Industrial Revolution "Inspired" Imperialism, (Those Who Gained)

Political Cartoon of Rhodes taking over Africa Political cartoon of taking over Madagascar

By the mid-19^th Century, the Industrial Revolution was no longer an event solely located in Great Britain. Industrialization spread to the rest of Western Europe, North America and Japan. And not only had it spread—it had resonated well in other nations. Great Britain now found itself in competition with the United States and Germany as the leader of an industrialized economy. And just as early British industrialists built upon ideas and inventions from earlier scientists and inventors, American, Japanese and other Europeans built upon the ideas and inventions from the British Industrial Revolution. The result was a leap in how industry was conducted.

The industrial economy was all about the "new"—

New ideas promoted assembly lines that increased mass production.
New banking practices formed large banks that financed new concepts on limited-liability joint-stock companies.
New business models created giant integrated firms that dominated an industry from the extraction of raw materials, to their conversion into finished products, to the distribution of those products on a global scale.
New methods to extract energy from old power sources like coal.
New organic sources of power, like oil/petroleum, to run industries.
New employees as people migrated around the world in search of jobs.

But the industrial economy was also about the "increased"—

Increased production of steel as the world output of steel increased from half a million tons in 1870 to 28 million tons in 1900 CE.
Increased profits from investments as companies streamlined their production methods reducing costs.
Increased need for raw materials to manufacture into finished goods to meet demand.
Increased wealth for the new "Titans of Industry" that formed world-wide monopolies on specific industries.
Increased economic and political domination for those nations to experience the Industrial Revolution.
Increased rivalry between companies and nations as they competed with each other for an increasingly larger share of the world's wealth and power.

This last point had implications for the entire world—especially in those nations where the Industrial Revolution was noticeably absent.

Painting - "The East offering its riches to Britannia."

"The East offering its riches to Britannia." Allegorical ceiling piece commissioned by the East India Company in 1777 for the Revenue Committee Room in East India House. Oil on canvas.

Imperialism

The Industrial Revolution brought certain nations to the top of the global economy. The rise in wealth was accompanied by a rise in an attitude of global superiority as industrialized nations surveyed their less industrialized trading partners. And that sense of superiority led imperialism.

This sense of superiority, or ethnocentrism, stemmed from a number of sources...

Ethnocentrism was not unique to Europeans or to this time period. As you've studied history, you've read about different ethnic or racial groups who believed that their ethnicity or race was superior to others. This belief led peoples from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas down different paths for millennia. But this time, the ethnocentrism was coupled with a desire to expand and the ability to do so globally.

The continent of Europe had plenty of coal and iron ore to power the Industrial Revolution; however, it did not have the raw materials needed (like cotton or rubber) to make the products that were in high demand. They needed to trade with other continents. The problem was that Europe was not one entity—it was a continent of different nations (some brand new and eager to make themselves known) competing with one another for limited resources. Therefore, in the Age of Imperialism, they raced each other to set up trade monopolies and colonies just as they had during the Age of Exploration. The result was a distinct change in the borders throughout the world as India, Indonesia, China, Oceania, North America and Africa fell prey to the predator of ethnocentric economics.

So what nations were doing the taking during the age of Imperialism?

Most of them were located in Europe—but the list also included the United States and Japan. You know the stories behind how Great Britain, France, the United States, Spain and Portugal formed. But we are going to be mentioning Italy, Germany and Belgium quite a bit in the next lesson and we haven't covered their story yet. So, let's do that first.

Germany

Since the Treaty of Westphalia (1645 CE) that ended the Age of Religious Wars in Europe, two provinces dominated the Holy Roman Empire—Prussia and Austria. During the centuries that passed, Prussia spent most of its time gobbling up its smaller, language-related neighbors until it was conquered by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807 CE. The Congress of Vienna recreated Prussia as a collection of German-speaking states in 1815 CE. During the Revolutions of 1848, German liberals pushed for a constitutional monarchy that united the German states of Prussia as one nation, but they were not successful.

Which leads us to ask the question—what finally unified the German-speaking states of Prussia into the nation-state of Germany? The answer—Otto von Bismarck. Appointed as Chancellor of Prussia by the Prussian king in 1861 CE, Bismarck occupied his time in quick wars with Denmark, Austria and France. He took all of the lands won during these wars and created the new German Empire - also known as the Second Reich (with the now-defunct Holy Roman Empire being the First Reich.) Chancellor Otto von Bismarck crowned King William I as the emperor (or Kaiser) of the Second Reich and established a constitutional monarchy in 1871 CE. Under the new system, Germany quickly industrialized and became the strongest nation of continental Europe (which does not include Great Britain as it is off-shore.) Which isn't surprising as it was being led by Bismarck who once said:

Not through speeches and majority decisions are the great questions of the day decided - that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849 - but through blood and iron.

Otto von Bismarck
Chancellor of Germany

And that is the story of how Germany became a nation that became a major player in the Age of Imperialism.

Italy

When Europe experienced the Age of Exploration, many of the European nations stopped using the Mediterranean Sea for trade—instead turning to the Atlantic Ocean. This caused an economic decline for the Italian city-states as all of their coastlines were along the Mediterranean Sea. For the next centuries, the Italian city-states consistently loss power as first Spain and then Austria became the dominant political forces of the peninsula. In 1796 CE, General Napoleon Bonaparte (he wasn't the emperor just yet) conquered Italy for France. Under the new regime, Italy existed as three separate states. After the Congress of Vienna returned most of Europe to its pre-Napoleon days in 1815 CE, Italy was again a land of multiple city-states. However, the nationalist feelings that arose while under French occupation did not go away. Watch the map below and you will see what happened over the next several decades as this nationalism led to Italian unification.

As a unified nation, Italy established a constitutional monarchy. But, in reality, less than 5% of the population had the right to vote and the nation was sorely divided by traditional regional cultures. Under the new system, Northern Italy continued its path of industrialization while Southern Italy remained very agrarian. And that's the story of how Italy became a nation.

Belgium

Location of Belgium Like the rest of Europe, Belgium fell to Napoleon Bonaparte. (Unlike the rest of Europe, Belgium was not an independent nation at the time.) But that didn't mean it was happy with the decision by the Congress of Vienna to unite the Netherlands and Belgium as a means of restoring the balance of power among the European nations in 1815 CE. Therefore, in 1830 CE, the

Belgians declared their independence and crowned their own king (who happened to be a German prince and the uncle of Great Britains Queen Victoria. Obviously, the monarchies of Europe didn't date much outside of their social class.) Under King Leopold I, Belgium dove head-first into the Industrial Revolution. By the time his son was crowned, the Belgian monarchy was ready to take its place in the Age of Imperialism. And thats the story of how Belgium became a nation.

Japan

While Germany, Italy, Belgium and the United States were new nations, Japan was new to the international scene. You know the story of how it became a nation, but now it is time for you to learn how they were introduced to the world. Under Japans National Seclusion Policy, most Europeans were kept out of Japan. This policy worked very well during the 17^th and 18^th Centuries. But by the 19^th Century, Europe was too weaponized and the United States too impatient for Japan to maintain its isolation much longer.

Recap Section

Watch the videos below to review what you've learned.

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