WAW: Lesson - Imperialism and Its Effects on Asia
Imperialism and Its Effects on Asia
What is Imperialism?
By the late 1800s, America, Europe (except for the Mediterranean countries), and Japan had industrialized. The Industrial Revolution had increased the wealth of the “titans of industry” as well as the economic and political rivalries between nations and within nations. Additionally, the Industrial Revolution increased a kind of nationalism called Ethnocentrism (the belief that your ethnic group is the best), or in an even more extreme case, Jingoism (nationalism that causes aggressive foreign policies).
Every industrialized nation’s need for raw materials began to outpace its supply. This last point had implications for the entire world—especially in those nations where the Industrial Revolution was noticeably absent. Industrialized nations began to believe it was their duty to spread the benefits of the Industrial Revolution, their society and culture, and often their religion to the rest of the world (through political and/or economic domination), and in return, they would set up trade monopolies to guarantee themselves access to raw materials found in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This is called Imperialism.
Image notes: The image to the right is a well known political cartoon. It characterized Great Britain, Germany, Russia, France, and Japan by dividing a cake labeled “Chine [China]”. Behind them is a racialized Chinese man crying out for them to stop, but they don’t notice him. This represents the Imperializing powers influencing China.
Below, another political cartoon depicts Otto Von Bismarck cutting up a French King Cake labeled “Afrique” [Africa]. It is a satirical depiction of the Berlin Conference. In both cartoons, the land is something to consume without regard to who lives there.
Imperialism in India
The transition between the “Age of Colonization” and the “Age of Imperialization” was murkiest in India. Remember last module, when we noted that the Seven Years' War (French and Indian War) spread to five continents? In addition to losing the Ohio River Valley, the French also lost their claims in Mughal-Empire India as a result of that war. By the end of the war, the Mughal Empire was too weak to resist the concentrated British forces, so India became one of the earliest Imperialized countries.
India produced silk, wool, cotton, sugar, tea, rubber, and the drug opium for the British Empire. The British soon found a market for their opium – China. Qing China officially refused British trade, but the British first smuggled in opium, then used their superior military and navy in the Opium Wars (1840s) to require China to allow British trade. This was called the Open Door Policy. In the 1890s, Japan also expanded its sphere of influence into China, Korea, and Mongolia.
Image Note (right): Map of Asia in 1914. Japan controls the islands near Japan as well as the Korean Peninsula. Britain controls the former Mughal Empire. Britain, France, the Netherlands, the USA, and Germany all control parts of Southeast Asia. Color key:
- Orange: British Colony
- Dark Blue: French Colony
- Light Blue: American Colony
- Dark Green: German Colony
- Light Green: Dutch Colony
- Red: Japanese Colony
- Dark Red: Russia (not a colony - the dark red marks the boundaries of Russia's territory in 1914)
Imperialism in Southeast Asia
Meanwhile, Southeast Asia was also imperialized by many nations. This region was valuable for its spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper) as well as rubber, tobacco, and cinchona, an anti-malaria plant. The Dutch controlled Indonesia since the late 18th century; France took Indochina (now Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia), the British took Burma, Malaysia, and Singapore. Spain, then the United States, controlled the Philippines. Japan also took over parts of Southeast Asia. As a result of imperialism, Asian economies were dominated by cash crops, which sometimes resulted in famines. However, Europeans also introduced modernized education, sanitation, healthcare, and transportation systems.
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