Effects on Imperialism

By Bently Zigler
Japan now a major imperial power
Legacies of imperialism
Empire and economy: two patterns of changes
Colonial rule transformed traditional production of crops and commodities
Indian cotton grown to serve British textile industry
Inexpensive imported textiles undermined Indian production
New crops transformed landscape and society
Rain forests of Ceylon converted to tea plantations
Ceylonese women recruited to harvest tea
Rubber plantations transformed Malaya and Sumatra
Labor migrations
European migration
Fifty million Europeans migrated 1800-1914, over half to the United States
Other settler colonies in Canada, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa
Most European migrants became cultivators, herders, or skilled laborers
Indentured labor migration more typical from Asia, Africa, and Pacific islands
About 2.5 million indentured laborers globally during 1820-1914
Indentured migrants tended to work on tropical and subtropical plantations
Example: Indian laborers to Pacific island and Caribbean plantations
Japanese laborers to Hawaiian sugar plantations
Large-scale migrations reflected global influence of imperialism
Empire and society
Colonial conflict not uncommon in nineteenth century
In India, numerous insurrections, such as the sepoy rebellion of 1857
1905, Maji Maji rebellion in east Africa thought traditional magic would defeat the Germans
Resistance included boycotts, political parties, anticolonial publications
Conflict among different groups united under colonial rule, for example, Hawaii
"Scientific racism" popular in nineteenth century
Race became the measure of human potential; Europeans considered superior
Gobineau divided humanity into four main racial groups, each with peculiar traits
Social Darwinism: "survival of fittest" used to justify European domination
Colonial experience only reinforced popular racism
Assumed moral superiority of Europeans
Racist views in U.S. treatment of Filipinos, Japanese treatment of Koreans
Nationalism and anticolonial movements
Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833), "father of modern India"
Sought an Indian society based on European science and traditional Hinduism
Used press to mobilize educated Hindus and advance reform
The Indian National Congress, founded 1885
Educated Indians met, with British approval, to discuss public affairs
Congress aired grievances about colonial rule, sought Indian self-rule
1906, All-India Muslim League formed to advance interests of Indian Muslims
Limited reform, 1909; wealthy Indians could elect representatives to local councils
Indian nationalism a powerful movement, achieved independence in 1947
India served as a model for anticolonial campaigns in other lands



Website: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072957549/student_view0/chapter33/chapter_outline.html