Motives of Imperialism
Cristal Garcia
10th Grade World History
New Imperialism
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Motives of Imperialism
10.4 Students analyze patterns of global ▪ Identify the major causes of the new
change in the era of New Imperialism in at wave of imperialism.
least two of the following regions or countries:
Africa, Southeast Asia, China, India, Latin
America, and the Philippines.
▪ Have knowledge of where imperialist
1. 1. Describe the rise of industrial nations expanded.
economies and their link to imperialism
and colonialism (e.g., the role played by
national security and strategic advantage;
moral issues raised by the search for
national hegemony, Social Darwinism, and
the missionary impulse; material issues
such as land, resources, and technology).
2. 2. Discuss the locations of the colonial rule
of such nations as England, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands,
Russia, Spain, Portugal, and the United
States.
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Motives of Imperialism
WHAT IS PATRIOTISM?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE
PATRIOTIC?
To start off this lecture, I want you to take a moment and ask yourselves these questions.
What is patriotism? What does it mean to be patriotic? Take a minute to write your answer
down on your guided notes and then turn to your elbow partner to discuss your answers.
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Motives of Imperialism
▪ definition of nationalism also includes
“exalting one nation above all others and
placing primary emphasis on promotion of its PATRIOTISM VS
culture and interests as opposed to those of
other nations or supranational groups.”
NATIONALISM
(Merriam Webster)
Now that you’ve discussed what patriotism is with each other, let’s talk about what
nationalism means. Both are similar in definition but nationalism is not just about being
loyal and devoted to your country but also believing that its customs, culture, government,
etc. are better than others. Nationalism also seeks to spread these aspects of its country
(oftentimes by force).
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Motives of Imperialism
“a policy of extending a country's power and
influence through diplomacy or military force”
▪ Many European countries as week as
Japan partook.
▪ Imperialism is similar to colonialism in
that one country dominates another.
▪ Colonialism requires settlements while
imperialism can be more indirect.
▪ Taking over another country’s
resources and exerting influence
What is going on in this cartoon?
So what does imperialism mean? Imperialism started in the 19th and went on through to
the 20th century. It included many European countries like Germany, France, and Great
Britain though Japan also participated. Most of you know what colonialism is by looking
back on our own country’s relationship with Great Britain as well as indigenous
populations. Imperialism can be similar but for the most part, it is more indirect. It does not
require settlement or colonies but it exerts the same influence on the colonized nations.
Imperialism often involves taking control of a country’s resources as well as pushing its own
ideals. To the left of this slide, we can see three men representing Great Britain, Germany,
and Russia. What do you think they’re doing? What does grab-bag mean?
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Motives of Imperialism
Indirect rule: existing power structures
kept, under imperialist country’s
influence.
Direct rule: imperialist nation
established own power structures
KEY TERMS
Protectorate: given some autonomy
but still dependent on colonizer
Sphere of influence: one nation has
greatest influence and control above
all others (exclusive trading rights,
extraterritoriality, etc.).
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Motives of Imperialism
Politics
Economics Nationalism
Imperialism
There were many reasons for countries to seek expansion. We are going to break them
down into four categories: economics, politics, nationalism (which we defined earlier) and
the search for resources.
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Motives of Imperialism
Many of the imperialist nations believed that their cultures were superior
to others.
Social Darwinism used the theory of
Survival of the fittest: prosperity and wealth
evolution to justify imperialist made your “race” superior.
actions.
The White Man’s Burden called upon white men to liberate and educate
“savage” nations from themselves.
Some countries took their sense of nationalism further than others. Nationalism helped
fuel racist attitudes that allowed governments to garner support in their pursuit of
expansion. Many of the imperialist nations believed that their prosperity and wealth should
be shared among those less fortunate. This brings us to the concept of social Darwinism.
Social Darwinism was the belief that natural selection not only applied to the animal world
but to humans. They believed that “survival of the fittest” allowed them to seek control of
nations that were not on their level of prosperity. For many, they believed they carried “the
white man’s burden”, that is a duty to seek out these impoverished nations and lift them
up.
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Motives of Imperialism
“Take up the White Man’s burden—
EXCERPT Send forth the best ye breed—
FROM THE Go send your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need
WHITE MAN’S To wait in heavy harness
BURDEN BY On fluttered folk and wild—
RUDYARD Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
KIPLING Half devil and half child
Take up the White Man’s burden”
The White Man’s Burden was also a poem by Rudyard Kipling. This poem embodies the
spirit of this sense of duty that white men felt.
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Motives of Imperialism
Discuss with your elbow partner what
SHARE ideas the poem is conveying.
Now that you’ve read the excerpt, I’d like you to turn to your elbow partner and think
about what the author is urging people to do? Think about who his audience is? What does
this poem say about his attitude toward foreign peoples? Take it a step further and ask,
how do you believe the colonized felt about this? Do you think they needed saving?
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Motives of Imperialism
▪ Most advantageous location.
▪ Access to coasts
▪ Protection from potential enemies
POLITICS ▪ Competition among other countries.
▪ Race to most territory.
▪ Protect trade routes
▪ Suez Canal
There were many political motives for countries to colonize others. One is having a
territorial location advanrage over other countries. Access to oceans and seas were
incredibly important for imperialistic nations. Not only that, but they chose territories that
could protect them from a possible advance against them from neighboring countries.
Another aspect of this was also the thought that it was important to colonize quickly
because if not they would lose out on valuable territory to other countries. Valuable
territory that contained trade routes that could prevent use due to being under another’s
control. Like the Suez Canal.
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Motives of Imperialism
This is a map of the world in 1914, before World War 1. When looking at this map, take
note of what country seems to have the most colonies.
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Motives of Imperialism
Vietnam
Algeria
FRANCE
Madagascar
Morocco
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Motives of Imperialism
China
Parts of Africa
Australia
BRITISH EMPIRE Canada
India
Ireland
Malaysia
These are just some of the British Empire’s colonies.
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Motives of Imperialism
Namibia
Tanzania
GERMANY Parts of the Congo
Parts of Papa New Guinea
Tiny Sphere of China
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Motives of Imperialism
▪ Share with your elbow partner
which empire you think is the
largest. At the same time, think
about what most of their colonies SHARE
have in common.
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Motives of Imperialism
Rise of
industrialization
Need for resources
Need for markets
Look abroad
Imperialism
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Motives of Imperialism
▪ Industrialization
▪ Major factor
▪ Lack of resources meant search for raw materials
▪ Search for new markets due to mass production
▪ Use colonies to grow cash crops to grow capital.
▪ Secure trade relationship
▪ Example: India and Britain
What does this say about the fate of the
colonized?
Industrialization was one of the driving factors behind the new wave of imperialism. After
the 1860s, many European countries found themselves without the raw materials like
cotton to supply their factories. Since they could no longer rely on the US, who was going
through a Civil War and also trying to rebuild the south, they had to look elsewhere. Not
only that but they also needed new markets as mass production ramped up and Europe
looked to increase their exports.
Once European countries were able to establish colonies where they needed to, they were
able to establish plantations to grow tobacco, cotton, and more. This oftentimes had
adverse effects especially in India.
European countries would also attempt to secure one sided trade relationships with these
colonies. Like in Britain and India’s case, India was only able to trade with Britain and
import British goods. Meanwhile, Britain’s steady import of grain from India contributed to
several deadly famines that killed millions of people.
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Motives of Imperialism
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Motives of Imperialism
Which motivation do you believe contributed most to
the rise of imperialism?
PRACTICE Based on this answer, create a cause and effect chart
discussing the motive in detail.
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