AGE OF IMPERIALISMSOUTHEAST ASIA

New Imperialism• Imperialism = the extension of a nation’s power

over other lands• New phase of Western expansion into Asia and

Africa– Beginning in the 1800s European nations begin an

intense scramble for overseas territories–Want direct control over vast territories

Motives for Imperialism• Strong economic motive– Europeans view Asian and African societies as sources

of industrial raw materials and markets for manufactured goods

• Rivalries between European nations– Want colonies to gain advantage over rivals– Reflected struggles for power in Europe

• Source of national pride– Idea that nations need colonies to be great– Reflected struggles for power in Europe– “all great nations in the fullness of their strength have

the desire to set their mark upon barbarian lands and those who fail to participate in this great rivalry will play a pitiable role in time to come”

• Social Darwinism– The best nation (race) wins• If you are able to conquer people, then you should

be able to, survival of the fittest also applies to nations

– Europeans are superior to other peoples– “the path of progress is strewn with the wrecks of

nations; traces are everywhere to be seen of the slaughtered remains of inferior races”

• “White Man’s Burden”– Europeans have a moral responsibility to civilize

primitive people

GREAT BRITAIN• Already controls India from the French and Indian

War• 1819 establishes a new colony on the tip of the Malay

Peninsula called Singapore • Took over the Kingdom of Burma (Myanmar) in the late

1800s

FRANCE• 1857 force Vietnam to accept French protection– 1884 takes over the rest of Vietnam and makes it a

French protectorate• Protectorate = a political unit that depends on

another gov’t for its protection• 1880s annex neighboring Laos and Cambodia, which

along with Vietnam, make up French Indochina

Thailand (Siam)• Only nation in Southeast Asia to maintain its

independence– Threatened by British and French interests

• King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn prevented colonization – Promoted western learning, maintained friendly

relations with European powers, and exploited rivalries

• 1896 Britain and France agree to maintain Thailand as an independent buffer state between British Burma and French Indochina

United States• 1898 Spanish-American War– Defeat the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay– Promise freedom to the Filipinos if they help the U.S.

• President McKinley decides to turn the Philippines into an American colony instead– Jumping-off point for trade with China– Angers the Filipinos, who fight for independence and

are defeated by the American troops– President McKinley assassinated in Buffalo, NY

Colonial Regimes in Southeast Asia• Chief goals are to exploit natural resources and open

markets• Governed either by indirect or direct rule– Indirect rule = local rulers were allowed to maintain

their positions of authority and status• Cooperation with local political elites makes it easier

to gain access to the region’s natural resources• Lowers the cost of gov’t, has less effect on local

culture

– Direct rule = local rulers are removed from power and replaced with a new set of officials brought from the mother country• Used in cases where local rulers resist foreign

conquest• The colonized people pay high taxes to pay for

these officials

Colonial Economies• Colonial powers stress the policy of exporting raw

materials– Don’t want colonists to develop their own

industries• Plantation agriculture – peasants work as wage

laborers on plantations owned by foreign investors– Kept at poverty level to increase profits, high

taxes to pay for administrative costs– Thousands die due to unhealthy conditions

• Benefits– Beginning of modern economic system– Built infrastructure – railroads, roads, canals– Developed export markets