slides for class: imperialism in china, india, africa and the middle east
TRANSCRIPT
Slides for Class: Imperialism in China, India, Africa and the Middle East
The Opium War [1839-42]Trade war or drug war?
Should morality be an issue in trade relations?
Is opium just like any other commodity—like tea or molasses, for instance?
Lin Zexu
Canton (Guangzhou) Trade TRIANGULAR TRADE
MANUFACTURED GOODS
OPIUM
SILVER
Consequences of the Opium War for China:
• “Unequal treaties”
• In the Treaty of Nanjing China had to:– Cede Hong Kong to Britain– Open five ports– Pay huge indemnities for
war damage– Guarantee British citizens
extraterritoriality– Grant Britain “most favored
nations” status
See RGH#28: “The English and the Opium Trade”
Chinese Response
3 R’s
Rebellion – Taiping, Boxer
Reform – self-strengthening movement, 100 Days of Reform
Retrenchment – Empress Zuxi, Marble Boat
Taiping Rebellion 1850-1864
• Anti-Q’ing
• Led by Hong Xiuquan
• Spread throughout China: 20-30 million died!!
• Took tremendous government resources to put down
Boxer Rebellion 1900
• Anti-western insurgencies
• Put down by British, French, Russian, U.S., German, Japanese forces
• Q’ing government had to pay damages
Foreign Response
1894-1895 Sino-Japanese War
1904-1905 Russo - Japanese War
Spheres of Influence
China: “Semi-colonial”1850s - 1945
CANTON
Cartoon c. 1925depicting China beingstrangled by Chinese warlords and Western imperialists
Imperialism and India: From trading post empire to “jewel in the crown”
CHRONOLOGY• 1600-1858: British East India
Company controlled India• Gradual colonization by “men
on the spot”• Reform of Indian society
• 1857-58: Sepoy Revolt
• 1858-1947: India was directly controlled by the British Crown, British Raj
British employed Sepoys
Imperialism in India
• Two forces at work:– Internal decline of the Mughal Empire
– British and French Colonial Rivalry
Impact of Imperialism in India• India a colony, “jewel in the Crown”
• Social reforms
• Introduction of Western institutions: English, law, education
• New Class and Institutions:– Indian Middle Class – Indian Civil Service, Indian Army
•Resistance: Sepoy Mutiny, 1858
Impact on Indian Economy
• Commercial agriculture = dependence
• Heavy taxation
• British control of trade
• “Deindustrialization” of Indian textile industry
• Environmental destruction
• Modern communications and transportation: roads/railroads
See RGH #37: “The Case for India”
• European Interests in the Middle East
– The Suez Canal because it linked the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea
• This canal was one of the main trade routes with Indian colonies
• The French first set out to build the Suez Canal in 1859• But in 1875 Britain took over the canal and in 1882 they had full
control over Egypt
“I have come to restore your rights”
””egomaniac on the loose”egomaniac on the loose”
Imperialism: Two Goals
• Economic penetration
• Diplomatic coercion
See Handout for more examples
See RGH #65: “Imperialism: The ‘Civilizing Mission’”
• European Interests in the Middle East – The Suez Canal because it linked the Red Sea and
Mediterranean Sea• This canal was one of the main trade routes with Indian
colonies• The French first set out to build the Suez Canal in 1859• But in 1875 Britain took over the canal and in 1882 they had
full control over Egypt
Imperialism and Africa
CHRONOLOGY
• Until late 1870s Africa was 90% self-ruled
• 1870s Belgium established rubber
plantations
• “Scramble for Africa”– 1884-85 Berlin Conference
Africa Before the Scramble Africa After the Scramble
Africa: After the Slave Trade and Before the Scramble
Political:
-statebuilding (King Menelik in Ethiopia)
-strongly centralized monarchies (Buganda in Central Africa)
-nationalism vs. clan loyalty (Ashante in West Africa)
-religion as a unifier (Sokoto Caliphate in West Africa)
-military and bureaucratic regimes (Zulu in South Africa)Economic:
- substituting free labor for slave labor
-“legitimate trade” replaced the Atlantic slave trade
- new commercial class emerged
Social:
-traditional community life altered by commercial developments
“Change occurred but not quickly enough”
The Scramble for Africa (1885-1904)
Berlin Conference – 1885
See RGH #41: “The Berlin Act, 1885”
“Any power which . . .takes possession of a tract of land on the coasts of the African continent outside of its present possessions. . .shall acquire them, as well as the Power which assumes a Protectorate there. . (notifying) . . .the other Signatory Powers of the present Act, in order to enable them. . .to make good any claims of their own.”
The Dual Mandate See RGH #40
• “Europe is in Africa for the mutual benefit of her own industrial classes, and of the native races in their progress to a higher plane.”
• “We hold these countries because it is the genius of our race to colonize, to trade, and to govern.”
See RGH #22: “Belgian Congo: The Rubber Terror”
The “Iron Grid” of Colonialism
See RGH #39: “Things Fall Apart”
Cecil Rhodes andSouth Africa