To what extent was 'the new imperialism' a reflection of developments in 19th century Europe?

University Degree Historical and Philosophical studies

1) To what extent was ‘the new imperialism’ a reflection of developments in 19th century Europe?

The term “new imperialism” refers to an of expansion which was adopted, by a number of , during the and ; approximately from the end of the to the beginning of (c. - ). It was during this period of imperialism that the European powers ended up physically controlling almost the rest of the world. The reasons and causes of “new imperialism” had long been debated by scholars and one could argue that the basis of “new imperialism” was generally due to the various developments that Europe was undergoing in the 19th century. The developments of Europe in the 19th century could be broadly categorized into the following aspects: social, economic and political developments.

One of the major economic developments in Europe in the 19th century was the Industrial Revolution. It could be argued that the “new imperialism” was to a large extent, a reflection of such a development. The Industrial Revolution inevitably led to several results—an increase in population, increased demands for food supplies and raw materials, and an excess of home-produced goods arising from the mass production through the use of technology. All these factors meant that the European nations had to look for territories outside the European continent to solve their problems such as shortages of living space, land and supplies.This inevitably intensified the search for colonies, culminating into what was known as the “Age of High Imperialism”, as the Europeans thought that the acquisition of colonies would solve these problems. As Murphey had written, the “new imperialism” was the work of advanced industrial capitalist nations rather than of mercantilist economies that were prominent in the centuries before 1800. This indeed is true.

The European powers, which included Spain, Portugal, Britain and France, had always been involved in the contest for new colonies. The advances in technology arising from the Industrial Revolution had enabled the European powers to travel further and faster, facilitating the quest of overseas colonies, which was previously impossible due to the long distance involved and the lack of advanced technology.

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Colonised areas such as the Africas and South East Asia, did provide an avenue for the Europeans’ products while raw materials such as tin, rubber, which were in abundance and of extreme importance to the Europeans, were extracted. Ironically however, facts and data showed that economic benefits and importance of colonialism to the European powers were doubtful and insignificant. It had been reported that colonies were also insignificant as outlets for goods and capital, and as centers of emigration. Although the colonies provided the European powers with valuable resources, raw materials, and that trade did exist with the colonies, especially in the late 19th century, it represented only a small part of the total trade of the imperial powers. The colonies were unable to take in any significant quantity of industrial goods after their economy had been plundered by their ruthless colonial masters. Moreover, the theory that the colonized territories could absorb the excess populations was not entirely true as any available land suitable for settlement had been taken before 1800. However, it was the belief that imperial expansion could help solve these issues which had prompted the industrialised countries to look for overseas colonies and hence it would be reasonable to consider the age of “new imperialism” as a reflection of the Industrial Revolution.

The “new imperialism” could be considered to be a manifestation of the idea of racial superiority and Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution to human behaviour. An attempt was made by Herbert Spencer to fit social and political development into the general pattern of evolution, and the phrase “survival of the fittest” was coined by him, although Darwin still preferred the term “natural selection” . This theory was later used to justify, if not, glorify the aggression undertaken by the Europeans against non-Europeans who were deemed to be inferior and thus deserved to be colonised. The Darwinian ideas influenced many Europeans and many political policies and social movements and the Europeans used these ideas to justify that they were fit to obtain imperial hegemony over the rest of the world. Darwin had argued in “The Descent of Man” that "When civilized nations come into contact with barbarians the struggle is short except where a deadly climate gives its aid to the native race. . . the grade of civilization seems to be a most important element in success in competing nations." In this context, “civilized nations” would mean the European countries whereas the “barbarians” would refer to the native people in the colonized regions. The idea of superiority and inferiority had caused the Europeans to exploit their colonies to a further extent since they believed that their mere existence was for their exploitation. The Darwinism concepts had been used by the European powers to justify their ongoing imperialistic actions and hence it could be argued that the “new imperialism” was indeed a reflection of the ideological developments during the 19th century in Europe.

The age of “new imperialism” was also a reflection of the shift in political situation in Euorpe during this the late 19th century. Pax Britannica which refers to the “peaceful period of British after the and ”, gave the British Empire control of key naval routes. Britain was able to dominate the seas and hence enjoyed a period of unchallenged expansionism, solely for the purposes of trading in the overseas markets. The British Liberal Gorvenment during the early 19th century was not interested in getting any colonies as their main purpose was profits. Any form of colonial administration would incur unnecessary costs. Britain prefered to have an informal form of colonialism which meant the control of the markets without any direct formal colonal administration. By the late 19th century, two new nations: Germany and Italy had been unified and Germany, in particlar, soon grew to be an industrial power, posing a threat to Britain’s otherwise unchallenged position in the world trade. Britain’s supremacy as an industrial power was soon weakened by the industrialisation of Germany and the United States after the 1870s. There were fears of the economic competition from rival countries would affect the economic future of Britain. Hence, the leaders saw the acquisition of colonies as a form of safeguard against future crises of overproduction and overpopulation.

As mentioned in the above paragraph, Britain had been an imperial power since the early 19th century but its gorvenemnt was not too keen in the administering of the colonies. However, by the 1970s, the political situation in Britain began to change. Benjamin Disraeli, who was the spokesman for the British Conservative Party, was a strong proponent and advocate of British imperial power and glory. He entered the Prime Minister’s office in 1867 and alternated with the liberal William Gladstone for the next 15 years. Both men had opposing views with regards to imperialism. Disraeli wanted Britain to be a great power not only in Europe but also on a global scale through her colonies while Gladstone campaigned for the export of civilized values through commerce and not conquest. He did not believe in the advantages of having a large empire and preferred the existing status quo. Disraeli discredited the Liberals by accusing them of trying to dissolve the empire in his Crystal Palace speech in 1872. Disraeli’s campaign for imperialism was more successful with the voters in Britain as it appealed to their pride in British accomplishment.

Europe in the 19th century saw many profound developments and their impact had been far reaching and long-lasting. To say that the “new imperialism” was a reflection of such developments in the 19th century Europe would be a pretty accurate description. The main fuel of these developments (economically speaking), would definitely be that of the Industrial Revolution. It gave rise to the push factors which drove the Europeans to reach out to the colonies. Ideological influence like the idea of racial superiority also influenced the outreach to a certain extent. Last but not least, the “new imperialism” was also indeed a reflection of the political shifts in influence during that period.

(1363 words)

Bibliography:

1. Darwin, Charles. “The Origins of Species and The Descent of Man”, New York, Modern Library, 1872

2. Hearder, H. “Europe in the Nineteenth Century 1830-1880”, London, Longmans, Green and Co Ltd, 1966

3. Murphey, Rhoads. “A History of Asia”, United States, Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.2000

4. Pipes, Richard. “Europe since 1815”, New York, American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., 1968

5.(), (25 February 2004)

6. Benjamin Disraeli—The Forefather of Imperialism and Falsechristian”, (http://mail.gnu.org/archive/html/help-gnu-emacs/2003-01/msg00669.html), (25 February 2004)

(), (25 February 2004)

Rhoads Murphey, A History of Asia, (United States, Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.2000), 285.

Pipes, Richard, Europe since 1815, (New York, American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., 1968), 275-277.

Ibid, 276

H.Hearder, “Europe in the Nineteenth Century 1830-1880”, (London, Longmans, Green and Co Ltd, 1966), 343.

Charles Darwin, “On the Extinction of the Races of Man” in “The Origins of Species and The Descent of Man”, (New York: Modern Library, 1872), 543.

, (25 February 2004)

“Benjamin Disraeli—The Forefather of Imperialism and Falsechristian”,( http://mail.gnu.org/archive/html/help-gnu-emacs/2003-01/msg00669.html), (25 February 2004)

Pipes, 274