Imperialism and colonialism: causes, spread and impact
Industrial nations needed raw materials, markets and places to invest. By 1900 they ruled almost all of Asia and Africa, draining wealth and spreading racial discrimination.
Causes of imperialism
- Raw materials: industries needed a steady supply of cotton, rubber, minerals and more.
- Markets: factories needed buyers for their finished goods.
- Investment: capitalists wanted new places to invest their surplus capital.
- Transport and communication: roads, steamships, railways, canals, the telegraph and the telephone made far lands easy to reach. Goods and troops moved quickly.
- Extreme nationalism: countries such as Italy and Germany wanted colonies for pride, prestige and glory.
- Racial superiority: Europeans called it 'the white man's burden' to 'civilise' Asians and Africans and spread Christianity.
- Explorers and missionaries brought back tales of rich lands and opened up their interiors.
- Weak targets: Asia and Africa were rich in resources but politically, militarily and industrially weak.
Imperialism across the world
| Region | Who ruled | Key facts |
|---|---|---|
| Africa (once called the 'Dark Continent') | France, Britain, Germany and others | Before 1875, Europeans held only coastal forts and trading posts. Between 1880 and 1910 they divided the whole continent. France held the most colonies, such as Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. Britain ruled the most people, in lands such as Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa. Germany held lands such as Togoland and Cameroon until the First World War. Your NIOS lesson also lists Eritrea and Libya under Britain; both were Italian colonies, which Britain ran only for a few years after the Second World War. |
| China | Britain, France and others | In the First Opium War, Britain beat China and won five open ports and Hong Kong. China could not set its own taxes on foreign goods or try British subjects in its courts. The Second Opium War gave foreigners more rights. China was split into spheres of influence (zones where a foreign power controlled trade). The Boxer Rebellion rose against foreigners and missionaries. |
| Japan | Became an imperial power itself | The Meiji Restoration (1868) changed Japan from a closed feudal society into Asia's first industrial nation. Its leaders toured Europe and the USA in 1871, set up the Bank of Japan in 1882 (your NIOS lesson gives 1877), built steel and textile mills and spread education. Under the slogan 'Enrich the country, strengthen the military', Japan took lands such as Formosa and Korea. |
| South Asia | Portugal, Holland, France and Britain | Britain and France pushed aside the Portuguese and Dutch traders in India. By 1763 Britain had ended French influence there. Sri Lanka passed from the Portuguese to the Dutch to the British, who built tea and rubber plantations. |
| South East Asia | France and Britain | France took Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (Indo-China), claiming to protect Christians. Britain took Burma and Singapore to control Malaya. Thailand (Siam) stayed independent between them. |
The slave trade
- Europeans captured Africans and shipped them to work on plantations in their American colonies.
- Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, had a regular slave market.
- Your NIOS lesson puts the number of Africans captured and sold between 1500 and 1800 at nearly 15 million. Estimates differ; historians now count about 12.5 million carried across the Atlantic between 1500 and the 1860s.
Impact of imperialism on the colonies
In India, the Europeans came as traders and became rulers. India, once an exporter of textiles, was turned into a buyer of British goods and a supplier of raw materials.
How industry led to empire and war
Railways, the telegraph and English education came with colonial rule, but so did the ruin of India's weavers. Tea gardens in Assam and Darjeeling, first planted for export under British rule, are now a big Indian industry.
2 marks: “How is imperialism different from colonialism?” Imperialism is one country controlling the political and economic life of another, by force or other means. Colonialism is taking colonies and keeping them dependent, which is one way of building such control.
3 marks: “Why did the industrialised countries of Europe seek colonies in Asia and Africa?” (1) They needed raw materials and markets for their goods. (2) Capitalists wanted places to invest surplus capital. (3) Asia and Africa were rich in resources but weak, and new transport made them easy to reach. Also: extreme nationalism and the idea of the 'white man's burden'.
6 marks: “'Imperialism did far more harm than good to the colonies.' Examine this statement with three positive and three negative effects.” Positive: (1) railways, canals and telegraph; (2) modern education and science; (3) nationalism and political awareness. Negative: (4) local industries ruined and wealth drained; (5) slavery and heavy taxes; (6) racial discrimination such as apartheid. Conclude that the harm far outweighed the gains.
Imperialism's 3 Ms: Materials, Markets, Money to invest. Free in Africa in 1914: Liberia and Ethiopia.