1. The Development Of Imperialism c.1857-90 - Imperial And Colony Policy Flashcards
Why were Britain more concerned about Russia in the late 19th Century
They started to transform their economy, extending their control in Central Asia so that by 1884, Russia had taken its empire to the borders of Afghanistan and had began constructing rail networks. They also had naval building programmes and wanted imperial expansion in north china
How did Britain respond to the French activity in Indo China?
They matched its expansionism by annexing territory and extending beyond its existing base in Singapore
Where did Britains expand into in response to France?
upper Burma 1885, north Borneo 1881, Brunei 1885
What were the 2 conferences called that were held to determine Europeans’ spheres of influence and control over African territory?
- the Brussels conference 1876
- the Berlin conference 1884-85
What are the conferences known as?
The scramble for Africa
What was decided at the Brussels conference?
- Africans were incapable of developing natural resources to be found in central Africa
- the routes to Africa’s Great Lakes needed to be developed by building roads + railways
- an international African association should be established to coordinate European efforts
What were the consequences of the Brussels conference?
- it heightened competition as European governments were suspicious of Leopold’s intentions as he was determined to establish his own Congo empire
- French and German explorers were hired by the governments to stake their own claims to the region and assert influence.
- France extended its own control from Senegal into west Sudan in 1879 and Portugal asserted claims to control the mouth of the Congo river in 1884
What was decided at the Berlin conference?
- all nations could trade in the basin of the Congo and its outlets
- free trade in these regions
- the powers with influence in an area should protect the indigenous people + suppress slave trade
- the powers should support and protect religious, scientific or charitable undertakings - through missionaries
- if any power took further land on the coast of Africa, it should notify the signatories of the act, in order to assert claims of their own
What were the successes of the conference?
European relations - European countries were to expand their countries in an orderly fashion & without risking conflict
What were the failures on the Berlin conference?
- Violence perpetrated by Europeans on African communities in the name of colonisation
- did little for indigenous people
- no African representation - little concern for religiou, ethnicity or linguistic division when mapping out borders
- no effort to combat the African slave trade nor was attention given to African concerns
Who hosted the Brussels conference?
King leopold II of Belgium
By 1990, how much of Africa belonged to Europe?
90%
What was democracy like in 19th century Britain?
From 1867, only two and a half million British men could vote out of a total population of 30 million and the right to vote depended on property ownership and was only given to men over 21. In 1884 the vote was extended to two thirds of men
What were settler colonies?
They were colonies characterised by ‘white’ settlement and the violent removal and exploitation of indigenous peoples. During the 19th Century they became more self governing
What were crown colonies?
A colony ruled directly by an appointee of the British crown and accountable to the crown office. Most had overwhelmingly non-European populations and according to racial views were ‘incapable’ of ruling themselves
