HIST 1011 Lecture 8: The-Age-of-High-Imperialism
The Age of "High Imperialism"
Definitions
- Colonies of settlement vs colonies of rule
o Colonies of settlement:
▪ European colonialism: settle Europeans there
▪ Brutally with genocide
▪ i.e. British Australia
o Colonies of rule:
▪ Not settling Europeans there
▪ Brutally but not as brutal as settlement
▪ i.e. British India
- Economic vs political colonization
o Political colony: rule from outside
▪ Colonized people have no formal way to represent their views
▪ Decisions of India in Britain and Algeria in France
o Economic colony: certain economic relation of exploitation
▪ The colonized produce raw materials—agriculture or minerals
▪ Raw materials sold at low price to colonizers then colonizers sell finished goods back to
colonized people at a high price
▪ Wealth transferred from poor to rich country
o A place can be both political and economic colonies
o But not every political colony is an economic colony
▪ France colonized much of Sahara desert that produces nothing
o But not every economic colony is a political colony
▪ Colonized country can’t set price of goods, have to obey the rules of colonizers
o 19th century Latin America was the informal British empire → in terms of economy even though those
countries were independent
Why imperialism?
- Technological factors
o Continuation of imperialism from Columbus and Vasco da Gama
o 19th century has immense technological gap → weapons and transportation and communication
o But colonizers lost some wars, especially those fought in mountainous area
▪ Britain in Afghanistan
▪ Italy in Ethiopia
o Wars fought with genocidal brutality and much savagery
o Colonizers establish political control over colonies
o Employ some locals in lower level jobs and police and armies
o 1857 Sepoy Mutiny was a threat to British → could not rely on Indian troop → sent more British troops
- The need for commodities
o Industrial revolution required commodities
o Rubber is a hot climate crop → parts of Africa and East Asia turned into rubber plantations
▪ Military necessity → question of national security → control the sources of production →
economic + political colonization
- Imperialism: domestic politics
o Left wing and socialist movements were on the rise in Europe
o Europeans were desperate in trying to not get worker class attracted to socialism
▪ Used imperialism, the highest form of nationalism
Document Summary
Technological factors: continuation of imperialism from columbus and vasco da gama, 19th century has immense technological gap weapons and transportation and communication, but colonizers lost some wars, especially those fought in mountainous area, britain in afghanistan. Industrial revolution required commodities: rubber is a hot climate crop parts of africa and east asia turned into rubber plantations, military necessity question of national security control the sources of production . Imperialism: domestic politics economic + political colonization: left wing and socialist movements were on the rise in europe, europeans were desperate in trying to not get worker class attracted to socialism, used imperialism, the highest form of nationalism. Instilling in workers a sense of national pride a way of combatting socialism: also settled the discontented workers into their empire to combat socialist stir. Imperial struggle or race will perish: also a patriar(cid:272)hal ele(cid:373)e(cid:374)t to pro(cid:448)e (cid:862)(cid:373)a(cid:374)li(cid:374)ess(cid:863, believed that less favored races will be extinct basically genocide, tasmanian aborigines.
