Focus Question #1: What social, political, and economic forces encouraged the nations of Europe to create overseas empires in the late nineteenth century.

A. European social forces

1. Population growth, mobility, urbanization, and media spurred state-driven nationalism

2. Intellectual assumptions of Social Darwinism and racism provided justifications for missionaries, explorers, military officers, civilian officials

3. Technological tools of steamships and railroads, along with electronic telegraphs speeded up transportation and communication, while modern rifles and machine guns gave modern European armies overwhelming advantages

B. European political forces

1. Governmental officials were geopolitically concerned with overseas interests, protecting land and sea routes near their overseas territories, and maintaining big navies and armies

2. Elected politicians saw how the mass media fanned the flames of imperialism, turning wars into sports competition, encouraging jingoism

3. Overseas empires created more jobs for upper and middle classes

C. European economic forces

1. Financiers and banks had risk capital to invest in mining minerals, developing commercial plantations, transportation, and ports

2. Industrialists needed cheap natural resources to power their machines or for manufacturing finished products

3. Businessmen sought to sell their products and services overseas

Focus Question #2 How and why did European imperialism differ in Africa and Asia?

A. Conditions on the two continents differed

1. Varied geography, demography, and cultures significantly determined European approaches

2. Areas with only local political and religious institutions were easily dominated by European direct control or colonization and domination

3. Areas with well-established political and religious institutions over large areas were harder to influence, so Europeans relied on governmental collaborators and religious minorities.

B. The "scramble for Africa" from the 1880s to the 1910s was mainly for European profit

1. Earlier colonization of South Africa by Dutch and British, and Algeria by French followed

by some missionaries, explorers, and the Suez Canal

2. Discovery of natural resources, exploitation of copper, diamond, gold mines, and the development of commercial agriculture took advantage of cheap, forced labor

3. The opportunity to gain government contracts

C. The "partition of Asia" from the mid 1800s to the 1910s was mainly for European trade

1. Weakened centralized empires made them vulnerable to Europeans first in port cities and then in capital cities, with modern European navies and armies using their superior power

2. Modern financial and industrial institutions gave Europeans advantages that overwhelmed some Asian economies, but most peasants and poor in the countryside remained indifferent

2. Civilizations and diverse cultures that had been institutionalized on vast scales for centuries were not so easily dominated by Europeans, so missionaries and "Westernization" limited

3. Some governmental officials and minorities became collaborators with the West.
 

Terms/Concepts/Events

Geopolitics is a term coined in Europe in the late 1800s that tied European power to geographic regions overseas to determine national strategic interests. The historical significance of geopolitics is that it provided justification for the expansion of the British empire, based on India, as well as justification for overseas intervention by other imperialist powers.

Boer War was fought at the turn of the century in diamond and gold-rich South Africa, with the British defeating the Dutch farmers (Boers) by using ruthless tactics against guerrilla fighters. The historical significance of the Boer War is that it ended British "isolation" in Europe and the peace settlement left the white minority dominant over the black majority in South Africa.

Jingoism was a term coined in Britain during the 1870s that referred to mass appeal of imperialism, which was encouraged by national politicians and print media. With the masses following matters related to defense and the empire, such matters took on the character of sports competition.

Social Darwinism arose from applying Darwin's theory of evolution to society, which writers used to justify pseudo-scientific notions of race, religious, and gender superiority. Its significance is in justifying European and U.S. imperialism in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when Europe and the U.S. carved up the rest of the world for their benefit.

Battle of Adowa took place in Ethiopia during 1886, when Italian troops were outnumbered and defeated by Ethiopian forces that were also armed with modern weaponry. Its significance is that Ethiopia was the only country on the African continent that retained its independence at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The Great Trek took place in the early 1800s, when Dutch farmers (Boers) resisted the British take-over of South Africa, and settled inland beyond the Vaal river. The Boers retained their strong Calvinist beliefs and farming economy, exploited blacks, and provided the backbone of Afrikaner nationalism and racism.

The Jameson Raid was a scheme hatched in 1895 by the British to defeat the Boer leaders of the Transvaal, where vast deposits of gold had been found in the 1880s. The significance of the raid is that its failure drove the British to take tougher measures against the Boer republics and precipitated the Anglo-Boer War.

Opium War was the conflict between the British and the Chinese from 1839 to 1842, which arose over British offsetting Chinese exports of tea by importing opium illegally to Chinese ports. The historical significance is that the victorious British imposed tough treaties against the Chinese government, which paid vast sums and gave special privileges to Britain, Europe, and the U.S.

Consuls were officials of European governments who facilitated trade and profit for Europeans and collaborating minorities by means of privileges that made Europeans outside the laws and taxation of foreign countries. Their significance is that consuls, while not enjoying the prestige of diplomats abroad, could count on their demands being backed by "gunboats" if necessary.

Eugenics was a pseudoscientific study of genetics that was founded by the British in the late 1800s to improve the race by encouraging mothers to give birth to healthier children for the British Empire. The historical significance of eugenics is that it encouraged racism, that race determined the lives of individuals and explained the history of nations.