6.4: Imperialism

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 2

AGE 8. The Time of Citizens and Steam Engines

6.4  Imperialism

-T-

What is this lesson about?

During the nineteenth century some European countries were able to establish empires through conquest. It gave them political status as well as economic advantages. They stole raw materials and used the colonies as markets to sell their finished goods. They also spread European culture from the position of white supremacy. But there was also violent resistance of natives that led to bloody wars.

What you learn (to do)

1. explain the term Imperialism
2. describe the 3 main reasons for imperialism: cultural, economical and political.
3. Explain how the Berlin Conference led to a "Scramble for Africa".
4. Explain how the Dutch used the cultivation system to exploit the Dutch Indies.
5. Explain the effects imperialism had on the colonies.

Conclusions you should be able to draw after studying this lesson:

1. what is the connection between imperialism and the industrial revolution?
2. explain the effects imperialism has on our modern world

people in this lesson

Max Havelaar

Rudyard Kipling

Word Duty

KEY WORDS

imperialism: the occupation of large parts of the world by European nations

white supremacy: the racist view that ‘white’ Europeans are better than other people

Berlin Conference: representatives of European nations met to discuss how Africa should be divided amongst them

Scramble for Africa: the division and occupation of Africa by European powers

Dutch Indies: the name the Dutch gave to their colony on the Indonesian archipelago

cultivation system: a system in which the Dutch forced Indonesian farmers to work for them

Aceh war: military conflict between the Dutch colonial army and rebels from the Aceh island

monoculture, agricultural system in which a country mainly grows one kind of crop.

Important dates in this lesson:

• 1799: Dutch Indies now formal colony of the Netherlands

• 1830: Cultivation System

• 1873 - 1914: Aceh war

• 1885: Berlin Conference

Introduction

For hundreds of years, Europeans traded with Africa and Asia. They mostly stayed along the coast, where they built trading posts and plantations. This changed during the nineteenth century. A search for raw materials and the motivation to rule a huge empire led to imperialism, the occupation of large parts of the world by European countries.

summarize

1. What is imperialism?
2. Which 2 reasons for imperialism are mentioned?

This is the original Watercolour painting by James E McConnell, painted in 1973

The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zululand in South Africa, a Zulu force of some 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column consisting of about 1,800 British, colonial and native troops and perhaps 400 civilians.

The white man’s burden

In 1899, the British novelist Rudyard Kipling wrote ‘The white man’s burden’. In this famous poem he describes a task for Europeans and Americans - the ‘white men’ - to bring civilisation all over the world.

Kipling’s poem is filled with a feeling of white supremacy. This kind of racism was a cultural reason for Europeans to send their armies to Africa and Asia to take over lands. The burden, as Kipling calls it, had to be carried as best as possible to teach ‘savages’ about education, medical care and especially Christianity. People outside the Western world were seen as less developed and sometimes portrayed as such. The colonies would flourish as long as a European country governed it.

summarize

1. explain how white supremacy was a cause for imperialism

This cartoon depicts a representation of Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem “The White Man’s Burden”. It was now Britain’s and the United States’ (which had annexed the Philippines) moral duty to develop and modernise the conquest lands in order to help carry the foreign ‘barbarians’ to civilisation. Published in 1899.

Rudyard Kipling also wrote The Jungle Book.

Read "The white man’s burden"
In this exercise you will practise skill 13: People’s position and background.

1a. Explain in your own words what is meant by this nineteenth century expression.

1b.
Why do many people today consider this poem as racist?

1c.
Why would many European people back then
still have agreed with this point of view?

2a. Look at the source. (source questions are the
most important questions....)

Which countries are symbolised by the two men you
see in the sources numbered 1 and 2?

2b.
The two man are climbing towards number 3,
what does the statue represent?

2c.
What do the rocks represent? Write down four examples
that you can read on the rocks.

Economical and political reasons for imperialism

European imperialism also had economic motives. Europeans wanted to make more profit from their industries by controlling a cheap supply of fossil fuels, such as oil and coal. They were also looking for raw materials, such as natural rubber from Malaysia, cotton from India and copper from South-Africa. In European factories these raw materials were transformed into finished goods that could be sold in the colonies. For example: cotton was used for textiles, and clothes made of this were sold back to the colonies. In this way the colonies became big markets for European goods.

There was also a political reason for imperialism: European countries wanted to show how powerful they were. Especially the British were very proud of the empire they built during their Victorian Age. It became the largest empire the world has ever seen.

summarize

1. describe the economic motive for imperialism
2. describe the political motive for imperialism

The kingdom of the Netherlands, 1815 - 1830. The green section is Belgium that declared itself independent in 1830.

colony

mother country

Read "Economical and political reasons for imperialism"

3a. Drag the words to the correct place.

factories

raw materials & fossil fuels

finished goods

market

3b. Which of the following reasons for imperialism
does this source illustrate?

1. economical reasons
2. cultural reasons
3. political reasons
4. all three categories

4. Look up the meaning of "nationalism".
Explain how increased nationalism also contributed to the rise of imperialism.

The scramble for Africa

But the British were not the only players. A race for imperialistic power started in which France and the Netherlands expanded the colonies they already owned. Belgium, Italy and Germany joined in after the Berlin Conference in 1885. During this conference, the representatives of fifteen European countries discussed how Africa should be divided amongst them. At this scramble for Africa, no representatives of African tribes were invited. The borders of forty new countries were drawn on the map with straight lines through centuries old tribal areas and borders. Suddenly hostile tribes were about to share one country while other tribes were divided over different countries. In many states this led to a lot of tension among the population.

The conference of Berlin, as illustrated in 'Illustrierte Zeitung', 1884 [WikiCommons]

summarize

1. explain how the Berlin conference caused the "scramble for Africa".
2. what were the effects of European colonisation of Africa for African tribes?

6a.
Look at the source. Which country is depicted as an
octopus?

6b.
Look at the source. What does the artist want to
show with this cartoon?

6c.
Look at the source. Do you think the artist favors
imperialism or not? Explain your answer.

Building an empire in Asia (1)

In the Age of Discoverers, the Europeans had founded trading posts and colonies in Asia. England had conquered India, France had taken over Indo-China, and Portugal still held on to a few bases in Asia. During the Golden Age, the VOC started the Dutch rule on the Indonesian islands; but when the VOC went bankrupt in 1799, the Dutch government took over their possessions. From that moment, the colony was called the Dutch-Indies. Control over the Indonesian archipelago made the Dutch wealthy and a great imperialistic player in the world. In order to get as much profit as possible, the Dutch started the cultivation system (Dutch: ‘cultuurstelsel’) in 1830. Indonesian farmers were forced to use 20% of their soil to grow crops for the Dutch government, such as tea, sugar and coffee. 

summarize

1. Since when do we speak of the "Dutch Indies"?
2. Explain the cultivation system (and why it was established)

 Indonesian farmer in de Dutch East Indies, c. 1900.

Native people working for their Dutch masters during the cultivation system in the Dutch Indies (Indonesia)

Building an empire in Asia (2)

If their land was not suitable they had to work for the government for 66 days. Local rulers were allowed to collect the taxes, and they even got bonuses, which led to exploitation of the farmers. The cultivation system led to famine and poverty and made the Dutch very unpopular.

Some inhabitants of Indonesian islands kept resisting imperialism, such as the people of Aceh. The Dutch army was technologically superior, but the local inhabitants resisted bravely. The Aceh war was the bloodiest war in Dutch colonial history. The natives defended their island in a war that lasted from 1873 until 1914. Historians estimate that it took the lives of more than a hundred thousand people.

Lieutenant General J.B. van Heutsz with his staff during the attack on Aceh, March 12, 1901.

summarize

1. explain who helped the Dutch to exploit the farmers (+ how and why).
2. why was the Aceh war fought? (+ who against who?)

Multatuli

Not every Dutch person supported the colonial rule in the Dutch Indies. In 1860 the book Max Havelaar was published. It was written by Multatuli. He had worked in the Dutch Indies as a civil servant and had seen and heard about the wrongdoings of the cultivation system. This motivated him to quit his job and return to Europe. There, he wrote about all the abuses of the Dutch government. The book became a bestseller. It showed the readers that the Netherlands were wealthy because others suffered. Max Havelaar initiated the end of the cultivation system in 1870.

Multatuli is the pseudonym of Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887). It is Latin for ‘I have suffered much.’

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7a. The video illustrates the cultivation system.

According to the video, how were local rulers made to cooperate with the Dutch in the exploitation of their farmers?

1. they were threatened
2. they were attracted
3. they were both threatened and attracted
4. they were neither threatened nor attracted

7b. Explain your choice from 7a.

source A: The Dutch soldiers also fought extensively on Bali in 1894.

The Dutch fought against the local population of Indonesia to establish their colony there. 

Look at sources A and B. In the next questions are several situations in which you need to choose which source is the most suitable to inform people.

source B: Dutch soldiers standing guard during the Aceh war.

8a. Which source is most suitable to show the people in the Netherlands that the fighting during the Aceh war was going really well? A or B? Explain why!

8b. Which source is most suitable to recruit new Dutch soldiers for the Aceh war? A or B? Explain why!

8c. Which source is most suitable to inform students in the present day about the fighting?
A or B? Explain why!

8d. Which source is most suitable to research the Dutch colonial past?
Neither or both? Explain why!

In this exercise you will practise skill 13: People’s position and background.

9a. Imagine being a Dutch person living in the 19th century. The Netherlands made a profit from the colonies they had in the world. How would you feel about the colony in the Dutch Indies?

9b. Now read the section about Multatuli. How would the people who have read the book might change their feelings about the colony? Use the words profit and cultivation system in your answer.

Effects of imperialism

Imperialism had an enormous impact on the European nations and their colonies. The Europeans changed the economy of colonies into a monoculture, in which a country mainly grows one kind of crop. They also changed the landscape when they built mines, railways and a road network in order to move products fast and easily. Cities were built according to European architecture, and at schools the children were taught about Christianity, European values and languages.

In these newly formded countries, the traditional culture was replaced with European culture. The Europeans also established an administrative order, which sometimes brought internal peace and gave children the chance to study. These highly educated natives later led the rebellion against their oppressors.

summarize

1. summarize the impact that imperialism had on their colonies. use key words for example
2. explain how giving native children the chance to study, later backfired on the colonizing countries.

A house in European style at Java, 1865.

Christian missionaries were part of European colonization. When Germany acquired colonies, German missionaries went there to educate and Christianize the indigenous peoples in the name of German culture. Here is the first-grade class in a missionary school (elementary school) in Windhuk, Southwest Africa around 1910.

Railways and mines

Monoculture

Higher education

European schools

10. Read "Effects of imperialism"

Drag the words  to the correct place in the table.

European culture

industrialisation

one type of crop

rebellion

Black pages of (Dutch) History

In the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, having a great empire with overseas colonies is what many European countried strove for. In this, they were not scared to use violence and hurt the native people of those colonies. 

Nowadays, we consider that a black page of our history: it is not something we should be proud of anymore and it is something we should spend more attention on in school. Read the following slides, watch the movieclips and study a bit more of these black pages in Dutch history.

Currently there is a discussion on whether people like Jan Pieterszoon Coen should have a public statue. What do you think about this? Give at least one argument for your opinion.

Can you also think of arguments for the other side of this discussion? Explain at least one argument.

Are there any other black pages in our history? Google and name at least two of such 'black pages'. Explain how you think we can make these 'black pages' more known to the people in the Netherlands.

congratulations

congratulations