What is Imperialism?
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:
- 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.
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