TOOLS OF IMPERIALISM

• 1. How are "colonialism" and "imperialism" different?

  • Imperialism is a term used to describe the ideas, beliefs, and actions that one group uses to justify and hold control over the others. Colonialism is the experience of the other groups who are being ruled.
• 1. What were some ways of thinking about the world that supported imperialism?

  • the belief that the people of the world could be divided by race, and that some races were better than others
  • the belief that some people were civilized, while others were barbarians or savages who could be upgraded to "civilized" if they were taught to act differently. this encouraged the attitude that the imperial society should act like a "father" teaching and disciplining the "children" of the colonies
• 1. What physical tools helped imperial powers to create empires?

  • Railroads and steamships allowed imperialists to move armies, supplies, and administrators to control large and distant territories more effectively
  • New medicines allowed them to survive diseases that had previously kept them out of tropical areas
  • Telegraph and radio technology allowed imperial governments to communicate with their far-flung ships, governors, and agentss
• 1. What is gunboat diplomacy?

  • when a powerful country uses its warships to threaten or force a weaker country into doing what it wants
• 1. How did science sometimes function as a tool of imperialism?

  • Science was used by imperial powers to advance their interests and control over colonies in several ways:
  • Funding expeditions
  • Justifying Colonialism
  • Exploiting Natural Resources
  • Surveillance and Control
• Funding expeditions


  Empires funded scientific expeditions to explore new territories, gather information on resources, geography, and local populations, and assess their strategic and economic value
• Justifying colonialism


  Imperialists used scientific theories, such as Social Darwinism, to justify colonial domination by asserting the superiority of their race and culture over indigenous peoples. This ideological framework portrayed colonialism as a natural and progressive process
• Exploiting natural resources


  Scientists played a role in identifying and exploiting valuable resources in colonized territories, such as minerals, plants, and wildlife, for economic gain. Their findings informed colonial policies on resource extraction and exploitation
• Surveillance and control


  Scientists acted as agents of surveillance, gathering intelligence on local populations, customs, and political dynamics. This information was used to maintain control over colonies and suppress resistance movements
• 1. What is indirect rule?

  • Indirect rule was a colonial administrative strategy employed by imperial powers, notably the British, to govern their colonies through local intermediaries or indigenous rulers. Key features of indirect rule include:
  • Appointment of local officials
  • Delegation of authority
  • Preservation of existing power structures
  • Cost-saving measure
  • Risks and limitations
• Appointment of local officials

  Colonial administrators appointed indigenous elites or traditional leaders to serve as intermediaries between the colonial government and the local population
• Delegation of authority


  Indigenous rulers were granted limited authority to administer local affairs, such as collecting taxes, maintaining order, and implementing colonial policies, under the supervision of colonial officials
• Indirect rule aimed to preserve existing social hierarchies and traditional power structures, while incorporating them into the colonial administrative framework
• Cost-saving measure

  Indirect rule was often motivated by economic considerations, as it allowed colonial powers to govern vast territories with minimal direct administrative expenses
• While indirect rule facilitated colonial governance and reduced administrative costs, it also posed challenges, including the potential for local resistance, conflicts between colonial and indigenous interests, and difficulties in maintaining control over distant territories
• Explain how various technological factors contributed to the expansion of empires from 1750 to 1900.

  • Navigation and transportation
  • Weaponry and military technology
  • Communication networks
  • Medical advances
  • Industrialization
• Navigation and transportation

  • Advances in shipbuilding
  • Navigation techniques (such as the development of chronometers for determining longitude)
  • Introduction of steam-powered ships
• Advances in navigation and transportation facilitated long-distance maritime travel, enabling imperial powers to explore, conquer, and maintain control over distant territories
• Weaponry and military technology

  • Innovations in firearms
  • Innovations in artillery
  • Innovations in military tactics (such as the use of mobile cavalry and disciplined infantry formations)
• Innovations in weaponry and military technology gave imperial armies a significant advantage over indigenous forces, allowing for the conquest and subjugation of new territories
• Communication networks

  • Proliferation of telegraph lines
  • Establishment of global communication networks
• Advances in communication networks improved the coordination of imperial operations, facilitated the dissemination of information, and enabled faster responses to threats or opportunities in distant colonies
• Medical advances

  • Improvements in medicine, particularly the development of vaccines and treatments for tropical diseases
• Medical advances reduced the mortality rates of European explorers, soldiers, and settlers in tropical regions, enabling sustained colonial expansion
• Industrialization

  • The Industrial Revolution
• The Industrial Revolution fueled the demand for raw materials, markets, and investment opportunities, driving imperial powers to expand their colonial empires in search of resources, labor, and profitable markets for manufactured goods
• • Industrial empires with high-tech weapons or larger militaries could often bully other states into doing what they wanted, without ever invading or directly controlling them
  • This informal control is how Latin America, the Ottoman Empire, and China encountered imperialism
• • Britain, France, Japan, the United States, or another imperial power would demand something. Usually, this was something economic, like better trade deals or access to local markets. If the local government refused, the imperial power would send in a diplomat backed by a fleet or an army. Because imperial powers so often relied on powerful navies, it also became known as "gunboat diplomacy"
• • Knowledge as a tool of imperialism

  Imperialists dismissed local knowledge and traditions as inferior, while promoting their own as superior. Scholars from the empire would discredit oral tradition, local religions, and non-industrial skills, while upholding formal disciplines like History and Anthropology
• Science and empire


  Imperial powers funded scientists to travel the world, gathering knowledge that benefited the empire. Scientists acted as spies, gathering information on valuable resources, local politics, and conditions for imperial rule
• Administration and bureaucracy


  Colonial administrations created laws and systems of government that locals had to follow. The colonizers had power over making, interpreting, and enforcing laws, often in unfamiliar courts and languages, giving them significant control over colonial subjects
• Economic control


  Colonialism brought conquered people under a capitalist, industrial system, where they had to work for wages and pay taxes to the colonial government. Companies controlled by the imperial power profited from cheap labor and manipulated prices for goods produced in the colonies
• Taxation and revenue


  Colonizers imposed taxes on local populations and imported goods to generate revenue for colonial administration and infrastructure. Taxes were often higher on goods imported from countries other than the imperial power, promoting sales to British companies and funding colonial operations
• Indirect rule


  Employed as a cost-saving measure, indirect rule involved appointing locals to lower-paying administrative positions under the supervision of citizens from the imperial power. While cheaper and more culturally attuned, indirect rule carried the risk of local officials turning against colonial rule
• Education


  Schools in the colonies primarily trained locals for administrative roles, while also instilling ideas of imperialism and inferiority. However, education also provided access to European ideas of liberty and equality, leading to potential challenges to colonial legitimacy