19th Century European Colonial Expansion
European Dominance in the Late 19th Century
In the last third of the nineteenth century, the Second Industrial Revolution transformed the economies of the major European powers. Technical innovations, new forms of work organization, and the growth of banking allowed an increase in production and trade, alongside improved transport.
Due to their financial, technical, and military superiority, European powers expanded their influence across the globe.
Causes of Colonialism
- Economic Factors: European nations needed markets to sell surplus production and sought to buy raw materials at the lowest possible prices.
- Demographic Factors: Population growth in Europe led to difficulties in finding employment and created social tensions, encouraging emigration.
- Political Factors: With European borders largely stabilized by the late nineteenth century, territorial expansion efforts focused on regions outside Europe.
- Ideological Factors: Conservative nationalism promoted ideas of national superiority and the perceived right of certain nations to impose their rule on other peoples.
Colonial Organization
There were three main classes of colonies:
- Colonies of Exploitation: In these colonies, the metropole (mother country) focused primarily on economic exploitation. They lacked self-government, and Europeans exerted direct political control and occupation. Settlers often appropriated land to create vast plantations or to exploit mineral deposits like copper, gold, coal, and diamonds.
- Colonies of Settlement: These colonies had significant European populations and, while essentially dependent on the metropole, were recognized as having certain autonomy in internal government. Within the British Empire, these were often referred to as Dominions.
- Protectorates: These were territories where, following European occupation, the pre-existing state organization, local government, and administrative apparatus nominally remained. However, the metropole established a parallel government that, in practice, dominated the local administration and reserved control over key functions such as defense and foreign policy.
The Scramble for Africa
Beginning around 1870, European powers rapidly colonized almost all of Africa, with Liberia and Abyssinia (Ethiopia) being notable exceptions. Britain and France led this swift and often brutal division. Germany and Italy joined the scramble later, which increased tensions and the threat of war among the European powers. The clash of interests prompted the Berlin Conference in 1885, where European nations established rules for colonization and formally divided territories among themselves.
The Occupation of Asia
Asia was also subjected to colonization by European powers, as well as by Russia, the United States, and Japan.
The British occupied India and Burma, clashing with Russian expansionist interests near Afghanistan. France established control over Indochina. In China, various colonial powers sought trade dominance, notably forcing the country open to Western economic interests through conflicts like the Opium Wars.
The British Empire
Great Britain possessed the largest colonial empire in the world, stretching from India to Africa. A primary goal was controlling strategic maritime trade routes.
India was Britain’s most significant colony, primarily exploited for economic gain. It was initially conquered in the 18th century by the East India Company, but the British monarchy later assumed direct control, and Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.
The French Empire and Others
France held the second-largest colonial empire, with essential holdings in North Africa and Southeast Asia. Other European nations like Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands also established colonial territories.
United States and Japan Expansion
The United States and Japan were the primary non-European powers engaging in colonial expansion during the late 19th century.
- The United States expanded towards the Pacific and the Caribbean. In a brief war with Spain, it gained control of the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, and secured rights to build and control the Panama Canal.
- Japan, often supported by Britain, intervened to counter Russian advances in Manchuria and occupied the Kurile Islands, Korea, and Formosa (Taiwan).
Consequences for Colonized Peoples
The relationship between metropole and colony was fundamentally unequal. Metropoles exported capital, technology, and manufactured goods, while importing agricultural products and raw materials from the colonies.
In the colonies:
- Large-scale plantations and resource extraction often destroyed traditional agriculture and ecosystems.
- Indigenous populations were frequently displaced, and workers often faced harsh conditions and exploitation on plantations or in mines.
- Imported manufactured goods from the metropole undermined local crafts and industries.
- Infrastructure (such as railways and ports) was primarily built to facilitate the exploitation and export of natural resources for the benefit of the metropole, often using forced or poorly compensated local labor.
- The imposition of taxes by colonial authorities often forced indigenous people into the wage economy simply to meet these obligations.