Imperialism

The Cruel Examples of Imperialism

King Leopold II's Congo

• The king of Belgium, King Leopold wanted a colony to make Belgium into an empire and on par with the great powers of Europe.
• After getting control of the Congo he decided that the Congo river would be best as neutral territory.
• Thus he had the colony privately for himself, instead of it being a colony of Belgium.
• The natives were made to produce rubber and if their weekly quotas weren't met they had to pay through other methods. Most tribes paid for unmet quotas with severed human hands.
• As the rubber quotas were rarely met, the cutting of hands eventually become a normality alongside the rubber shipments.
• Natives not wanting to lose their own hands would often attack other tribes.
• Lots of armaments and weapons were sent to the Congo instead of money, with valuable rubber being returned to Belgium.
• This was exposed by the press and eventually the country of Belgium took control of the Congo.
• An estimated 5 to 10 million people died during King Leopold II's rule of the Congo.

The Opium Wars

• Great Britain wanted to make trade with China for it's local resources, however China was very isolated and didn't want to be involved in international affairs.
• Great Britain started illegal trade of the illegal drug called opium, made from poppies.
• This was a very profitable market for Great Britain due to the addictive nature of the drug meaning that there was always a large demand.
• However the drug was so popular that it had a great negative affect on the Chinese economy.
• The emperor attempted to stop opium trade, and when negotiating didn't work there were several battles which were one by the powerful British navy.
• Thus the British managed to sustain the trade and got the island of Hong Kong.

The Consequences of Imperialism

• Different countries had different ways to rule over territories.
• The French for example preferred direct ruling, attempting to make their colonies similar to the mainland, with French rulers.
• The British however preferred indirect rulership, appointing natives such as chieftains into positions of power.
  
• At the peak of imperialism, European states controlled two thirds of the entire world.
• The economic domination of colonies.
• =Cheap labor and raw materials and markets.
• Although not very valuable for the states colonies were still wanted in order not to fall behind other states and because they were a symbol of power.
• No or very little industrial development was made in colonies.
• This caused colonies to be left undeveloped or worse off than before.
  
• Cultivation of cash-crops which aren't necessarily good as food but sell for a lot, for example rubber, cocoa beans and opium.
• This meant that land was being used for crops that weren't at all beneficial for those living under colonial rule.
• Colonies were often monocultures, in both senses. Many of the same few cash-crops were grown, leading to economic monocultures and unique cultures were replaced with those of the colonizers, leading to social monocultures.
  
• Spreading of European culture.
• European languages and religion spread across colonies.
• This often diminished or wiped out the original cultures, beliefs and languages.
  
• The European politics and artificial borders caused problems.
• Many of the territories weren't united before the Europeans arrived.
• For example in China, the regional leaders often had more power in their region than the emperor.
• Also in Africa, when Europeans brought slaves, other African tribes or groups would often capture others and bring them to the coasts, where they would be sold.
• These differences made it so there wouldn't be a unified front to fight back against European colonialists.
• When Europeans were making countries, they often just drew straight borders, ignoring any hereditary past and similarities or differences.
• After the Europeans left the colonies they often began to fight among themselves over the territory.
• Dividing populations, leading to lots of rebellions, civil wars, conflicts and wars later on.
  

European Benefits to Colonies

• Europeans still made some developments although the intention was for their benefit and not for that of the colony.
• Europeans developed infrastructure such as railroads, canals, harbors, telegraph lines, etc.
• Healthcare was also developed, such as medicine and hospitals.
• Education was improved. This was due to a need for locals who knew European languages and customs.
• At the time these services had very little use to the locals and they were often not allowed to use or fully use the services.
• However the infrastructure became more useful after the colonizers left.

Increasing Rivalries

• Ever accelerating competition between European states.
• Already manifested in many ways.
• Several crises and conflicts in Africa.