From Imperialism: European, American, and Japanese.
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.”
Maps
Ottoman Empire and European Expansion, 1500-1800:
https://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/maptext_n2/ottoman.html
Africa, Imperial Boundaries, 1914:
https://fsmitha.com/h2/map02af.htm
Japanese Sphere of Co-Prosperity, 1938:
https://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/maptext_n2/chinajapan.html
Terms, Concepts, People
Define and identify the following:
- imperialism
- new imperialism
- colonialism
- White Man’s Burden
- Rudyard Kipling
- John Hobson
- Joseph Schumpeter
- Alfred T. Mahan
- Spanish-American War
- self-determination
Study Questions
- Explain John Hobson’s view of imperialism.
- How does Alfred Mahan’s account of sea power fit into late-nineteenth century global political calculations?
- 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.
https://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1884ferry.html
Hobson, John. “Imperialism” (1902).
https://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1902hobson.html
Lenin, V. I. Imperialism: The Highest State of Capitalism 1916
https://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1916lenin-imperialism.html
Geopolitical
British Imperialistic Anthems
https://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/rulebritannia.html#RuleBritannia
Blunt, Wilfred. “Britain’s Imperial Destiny” (1896-1899)
https://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)
https://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1890pangerman.html
Prince Ukhtomskii. “Russia’s Imperial Destiny,” 1891
https://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
https://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1833macaulay-india.html
Kipling, Rudyard. “White Man’s Burden.” 1899
https://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Kipling.html
Schumpeter, Joseph. “The Sociology of Imperialism” 1918
https://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1918schumpeter1.html
Next section: Critiques of Imperialism
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