What were the two major motives for European expansion in the 19th century?
Read about nineteenth-century Imperialism, the Congress of Berlin, and W. E. B. Du Bois’ analysis of the profound consequences of Europe's colonization of Africa. Show Last Updated: April 9, 2018
In the late 1800s, English businessman Cecil Rhodes made a fortune claiming huge tracts of land in South Africa—places rich in gold and diamonds—and brutally exploiting the labor of the local population, who he considered to be members of an inferior race. Thousands died as a result of the labor practices his businesses used in Africa. In his later years, he wrote that “the world is nearly all parceled out, and what there is left of it is being divided up, conquered and colonized. To think of these stars that you see overhead at night, these vast worlds which we can never reach, I would annex the planets if I could; I often think of that. It makes me sad to see them so clear and yet so far.” 1 Rhodes was an imperialist, and to an imperialist, “expansion was everything.” Imperialism is the policy of expanding the rule of a nation or empire over foreign countries by force. In the 1800s, European nations acquired great wealth and power from both the natural resources of the lands they conquered and the forced labor of the people from whom they took the land. Imperialists used ideas from eugenics and Social Darwinism to justify their conquests. To imperialists like Rhodes, the idea that there would soon be no opportunity for further expansion was unsettling. The French held similar views. In a speech to the French Chamber of Deputies in 1884, Jules Ferry, who twice served as prime minister of France, said:
A few months later, France took part in an international meeting known as the Congress of Berlin. It was called by Otto von Bismarck, then chancellor of Germany, and was attended by 15 nations. They came to establish rules for dividing up Africa—the only large landmass Europeans had not yet fully colonized. By agreeing to abide by those rules, the group hoped to avoid a war in Europe. They paid little or no attention to the effects of their decisions on Africans or the people of any other continent. The results of their efforts can be seen in the following map. The inset shows Africa just before the Congress of Berlin; the main map shows the continent in 1914. At the Congress of Berlin in 1884, 15 European powers divided Africa among them. By 1914, these imperial powers had fully colonized the continent, exploiting its people and resources. In 1915, W. E. B. Du Bois, an African American scholar and activist, summed up the meeting held some 30 years earlier in an article in the Atlantic Monthly. In it, he revealed that the Congress of Berlin was having an impact on Africa nearly two weeks before the first group of delegates arrived in Germany.
Connection Questions
paperclip Explore resources that meet the California History–Social Science Framework standards.
paperclip Explore resources that meet the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework.
paperclip Students are introduced to the many factors that influenced Americans’ will and ability to respond to the Jewish refugee crisis, including isolationism, racism, xenophobia, and antisemitism.
paperclip Students explore the intertwined personal stories of Jewish refugees who attempted to flee to the United States and the American rescuers who intervened on their behalf.
paperclip Students will explore some of the causes and consequences of denying the Armenian Genocide and reflect on the role of public art to commemorate difficult histories.
paperclip Students analyze images and film that convey the richness of Jewish life across Europe at the time of the Nazis’ ascension to power.
paperclip Students learn about the events and choices of the Armenian Genocide and explore the consequences of the genocide from the perspective of survivors.
paperclip Students develop a contract establishing a reflective classroom community as they prepare to explore the historical case study of this unit.
paperclip Students consider the ways in which World War I intensified people’s loyalty to their country and resentment toward others perceived as a threat.
paperclip Students turn their attention to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of a strong current of ethno-nationalism rooted in Turkish identity.
paperclip Students examine how choices made by individuals and groups contributed to the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1920s and 1930s.
paperclip Students deepen their thinking about memory and identity by reflecting on the stories of Holocaust and Armenian Genocide survivors and their descendants.
Most teachers are willing to tackle the difficult topics, but we need the tools. — Gabriela Calderon-Espinal, Bay Shore, NY What were the two main reasons for European imperialism in the 19th century?Economic growth, moral superiority, and rivalry between nations were the main causes of European imperialism. These led European nations to build vast overseas empires.
Why did Europe expand in the 19th century?In the 19th century, energized by the industrial revolution and under pressure from a rapidly growing population, Europe launched a new period of colonial expansion, inspired by the discovery of new markets, new areas for the settlement of Europe's poor migrants, and the desire to "civilize the barbarian nations ".
What were the main motives for European expansion?Historians generally recognize three motives for European exploration and colonization in the New World: God, gold, and glory.
What were the major European powers in the 19th century?Besides Turkey, there were six Great Powers during the late nineteenth century: Russia, Great Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, Italy and Germany.
|