IMPERIALISM IN SOUTHEAST

ASIA & AFRICAChapter 14 sections 1 & 2

World History

COLONIAL RULE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Section 1

OLD VS. NEW IMPERIALISM Old: European nations wanted to set up

trading posts where they could conduct business and missionary activities

New: European nations wanted total control over huge amounts of foreign territory

“WHITE MAN’S BURDEN” Argument Europeans had the moral

responsibility to civilize “primitive people” and bring Christianity to the “heathen masses”

GREAT BRITAIN Founded Singapore (City of the Lion) in

1819 which became a major port for ships coming to and from China

Next the British took over BurmaTo protect its possessions in IndiaWanted an overland route into China

SINGAPORE & BURMA

FRANCE Forced Vietnam to accept French

protection from the British in 1857 Protectorate: a political unit that

depends on another government for its protection

Vietnamese Empire becomes a French protectorate in 1884

Extend protection to neighboring Cambodia, Laos, Annam, & Tonkin

Becomes known as Union of French Indochina

FRENCH INDOCHINA

THAILAND The only independent country in

Southeast Asia Kings promoted Western learning &

maintained good relationships with European powers

Britain & France agreed to keep Thailand as an independent buffer b/t their possessions

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY BUFFER?See how Thailand is right between British controlled Burma and the countries that make up French Indochina? That is what a buffer is – something, anything that creates space b/t two things.

DIRECT VS. INDIRECT RULE Indirect Rule: local rulers kept their

positions of authority and status in the new colonial government Easier access to natural resourcesLess effect on local cultureLowered the cost of colonial government

Direct Rule: local rulers are removed from power and replaced with officials from the mother country

HUMANITARIAN, HUH? Many Westerners feared native people

gaining political rights – even teaching them about representative government & democracy

Colonial powers did NOT want colonists to develop their own industries, only continue to supply the raw materials that fuel industry in the mother country and buy those products

ECONOMIC LIFE UNDER COLONIAL RULE Materials Exported: teak wood, rubber,

spices, tea, coffee, palm oil, tin, sugar Plantation agriculture – native peasants

worked as laborers on plantations owned by colonial elites

Wages were kept low to maximize profits

Conditions were poor and led to many deaths

BENEFITS OF COLONIAL RULE Beginnings of modern economic

systems Built roads, railroads, communication

networks, and other pieces of infrastructure that were good for everyone

Development of an entrepreneurial class because of the potential for exporting desirable goods and raw materials

RESISTANCE TO COLONIAL RULE Many were most unhappy about being

ruled by Western powers Most frequent revolts came from

peasants, who were furious they were pushed off of their land to create plantations

Eventually an intellectual middle class develops educated in Western ideas that pushes for native rights, then independence

EMPIRE BUILDING IN AFRICA

Section 2

West Africa

B/t 1880-1900 European rivals had nearly all of Africa under their control

By 1890 the slave trade that affected W. Africa for so long was nearly gone

Now Euros were interested in trading manufactured goods for natural resources

European govt’s began to push for permanent settlements along the coast

Europeans in Africa 1885-1914

North Africa

Muhammad Ali created a separate Egyptian state in 1805 and implemented reforms to

bring Egypt into the modern worldEuropeans became interested in Egypt b/c they

wanted to build a canal connecting the Red and Mediterranean Seas

The Suez Canal was completed in 18671875 Britain bought Egypt’s share of the canal

– saw it as their lifeline to IndiaItaly was defeated by Ethiopia in its attempt to

take over the country

Central Africa

Explorers from the West went into the dense tropical jungles

They encouraged European governments to send settlers to the Congo River Basin

Belgium was the one country to seize the moment and claim vast stretches of Central

Africa Belgium = area south of the Congo River

France = area north of the Congo River

The Congo River

East Africa

Intense competition b/t Germany and Great Britain for colonies here

Most of East Africa had not yet been claimed by European powers

Berlin Conference, 1884Settle claims in East Africa b/t Portugal, Belgium,

Germany, Great BritainNO AFRICAN delegates were present!!

South Africa

Boers (Afrikaners) descendents of the original Dutch settlers in South Africa

Believed white supremacy was ordained by God & forced natives onto reservations

Britain took control of all of S. Africa after defeating the Boers in the Boer War

Formed the Union of South Africa in 1910 where only whites could vote

System of government sponsored segregation in South Africa becomes known as Apartheid

Colonial Powers

The only independent land left in Africa in 1914 was Liberia

Mostly tried to employ indirect rule, but in reality it was still foreign officials making the

decisions w/local leaders enforcing themOthers (France) used direct rule

Countries with African PossessionsNetherlands, Britain, France, Germany, Belgium,

Italy, Portugal, Spain

Vocabulary

Annex: to incorporate new nearby territory into an existing political unit

Indigenous: native to a region – can be used to describe many things (people, plants, animals,

etc.)