You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Or Can You?)

1. You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Or Can You?) Chapter 17, Section 1 Notes

2. A Pale Person’s Worry • Rudyard Kipling, a British Journalist, is widely considered to be the most powerful voice for British Imperialism • He wrote “The White Man’s Burden” to show his belief of the Western attitude toward non-Western People “Take up the White Man’s burden-- Send forth the best ye breed— Go bring your sons to exile To serve your captives’ need; To wait in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild— Your new-caught, sullen peoples, Half devil and half child.” • What do you think Kipling thinks of those people he’s colonized? • Answer: He believed non-Western people were primitive. Kipling believed Westerners changed the way of life for countless people • Europeans thought they were “helping” or “improving” the original inhabitants of the colonies

3. This Land is My Land…It Isn’t Your Land… • Imperialism is the domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region • Basically that means one country takes control of another’s government, trade, or culture • Some level of imperialism existed in South Asia, Africa, China, and Latin America between 1492 and 1800 • However, in the 1800s Europe gained much more power • 1870-1914 was the height of the age of imperialism • In fact, by 1914 England, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Japan, and the U.S. had some level of control over nearly the entire world

4. But why? Why imperialize? • Strong central governments emerged in Europe • The Industrial Revolution enriched European economies • With increased military and economic strength, Europeans expanded aggressively • Manufacturers wanted: • Access to natural resources: rubber, petroleum, manganese (for steel), and palm oil (for machinery) • New markets to sell their factory goods • A place for Europe’s growing population to live • Humanitarians wanted: • Missionaries, doctors, and colonial officials to spread Western medicine, Western law, and the Christian religion • They wanted those colonized to know they were better • The idea of Social Darwinism said Europeans were superior to all others and imperial conquest and destruction of weaker races were nature’s way of improving the human species!

5. Well, why don’t ya just stop ‘em? • The Ottoman Middle East, Mughal India, and Qing China were older civilizations in deep decline • Wars in West Africa and the slave trade undermined established societies • New African states could not win the fight vs. Europe • Europe had strong economies, well-organized gov’t, powerful armies and navies, superior technology, and better knowledge of medicine • Europe could kill better too with machine guns, repeating rifles and steam-driven warships • “Whatever happens, we have got the Maxim gun, and they have not.” –stuffy British writer guy • Africans and Asians fought against their colonizers—they consistently lost for a long time • Some Westerners wanted imperialism to stop—it didn’t

6. Nationalism and Imperialism Relate • Nations believed others would respect them more if they had colonies • Nations also saw colonies as places to get troops for bigger armies • Large navies were also important • Navies protected colonies and the nation’s merchant ships • Ships had to get to the next coal refueling station • How do you get coaling stations? • You take over a little island and turn it into one • It became competitive for nations to get many refueling stations on islands

7. Types of Imperialism