Ladies and Gentlemen,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1879216?seq=1
After reading the article "The Tools of Imperialism: Technology and the Expansion of European Colonial Empires in the Nineteenth Century" by Daniel R. Headrick, at (http://www.jstor.org/stable/1879216?seq=1) explore the following questions:
1. What were the root causes of European Imperialism?
2. Did technology create the conditions to allow imperialist actions? Or did they just make it easier?
Please ensure that you provide your initial comment with supporting information provided in this articel and your own research.
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Europe in the mid nineteenth century was a continent standing at a crossroads. The major European powers where in the middle of the industrial revolution where materials and machines dictated the country's decisions to strike out to conquer far flung lands for there resources.
ReplyDeleteGreat Britain's imperialist era's occurred in two phases. According to David Cody(Harwick College), Britain's first imperialist era was mainly a mercantile one. The resources offered by virgin territory not yet exposed to the industrial revolution powered growth of there respective economies. What weakened this first phase was the abolishing of slavery in England and the push from the evangelical church to ban slavery across the empire.
What made this easier is the great power the Christian Church still carried during this time. The missionary field gave the keys to almost every European power to offer salvation to indigenous people and to share the European style of self-rule. This offered a rule under a type of philanthropic movement but controlled by far flung empires. This caused immense pride especially in England where the the writer John Wilson wrote that "the sun never sets on the British Empire".
JEJ
I did a little research on this topic and came up with some interesting information. According to (academic-history.com)-“In 1871, political stability of European nations resulted in renewed interest in imperialist endeavours. Britain became heavily involved in colonialism. The newly-unified Germany saw expansion as a sign of greatness. One of the most prominent causes of imperialism was Herbert Spencer's social Darwinism. Europeans considered themselves the "most fit" because of their technological advancements, education, governmental systems, and more. In addition, as a result of European industrialization, nation's had an increased need for various resources, such as cotton, rubber, and fuel.
ReplyDeleteI go on to find out also from (http://courses.wcupa.edu) that “In the 19th century, European society was also more highly militarized as a result of its recent experience during the Napoleonic and Crimean Wars. The Napoleonic Wars lasted nearly a quarter century, involved all parts of Europe as well as parts of Africa and the Americas, and popularized Egyptian culture, especially in France. The Crimean War, which was fought in the Black Sea from 1853 to 1856, provided a generation of officers who craved military action and a testing ground for technologies that proved their worth in colonizing Africa. Other technological changes affected the timing and process of imperialism. The British learned in 1857 how railroads and the telegraph could enable a relatively small number of British personnel to survive a rebellion in India, Advances in medical science, particularly in the field of tropical disease, made it safer for Europeans to go to Africa, and consequently easier (and cheaper) for the government, churches, military and commercial firms to recruit European staff people. Advances in firearms, particularly developments with the repeating rifle, machine gun and lightweight artillery, enabled smaller military units to defeat larger numbers of opponents, further reducing the cost of conquest. Improved steam engines gave steamships larger capacities by requiring less space for fuel, while railroads extended the reach of European commerce beyond the coasts. I think I the end that technology advanced Europe and made them better.
NS
Economic has been the driving force for Imperialism for the longest time. However according to Hobson it has been bad business for the nations. For certain business it has been good, but only certain classes of people and certain trades profit. Historically speaking when one county wants or needs raw materials like oil for example, they will go to any lengths to get the materials. However the costs to gain the raw materials dose come at a price and that price is human lives. Wars have been fought for thousands of years over land, power, and raw materials. With the development of technology came higher tech weapons which needed more raw materials to manufacture. With that need came more war to obtain these materials and the loss of more and more lives, but the development of technology is not all negative. With advancement in technology comes better and safer ways to gather materials.
ReplyDeleteWhen a county goes to war the government will contract business to make weapons and products needed for war. When the US went to war with Iraq, companies like Brown and Root, and AT&T made a lot of money. Brown and Root brought food and made dining facilities. AT&T brought over phones, so soldiers could call home. In war there is money to be made, but at what cost? In my opining the cost is too high
WCN
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteAccording to the article, the root causes of European Imperialism during the 19th century can differ. Some believe that it was for political gain, economic gain,to the need for raw materials, and the desire to spread christianity to other lands. The British Empire tried and tested new innovation with steam engine boats for both ocean and river capabilities and from wooden boats to the use of iron. With this example of technology made imperialism capable as well as easier to achieve. The ability to travel on boat through shallow river waters made it easier to reach distant lands. Reaching new lands did create new obstacles to overcome. Example, is when Africa was reached during an expedition many were struck with malaria and died. This disease outbreak brought experimental technology to find preventive medicine. Imperialism brought great change to the Western world as well as to the far east.
MRJ
MRJ
ReplyDeleteI belive you are right that Imperialism did bring change great change to the world. with the advancemant in Technology brought better medicine so people can live longer.
wcn
Imperialism, the period of powerful countries conquering and dominating less-developed countries (mainly pertaining to European nations), reached its all-time high from 1870 to 1920. This is due to the economic, political, and social factors of the time. Ranging from feelings of nationalism to the need for more cheap labor, European powers dominated the world, oppressing whomever they needed to. The economic cause of imperialism is mostly contributed to the need to pull ahead of other nations in the technological field.
ReplyDeleteAL
AL
ReplyDeletethe nation with the best technological will have a good economic.
wcn
The motives for imperialism are wide ranging from need for resources to religious reasoning. It is almost always justified by idealogical speeches about bringing civilization to lands of uncivilized savages, without any regard for the culture and civilization already existing there. In "The White Man's Burden," by Rudyard Kipling, he suggested we send the "best and brightest" to civilize the "sullen peoples, half-devil and half-child," referring to natives of the Phillipines. Though this poem may well have been satirical, and we might ask Kipling if he was still alive, it did seem representative of the true beliefs of those in power at the time.
ReplyDeleteAs noted in the article, technology provided the means to follow through on whichever motives one chooses to believe were responsible. Whether European powers would have tried to expand in the same manner without the technology is hard to say for certain. Judging by the cyclical nature of history and how powerful nations have behaved since the dawn of civilization though, I would suggest that it is likely they would have attempted the same type of imperialistic maneuvering. Without the means technology like the steam engine provided (ie: amphibious attacks as mentioned in paragraph 2, pg 242 of Tools of Imperialism), I doubt they could have been nearly as successful though. If they could have done it without these developments, it would have happened earlier in history.
PMP
There are various explanations for Europe’s control over many countries in different continents known as the “new imperialism” during the 19th century. Many historians believe the elements that caused the new imperialism include: economic, technological, social, political, and military causes. Since many main European powers were going through the industrial revolution at that time, there was a need for more raw materials and resources and a desire to expand their market. For instance, by the mid-1880, Europeans began to gain more land in Africa and started to build plantations where they grew peanuts, palm oil, cocoa, and rubber. They also took important minerals such as copper and tin which was produced in Congo. Eventually, when gold and diamonds were discovered during 1880 in South Africa, European interest in the continent tremendously increased and they quickly moved to gain more land. Similarly, British imperialist went to India because they could access India’s raw material such as tea, indigo (a dye), coffee, and cotton. Then they started building rail lines that connected the growing regions in the center with ports on the coast so the Britons could export all the goods from India and expand their market in Europe. As for social causes, Europe’s desire to spread their language, tradition, and religion also contributed to the increased imperialist expansion.
ReplyDeleteTechnological causes such as advances in overseas traveling, advances in weaponry and medical knowledge combined with political and military causes also contributed to European imperialism. Although some historians place technological factors very low in their order of importance among causes of the new imperialism, there is clear evidence showing that the technology had a significant role in the new imperialism. For instance, when the French attacked Algeria in 1830, they saw that the Algerian and Turkish troops were armed with muskets and rifles equal to their own; therefore, they had to create more advance weapons in order to conquer the land and spread their imperialism. It’s true that imperialism was nothing new. In fact, the imperialism dates back to centuries before when Christopher Columbus and other explorers went around the world to explore new frontiers. During the new imperialism of the 19th century, technology made it much easier for the Europeans to extend their power; however, it was not the primary reason for the wave of increased expansion. As previously mentioned, there were other factors that lead to Europe’s desire to expand. Some examples of technological improvements that made it easier for the Europeans to expand and exert their power include the steam engine. This helped the imperialist to move faster through the seas and reach their destination without any major handicaps. Improvements in the medical field also made it easier for the European imperialist to overcome obstacles such as malaria. In addition, technological developments in weaponry made the imperialist much stronger militarily than the natives in the lands they conquered.
BL
NS
ReplyDeleteThe technology that drove modern Europe to expand into world colonialism also removed thousands of years of culture, languages and even other monarchies from the lands that the Europeans thought should act and be like them. I have always found it funny that the "civilized" world thinks that we can make a difference in the country's we try to help but the people of those country's have made out just fine and would not even want our life style.
JEJ
WCN
ReplyDeleteI like your analysis with wars for materials. When England would conquer a people for there resources they would make there money though the Trading Companies with England making most of the money. With the more recent war in Iraq involving the US the companies based in the US made most of the money. Some reports state that the war has cost over 3 trillion dollars. I think that the US will NEVER recoup any of that cost.
JEJ
WCN and JEJ, I agree that the cost of these two past wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has been too high. In terms of Soldiers’ lives and in taxpayer money, we’ve lost a lot. And, what did we get in return for our sacrifices? As we know from history and our reading assignment, the primary reasons for the new wave of imperialism during the 19th century was the need for natural resources and new revenue markets. I argue that we aren’t seeing anything like this in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, some businesses have profited such as security companies and others; however, many US based companies are not heavily profiting from Iraq’s and Afghanistan’s newly founded freedom. Instead, many other countries that didn’t even support the US in liberating Iraq are now developing their oil fields and other aspects of their economy.
ReplyDeleteBL
NS, I have to agree with you. Why do we try to push freedom and democracy on those in far away countries that don’t even understand it, nor do they even care about it? I realize we were successful at nation building in the past with countries like Germany and South Korea, but the people and their lifestyles are different than those in the Middle East. We need to realize that countries like Iraq and Afghanistan were poor countries under repressive regimes and the people were kept mostly uneducated. In Afghanistan, for example, democracy is not effective because most Afghans have no idea what it means and how it feels to be free. They have been under terrible conditions for the past fifty years. Although there are some Afghans who want to have a stable government, better technology, an effective education system for men and women, and other elements that keep a country healthy and productive, we should realize that it is a long process. I just hope that we can see the changes in those places like Iraq and Afghanistan before we die.
ReplyDeleteBL
NS and BL,
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm no fervent supporter of the current wars, I would suggest that their type are inevitable. As all world powers in history, such as the European powers we read about for this assignment and dating back to Romans, Mongols, and prehistory, the United States is compelled to extend its reach. Interestingly enough, I would suggest that unlike a century or so ago when technology fueled imperialism to a great degree, modern technology clips our wings when it comes to imperialistic moves today. The fact that other powerful nations upon whom we depend have the technology to observe just what we're doing and communicate all over the world instantaneously forces us to cow to pressures from other nations. Thusly, the United States cannot become an empire and must conduct our missions of extension under various guises. Fair elected governments have also historically had difficulty creating empires because the people will not tolerate the necessary extent of subjugation in their name. I believe and hope this is true of our nation as well.
PMP