World History Part 2: The Building of Global Empires

II. European Imperialism

- Imperial expansion began with the British conquest of India - Competition between imperial powers led to European intrusion into central Asia, the establishment of colonies in southeast Asia - Interference in the Ottoman and Qing empires in southwest and east Asia - European states brought almost all of Africa and Pacific Ocean territories into their empires

A. U.S. Imperialism in Latin America and the Pacific

- PRESIDENT JAMES MONROE (1817-1825) issued a proclamation that warned European states against imperialist designs in the western hemisphere (Monroe Doctrine = justification for US intervention in hemispheric affairs) - The US purchased Alaska from Russia (1867) and claimed a protectorate over the islands of Hawaii (1875) - Hawaiian kingdom survived until 1893 when a group of planters and businesspeople overthrew the last monarch (QUEEN LILI'UOKALANI) - these businesspeople invited the US to take over the islands 1) The Spanish-Cuban-American War - anticolonial tensions mounted in Cuba and Puerto Rico (last remnants of Spain's American empire) - US leaders claimed sabotage and declared war on Spain for sinking their battle "Maine"; easily defeated Spain and took control and possession of Cuba and Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines (to prevent them from falling under German or Jap control) - Filipino revolt against Spanish rule, and US forces promised to support independence of Philippines in exchange for an alliance against Spain; yet, the President decided to bring the Philippines under American control instead --> causing rebellions and death - US intervened in the affairs of Caribbean and Central American lands to prevent rebellion and protect American business interests 2) The Panama Canal - Built a canal across the Isthmus of Panama in northern Colombia to facilitate communication and transportation between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans - Colombia was unwilling to do this - the US supported a rebellion against Colombia in 1903 and helped rebels establish the breakaway state of Panama, in exchange for building a canal across Panama and to control the adjacent territory (Panama Canal Zone) - US is allowed to intervene in domestic affairs of nations if they demonstrate an inability to maintain the security deemed necessary to protect US investments (new law added to Monroe Doctrine)

Introduction

- the discovery of diamonds and rich gold deposits brought European settlers to the South African region in large numbers - Cecil John Rhodes (Oxford University) went to South Africa in search of a climate that would relieve his tuberculosis (brought claims in the diamond fields when he was 18) - at 35, he had almost monopolized diamond mining in South Africa, controlling 90% of the world's diamond production - also built up a healthy stake in the gold-mining business and entered politics serving as the PRIME MINISTER of the British Cape Colony - Cape Colony = base of operations for the extension of British control to all of Africa - urged the expansion of the British empire until it embraced all the world including the US - he thought British imperial expansion was a duty to humankind...(carved the world into colonies) - strong societies have often sought to dominate their weaker neighbors by subjecting them to imperial rule - toward the end of the century, the US and Japan joined European states as imperial powers - Imperialism tightened links between the world's societies as they: 1) encouraged trade between dominant states and their overseas colonies 2) organized mass migrations of laborers to work in agricultural and industrial ventures - Effects of Imperialism: 1) modern racism is one of the legacies of imperialism 2) development of resistance and nationalism in subject lands

C. Empire and Society

1) Colonial Conflict - colonial officials forced peoples of different societies to deal with one another a regular and systematic basis --> violent conflicts between colonizers and subject peoples - subject peoples revolted against foreign rule, the tyrannical behavior of colonial officials, the intro of European schools and curricula, high taxation, and requirements that subject peoples provide compulsory labor for colonists' enterprises - rebellions drew strength from traditional religious beliefs - although rebellion failed and resulted in the deaths of as many as seventy-five thousand insurgents, it testified to the fact that rebellion was a constant threat to colonial rule - resisted colonial rule by boycotting European goods, organizing political parties and pressure groups, and pursuing anticolonial policies through churches and religious groups 2) Scientific Racism - social and cultural differences were the foundation of an academic pursuit known as scientific racism - COUNT JOSEPH ARTHUR DE GOBINEAU took race as the most important index of human potential - theorists in the 19th century assumed that the human species consisted of several distinct racial groups - Gobineau divided humanity into four main racial groups: a) Africans = Unintelligent and lazy b) Asians = smart but docile c) Americans = dull and arrogant d) Europeans = intelligent, noble, and morally superior to others - later 19th century and early 20th centuries, racist thinkers sought to identify racial groups on the basis of skin color, bone structure, nose shape, cranial capacity, and other physical characteristics - CHARLES DARWIN - many scientific racists drew heavily from his writings "survival of the fittest" soon became a byword for Darwin's theory of evolution - HERBERT SPENCER relied on theories of evolution to explain differences between the strong and then weak: successful individuals and races had competed better in the natural world and consequently evolved to higher states than did other, less fit, peoples (justifying the domination of European imperialists over subject peoples as the inevitable result of natural scientific principles)

A. Motives of Imperialism

1) Modern Imperialism - European observers recognized that empires of their day were different from those of earlier times - by the 1880s, the term imperialism made its way into popular speech and writing throughout western Europe - imperialism = domination over subject lands in the larger world a) formal imperialism = military conquest and establishment of political control b) informal imperialism = domination of trade, investment and business activities that enabled imperial powers to profit from subject societies (imperialism arose from this) 2) Modern Colonialism - colonialism refers not just to the settlement of colonists in new lands (previous) but also to the political, social, economic, and cultural structures that enabled imperial powers to dominate subject lands - European agents, officials, and businesspeople effectively turned different places (India, southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa) into colonies by controlling their domestic and foreign policies, integrating local economies into the world of global capitalism, and promoting European educational and cultures preferences 3) Economic Motives of Imperialism - a wide range of motives encouraged European peoples to launch campaigns of domination, conquest, and control - pointed out that overseas colonies could serve as reliable sources of raw materials: rubber, tin, and copper were vital industrial products 4) Political Motives of Imperialism - even if colonies were not economically beneficial, imperialists held that it was crucial for political and military reasons to maintain them - some overseas colonies occupied strategic sites on the world's sea-lands, and other offered harbors or supply stations for commercial and naval ships - European politicians and national leaders sought to defuse social tension and inspire patriotism by focusing public attention on foreign imperialist ventures 5) Cultural Motives of Imperialism - while missionaries sought to introduce Christianity to subject peoples, their goals were compatible with those of other Europeans who sought to bring them "civilization" in the form of political order and social and cultural enlightenment

B. Imperialism in Southeast Asia

1) The Dutch East Indies - in southeast Asia, Dutch officials tightened their control and extended their authority throughout the Dutch East Indies (archipelago or group of islands that makes up the modern state of Indonesia) - due to the competition among European states - cash crops of sugar, tea, coffee, and tobacco - exports of rubber and tin made the Dutch East Indies a valuable and productive colony 2) British Colonies in Southeast Asia - British imperialists wanted to establish a presence in southeast Asia: established colonial authority in Burma which is today's Myanmar (a source for teak, ivory, rubies, and jade) - THOMAS STAMFORD RAFFLES founded the port of Singapore (became the busiest center of trade in the Strait of Melaka) - served as the base for the British conquest of Malaya (modern Malaysia) a) offered ports that enabled the British navy to control sea-lands linking the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea b) provided abundant supplies of tin and rubber 3) French Indochina - French imperialists built the large southeast Asian colony of French Indochina (consists of modern states of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos) - French colonial officials introduced European-style schools and sought to establish close connections with native elites (like their British counterparts did in India) - unlike their British counterparts, French officials encouraged conversion to Christianity; therefore, the Roman Catholic church became prominent throughout French Indochina (especially Vietnam) - by century's end, all of southeast Asia had come under European imperial rule except for the kingdom of Sam (modern Thailand) which preserved its independence because colonial officials regarded it as a convenient barrier between British dominated Burma and French Indochina

A. The British Empire in India

British empire in south Asia and southeast Asia grew because of The East India Company (a monopoly on English trade with India), which obtained permission from the Mughal emperors of India to build fortified posts on the coastlines - 17th century = company merchants trade mostly for Indian pepper and cotton, Chinese silk and porcelain, and spices from southeast Asia - 18th century = tea and coffee became the most prominent trade items, and European consumers acquired a permanent taste for both 1) Company Rule - the death of indian Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the Mughal state entered a period of decline - East India Company took advantage of Mughal weakness to strengthen and expand its trading posts - 1750s = company merchants began campaigns of outright conquest in India largely to protect their commercial interests - sepoys = indians troops that worked for the merchants - 1857 = The Sepoy Rebellion (the Indian sepoys of the Bengal army revolted from British control) - to gain control back, the British waged a bloody campaign in which many thousands of Indians lost their lives through summary hangings and the destruction of villages - 1858 (order was restored and the British government put an end to the East India Company and assumed direct rule over the subcontinent) 2) British Imperial Rule - Queen Victoria assigned responsibility for Indian policy to the newly established office of secretary of state for India - a governor represented British royal authority and administered the colony through an elite Indian civil service staffed almost exclusively by the English - British officials formulated all domestic and foreign policy in India - to profit from India's enormous size and wealth, British officials cleared forests and encouraged the cultivation of crops, such as tea, coffee, and opium that were especially valuable trade items - restructured landholdings and ensured that land taxes financed the costs of British rule - built extensive railroad and telegraph networks - constructed new canals, harbors, and irrigation systems to support commerce and agriculture - British colonial authorities did not promote Christianity, but established English-style schools for the children of Indian elites - suppressed indian customs (such as sati = practice of widows burning themselves on their husbands' funeral pyres, infanticide, and slavery)

C. Informal Domination in the Ottoman and Qing Empires

European and later US forces used their economic and military power to force concessions out of militarily weak societies - won rights for businesses to seek opportunities on favorable terms - gained influence in political affairs - enabled industrial capitalists to realize huge profits without going to the trouble and expense of establishing formal colonies Two formerly powerful societies, The Ottoman and the Qing Empires, increasingly came under such informal domination as each struggle with military weakness and internal problems in contrast to the industrialized nation-states of Europe - although reform movements emerged in both lands, both empires were still firmly in the grip of foreign domination 1) Military Decline - by late 17th century, it was already clear that Ottoman forced lagged behind European armies in strategy, tactics, weaponry, and training - although Ottoman government managed to maintain its authority in Anatolia and Iraq, it suffered serious territorial losses in the Caucasus, central Asia, and the Balkan provinces of Greece and Serbia - most significant was the lost of Egypt (French general Napolean invaded Egypt in hopes of using it as a springboard for an attack on the British empire in India --> failed, yet the invasion sparked turmoil in Egypt as local elites battled to seize power after Napolean's departure) - MUHAMMAD ALI built a powerful army modeled on European forces and ruled Egypt from 1805 to 1848 - Ali launched a program of industrialization, concentrating on cotton textiles and armaments - he was low ranked to the Ottoman sultan but came to established himself as an effective ruler of Egypt (most powerful land in the Muslim world) - he invaded Syria and Anatolia (threatening to capture Istanbul and topple the Ottoman state) - Ottoman dynasty survived only because British forces intervened out of fear that Ottoman collapse would result in a sudden and dangerous expansion of Russian influence 2) Economic Difficulties - European textiles and manufactured goods began to flow into the Ottoman empire (inexpensive and high-quality products) - gradually, the Ottoman empire moved toward financial dependency on Europe - economic development in the Ottoman empire depended heavily on foreign loans, as European capital financed the construction of railroads, utilities, and mining enterprises - 1882 = Ottoman was unable to pay interest on its loans and had no choice but to accept European administration of its debts 3) The Capitulations - Ottoman state provided European powers with extraterritoriality (the right to exercise jurisdiction over their own citizens) - Capitulations (surrender) also served as instruments of economic penetration by European businesspeople who established tax-free banks and commercial enterprises in the Ottoman empire - permitted foreign governments to levy (charge) duties on goods sold in Ottoman ports 4) The Reforms of Mahmud II - Ottoman leaders launched a series of reforms designed to strengthen and preserve the state - a significant period of reform occurred under the leadership of MAHMUD II (Muslim - reigned 1808-1839) - Mahmud's Program = remodeled Ottoman institutions along western European lines (especially in the creation of a more effective army) - Ottoman recruits wore European-style uniforms and studied at military and engineering schools that taught European curricula - Mahmud's government created a system of secondary education for boys to facilitate scientific, technical, and military academies - he established European-style ministries, constructed new roads, built telegraph lines, and inaugurated a postal service - MAHMUD MADE OTTOMAN EMPIRE MORE MANAGEABLE AND POWERFUL 5) The Tanzimat Era (Reorganization Era 1839-1876) - Tanzimat reformers drew considerable inspiration from Enlightenment thought and the constitutional foundations of western European states - their primary aims was to make Ottoman law more acceptable to Europeans so they could have the capitulations lifted and recover Ottoman sovereignty - most important reforms: public trials, rights of privacy, and equality before the law for all Ottoman subjects (Muslim or not) - educational reforms also provided free and compulsory primary education for all children - harsh criticism came from religious conservatives, who argued that reformers posed a threat to the empire's Islamic foundation - the Ottoman bureaucracy itself criticized Tanzimat reforms because they believed that too much power was concentrated in the hands of the sultan 6) The Young Turks - ABDUL HAMID II (1876-1909) seemed to confirm such criticisms and a variety of liberal groups grew up to oppose his rule - there were members who were familiar with European society, and who believed above all else that Ottoman society was in dire need of a written constitution that defined and limited the sultan's power - Young Turk Party (The Ottoman Society for Union and Progress) = the most active dissident (opposing) organization which vigorously called for universal suffrage, equality before the law, freedom of religion, free public education, secularization of the state, and the emancipation of women - Young Turks dethroned Abdul Hamid and established MEHMID V RASHID (1909-1918) as a puppet sultan (Ottoman sultans reigned but no longer ruled) - Ottoman armies continued to lose wars, and subject peoples continued to seek independence - Ottoman empire survived principally because European diplomats could not agree on how to dispose of the empire without upsetting the European balance of power 7) The Opium Trade - Chinese empire experienced even more difficulties than the Ottoman empire in the 19th century - problems became serious when officials of the British East India Company began to trade in opium (rather than silver) in exchange for the Chinese silks, porcelains, and teas so coveted by Europeans - trade in opium was illegal in China, but it expanded rapidly for decades because Chinese authorities made little effort to enforce the law - government official had become aware that China had a trade problem and a drug problem as well; therefore, the government took active steps to halt the trade, which included destruction of some twenty thousand chests of opium 8) The Opium War (1839-1842) - British commercial agents pressed their government into a military retaliation designed to reopen the opium trade - the Chinese navy and infantry were no match for their British counterparts - Chinese government sued for peace 1842 after the war 9) Unequal Treaties - The Treaty of Nanjing which ended the British war against the Chinese, ceded Hong Kong island in a perpetuity to Britain - opened five Chinese ports to commerce and residence, compelled the Qing government to extend most favored-nation status to Britain, and granted extraterritoriality to British subjects - 1900 = 90 Chinese ports were under the effective control of foreign powers, foreign merchants controlled much of the Chinese economy - Christian missionaries sought converts throughout China, and foreign gunboats patrolled Chinese waters - Multiple rebellions erupted throughout China: a) The Nian Rebellion (1851-1868) in the northeast b) The Muslim Rebellion (1855-1873) in the southwest c) The Tungan Rebellion (1862-1878) in the northwest d) The Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) which raged throughout most of China and brought the Qing dynasty to the brink of collapse (most dangerous) 10) The Taiping Rebellion - HONG XIUQUAN provided both inspiration and leadership in the Taiping Rebellion (called for the destruction of the Qing dynasty and for the radical transformation of Chinese society: a) abolition of private property b) the creation of communal wealth to be shared according to needs c) the prohibition of food binding and concubinage d) free public education e) simplification of the written language f) literacy for the masses g) equality of the sexes - Hong and his followers in The Society of God Worshipers took Nanjing and made it the capital of their Taiping kingdom (Great Peace) - claimed twenty and thirty million lives and devastated part of the Chinese countryside 11) The Self-Strengthening Movement (1860-1895) - Self-Strengthening Movement = built modern shipyards, constructed railroads, established weapons industries, open steel foundries with blast furnaces, and founded academies to develop scientific expertise - yet they did not introduce enough industry to bring real military and economic strength to China - did not prevent continuing foreign intrusion into Chinese affairs - foreign powers began to dismantle to Chinese system of tributary states - France incorporated Vietnam into its colonial empire - Great Britain detached Burma from Chinese control 12) The Hundred Days Reforms (1898) - purpose was to turn China into a powerful modern industrial society - young and open-minded Emperor Guangxu launched a sweeping program to transform China into a constitutional monarchy (guarantee civil liberties, root out corruption, remodel the educational system, modernize military force, and stimulate economic development) - these reforms produced violent reactions: the ruthless and powerful empress dowager Cixi cancelled the reform decrees, imprisoned the emperor in the Forbidden City and executed six leading reformers 13) The Boxer Rebellion - Cixi supported an antiforeign uprising known as the Boxer Rebellion = a violent movement spearheaded by militia units (Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists) - organized to rid China of "foreign devils" and their influences - the Boxers went on a rampage in northern China, killing foreigners and Chinese who had ties to foreigners - 140,000 Boxers tortured foreign embassies in Beijing in the summer of 1900 yet were crushed by a heavily armed force of British, French, Russian, U.S., German, and Japanese troops - when Cixi died, anti-Qing revolutionary movements that sought alternative methods to deal with foreign domestic crises were widespread - revolution broke out in 1911 and by early 1912, Puyi was the last emperor of the Qing dynasty

D. The Scramble for Africa

European powers sponsored informal imperialism in the Ottoman and Qing empires, yet also embarked on an outburst of formal imperialism in Africa - European peoples had a limited presence in Africa: Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique, the French settler colony in northern Algeria, and a cluster of settler colonies populated by British and Dutch migrants in south Africa - 1875-1900 = within a quarter century European imperial powers partitioned and colonized almost the entire African continent 1) The Belgian Congo - KING LEOPOLD II of Belgium (1865-1909) employed the American journalist Henry Morton Stanley to help develop commercial ventures and establish a colony called the Congo Free State (modern day Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the basin of the Congo River - to ward off competition from Belgium's much larger more powerful European neighbors, Leopold announced that the Congo region would be a free trade zone accessible to merchants and businesspeople from all European lands - carved out a personal colony with the sole purpose of extracting lucrative rubber using forced labor - working conditions in the Congo Free State: brutal, taxes so high, and abuses so many that four to eight million Africans died under Leopold's personal rule - control was taken away from Leopold in 1908 by the humanitarian pressure and administered the colony directly - in an effort to build up their army, strengthen the economy, and distance themselves from Ottoman authority, Egypt's leaders borrowed heavily from European lenders - crushing debt forced Egyptian officials to impose high taxes, which provoked popular unrest and a military rebellion - Britain establish an imperial presence in Egypt due to their concern over the status of Egypt's financial interests and the security of the Suez Canal 2) The Berlin Conference - the British occupation of Egypt intensified tensions between those European powers who were seeking African colonies - to avoid war, delegates from fourteen European states and the US went to the Berlin West Africa Conference to devise ground rules for the colonization of Africa - Rules: any European state could establish African colonies after notifying the others of its intentions 3) Direct and Indirect Rule - Europeans struggled to identify the most cost-effective and efficient system of rule in Africa - Direct Rule = typical of French colonies; colonies were headed by European personnel who assumed responsibility for tax collection, labor, and military recruitment, and the maintenance of law and order - Indirect Rule = characteristic of British colonies; sought to exercise control over subject populations through indigenous institutions such as "tribal" authorities and "customary laws" - Both methods of government were flawed 4) South Africa - main antagonists during the conflict of the southern tip of Africa: a) descendants of Dutch settlers who had founded Cape Town (1652) b) British settlers who had taken control of the Cape in 1815 (subjected Afrikaners in Cape Town to British language and law: abolition of slavery) - angered over British rule, Afrikaners left their farms in Cape Colony and gradually migrated east to Great Trek - Afrikaners created several independent republics: a) The Republic of Natal (taken over by the British in 1843) b) The Orange Free State in 1854 c) The South African Republic in 1860 - Discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) in Afrikaner territories gave way to an influx of thousands of British miners --> instigated the South African War/Boer War (1899-1902) - confinement of 100,000 black Africans in British concentration camps (left more than 10,000 dead) - Africans surrendered in 1902, and British government reconstituted the four former colonies as provinces in the Union of South Africa (largely autonomous British dominion)

E. European Imperialism in the Pacific

Imperialism in the Pacific took two main forms: Australia and New Zealand - European powers established settler colonies and dominant political institutions - Europeans sought commercial opportunities and reliable bases for their operations but did not wish to go to the trouble or expense of outright colonization - in the late 19th century is when they began to impose direct colonial rule on the islands 1) Settler Colonies in the Pacific - Settlers began to come 2 decades after Captain James Cook reported that Australia would be suitable for settlement - convicted criminals were the ones who arrived at Sydney harbor and established the colony of New South Wales - voluntary migrants outnumbered convicts soon after and discovered gold 1851 - fertile soils and abundant stands of timber drew large numbers of migrants - diseases such as smallpox and measles devastated indigenous peoples in Australia at the same time European migrants flooded into their lands (population went from 650,000-90,000 in 1900 while European population rose from a few thousand to 3.75 million) - violent confrontations due to conflict between European settlers and native populations - "land belonging to no one" because Australians were nomadic foraging peoples --> British disperses them throughout the continent - led to New Zealand Wars (confrontations between Maori and the British that flared during the mid to late 19th century) 2) Imperialists in Paradise - Europeans mainly wanted to use the islands as naval ports, as coaling stations, and sometimes as producers of primary products - yet direct colonial rule was imposed on the islands in 1880 - Berlin Conference = Britain, France, Germany, and the United States proceeded to claim almost all the Pacific Islands - 1900 - only the kingdom of Tonga remained independent

I. Foundations of Empire

In nineteenth-century Europe, proponents of empire advanced a variety of political, economic, and cultural arguments to justify the conquest and control of foreign lands

B. Imperial Japan

Meiji era helped strengthen Japanese industrialization (late 19th century) - made a bid to stand alongside the world's great powers by launching a campaign of imperial expansion 1) Early Japanese Expansion - began in the East Asian islands - Japanese leaders encouraged Japanese migrants to populate the islands of Hokkaido and Kurile, Okinawa and Ryukyu to forestall Russian expansion there 2) The Sino-Japanese War - Japan purchased modern warships from Britain and became much stronger - conflict erupted between Japan and China over the status of Korea (Japanese businesses had built substantial interests in Korea and Meiji leaders were unwilling to recognize Chinese control over such an economically important land) --> War - Japanese won in 5 hours, and conflict ended in a few months 3) The Russo-Japanese War - unexpected Japanese victory startled European imperial powers especially Russia - tensions between Japan and Russia soon mounted due to territorial ambitions in the Liaodong peninsula, Korea, and Manchuria - War (1904-1905) and Japanese forces overran Russian installations and destroyed the Russian Baltic fleet - Japan won international recognition of its colonial authority over Korea and the Liaodong peninsula - Russia gave southern half of Skhalin island to Japan along with a railroad and economic interests in southern Manchuria

III. The Emergence of New Imperial Powers

Two new imperial powers appeared on the world stage: the United States and Japan - both experienced rapid industrialization - both built powerful armed forces

A. Empire and Economy

desire to gain access to natural resources and agricultural products was one of the principal motives of imperialism - advantages of trade went mostly to the colonial powers whose policies encouraged subject lands to provide raw materials for processing in the industrialized societies of Europe, North America, and Japan 1) Introduction of New Crops - colonial rule led to the intro of new crops that transformed landscape and the social order of subject lands - British colonial officials introduced tea buses from China to Ceylon and India - converting rain forests into tea plantations - recruited Ceylonese women to carry out the labor-intensive work of harvesting mature tea leaves - MALAYA AND SUMATRA underwent a similar social transformation after British colonial agents planted rubber trees there in the 1870s and established plantations to meet the growing global demand for rubber products

B. Labor Migrations

efforts to exploit natural resources and agricultural products of subject lands led imperial and colonial powers to encourage mass migrations of workers (19th - early 20th century) 1) European Migration - 1800-1914 fifty million European migrants left their homes and sought opportunities overseas (left poor agricultural societies of southern and eastern Europe) - most went to the US (32 million) - others went to Canada, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa 2) Indentured Labor Migration - migrants from Asia, Africa, and the Pacific islands generally traveled as indentured laborers - 2.5 million indentured laborers left their homes to work in distant parts of the world - labor recruiters offered workers free transportation, food, shelter, clothing, and modest compensation for their services in exchange for a commitment to work for 5-7 years 3) Empire and Migration - large-scale migrations of the 19th century reflected the global influence of imperial powers - movements of indentured laborers were possible because colonial officials were able to recruit workers and dispatch them to distant lands where their compatriots had already established plantations or opened mines - distinctive ethnic identities in lands far from their original homes

B. Tools of Empire

industrialists devised effective technologies of transportation, communication, and war that enabled European imperialists to have their way in the larger world 1) Transportation Technologies - most important innovations: steamships and railroads - British naval engineers adapted steam power to military uses and built large ships equipped with powerful guns (ironclad ships could travel much faster than any sailboat and ignore the winds and travel in any direction) - construction of canals: a) enhanced the effectiveness of steamships (Suez Canal and Panama Canal) b) facilitated the building and maintenance of empires by enabling naval vessels to travel rapidly between the world's seas and oceans c) lowered the cost of trade between imperial powers and subject lands - construction of railroads: a) helped them maintain their dominance and organize local economies to their own advantage b) enabled colonial officials and armies to travel quickly through the colonies c) facilitated trade in raw materials and the distribution of European manufactured goods in the colonies 2) Military Technologies - increasingly powerful weapons - European armies were using breech-loading firearms with rifled bores that were far more accurate and reliable than any other firearms - rifled machine guns, the Maxim gun (a light and powerful weapon that fired eleven bullets per second) - in 1898, a British army with twenty machine guns and six gunboats encountered a Sudanese force on the Nile River --> five hours later the British lost 368 men, and the Sudanese killed 11,000 3) Communications Technologies - after the introduction of steamships, correspondence (mail/letters) could make the round-trip between London and Bombay in 4 months - after the Suez Canal was built, steamships traveled from Britain to India in less than 2 weeks - invention of the telegraph made it possible to exchange messages even faster - submarine cables carried messages between Britain and India in about five hours - 1902 cables linked all parts of British empire throughout the world - their monopoly on telegraphic communications allowed imperial officials to rapidly mobilize forces to deal with troubles, and the telegraph allowed merchants to respond quickly to developments of economic and commercial significance

IV. Legacies of Imperialism

trade and migration increased dramatically as imperial powers exploited the resources of subject lands and recruited labor forces to work in colonies throughout the world - brought people into conflict (European, Euro-American, and Japanese imperialists all came to think of themselves as superior to the peoples they overcame) - foreign intrusion stimulated the development of resistance in colonized lands