Why were the major European powers scrambling to seize new territory in the late 1800s?

TABLE OF CONTENTS 01 - Congress of Vienna 02 - Concert of Europe 03 - Nationalism 04 - Unification of Italy 05 - Unification of German  06 - Imperialism 07 - Scramble for Africa 08 - British Rule in India 09 - Imperialism in Latin America  10 - Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set Inhaltsverzeichnis Show 01 - Congress of Vienna 02 - Concert of Europe 03 - Nationalism Explained: 04 - Unification of Italy 05 - Unification of Germany 06 - Imperialism Explained: Outlined Notes over Imperialism        (PRINT THESE OUT) 07 - Scramble for Africa * Interactive Map on Imperialism and Independence in Africa by Brown University* Interactive Map pre-colonization through Independence in Africa by University of Oregon 08 - British Rule in India 09 - Imperialism in Latin America Panama Canal Videos PRIMARY SOURCES - Annotated Resource Set Resource 1: The Sleeping Sickness  Resource 2: White Man's Burden Resource 3: Real White Man's Burden Resource 4: Willing to Compromise Resource 5: The Filipino's First Bath Resource 6: Pear's Soap Primary Source - An ABC for Baby Patriots American Imperialism Why did imperialism grow in Europe at the end of the 1800s? What were the main arguments raised by the anti Which of the following was a major economic cause of European imperialism? How did Western powers extend their dominance over their colonies?

01 - Congress of Vienna HANDOUT 02 - Concert of Europe

03 - Nationalism Explained:

Nationalism is a deep devotion to one’s country. An early stage of nationalism is the desire to form a country free from foreign control. The first modern nations of England and France were formed during the Hundred Years’ War in the late Middle Ages when people developed loyalties to their countries, rather than to local feudal lords. Nationalism came to the Americas in the late 1700s and early 1800s when European colonies threw off foreign control. In 1830, Greece gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire of Turkey. But, in the early 1800s, much of Europe was still divided into an assortment of small kingdoms, baronies, and dukedoms. Italy and Germany, for example, did not yet exist as nations.

Due to marriages between the royal families of Europe, people often found themselves ruled by foreigners who didn’t even speak the same language as the people they governed. Inspired by Enlightenment ideas and hopes for democracy, people hungered for change. People wanted to belong to nations that reflected their own culture, history, language, religion, and traditions.

04 - Unification of Italy

Unifying Italy
When the Roman Empire fell in the 400’s, Italy split into many kingdoms. In the 1800’s, Napoleon of France combined some of the kingdoms. Italians began to dream of one free land.

After the reign of Napoleon, Italy was still divided. Nationalists wanted unity, but regional differences worked against them. Mighty Austria ruled in Northern Italy. The Roman Catholic Church controlled central Italy.

Skilled leaders fought for unification. In the 1830’s, Giuseppe Mazzini founded a rebel group called young Italy. In the kingdom of Sardinia, King Victor Emmanuel II made plans to rule all of Italy. In 1852, he named Camillo Cavour as prime minister. Sardinia became the center of the fight for unity. Cavour joined with France in the war against Austria. As he gained lands and respect, more northern states united with Sardinia.

Giuseppe Garibaldi led a force that won Sicily and then moved north. Meanwhile, Cavour sent troops south. The two armies overran all Italian states but Venetia and Rome. As of 1861, Victor Emmanuel ruled united lands. By 1871, all foreign control had ended. The Pope could not fight off Italian troops. Rome became the capitol of the unified nation.

The new Italy faced conflicts. The urban north quarreled with the rural south. The Catholic Church resisted new leaders. Unrest grew as groups called for social change and the right to vote for all men.

Nationalism Threatens Old Empires
The spirit nationalism helped Germany and Italy. It also helped break up two empires. In 1800, the Hapsburgs of Austria were the oldest ruling family in Europe. They controlled Bohemia and Hungary. They also ruled parts of Romania, Poland, Ukraine, and Italy. However, loyalties to regions and ethnic groups were growing. Nationalist minority groups wanted to be free from the Austrian Empire. They wanted self-rule.

In 1867, the leaders of Hungary worked out a deal with Austria. They set up the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Emperor of Austria still ruled as King of Hungary, but Austria and Hungary were separate states. Each made its own laws. By 1900, nationalists in other lands were pressing for liberty. Like the Hapsburgs, the Ottomans ruled a huge empire. It was home of many groups. Among them were the Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians, and Romanians. During the 1800’s, groups in the Balkans rebelled. Serbia won freedom in 1817. The south of Greece freed itself in the 1830’s. The powers of Europe saw a chance to gain Ottoman lands. Russia, Austria-Hungary, Britain, and France all took part in wars and changing alliances. At the same time, groups within the empire launched revolts and fought amongst themselves.

05 - Unification of Germany

Whereas Camillo di Cavour directed Italian unification, a Junker (the Prussian name for an aristocratic landowner from old Prussia in the east) named Otto von Bismarck pushed German unification through "blood and iron" and skillful understanding of realpolitik. Realpolitik is a system of politics based on a country's situation and its needs rather than on ideas about what is morally right and wrong. As the map of central Europe stood in 1850, Prussia competed with Austria for dominance over a series of small principalities fiercely keen on maintaining their independence and distinctive characteristics. Prussia proper stretched from modern-day Lithuania to central Germany. Prussia also controlled the German lands around the Rhine River in the west. In between, from Denmark to Switzerland, lay small provinces that Bismarck needed to incorporate under the Prussian crown to create a viable German Empire.

In 1862, Bismarck reorganized the Prussian army and improved training in preparation for war. In 1864, he constructed an alliance with Austria to fight Denmark over Denmark's southern provinces of Schleiswig and Holstein. Prussia received Schleiswig while Austria administered Holstein. That situation, however, could not stand for long, as Austrian Holstein was now surrounded by Prussian lands. Bismarck provoked a conflict with Austria over an unrelated border dispute and in the subsequent Seven Weeks' War--named for its brevity--Prussia crushed the collapsing Austrian army. The peace settlement transferred Holstein to Prussia and forced Austria to officially remove itself from all German affairs.

With Austria out of Bismarck's way, his next obstacle was the skepticism of the southern provinces. Overwhelmingly Catholic and anti-militaristic, the southern provinces doubted Prussia's commitment to a united Germany of all provinces. Prussia's Protestantism and historic militarism made the gulf between north and south quite serious. Therefore, Bismarck turned to realpolitik to unite the Germanic provinces by constructing a war against a common enemy. In 1870, Bismarck forged a note from the French ambassador, implying that the ambassador had insulted the Prussian king. After he leaked this letter to both populations, the people of France and Prussia, roused by nationalist sentiment, rose up in favor of war. As Bismarck hoped, the southern provinces rallied to Prussia's side without any hesitation. In July 1870, France declared war on Prussia. Within a matter of weeks of fighting in Alsace-Lorraine, France lost this Franco-Prussian War. Alsace-Lorraine was transferred to Germany in the peace settlement, allowing Prussia to declare the German Empire, or Second Reich, on January 21, 1871.

Italy, Germany had quite a few serious issues to resolve once unification took place. Regional differences, developing since the first settlement of the Germanic tribes during the Roman Empire, were distinct, and local princes refused to give up substantial power to the central government. The Berlin assembly, therefore, was kept weak. Germany, like the United States under the Article of the Confederation, seemed merely a loose of confederation of autonomous states. In Germany's case, one state, Prussia, was absolutely dominant due to its size, power, and military strength. This, combined with Bismarck's skillful conduct in international and national affairs as chancellor, kept the empire together until 1914.

However, the creation of a unified Germany in central Europe marked one of the greatest revolutions in the history of international relations. Since the establishment of nation-states in Europe, France, under the Valois-Bourbon royal line, dedicated its foreign policy to the weakening of Habsburg (Austrian and Spanish royal families) and the continued disunity of the Germanic provinces. Now that central Europe was united into two major powers--Germany and Italy--Europe was quite a different place. What would now become of the traditional balance of power in place since the defeat of Napoleon? The whole point had been that no one nation should gain excessive power and strength on the Continent. With the unification of Germany in central Europe--an essential economic and strategic region--was the balance of power doomed?

06 - Imperialism Explained:

Outlined Notes over Imperialism        (PRINT THESE OUT)

After the Industrial Revolution gave Western nations wealth and technology that could be used to overpower less advanced societies, the Great Powers went on a binge of empire-building in Asia and Africa. When one country sets out to dominate and control another land, it is called imperialism. In 1800, Western industrialized powers controlled 35 percent of the world’s land surface; by 1914 they controlled 84 percent! There were several factors that encouraged imperialism, but probably the most important was greed. The Industrial nations wanted overseas colonies to supply cheap raw materials for European factories, and they wanted new markets where they could sell finished goods produced by those factories.

Nationalism was another factor. Spurred on by intense feelings of patriotism, the countries of Europe tried to increase their power and prestige by adding new territories. To be a Great Power required overseas possessions. Nations competed with one another to grab territories before other powers could get them, provoking a series of international conflicts. Even the United States, which had fought for its own independence from colonial rule, joined the imperialist feeding frenzy.

Racism was another factor that promoted imperialism. With their advanced technology, and a belief in the theory of Social Darwinism, many people in the Western world felt they were superior to all others. They believed the white man had a natural right to dominate “backward” people and was actually doing them a favor by bringing them Western technology, religion and education. This attitude was expressed in a famous poem by Rudyard Kipling which encouraged Western man to “Take up the White Man’s Burden.” Imperialism served to place millions of black and brown people under the control of white people.

07 - Scramble for Africa

West Africa
Between 1880 and 1900, European countries took control of nearly all of Africa. West Africa had been particularly affected by the slave trade, but that had begun to decline by 1800. By the 1890s, slavery had been abolished in all major countries of the world. As slavery declined, Europe became interested in other forms of trade. Europeans sold textiles and other manufactured goods in exchange for peanuts, timber, hides, and palm oil from West Africa. Early in the nineteenth century, the British set up settlements along the Gold Coast
and in Sierra Leone.

For a long time, most African nations were able to maintain their independence. However, in 1874, Great Britain annexed (incorporate a country within a state) the west coastal states. They called this first British colony Gold Coast. At about the same time, Britain established a protectorate over warring groups in Nigeria. By 1900, France had added the huge area of French West Africa to its colonial empire, and Germany controlled Togo, Cameroon, German Southwest Africa, and German East Africa.

North Africa
Egypt had been part of the Ottoman Empire, but Egyptians began to seek their independence as the Ottoman Empire declined. In 1805, an officer of the Ottoman army named Muhammad Ali seized power and established a separate Egyptian state. During the next 30 years, he introduced reforms to bring Egypt into the modern world. 

Europeans were interested in Egypt because they wanted to build a canal east of Cairo to connect the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The Suez Canal was completed in 1869. The British were especially interested in the canal. They believed it was their “lifeline to India.” In 1875, Britain bought Egypt’s share in the Suez Canal. When an Egyptian army revolt against foreigners broke out in 1881, Britain suppressed the revolt. Egypt became a British protectorate in 1914. The British believed they should also control the Sudan, south of Egypt, in order to protect both Egypt and the Suez Canal. But Muslim troops under Muhammad Ahmad resisted. Not until 1898 were British troops able to seize the Sudan.

The French also had colonies in North Africa. In 1879, the French government took control of Algeria. Two years later, France imposed a protectorate on Tunisia. In 1912, France also established a protectorate over much of Morocco. In 1911, Italy invaded and seized Turkish Tripoli, which it renamed Libya.

Central Africa

Explorers, such as David Livingstone, aroused Europeans’ interest in the jungles of Central Africa. Livingstone arrived in 1841. For 30 years, he explored Central Africa. After Livingstone’s death in 1873, Henry Stanley carried on the work of exploration. In the 1870s, Stanley explored the Congo River and sailed down it to the Atlantic Ocean. He encouraged the British to send settlers to the Congo River basin. When Britain refused, he turned to King Leopold II of Belgium. King Leopold became the real driving force behind the colonization of Central Africa. In 1876, he hired Stanley to set up Belgian settlements in the Congo. Belgium ended up with the territories around the Congo River. France occupied the areas farther north.

East Africa
By 1885, Britain and Germany had become the chief rivals in East Africa. At first, the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck did not think that colonies were very important. But more and more Germans wanted an empire, so Bismarck became interested in colonialism for political reasons. Germany had possessions in West Africa, but it began to seek colonies in East Africa. The British were also interested in East Africa, because control of East Africa would connect the British Empire in Africa from Egypt in the north to South Africa. Portugal and Belgium also claimed parts of East Africa. To settle these conflicting claims, the Berlin Conference met in 1884 and 1885. The conference officially recognized both British and German claims in East Africa. Portugal received a clear claim on Mozambique. No Africans were present at this conference.


South Africa
By 1865, the total white population in South Africa had risen to nearly two hundred thousand. The descendants of the original Dutch settlers were called Boers or Afrikaners. They had occupied Cape Town and surrounding areas in South Africa since the seventeenth century. During the Napoleonic Wars, the British seized these lands from the Dutch. Afterward, the British encouraged settlers to come to what they called Cape Colony. In the 1830s, the Boers fled northward to the region between the Orange and Vaal Rivers and to the region north of the Vaal River. In these areas, the Boers formed two independent republics—the Orange Free State and the Transvaal (later called the South African Republic). The Boers believed that God ordained white superiority. They put many of the indigenous (native to a region) peoples in these areas on reservations. The Boers had frequent battles with the indigenous Zulu people. In the late 1800s, the British became involved in conflicts with the Zulu, and the Zulu were defeated.

In the 1880s, Cecil Rhodes, the prime minister of Cape Colony, influenced British policy in South Africa. Rhodes had founded diamond and gold companies that made him a fortune. He gained control of a territory north of the Transvaal, which he named Rhodesia after himself. In 1896, the British government forced him to resign as prime minister of Cape Colony after it was discovered that he planned to overthrow the Boer government of the South African Republic. This was too late to avoid a war between the British and the Boers, however. This war was called the Boer War and lasted from 1899 to 1902. Boer women and children were put in detention camps. Lack of food caused some 20,000 deaths in the camps. Eventually, the British army won the war. In 1910, the British created an independent Union of South Africa. This new nation combined the old Cape Colony and the Boer republics. To appease the Boers, the British agreed that only whites and a few property-holding Africans could vote.


Colonial Rule in Africa 
By 1914, Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Portugal had divided up Africa. Only Liberia and Ethiopia remained free states. Native peoples who tried to resist were no match for the superior military power of the Europeans. The British used indirect rule in their territories in Africa. In some areas, the British simply asked a local ruler to accept British authority and to fly the British flag over official buildings. The system of indirect rule had one good feature: it did not disrupt local customs and institutions. But the system was basically a fraud because British administrators made all major decisions. Another problem was that indirect rule kept the old African elites in power. In this way, it sowed the seeds for class and tribal tensions. Most other European nations used a form of direct rule. This was true in the French colonies. At the top was a French official, usually known as a governor general. He ruled with the help of a bureaucracy in the capital city of the colony. The French believed in assimilating Africans into French culture rather than preserving native traditions. Africans were eligible to run for office and even to serve in the French National Assembly in Paris. A few were appointed to high positions in the colonial administration.

* Interactive Map on Imperialism and Independence in Africa by Brown University* Interactive Map pre-colonization through Independence in Africa by University of Oregon

08 - British Rule in India

The Sepoy Mutiny Over the course of the eighteenth century, British power in India had increased while the power of the Mogul rulers had declined. The British East India Company was given power by the British government to rule India. The British East India Company had its own soldiers and forts. It also hired Indian soldiers, known as sepoys, to protect its interests. In 1857, the Indians’ distrust of the British led to a revolt. The revolt was known to the British as the Great Rebellion or the Sepoy Mutiny. Indians call it the First War of  Independence. The immediate cause of the revolt was a rumor that the British were issuing their Indian troops new bullets that were greased with cow and pig fat. The cow was sacred to Hindus. The pig was taboo to Muslims. A group of sepoys refused to load their rifles with the new bullets. When the British arrested them, the sepoys went on a rampage. They killed 50 Europeans. The revolt quickly spread. The Indian troops fought bravely but were not well organized. Rivalries between Hindus and Muslims kept Indians from working together. Within a year, the revolt was crushed. As a result of the revolt, the British Parliament transferred the powers of the East India Company directly to the British government. In 1876, Queen Victoria was given the title of Empress of India.

Video: A short animated video about Mangal Pandey, an ordinary sepoy in the employment of the British became a great hero when he rebelled against their tyranny.

Colonial Rule
The British government ruled India directly through a British official known as a viceroy (a governor who ruled as a representative of a monarch). British rule had both benefits and costs for the Indian people. There were four main benefits. British rule brought order and stability to India. It also led to a fairly honest and efficient government. A new school system was set up. Its goal was to train Indian children to serve in the government and army, but only elite, upper-class Indians could attend. Finally, the British brought railroads, the telegraph, and a postal service to India. British rule also had costs for the Indian people. British manufactured goods destroyed local industries. For example, the introduction of British textiles put thousands of women out of work and severely damaged the Indian textile industry. In rural areas, the British sent the zamindars to collect taxes. The zamindars took advantage of their new authority and increased taxes. This forced many peasants to become tenants or lose their land entirely. The British also encouraged many farmers to switch from growing food to growing cotton. As a result, food supplies could not keep up with the growing population. Between 1800 and 1900, 30 million Indians died of starvation. Finally, British rule was degrading. The best jobs and the best housing were reserved for the British. Despite their education, the Indians were never considered equals of the British. The British were also disrespectful of India’s cultural heritage.

An Indian Nationalist Movement
British racial attitudes led to the rise of an Indian nationalist movement. The first Indian nationalists were upper class and English-educated. Some were trained in British law and were members of the civil service. In 1885, a small group of Indians formed the Indian National Congress (INC). The INC did not demand immediate independence, but did call for a share in the governing
process. The INC had difficulties because of religious differences. Many of its leaders were Hindu and reflected Hindu concerns. Muslims began to call for the creation of a separate Muslim League to represent the interests of the Muslims in India.

In 1915, Mohandas Gandhi brought new life to India’s struggle for independence. Gandhi was born in India but studied in London. He became a lawyer and went to South Africa. After he returned to India, he became active in the independence movement. He set up a movement based on nonviolent
resistance. It had two goals: to force the British to improve the lot of the poor and to gain independence for India.

Colonial Indian Culture
A cultural revival took place in India in the early nineteenth century. It began with the creation of a British college in Calcutta. A local publishing house was soon opened. It printed textbooks on various subjects, as well as grammars and dictionaries in the Indian languages. The revival soon spread to other regions of India. Indian novelists and poets began writing historical romances and epics. Most preferred to use their own regional languages rather than English. The most famous Indian author was Rabindranath
Tagore. He was also a social reformer, spiritual leader, educator, philosopher, singer, and painter. Tagore’s life mission was to promote national pride. Tagore was more than just an Indian nationalist, however. He worked for human dignity, world peace, and the mutual understanding between East and West

Suez Canal

09 - Imperialism in Latin America

Nationalist Revolts
Social classes based on privilege divided colonial Latin America. At the top were peninsulares, who held all of the important positions. Peninsulares were Spanish and Portuguese officials who resided temporarily in Latin America for political and economic gain and then returned to their mother countries. Creoles were descendants of Europeans born in Latin America and lived there permanently. They controlled land and business but were regarded as second class citizens by peninsulares. Mestizos (people of European and Indian descent) were the largest group but worked as servants or laborers. 

Creoles found the principles of equality of all people, free trade, and free press very attractive. They deeply resented the peninsulares. The creole elites began to denounce the rule of the Spanish and Portuguese. When Napoleon overthrew the monarchies of Spain and Portugal, the authority of the Spanish and Portuguese in their colonies was weakened. Between 1807 and 1825, a series of revolts brought independence to most of Latin America.Before these revolts, a unusual revolution took place in the French colony of Saint Domingue on the island of Hispaniola. Led by François-Dominique Toussaint-Louverture, more than a hundred thousand slaves revolted and took control of Hispaniola. On January 1, 1804, the western part of Hispaniola (now called Haiti) announced its freedom and became the first independent state in Latin America.

Beginning in 1810, Mexico also experienced a revolt. The first real hero of Mexican independence was Miguel Hidalgo, a parish priest. Hidalgo had studied the French Revolution and encouraged the local Indians and mestizos to free themselves from the Spanish. On September 16, 1810, a crowd of Indians and mestizos formed a mob army to attack the Spaniards. The revolt was crushed, and Hidalgo was sentenced to death, but September 16 is still remembered as Mexico’s Independence Day. The creoles and peninsulares were both frightened by the Indians and mestizos. They cooperated in defeating the revolutionaries. Then the creoles and peninsulares decided to overthrow Spanish rule to preserve their own power. They selected a creole military leader, Agustín de Iturbide, as their leader. In 1821, Mexico declared its independence from Spain. Iturbide named himself emperor in 1822 but was deposed in 1823. Mexico then became a republic.

José de San Martín of Argentina and Simón Bolívar of Venezuela have been called the “Liberators of South America.” They led revolutions throughout the continent. San Martín believed that the Spaniards must be removed from all of South America if any South American nation was to be free. By 1810, his forces had liberated Argentina. Bolívar began the struggle for independence in Venezuela and then went on to lead revolts in New Granada (Colombia) and Ecuador.

In January 1817, San Martín led his forces over the Andes to attack the Spanish in Chile. The Spanish were badly defeated at the Battle of Chacabuco on February 12, 1817. Then San Martín moved on to Peru, where he was joined by Bolívar and his forces. The last significant Spanish army was crushed at Ayacucho on December 9, 1824. By the end of 1824, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile had all become free of Spain. Earlier, in 1822, Brazil had gained its independence from Portugal. The Central American states had become independent in 1823.

In 1838 and 1839, they divided into five republics: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. There was still one threat to the independence of the Latin American states. Members of the Concert of Europe wanted to use troops to restore Spanish control of Latin America. The British disagreed, because they wanted to trade with Latin America. They joined with the United States against any European moves in Latin America. In 1823, United States President James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine. He guaranteed the independence of the new Latin American nations and warned against any European intervention in the Americas.

Difficulties of Nation Building
The new Latin American nations had serious problems after they gained their independence. Many people had been killed, and much livestock and property had been destroyed. The new nations were not sure of their exact boundaries and went to war with each other to settle border disputes. Poor roads, a lack of railroads, thick jungles, and mountains were also problems.They made communication, transportation, and national unity difficult.Soon after independence, strong leaders known as caudillos came into power in many countries. Caudillos ruled chiefly by military force and were usually supported by large landowners. Some caudillos were modernizers who built roads, canals, ports, and schools. Others were destructive. Antonio López de Santa Anna, for example, ruled Mexico from 1833 to 1855. He misused state funds, stopped reforms, and created chaos. In 1835, American settlers in the Mexican state of Texas revolted against Santa Anna’s rule. Texas gained its independence in 1836 and United States statehood in 1845. War between Mexico and the United States soon followed (1846–1848). Mexico was defeated and lost almost one-half of its territory to the United States in the Mexican War. Santa Anna’s rule was followed by a period of reform from 1855 to 1876. Benito Juárez ruled Mexico during much of this time. He brought liberal reforms to Mexico, including separation of church and state, land distribution to the poor, and an educational system for all of Mexico.

Some caudillos, such as Juan Manual de Rosas in Argentina, were supported by the masses and brought about radical change. Unfortunately, the caudillo’s authority depended on his personal power. When he died or lost power, civil wars for control of the country often erupted. Great Britain now dominated the Latin American economy. British merchants moved into Latin America in large numbers. Latin America continued to serve as a source of raw materials and food for the industrial nations of Europe and the United States. Exports included wheat, tobacco, wool, sugar, coffee, and hides. Manufactured goods were imported, especially textiles. The emphasis on exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods meant that the Latin American economy continued to be dominated by foreigners.

A fundamental problem for all of the new Latin American nations was the domination of society by large landowners. Their estates were often so large that they could not be farmed efficiently. Land was the basis of wealth, social prestige, and political power. The large landowners ran governments and controlled courts. They made huge profits by growing export crops, such as coffee. The masses had no land to grow basic food crops and experienced terrible poverty.

Political Change in Latin America 
After 1870, Latin American governments wrote constitutions similar to those of the United States and European democracies. However, the large landowners limited voting rights in order to keep their power. By 1900, the United States had begun to interfere in the affairs of many Latin American nations. As a result of the Spanish-American War (1898), Cuba became a United States protectorate, and Puerto Rico was annexed to the United States. In 1903, the United States supported a rebellion that made it possible for Panama to separate itself from Colombia. In return, the United States was granted control of a strip of land 10 miles wide that ran from coast to coast in Panama. The United States built the Panama Canal there. Americans began to invest in Latin America. Beginning in 1898, American military forces were sent to Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic to protect American interests. Some of these troops remained for many years. Many Latin Americans began to resent U.S. interference.

In some countries, large landowners supported dictators who looked out for their interests. Porfirio Díaz, for example, ruled Mexico between 1877 and 1911. He came to power with the support of the army, foreign capitalists, large landowners, and the Catholic Church. During his reign, the wages of workers declined. 95 percent of the rural population owned no land. About a thousand families owned almost all of Mexico. After Díaz was forced from power, Emiliano Zapata aroused the landless peasants and began to seize the estates of wealthy landowners. Between 1910 and 1920, the Mexican Revolution caused great damage to the Mexican economy. Finally, a new constitution was enacted in 1917. It set up a government led by a president. It also created land-reform policies, set limits on foreign investments, and had an agenda to help the workers.

Panama Canal Videos

Economic Change in Latin America
After 1870, a period of prosperity began in Latin America. It was based to a large extent on the export of a few basic items. These included wheat and beef from Argentina, coffee from Brazil, coffee and bananas from Central America, and sugar and silver from Peru. After 1900, Latin Americans also increased their own industrialization, especially by building textile, food-processing, and construction material factories. One result of this prosperity was growth in the middle sectors (divisions) of Latin American society. These sectors included lawyers, merchants, shopkeepers, business people, schoolteachers, professors, bureaucrats, and military officers. These middle-class Latin Americans lived in the cities, believed in education, and saw the United States as a model, especially in regard to industrialization. They sought liberal reform, not revolution. Once they had the right to vote, they usually sided with the landholding elites.

PRIMARY SOURCES - Annotated Resource Set

Essential Question:
1.       Do the “civilized” nations have a duty to the “uncivilized” nations?
2.       What did the people at the turn on the century mean by the phrase “white man’s burden”?
3.       When, if ever, is it valid for one nation or culture to intervene in another to impose its values? How did imperializing countries justify imperialism?

Contextual Paragraph:
During the 1800s, Europeans continued their expansion. At first the Europeans had little influence in the places where they settled. In about 1870, though, they began to take control of these new areas, viewing expansion as a right and a responsibility. "It is our duty," explained a famous supporter of expansionism, "to seize every opportunity of acquiring more territory. . . ."

The years between 1870 and 1914 were the height of the age of imperialism. Imperialism is when one country takes control of another country. One country might control the other's government, trade, or culture. It combines expansionist and mercantilist policies. This was not a new idea. Empires had controlled other countries before the 1800s. What was new was the strength of the modern nations. By 1914 the great powers of Europe, Japan, and the United States controlled almost the entire world.

The White Man’s Burden refers to a poem by Rudyard Kipling. Imperialists interpreted this poem as a characterization that justified their policy as a noble act to “save” or improve these imperialized nations.

Resource 1: The Sleeping Sickness 

Title: The Sleeping Sickness / Gordon Ross. 
Creator(s): Ross, Gordon, 1873-1946, artist 
Date Created/Published: N.Y. : Published by Keppler & Schwarzmann, Puck Building, 1911 October 25. 
Medium: 1 photomechanical print : offset, color. 
Summary: Illustration shows a large African man sitting, leaning against a tree, asleep; several European countries are staking claims to portions of Africa, planting flags labeled "England, Portugal, Belgium, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Spain, [and] France" all around the sleeping man.
Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Call Number: Illus. in AP101.P7 1911
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Caption: Cutting a continent out from under him.
Illus. in: Puck, v. 70, no. 1808 (1911 October 25), centerfold.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2011649074/

Resource 2: White Man's Burden

Resource 3: Real White Man's Burden

Resource 4: Willing to Compromise

Title: Willing to compromise / Frank A. Nankivell. Creator: Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959, artist Date Created/Published: N.Y. : J. Ottmann Lith. Co., Puck Bldg., 1901 January 23. Medium: 1 print : chromolithograph. Summary: Illustration shows a native king sitting on a throne, speaking with his advisors about the presence of a missionary on the coast. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication. Call Number: Illus. in AP101.P7 1901 c-P&P(Case X) Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print Notes: Caption: "Your Majesty," said the right-hand man of the native king, "there is a missionary working his way along the coast." "Well, we don't want to have any trouble," said the king. "Ask him if his people won't be satisfied with a coaling station." Illus. in: Puck, v. 48, no. 1246 (1901 January 23), cover.

Resource 5: The Filipino's First Bath

Title: The Filipino's First Bath  Creator: Grant Hamilton Date Created/Published: Judge, New York, June 10, 1899 Summary/Notes:  Here U.S. President William McKinley scrubs a Filipino savage with a brush labeled “Education” in the cleansing waters of “Civilization”.  While on shore a freshly scrubbed Cuba and Puerto Rico in the background are donning new clothes decorated with the U.S. stars and stripes. Under cartoon title text: McKinley: "Oh you dirty boy"

Resource 6: Pear's Soap

Title: The first step toward lightening the White man's burden in through teacing the virtues of cleanliness Date Created/Published: 1899. Medium: 1 photomechanical print : halftone. Summary: Advertisement for Pears' Soap, illustrated with a general washing his hands. Notes:  Halftone repro. of drawing. Illus. in: Cosmopolitan (Advertising Section), v. 27, May-Oct. 1899. Caption card tracings: Colonialism; The White Man's Burden; Adv. Soap; Hygiene

Primary Source - An ABC for Baby Patriots

A is the Army  That dies for the Queen; It’s the very best Army That ever was seen. Eis our Empire Where sun never sets; The larger we make it The bigger it gets. Kis for Kings, Once warlike and haughty, Great Britain subdued them Because they’d been naughty.

C is for Colonies Rightly we boast, That of all the great nations Great Britain has most. F is the flag Which whenever you see You know that beneath it You’re happy and free.  Ois the Ocean Where none but a fool Would ever dare question Our title to rule.

Dis the Daring We show on the Field Which makes every enemy Vanish or yield. I is for India, Our land in the East Where everyone goes To shoot tigers and feast. Wis the Word Of an Englishman true; When given it means What he says, he will do.

American Imperialism

Observation Log 
Essential question: What were some of the arguments for and against American imperialism?
Directions: Record your observations based on the documents below. Keep the essential question in mind…

1. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Updated” by Mark Twain
   
2. “USA Imperialism, 1898” political cartoon
   
3. “What the United States has Fought for” political cartoon
   
4. “In Support of an American Empire” by Albert J. Beveridge 
   
5. “Interview with President William McKinley” 
   
6. The Platt Amendment, 1902 
   

1 - The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Updated 
By Mark Twain 

 Mine eyes have seen the orgy of the launching of the Sword; 
He is searching out the hoardings where the stranger’s wealth is stored; 
He hath loosed his fateful lightnings, and with woe and death has scored; 
His lust is marching on.

 I have seen him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps; 
They have builded him an altar in the Eastern dews and damps; 
I have read his doomful mission by the dim and flaring lamps— 
His night is marching on.

 I have read his bandit gospel writ in burnished rows of steel: 
“As ye deal with my pretensions, so with you my wrath shall deal; 
Let the faithless son of Freedom crush the patriot with his heel; 
Lo, Greed is marching on!”

 We have legalized the strumpet and are guarding her retreat: 
Greed is seeking out commercial souls before his judgement seat; 
O, be swift, ye clods, to answer him! Be jubilant my feet! 
Our god is marching on!

 In a sordid slime harmonious Greed was born in yonder ditch, 
With a longing in his bosom—and for others’ goods an itch. 
As Christ died to make men holy, let men die to make us rich— 
Our god is marching on.

 *** Compare with original below.

 The Battle Hymn of the Republic 
Julia Ward Howe, 1861 

2 - “USA Imperialism, 1898” political cartoon

3. “What the United States has Fought for” political cartoon

4 - “In Support of an American Empire” by Albert J. Beveridge 

MR. PRESIDENT, the times call for candor. The Philippines are ours forever, "territory belonging to the United States," as the Constitution calls them. And just beyond the Philippines are China's illimitable markets. We will not retreat from either. We will not repudiate our duty in the archipelago. We will not abandon our opportunity in the Orient. We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race, trustee, under God, of the civilization of the world. And we will move forward to our work, not howling out regrets like slaves whipped to their burdens but with gratitude for a task worthy of our strength and thanksgiving to Almighty God that He has marked us as His chosen people, henceforth to lead in the regeneration of the world.

This island empire is the last land left in all the oceans. If it should prove a mistake to abandon it, the blunder once made would be irretrievable. If it proves a mistake to hold it, the error can be corrected when we will. Every other progressive nation stands ready to relieve us.

But to hold it will be no mistake. Our largest trade henceforth must be with Asia. The Pacific is our ocean. More and more Europe will manufacture the most it needs, secure from its colonies the most it con-sumes. Where shall we turn for consumers of our surplus? Geography answers the question. China is our natural customer. She is nearer to us than to England, Germany, or Russia, the commercial powers of the present and the future. They have moved nearer to China by securing permanent bases on her borders. The Philippines give us a base at the door of all the East.

Lines of navigation from our ports to the Orient and Australia, from the Isthmian Canal to Asia, from all Oriental ports to Australia converge at and separate from the Philippines. They are a self-supporting, dividend-paying fleet, permanently anchored at a spot selected by the strategy of Providence, commanding the Pacific. And the Pacific is the ocean of the commerce of the future. Most future wars will be conflicts for commerce. The power that rules the Pacific, therefore, is the power that rules the world. And, with the Philippines, that power is and will forever be the American Republic. . . .

5 - “Interview with President William McKinley” 

In an interview with a visiting church delegation published in 1903, President William McKinley defends his decision to support the annexation of the Philippines in the wake of the U.S. war in that country.

When I next realized that the Philippines had dropped into our laps I confess I did not know what to do with them. . . And one night late it came to me this way. . .1) That we could not give them back to Spain- that would be cowardly and dishonorable; 2) that we could not turn them over to France and Germany-our commercial rivals in the Orient-that would be bad business and discreditable; 3) that we not leave them to themselves-they are unfit for self-government-and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than Spain's wars; and 4) that there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God's grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow-men for whom Christ also died.

The Platt Amendment, 1903 

[This amendment outlined the withdrawal of United States troops remaining in 
Cuba from the Spanish-American War. It defined the terms of U.S. relations with 
Cuba, ensuring U.S. involvement in Cuban affairs, both foreign and domestic, and 
gave the U.S. legal standing to U.S. claims to certain economic and military 
territories in Cuba, including Guantanamo Bay]. 

Article I. The Government of Cuba shall never enter into any treaty or other 
compact with any foreign power or powers which will impair or tend to impair the 
independence of Cuba, nor in any manner authorize or permit any foreign power or 
powers to obtain by colonization or for military or naval purposes, or otherwise, 
lodgment in or control over any portion of said island. 

Article II. The Government of Cuba shall not assume or contract any public debt 
to pay the interest upon which, and to make reasonable sinking-fund provision for 
the ultimate discharge of which, the ordinary revenues of the Island of Cuba, after 
defraying the current expenses of the Government, shall be inadequate. 

Article III. The Government of Cuba consents that the United States may exercise 
the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance 
of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty, 
and for discharging the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of 
Paris on the United States, now to be assumed and undertaken by the Government 
of Cuba. . . . 

Article V. The Government of Cuba will execute, and, as far as necessary, extend 
the plans already devised, or other plans to be mutually agreed upon, for the 
sanitation of the cities of the island, to the end that a recurrence of epidemic and 
infectious diseases may be prevented, thereby assuring protection to the people and 
commerce of Cuba, as well as to the commerce of the Southern ports of the United 
States and the people residing therein.... 

Article VII. To enable the United States to maintain the independence of Cuba, 
and to protect the people thereof, as well as for its own defense, the Government of 
Cuba will sell or lease to the United States lands necessary for coaling or naval 
stations, at certain specified points, to be agreed upon with the ]?resident of the 
United States.

Why did imperialism grow in Europe at the end of the 1800s?

What were the main arguments raised by the anti

Which of the following was a major economic cause of European imperialism?

How did Western powers extend their dominance over their colonies?