Colonial Expansion of Industrial Powers in the 19th and 20th Centuries
**Colonial Expansion of Industrial Powers**
**Reasons for Imperialism**
The reasons for imperialism were varied, including the need to involve the whole planet in its production system, along with political, cultural, scientific, and psychological interests. The main ones were:
- Demographic: Demographic pressure in Europe, as a result of population growth in the 19th century, generated migration to other continents.
- Economic: High levels of production and consumption during the second half of the 19th century demanded maximum expansion.
- Political: Some countries joined the colonial expansion with the need to retain or regain their prestige.
- Teleological: They appealed to European consciousness to achieve a historic mission: the duty to transmit to the backward peoples the achievements of Western civilization.
- Scientific and Technical: The comprehensive development of science required shipments with geographic classification of mineral species, botanical or zoological, astronomical observations, etc. Improved transportation and new weapons facilitated colonization.
- Social: Activity groups in the metropolis, including economic, military, political parties, associations, and geographical societies, pushed colonial governments in the colonial race.
**Colonial Expansion**
The formation of a colony began with its military occupation, continued with political organization, and concluded with economic exploitation. At first, the colonies depended on the Ministry of War. They were of many kinds:
- Dominions: With a European population, these were unique to the British Empire.
- Protectorates: With an indigenous and local leader under the supervision of a governor.
- Colonies of Exploitation: The indigenous population, without any autonomy, was directly administered by a governor.
- Spheres of Influence: Areas of old empires in Asia.
**The Scramble for Africa**
Africa was a mysterious continent. The European presence was limited to coastal factories for supplies on their journeys to the East. The interior was virtually unknown. In the north, the French occupied Algeria and established a protectorate over Tunisia. The United Kingdom occupied Egypt, moved by its interest in the Suez Canal. Italy occupied Libya, and Morocco was divided between France and Spain.
In West Africa, France established coastal colonies interspersed by British, Portuguese, Spanish, and German ones. The Berlin Conference agreed on free navigation of the Congo Basin. It was an inaccessible area until 1974 when an expedition by the International Association of the Congo opened a route. The Portuguese had claimed their rights to the enclave of Cabinda, but the Berlin Conference proclaimed free navigation of the river and French possessions. In Southern Africa, the United Kingdom retained the colonies of the Cape, received from the Netherlands at the Congress of Vienna. Boers established the independent republic of Transvaal, surrounded by the British who occupied the northern territories and found diamonds. In East Africa, the UK extended from the Nile Valley. In 1885, the Germans occupied a strip to Lake Tanganyika.
In the Nile, the British attempted to establish a protectorate over Sudan to create a railway line from Cairo to Cape Town.
**Colonialism in Asia**
Colonialism in Asia was prominent, particularly for the British, due to their economic interests. The British were established when the East India Company established branches in some cities. The rest of India was bound by treaties. In 1877, Queen Victoria was named Empress of India. English interests collided with the Russians who tried to control the Persian Empire. In the 19th century, the Chinese Empire was the most populous and one of the most extensive. The European presence in China was due to commercial interests. The British had their first grants in 1842 after the Opium War, and Western countries established spheres of influence in different regions. European manufactured crafts ruined the local industry and caused misery. In other US territories, an open-door policy enabled free trade. In 1911, the republic was proclaimed. In the Far East, the Russians reached the Pacific Ocean. The construction of the last tranche of the Trans-Siberian Railway made them seek influence in Manchuria. Indochina became a prosperous French colony, a supplier of rice. The dispute was resolved with the Treaty of Bangkok in 1893.
**The Great Empires**
**The British Empire**
The British Empire was the most extensive in the early 20th century. Economic reasons were decisive in the approach of British imperialism. Its main lines of development were:
- Maintaining India, their main colony in Southwest Asia, and establishing a sphere of influence in China.
- Creating and consolidating dominions intended to absorb the British population, where rights and privileges were reserved for whites.
- Formation of a continuous empire between the City of Cape Town and Cairo.
- Control of maritime communication between its former colonies.
- Control of the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, and the Middle East.
- To ensure the road to South Africa, they established factories in coastal West Africa.
**France**
French President Ferry gave colonization momentum for his country to recover its international prestige after the defeat of 1871. French capital invested more abroad than in their own colonies. Its objectives were:
- Creation of an extensive empire in North and Central Africa.
- Domains of Indochina and islands of the Pacific Ocean.
- Achieving the protectorate of Madagascar.
- To strengthen the French presence in China.
**Germany**
Bismarck’s Germany was reluctant to embrace colonialism, but its great-power status led it to participate in the colonial race for reasons of political prestige. Wilhelm II and the Germans settled in East Africa. They imposed a sphere of influence on the Chinese coast.
**Historical Consequences of Imperialism**
For the metropolis, the consequences were positive:
- The settlement strengthened the Second Industrial Revolution and increased the prosperity of the population.
- Encouraging each country’s protectionism in the colonies with unique markets and very rigid controls.
- It served as a safety valve for social problems as it affected the economic benefits of much of the population.
- It provided political stability, and disputes were settled through agreements.
For the colonies, there were numerous consequences of different types:
- Borders were designed from Europe, following the courses of rivers, heights, lines, meridians, and parallels.
- Resistance to the colonizers led to the formation of political parties.
- The population grew due to better health.
- Subsistence farming was reduced to marginal sites.
- It prevented the growth of local manufactures, and colonial markets were supplied.
- Social inequalities increased, and society was transformed by new groups that were superimposed on or replaced the old ones.
- Western culture was imposed.