) European
nations wanted more power; (2) the Industrial Revolution created a demand for raw
materials and new markets; and (3) Europeans wanted to impose their ideas and
cultures on other peoples. As a result, in the late 1800s, the world entered the Age
of Imperialism. Imperialism (ihm PIHR ee uh lih zuhm) is the direct or
indirect control of one nation by another nation.
Britain and France were the leading builders of overseas empires. Other nations
soon followed. Imperial nations ruled foreign people in several different ways.
Sometimes they governed by direct rule. Under this system, they created a colony
that was ruled directly by the home country. Other times, they ruled by indirect
rule. They might set up a protectorate, or system in which people have their own
government, but the home country has final say in important matters. In other
cases, they created a sphere of influence. This was a region where the imperial
power held the sole right to trade or invest. No other nation could do business in the
region.
In 1770, Captain James Cook claimed the continent of Australia for Britain. At first,
Britain sent prisoners to this remote area. Then it started setting up colonies after
the discovery of gold in 1851.
Britain began settling New Zealand in the mid-1800s. In 1893 it fought a war with
the native Maori people, who consider the north and south islands of New Zealand
as their home. The Maori lost this war, with indirect British control continuing to
1907.
Europeans in Southeast Asia
When the Age of Imperialism began, many European nations already held lands in
Southeast Asia. As early as the 1500s, Europeans had traveled to the region for its
spices. The Dutch occupied the East Indies, while the Spanish controlled
the Philippines.
During the 1800s, the British moved into the mainland of Southeast Asia. In 1819, a
British government official founded a British colony that became an important port.
Located on a small island off the Malay Peninsula, the colony was called Singapore

(SIHNG uh pohr), or "the city of the lion."

The French followed the British to mainland Southeast Asia and competed for
territory. Burmapresent-day Myanmarand the entire Malay Peninsula came
under British control. Meanwhile, French missionaries entered nearby Vietnam,
making it a protectorate in 1883. Siampresent-day Thailandwas the only
Southeast Asian country to keep its freedom.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Europeans made enormous profits from
their Southeast Asian holdings. However, the riches were earned at the expense of
the local people.
European officials, traders, and landowners forced Southeast Asians to grow coffee,
tea, and other crops for export. Southeast Asian workers also mined or harvested
the area's raw materialspetroleum, rubber, tin, and valuable woods.

The British in India

What were the effects of British rule in India?
India was another Asian land that came under European rule. Europeans were
trading in India as early as 1600. At this time, a Muslim group called the Moguls
ruled India. During the next 100 years, Mogul power weakened. Mogul rulers taxed
people heavily and wasted money on wars and palaces. Some of them also tried to
force Hindusmost of India's peopleto accept Islam. Growing discontent made it
easy for Europeans to take over India.
Struggle for India
In the 1600s and 1700s, British traders from the East India Company extended their
control in India. They built trading posts in strategic places along India's coast.
They set up their own army and supported local Indian rulers who agreed to work
with them. Meanwhile, traders from France used the same methods and challenged
Britain for control of India's trade.
Robert Clive, an East India Company official, led British and Indian soldiers against
French forts. In 1757, Clive's force defeated the French and their Indian allies. The
conflict left the French with only one fort and a few coastal holdings.
During the next 100 years, Britain's East India Company took over much of India.
Company officials prospered. They also introduced European ideas to India's people.
Many Indians, however, felt that the British were trying to change their culture.
Sepoy Rebellion
By the mid-1800s, Indian discontent with the East India Company had increased. In
1857, sepoys (SEEpoyz), or Indian soldiers the companys army, revolted against
their British officers. The East India Company was given power by the British
government to control India. The company had its own soldiers and forts. It also
hired Indian soldiers, called sepoys, to protect the companys investments.

The sepoys distrusted the British. They believed the British officers looked down on
them. They also felt as if they were fighting against their own people. Some sepoys
believed the British wanted to force them to accept Christianity. (The sepoys
practiced either the Hindu or the Muslim religion.)
In May 1857, tempers boiled over. A rumor claimed that bullets had been greased
with the fat of cows and pigs. Hindus regard cows as sacred; Muslims cannot touch
pork. These bullets would have violated the religious beliefs of two religions.
In some places, the revolt resulted in massacres of British citizens. British troops
arrived in India and crushed the rebellion. As revenge for the massacres, the British
killed thousands of Indians. The revolt left bitterness on both sides. It forced the
British to tighten their control of India.
Hindu and Muslim sepoys joined together in a rebellion, hoping to end British rule.
The rebellion spread across northern and central India. The rebels finally
surrendered in June 1858. A short time later, the British ended the East India
Company. India was now under the direct rule of Great Britain.
Many Indians know this event by another namethe First War of Independence. It
was the first major attempt to shake off British rule.

LESSON 1

The New Imperialism

ESSENTIAL QUESTION Why do people trade?

What Is the Raj?

In 1858, Britain took direct control of India from the East India Company. British India's government was known as the
Raj (rahj), which is from the Sanskrit word for "ruler." The Raj was headed by a British official called a
viceroy. Viceroy refers to a high official who stands in for the British monarch.
The British did bring order and unity to India. They provided good administration and a well-run government. Under
the Raj, communication and education improved. The British introduced railroads, the telegraph, and a postal service
to India.
British rule, however, also introduced great hardships. Cheap British fabrics flooded India and destroyed the local
textile industry. The British also forced many Indian farmers to grow cotton instead of wheat. Soon India was not
growing enough food to feed its people. In the 1800s, millions of Indians died of starvation.

Indian National Congress

Many Indians were angry about the policies of the Raj. They wanted to move India toward self-rule. In 1885, Indian

business and professional leaders formed a political group called the Indian National Congress. Many members of
the Congress had been educated in British-style schools. At first, the Congress worked for gradual change. They
hoped to gain some level of self-rule over time. When this effort failed, the Congress began a campaign for full
independence.
Explaining How did British rule of India change in 1858?

European Rule in Africa

Why did Europeans compete to take over Africa?
Africa was the last populated continent to be colonized by Europeans. In the 1500s, European traders arrived on
Africa's west coast. In the mid-1800s, explorers, like Scottish doctor-missionary David Livingstone, opened up the
African interior.
During the late 1800s, European powers scrambled to gain control of as much of Africa's rich resources as they
could.

North Africa
In the early 1800s, French armies captured Algeria in North Africa. The French later seized Tunisia and claimed
Morocco. In 1904, France divided Morocco with Spain.
Meanwhile, European businesses developed in Egypt. In 1854, French investor Ferdinand de Lesseps signed a
contract with Egypt to build a canal connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas. (Egypt still belonged to the
Ottomans.) This canal would speed travel to trading colonies in Asia.
In 1856, de Lesseps signed a second contract with Egypt. This contract gave him the right to form a joint-stock
company to raise money for building the canal. France bought 52 percent of the shares, Egypt bought 44 percent,
and other nations bought the remaining shares. The canal opened in 1869 and quickly proved to be a success.
In 1875, the Ottoman rulers of Egypt needed money, so they sold their shares in the canal to Great Britain. Despite
French protests, the powerful British navy took firm control of the canal. In 1888, Egyptians rebelled against foreign
influence in Egypt. Great Britain put down the revolt and declared Egypt a British protectorate. Ottoman rulers were
too weak to resist.
By 1900, Europeans held all of North Africa except Tripoli (Libya), which was still part of the Ottoman Empire.
Ottoman rulers lost control of Tripoli in 1911 when it was seized by Italy.

When World War I began in 1914, Europeans claimed nearly all of the African continent. Europeans now controlled a
wealth of Africas natural resourcesgold, diamonds, hides, palm oil, ivory, and more.

West Africa
The Europeans turned next to West Africa. European
merchants had been involved for centuries in the
trading of enslaved West Africans. In 1833, however,
Britain ended slavery in its empire. Other European
countries soon followed.
Europeans then sought out West Africa's gold, timber,
hides, and palm oil. Britain, France, and Germany took
over Africa's Atlantic coast. Eventually, they moved
inland. Soon, the only place in West Africa not
controlled by Europeans was Liberia. It was founded in
1847 by freed African Americans.
European expansion, however, was challenged. In the
1890s, West African rulers led armies against the
Europeans. Well-armed European armies, however,
defeated the West Africans.
Central and East Africa
European control of Central Africa began when King
Leopold II of Belgium claimed much of the Congo
region. Under his rule, the Congolese people were
forced to work on rubber plantations.Complaints from
missionaries and other Europeans forced the king to
turn over the Congo to the Belgian government. The
government finally ended the forced labor system.
Leopold's move into the Congo spurred other European
powers into action. They divided the rest of Africa
among themselves, with two exceptions. In East Africa,
the Italians tried but failed to conquer Ethiopia.
Ethiopia, like Liberia in West Africa, remained
independent.
South Africa and the Boer War
In South Africa, the European push to acquire new
colonies led to the Boer War. In the 1600s, Dutch
settlers founded Cape Town on the southwestern coast.
These settlers became known as Boers, the Dutch word
for farmers. In the early 1800s, Britain seized the
Dutch territory and renamed it Cape Colony. To escape
British rule, the Boers moved inland. They named their

new settlements the Orange Free State and the

Transvaal. This movement pushed the Boers into lands
held by the Zulu.
The Boers faced a powerful Zulu fighting force. Starting
in 1816, a Zulu king named Shaka had built up a strong
army. He wiped out rivals and protected his empire from
a takeover by the Boers.
Later, other Zulu kings increased the size of the army
even more. In 1879, a leader named Cetshwayo
decided to stand up to the British. They wanted him to
disband the army, but he refused.
The resulting six-month war became known as the Zulu
War, or Anglo-Zulu War. (Anglo means English or
British.) The British, with their guns, finally defeated
the Zulu. Zululand, the name given to Zulu territory, fell
under British control. It was annexed in 1887.
Britain's Cape Colony was governed by Cecil Rhodes,
the owner of many gold and diamond companies. When
British settlers discovered gold and diamonds in the
Transvaal, Rhodes decided to take the territory from the
Boers. War erupted in 1899 and ended with the defeat
of the Boers three years later.
In 1910, Britain formed the Union of South Africa. Boer
and British settlers ran this new country. They did not
allow the much larger nonwhite population to have a
role in the government. As a result, black South Africans
founded the African National Congress to fight for black
rights.
How Did Imperialism Affect Africans?
Europeans greatly affected the lives of Africans.
Europeans grew wealthy from mines and plantations.
African workers received low wages and had to pay
taxes in cash. European schools taught Africans that
European ways were best. In some places, African
traditions declined as a result of European influences.
By the early 1900s, a small group of Europeaneducated Africans had emerged in many African
colonies. These Africans condemned colonial rule as
contrary to European ideals of liberty and equality. They
founded nationalist groups to push for self-rule.
Explaining Why were Europeans drawn to Africa in the

1800s?

Thinking Like a HISTORIAN

Making Inferences
Historians make inferences about what they read. Read
the paragraph beginning, "In 1910, Britain formed the
Union of South Africa." It says that the African National
Congress was created, but not why. The reason must be
inferred by the reader. Make an inference based on the
details in the reading. Tell what you can infer about the
living conditions for black South Africans. Write your
inference in a sentence or two. For more information
about making inferences, read the chapter What Does a
Historian Do?
America's Quest for Empire
How did the United States build an
overseas empire?
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, some people in the
United States yearned for their own empire, too. They
had two strong supporters: President William McKinley
(1897-1901) and President Theodore Roosevelt (19011909). The United Statess empire-building came at the
expense of Spain, one of the strongest powers during
the Age of Discovery.
The United States Expansion
The United States had a long history of trade with Latin
America and the islands in the Caribbean Sea. In 1823,
President James Monroe tried to protect the nations
interests in these regions by issuing the Monroe
Doctrine. It warned Europeans not to build any new
colonies in the Americas.
By the late 1800s, however, the United States had
different foreign policy goals. After the Civil War, the
nation developed booming industries of its own.
Merchants and business owners wanted new markets.
They worried about European competition for trade.

More and more people began to think about

establishing colonies.
In addition to winning new markets, two other reasons
fueled American interest in expansionismthe policy of
expanding, or increasing, a nations territory or
economic influence. First, with the settlement of
western lands, adventurers looked for new borders to
cross. Second, a spirit of nationalism was sweeping the
United States. In the late 1800s, people began to look
back at all that the United States had accomplished
since 1776. Many wanted to spread American power,
culture, and influence elsewhere in the world.
Alaska and Hawaii
Like many trading nations, the United States already
held some small islands in the Pacific. Until the late
1800s, however, this territory fell far short of the lands
controlled by European imperial nations.
The United States gained its first big territory in 1867
when Secretary of State William Seward bought Alaska
from Russia. People laughed at him. They called Alaska
Sewards Ice Box. Then the discovery of gold, and
later oil, changed their minds.
In 1898, the Pacific islands of Hawaii came under
American control. Five years earlier, American settlers
had overthrown the Hawaiian queen Liliuokalani
(lihleeuhwohkuhLAH nee). Hawaii provided a
fueling station and port for the nations navy. The
islands made the trip across the Pacific easier for both
merchants and the military. However, Congress did not
approve American control of Hawaii until after the end
of the Spanish-American War.
In the late 1800s the United States gained territory in
Latin America and the Pacific. At that time, Spain still
ruled the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba.
However, in 1895 the Cubans began a revolt against
Spanish rule.
United States newspapers stirred up anger towards
Spain with stories of cruel treatment of the Cubans.
Some leaders argued that the rebellion might lure
foreign powers into the Caribbean area.
President McKinley ordered the battleship Maine to
protect Americans in Cuba. While anchored in the

harbor of Havana, the ship blew up. Newspapers

blamed Spain for the explosion. Under great public
pressure, McKinley asked Congress to declare war on
Spain in April, 1898.
The war lasted for four months. It ended in Spanish
defeat and the acquisition of new lands for the United
States. It gave the United States territories in both the
Pacific and the Caribbean. They included the
Philippines, Guam in the Pacific, and Puerto Rico. Cuba
won its independence, but the United States put the
island under its protection.
The United States in Latin America
The War of 1898 had shown U.S. leaders how important
it was to move the nations navy quickly between the
east and west coasts. The United States had fought
battles in both the Caribbean and the Pacific. Leaders
were frustrated as ships from the Atlantic coast made
the painfully slow trip around the tip of South America
to reach the Pacific Ocean.
President Theodore Roosevelt took the problem
seriously. He wanted to defend United States holdings
in the Pacific more easily, and he wanted to help
merchants along the east coast to reach Asia more
quickly. Roosevelt decided to build a canal across the
isthmus of Panama. (An isthmus is a narrow strip of
land that connects two bigger landmasses.)
There was a problem, however. Panama was part of
Colombia, South America, at the time, and Colombia did
not want to give up the land. In 1903, the United States
helped rebels in Panama to win their independence. In
exchange, the rebels agreed to sign a treaty for building
the canal. Construction began in 1904 and took 10
years to complete. In 1914, the canal opened for traffic.