Questions and Sources

Question One

What is imperialism? In your attempt to define imperialism, reflect on the political, economic, religious and other factors involved in the expansion of the industrial nations. How have intellectuals, politicians, and commentators defined it? What is new about the "new" imperialism?

Sources for Question One

Textbook
John P. McKay, et al. A History of World Societies; 5th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999. Read Chapter 27, but pay special attention to pp. 841-853.

Also consult Gerald Rempel, "The New Imperialism."
Http://mars.acnet.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2/lectures/imperialism.html

Maps
Ottoman Empire and European Expansion, 1500-1800:
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/maptext_n2/ottoman.html

Imperialism and the Balance of Power, 1914:
http://www.erols.com/mwhite28/1907powr.htm

Africa, Imperial Boundaries, 1914:
http://fsmitha.com/h2/map02af.htm

Japanese Sphere of Co-Prosperity, 1938:
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/maptext_n2/chinajapan.html

Extent of Colonialism, 1939
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pol116/colonies.htm

Terms, Concepts, People

Define and identify the following:

  1. imperialism
  2. new imperialism
  3. colonialism
  4. White Man's Burden
  5. Rudyard Kipling
  6. John Hobson
  7. Joseph Schumpeter
  8. Alfred T. Mahan
  9. Spanish-American War
  10. self-determination

Study Questions

  1. Explain John Hobson's view of imperialism.
  2. How does Alfred Mahan's account of sea power fit into late-nineteenth century global political calculations?
  3. To what extent does Rudyard Kipling's poem, "White Man's Burden," reflect the attitude of the industrial world?

Theories of Imperialism

Economic

Ferry, Premier Jules. Le Tonkin et la mere-patrie: Temoignages et documents; translated by Robin Winks. Paris: Victor-Havard, 1890.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1884ferry.html

Hobson, John.  "Imperialism" (1902).
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1902hobson.html

Lenin, V. I. Imperialism: The Highest State of Capitalism 1916
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1916lenin-imperialism.html

Geopolitical

Rhodes Astride Africa
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/history/virtual/portrait/colonial-legacy_2jpg

British Imperialistic Anthems
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/rulebritannia.html#RuleBritannia

Blunt, Wilfred. "Britain's Imperial Destiny" (1896-1899)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1899blunt.html

Mahan, A. T. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1890.

Program of the Pan-German League (1890-1898)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1890pangerman.html

Prince Ukhtomskii. "Russia's Imperial Destiny," 1891

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1891ukhtomskii.html

Cultural

German political cartoon of 1890s indicating that German imperial order replaced African chaos.

Macaulay, Thomas. "On Empire and Education," 1833
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1833macaulay-india.html

Kipling, Rudyard. "White Man's Burden." 1899
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Kipling.html

Zwick, Jim, ed. "‘The White Man's Burden' and Its Critics."
http://www.boondocksnet.com/kipling/index.html

Schumpeter, Joseph. "The Sociology of Imperialism" 1918
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1918schumpeter1.html

Return to main Imperialism page |  Return to Reins cover page
Return to AHA Teaching and Learning Home Page