The Second Stage Of Imperialism

• By 1800, Europe had developed politically and economically. Strong and central governed nation states also emerged. The Industrial Revolution strengthened economies.
• Europeans began a strong struggle for overseas territories. This was known as imperialism or the extension of power over other lands.
• Strong and powerful countries brought much of the world under their control from 1870 to 1914.
• Four Causes of Imperialism:

  Economic Interest

  Political and Military Interest

  Humanitarian and Religious Goals

  Social Darwinism
• Economic Interests

  European states explored Asia and Africa to set up trading posts, where trade would continue alongside with missionary activities. Powerful countries wanted both markets and raw materials, such as manganese for steel, rubber, petroleum, palm, and oil for machineries to run their markets. To do this, they wanted direct control over vast territories.
• Political and Military Interests

  European states were involved in rivalries. As the situation became intense, states wanted colonies abroad in order to have an advantage over their rivals. Additional colonies meant additional prestige, too.

  Steam powered merchant ships and naval vessels needed bases around the world to take on coal and supplies. Industrial powers seized islands or harbors to satisfy these needs.
•  Humanitarian and Religious Goals

  Many Westerners argued that they had the moral obligation to civilize ignorant people, which they termed as "white man's burden." It was their belief that backward nations of Asia and Africa should be helped by the Europeans.

  It was also meant to bring Christian faith to the controlled people.
•  Social Darwinism

  Social Darwinism was the belief that in the struggle of nations, the fit are victorious. To show their military force, superior races must dominate the inferior races.

  Many people were involved in the new imperialism. Leading the way were soldiers, merchants, settlers, missionaries, and explorers. Imperial expansion found favor with all classes, from bankers and manufacturers to workers.
• Forms of Controls

  Colonies

  Protectorates

  Spheres of Influence
• Colonies

  Imperial powers developed different kinds of colonial rule, France for example used direct rule, sending officials and soldiers to administer their colonies. They imposed their own culture and made the colonies French province.

  The British, in contrast, used a system of indirect rule. They used sultans, chiefs, or other local rulers as their agents in governing their colonies, and encouraged the children of their local ruler to get an education in Britain. In that way, a new generation was groomed to become agents of indirect rule.
• Protectorates

  In a protectorate, local rulers were left in a place The ruler was however, expected to accept the advice of European advisers on issues such as trade, or missionary activity. A protectorate had certain advantages over a colony. Running a colony in this system costs less.
• Spheres of Influence

  It is an area in which an outside power claimed exclusive investment or trading privileges. Europeans carved out these spheres in China and elsewhere, to prevent conflicts among themselves. The United States claimed Latin America as its sphere of influence.
• IMPERIALISM IN AFRICA

  Before 1870, only a few Westerners had reached and explored Africa. Some had traveled and built trading posts in the continent, but most of these were just along the coasts of western Africa.
• Africa was surrounded by deserts with a harsh environment. The wild forests and steep rift valleys proved to be a challenge to the European explorers. The dreadful diseases that could be contracted in Africa were also threatening. These are the reasons why Africa was a mystery to the Westerners and was thus called the "Dark Continent."
• Scottish missionary David Livingstone was one of the first explorers in Africa. From the reports he and other explorers sent to the Westerners found interest in Africa a source of raw materials such as rubber and timber. 
• When the Europeans lost contact with David Livingstone, American journalist Henry Stanley was sent to Africa to search for him. The encounter between the two near Lake Tanganyika was big news in Europe.
• More than Henry Stanley's role of finding Livingstone, Stanley also played a huge part in the exploration of Africa under King Leopold II of Belgium. He made agreements with the local leaders so that the king could take the lands in the Congo River, which was later called the Congo Free State (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo).
• France was worried with the Belgian occupation of the Congo Free State since it also had its own interest in the lands in central Africa. Shortly after, aside from France, other European countries joined in a territorial rivalry. The competition became stiff with the discovery of gold and diamond.
• Westerners easily conquered Africa because of the divided groups in Africa, the differences in cultures and languages among these and the lack of strong weapons against the modern guns of the European conquerors. 
• As competition became more intense, the Western countries feared an outbreak of war. To avoid this, the Berlin Conference was held from to 1885. It was attended by 14 European countries. Although the -conference concerned the future of Africa, no African representative was present in the event.
• IMPERIALISM IN ASIA

  Like they did in Africa, the Westerners also divided territories in Asia among themselves. One was China, which faced a “century of humiliation” when the Europeans partitioned it into spheres of influence.
• China imposed isolationism. The port of Canton was the sole port open for foreign trade during the Qing dynasty. However, the situation changed when China was divided into spheres of influence during the 19th century.
• The First Opium War ended with the loss of China in 1842 and its signing of the Nanjing Treaty providing for the following:

  • the opening of five ports for trade;
  • the British possession of Hong Kong;
  • payment of reparations to Britain; and
  • the grant of extraterritorial rights to Britain in China
• 1856, the Second Opium War occurred between China and the combined forces of Britain and France. China was defeated in 1860 and signed the Treaty of Tianjin, which had the following provisions:

  • the opening of 11 trading ports to foreigners; 
  • the legality of opium importation in China; and 
  • the spread of Christianity in the country.
• China also signed unequal treaties with other European countries and Japan.

  France

  1884

  Treaty of Whampoa

  • Extraterritoriality
  • most-favored nation clause 
  • toleration of Christianity

  Portugal

  1887

  Treaty of Peking

  • Portuguese occupation of Macau

  Russia

  1851

  Treaty of Kuldja

  • trading rights
  • building of warehouses
  • establishment of consulates

  Japan

  1895

  Treaty of Shimoneseki

  • Chinese recognition of Korean independence
  • possession of Formosa (present-day Taiwan), Pescadores, and Liaodong Peninsula 
  • opening of four trading ports to Japan
• India was the largest colony of Great Britain. The British monarchy appointed the East India Company to govern India in 1784. But after the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857, the monarchy directly administered the country. In 1858, the British Raj was established and the company was dissolved.
• Siam (present- day Thailand) and Korea were the only Asian countries that were not conquered by Westerners. Siam served as a buffer state between the British and French territories. In exchange for its independence, Siam surrendered some of its territories to these two countries.
• Korea, was able to avoid any European colonization as it shut itself off from any relation with Western countries. Hence, Korea was called the “Hermit Kingdom.
• Under Western imperialism, many Africans and Asians suffered from abuse, slavery, and usurpation.

  The cultures of the colonized countries were influenced. Foreign cultures were introduced, particularly languages like English, as well as the trait of valuing education.
• European colonization altered the territorial borders. As they set the boundaries of their colonies, they overlooked the geographic features of the land and other cultural and ethnolinguistic attributes of the colonized lands. Maritime boundaries were also disregarded in the partition.
• The Westerners also influenced the social, economic, and political conditions of the colonized countries. Planting of cash crops like tobacco and cotton was given more priority than the cultivation of food crops like rice. They built infrastructure like railways, bridges, and town buildings.