Imperialism

Question 1

Causes for Imperialism

Answer 1

1. ..Industrialization: Raw materials could be extracted from the colonies and manufactured into finished goods inside the factories of Europe.
2. ..Markets: Finished goods produced inside European factories could be sold exclusively to the colonial markets.
3. ..Racial supremacy: The belief that the white race was supreme to the black and yellow races.

Question 2

Mid 1800’s Eco. China/Japan/Egypt?

Answer 2

China was extremely ethnocentric, in that they believed that they were still superior to all other nations. Japan started producing goods such as porcelain, which previously was made mostly by China. Japan’s pearl sales increased, and Japan became a much larger player in the global economy. Japan also began to westernize other parts of their culture, such as the clothing style, while China stuck to a strictly traditional style of clothing.

Question 3

European Emigration

Answer 3

The population of Europe entered its third and decisive stage in the early eighteenth century. Birthrates declined, but death rates also declined as the standard of living and advances in medical science provided for longer life spans. The population of Europe including Russia more than doubled from 188 million in 1800 to 432 million in 1900. From 1815 through 1932, sixty million people left Europe, primarily to “areas of European settlement,” in North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and Siberia. These populations also multiplied rapidly in their new habitat; much more so than the populations of Africa and Asia. As a result, on the eve of World War One, 38 percent of the world’s total population was of European ancestry.

Question 4

New Vs. Old Imperialism

Answer 4

Old Imperialism:
It occurred between 16th and 18th centuries. It began in 1870s colonized Asia and Africa by using military force to take control of local governments. It exploited local economies for raw materials required by Europe’s growing industry. It imposed Western values to benefit the “backwards” colonies.

New Imperialism:
European powers did not usually acquire territory (except for Spain in Americas and Portugal in Brazil) but rather built a series of trading stations. It respected and frequently cooperated with local rulers in India, China, Japan, Indonesia, and other areas where trade flourished between locals and European coastal trading centers.
It involved economic penetration of non-European regions in the 19th century.

Question 5

Critics of New Imperialism

Answer 5

IMPERIALISM IS THE EXTENSION OF SOVEREIGNTY OR CONTROL BY ONE PEOPLE OVER ANOTHER.
- IT WAS MOSTLY DORMANT IN THE WEST DURING MOST OF THE MIDDLE AGES.

• IT FLOURISHED DURING THE AGE OF EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY (1450-1650), PARTICULARLY IN THE AMERICAS AND PARTS OF ASIA.
• A GENERAL DECLINE OCCURRED IN IMPERIALISM DURING THE AGE OF METTERNICH, WITH GOVERNMENTS CONCENTRATING PRIMARILY ON INTERNAL PROBLEMS.
• THE REVIVAL OF IMPERIALISM - THE “NEW IMPERIALISM” TOOK PLACE BETWEEN 1870 AND 1914.
• REASONS FOR THE “NEW IMPERIALISM”: