State EXPANSION [AP World History] Unit 6 Topic 2

Summary

This video from Heimler’s History dives into the era of imperialism between 1750 and 1900, focusing on the expansion into Africa and Asia. It explains that imperialism is the extension of a country's power into other lands, often through diplomacy or force. The video outlines the British desire for a shorter route to Asia, leading to the Suez Canal's completion in 1869 and subsequent control seizure from the Ottomans. It describes the British and French colonial expansions in Africa, the Scramble for Africa, and the Berlin Conference of 1884, which attempted to avoid war by dividing Africa among European powers, often disregarding the native populations. The narrative then shifts to Asia, detailing British conquest in India, economic imperialism in China, and the carving up of the country into spheres of influence. Japan's rise as a colonizer post-Meiji Restoration, Dutch dominance in Southeast Asia, British colonization of Australia and New Zealand, and the Maori Wars are also covered. The video concludes with the United States' westward expansion, the Indian Removal Act, and the Spanish-American War, which added to America's overseas territories. Lastly, it touches on Russian imperialistic expansion under Catherine II and Alexander I.

Takeaways

• 🌏 Imperialism is defined as a country extending its power and influence into other lands, often through diplomacy or force.
• 🚢 The British sought a shorter sea route to Asia during the Industrial Revolution, leading to the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869.
• 🇬🇧 Britain seized control of the Suez Canal from the Ottomans in 1882 due to regional unrest and to protect their interests.
• 📜 British disregarded diplomatic agreements with African leaders and began taking over territories by force, establishing colonies in Sierra Leone, Gambia, Lagos, and the Gold Coast.
• 🇫🇷 France established a settler colony in Algeria in 1830, leading to a significant influx of European immigrants.
• 🏁 The Scramble for Africa was a period of intense European competition and land-grabbing in Africa, which led to conflict and the Berlin Conference in 1884.
• 🔍 The Berlin Conference resulted in arbitrary colonial boundaries drawn without African input, causing long-term unrest and problems.
• 👑 King Leopold II of Belgium claimed the Congo as his personal holding, exploiting its resources and causing the death of over eight million Congolese.
• 🇮🇳 The British East India Company gradually took over India, starting with their own troops and later recruiting Indian soldiers called sepoys.
• 💰 Economic imperialism was practiced by European powers in China, exploiting its instability to gain exclusive trading rights in spheres of influence.
• 🗾 Japan modernized during the Meiji Restoration and became an imperial power, expanding into Korea, Southeast Asia, Pacific islands, and parts of China.
• 🦘 Australia was initially a penal colony for British convicts, later becoming a full colony due to its agricultural and mineral wealth.
• 🇳🇿 New Zealand was a settler colony where the British created a separate colony for the Maori people, which eventually led to conflict and resentment.
• 🌎 The United States pursued Manifest Destiny, expanding westward and displacing Native Americans, known as the Trail of Tears.
• 🇺🇸 The U.S. acquired overseas territories after the Spanish-American War in 1898, including the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.
• 🇷🇺 Russia expanded its empire by winning half of Poland, annexing various territories, and acquiring a portion of Manchuria from China.

Q & A

What is imperialism and how did it manifest between 1750 and 1900?

Imperialism is the extension of a country's power and influence into other lands, often through diplomacy or force. Between 1750 and 1900, it manifested through the expansion of European powers into Africa and Asia, driven by economic and strategic interests, particularly during the Industrial Revolution.

Why did European powers desire a shorter sea-based route to Asian trading posts?

European powers, particularly during the Industrial Revolution, sought a shorter sea route to Asian trading posts to facilitate the import of raw materials and the export of manufactured goods more efficiently, without having to sail all the way around Africa.

What was the significance of the Suez Canal for British imperial interests?

The Suez Canal, completed in 1869, allowed Britain to connect the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, providing a shorter and more direct route to Asia. This was crucial for British trade during the Industrial Revolution. By 1882, due to regional unrest, Britain seized control of the canal from the Ottomans to protect its interests.

How did the British Empire expand its holdings in Africa?

Initially, the British established diplomatic agreements with African leaders. However, as imperialistic fervor increased, they discarded these agreements and began taking over territories by force, leading to colonial holdings in Sierra Leone, Gambia, Lagos, and the Gold Coast.

What was the Scramble for Africa and what were its consequences?

The Scramble for Africa refers to the intense competition among European powers to claim African territories during the late 19th century. This led to the Berlin Conference in 1884, where colonial boundaries were arbitrarily drawn without African input, causing divisions among long-united African groups and combining rival groups, leading to future unrest.

How did Leopold II of Belgium's approach to colonialism in the Congo differ from other European powers?

Unlike other European powers that established colonies under their state control, King Leopold II claimed the Congo as his personal holding. He profited immensely from the brutal exploitation of the Congolese people through forced labor for ivory and rubber extraction, resulting in the deaths of over eight million people.

What was the British East India Company's role in the colonization of India?

The British East India Company played a significant role in the colonization of India by gradually claiming more territory from the weakened Mughal Empire. They initially used their own troops and later recruited Indian soldiers called sepoys to aid in their conquest, eventually leading to the full control of India.

How did Western powers engage in economic imperialism in China?

Western powers took advantage of China's instability due to natural disasters and internal rebellions. They exerted military pressure to secure trading rights, effectively carving up China into spheres of influence where they held exclusive trading rights, while the Qing Dynasty remained in power.

What was Japan's approach to imperial expansion during this period?

Japan modernized its military during the Meiji Restoration and, as it became more powerful, sought to expand its empire. Japan's imperial expansion included Korea, Southeast Asia, some Pacific islands, and parts of China, focusing on acquiring territories rich in raw materials.

How did the Dutch East India Company's failure lead to the Dutch government's involvement in colonial holdings?

The Dutch East India Company initially established dominance in Southeast Asia but failed due to corruption. Following this failure, the Dutch government intervened and took control of the colonial holdings, effectively nationalizing them.

What were the British motivations for colonizing Australia and New Zealand, and how did they differ in approach?

Australia was initially colonized as a penal colony for British convicts, with the entire continent conquered by the 1820s. The discovery of wool, copper, and gold led to the arrival of non-criminals, transforming it into a proper colony. In contrast, New Zealand was established as a settler colony, with the British creating a separate colony for the indigenous Maori people, which eventually led to conflict and resentment due to encroachment on Maori land.

How did the concept of Manifest Destiny influence American westward expansion?

Manifest Destiny was a belief held by Americans that they were divinely ordained to expand across the continent from 'sea to shining sea.' This belief led to the systematic removal of Native Americans from their lands, including the infamous Trail of Tears, as the U.S. sought to fulfill its perceived destiny.

What were the outcomes of the Spanish-American War for American imperial ambitions?

The Spanish-American War in 1898 allowed the United States to assert its imperial ambitions by acquiring territories such as the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba after declaring war on Spain under dubious pretexts and emerging victorious.

What territories did Russia acquire during its imperial expansion?

Russia expanded its empire by winning half of Poland from the Ottomans, with later acquisitions including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Finland, and part of Armenia under Alexander I. Additionally, Russia acquired a significant portion of Manchuria from China.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Imperialism's Expansion into Africa and Asia

The video script discusses the concept of imperialism, defined as a country extending its power into other lands through diplomacy or force. It delves into Europe's imperial expansion into Africa, starting from trading posts in the 1800s to the full-scale Scramble for Africa by the late 1800s. The British sought a shorter sea route to Asia, leading to the Suez Canal's completion in 1869 and later control seizure in 1882. The script also covers Britain's forceful acquisition of colonies in Sierra Leone, Gambia, Lagos, and the Gold Coast, and France's similar actions in West Africa, including Algeria. Otto von Bismarck's Berlin Conference of 1884 is highlighted as an attempt to avoid war by drawing colonial boundaries, which unfortunately led to long-term unrest. The section concludes with the Belgian King Leopold II's brutal exploitation of the Congo for personal gain, resulting in over eight million deaths.

05:01

🏰 Imperialism in Asia and the Pacific

The second paragraph focuses on imperialism in Asia and the Pacific region. It begins with Britain's colonization of India through the British East India Company, which expanded its territory by recruiting Indian soldiers, called sepoys. The script then shifts to China, where European powers engaged in economic imperialism, exploiting China's instability to demand trading rights and creating spheres of influence. Japan's unique position as a colonizer rather than a colony is discussed, detailing its modernization during the Meiji Restoration and subsequent imperial expansion into Korea, Southeast Asia, and parts of China. The Dutch East India Company's role in Southeast Asia and the eventual government takeover is mentioned. The script also covers British colonization of Australia as a penal colony and the transformation into a full colony due to wool production and gold discoveries. New Zealand's colonization as a settler colony and the ensuing conflict with the Maori people is highlighted, as is the United States' expansion under the belief of Manifest Destiny, leading to the displacement of Native Americans through the Indian Removal Act and the acquisition of overseas territories after the Spanish-American War. Lastly, Russia's imperialistic expansion into Poland, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Finland, Armenia, and Manchuria is briefly noted.

Keywords

💡Imperialism

Imperialism is the policy or practice by which a nation or government extends its power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other means. In the video, it is the central theme, focusing on the expansion of European powers into Africa and Asia between 1750 and 1900. It is exemplified by Britain's control over the Suez Canal and the establishment of colonies in Sierra Leone, Gambia, Lagos, and the Gold Coast.

💡Scramble for Africa

The Scramble for Africa refers to the period of intense colonial expansion by European powers into Africa during the late 19th century. It is depicted in the video as a competitive and aggressive phase where European nations raced to claim territories, often leading to the division and disruption of long-established African societies. The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 is highlighted as a key event where colonial boundaries were decided without African input.

💡Suez Canal

The Suez Canal is a strategic sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It is mentioned in the video as a significant achievement that allowed for a shorter sea-based route to Asian trading posts, which was crucial during the Industrial Revolution. Britain's seizure of the canal from the Ottomans in 1882 is a key example of imperial expansion.

💡Settler Colony

A settler colony is a type of colonial establishment where people from the imperial country move to live permanently in the colonized area. The video discusses how France established a settler colony in Algeria, attracting a large influx of French, Spanish, and Italian immigrants, which significantly altered the demographic and cultural landscape of the region.

💡Belgian Congo

The Belgian Congo refers to the large area in central Africa that was claimed as the personal possession of King Leopold II of Belgium, rather than a formal colony of the Belgian state. The video describes the brutal exploitation of the Congolese people under Leopold's rule, where forced labor was used to extract resources like ivory and rubber, leading to the death of over eight million people.

💡British East India Company

The British East India Company was an English company formed for the exploitation of trade with East and Southeast Asia and India. In the video, it is noted for its role in Britain's initial claim over territories in India, which eventually led to the full conquest of India. The recruitment of Indian soldiers, or sepoys, by the company is also mentioned, which later had significant historical consequences.

💡Spheres of Influence

Spheres of influence were areas in which a great power had significant political and economic influence, without necessarily having direct control. In the context of the video, Western powers divided China into spheres of influence during a period of instability, with each power having exclusive trading rights within their designated area.

💡Meiji Restoration

The Meiji Restoration was a period of major political, economic, and social change in Japan, marking the country's rapid transition from a feudal society to a modern state. The video highlights how Japan modernized its military and economy, leading to its emergence as a colonizing power with imperial ambitions in Korea, Southeast Asia, and parts of China.

💡Dutch East India Company

The Dutch East India Company, also known as the United East India Company, was a Dutch trading company that was instrumental in establishing Dutch dominance in various parts of Asia. The video discusses its role in colonizing parts of Southeast Asia and how its eventual corruption led to the Dutch government taking direct control over its colonial holdings.

💡Penal Colony

A penal colony is a settlement where people are sent as a form of punishment, typically for criminal activities. The video explains that Australia was initially established as a British penal colony, where convicts were sent starting from 1788. The discovery of valuable resources like wool, copper, and gold eventually transformed it into a proper colony for non-criminal settlers.

💡Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny is the belief that the United States was destined by God or nature to expand its territory across North America. The video describes how this belief drove westward expansion within the United States, leading to the displacement and suffering of Native American populations, including the infamous Trail of Tears.

Highlights

Imperialism is defined as a country extending its power and influence into other lands, sometimes by diplomacy and sometimes by force.

European influence in Africa during the 19th century was initially restricted to trading posts.

The British sought a shorter sea-based route to Asian trading posts, leading to the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869.

Britain seized control of the Suez Canal from the Ottomans in 1882 due to regional unrest.

The British disregarded diplomatic agreements and expanded their colonial holdings in Africa by force.

France established a settler colony in Algeria in 1830, leading to a significant influx of European immigrants.

The Scramble for Africa was a period of intense competition among European powers for African territories.

The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 aimed to avoid war by deciding how to divide Africa among European powers.

The arbitrary drawing of colonial boundaries in Africa by Europeans without African input led to future unrest.

King Leopold II of Belgium claimed the Congo as his personal holding, leading to brutal policies and millions of deaths.

Britain expanded its control in India through the British East India Company, eventually conquering the entire region.

European powers engaged in economic imperialism in China, carving it into spheres of influence.

Japan modernized during the Meiji Restoration and became an imperialist power, expanding into Korea, Southeast Asia, and parts of China.

The Dutch East India Company's failure led to the Dutch government taking direct control of colonial holdings in Southeast Asia.

Australia was initially a British penal colony, later becoming a full colony due to its agricultural and mineral resources.

New Zealand was a settler colony where the British attempted to create a separate colony for the indigenous Maori people, leading to conflict.

The United States pursued its own imperialistic expansion, including the acquisition of territories after the Spanish-American War.

The concept of Manifest Destiny drove American westward expansion and the displacement of Native Americans.

Russia expanded its empire under Catherine II and Alexander I, acquiring territories from the Ottomans, China, and other regions.

Transcripts

Hi and welcome back to Heimler’s History.

Now in the last video we began Unit 6 by talking about the rationales and the motivations for

imperialism between 1750 and 1900.

In this video we’re going to look at the imperial expansion itself into Africa and

into Asia.

So if you’re ready, I’m ready, let’s get to it.

So let’s begin by defining the thing.

Imperialism is when a country extends its power and influence into other lands, sometimes

by diplomacy, and sometimes by force.

And now that we’ve got it defined, let’s look at the imperial expansion into Africa

and China.

First, Africa.

Now if you’ve been paying attention since Unit 4, you’ll remember that Europe had

been expanding its influence into Africa since the 1800’s.

However, for much of the nineteenth century, European influence in Africa was restricted

to trading posts.

But by the late 1800s Europeans began to desire more than that.

And why?

Well you know why—DADDY’S HUNGRY!

And here’s how they got what they wanted.

Let’s start with the British.

One of their chief desires during this period (and they were certainly not alone in this)

was a shorter sea-based route to Asian trading posts.

Because hey, this is the Industrial Revolution, baby.

We got raw materials to import and manufactured goods to export and ain’t nobody got time

to sail all the way around Africa.

And so they began to look with hungry eyes at building a canal across Egypt to connect

the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.

And so in 1869 the Suez Canal was completed and that dream became a reality.

But by 1882 because of unrest in the region, Britain got a little twitchy about its interests

in the canal and went ahead and seized control of it from the Ottomans.

Now on the other side of Africa, Britain already had some colonies, but they desired more.

In those existing colonies Britain had entered into diplomatic agreements with the African

leaders that were in general, favorable to both sides.

But when the imperialistic fervor for Africa began to heat up, the British tossed those

agreements out the window and began taking over by force.

And they did this because Africans were being so rude as to resist their imperial influence.

And by these means they established colonial holdings in Sierra Leone, Gambia, Lagos, and

the Gold Coast.

And the French operated similarly in West Africa.

France ousted the Ottomans from Algeria in 1830 and they established there a settler

colony.

Now remember, a settler colony is one in which people from the imperial country actually

relocate to that place in order to live there.

And so as a result of that, you have a huge influx of French and Spanish and Italian immigrants

coming to live in Algeria.

Now so far I’ve just been hinting at it, but now let’s bring the whole of the imperialistic

fervor for Africa into the light.

It became known as the Scramble for Africa.

So as more and more lands were claimed by European powers in Africa, competition for

said claiming began to heat up.

And because the Europeans began fighting over Africa like children fighting over a toy in

a sandbox, some people were wise enough to see that all this land-grabbing was going

to cause a war.

One such person was Otto von Bismarck of Germany.

And so he decided to call the Berlin Conference in 1884.

And at this meeting, imperial leaders would decide how to carve up Africa in a way that

pleased everyone and avoided war.

And in doing so they drew colonial boundaries according to their own pleasure, and this

became a real problem because they drew boundaries that divided long united Africans and combined

long standing rival groups.

And that would cause them endless trouble and unrest in the future.

But you know what, that can’t be their fault.

Why didn’t the Africans at the conference speak up and offer their wisdom?

Come again?

The Europeans didn’t invite any Africans to the Berlin Conference?

Well that was stupid.

Regardless, by 1875 Western European nations were set and poised to push into the interior

of Africa to establish colonies.

And it was our Belgian friends who began this effort, but they did it in kind of a strange

way.

The Belgian king Leopold II pushed into the Congo and claimed it as his own personal holding,

which is to say, not a colony of his state.

As the sole owner of this colony Leopold grew extraordinarily rich, but don’t worry, he

gained his wealth in a completely humane and dignified way.

Yeah right [laugh].

No, Leopold profited by enacting policies of brutality towards the Congolese.

He used forced labor to extract ivory and rubber from the land.

And under his brutal policies, over eight million people died.

However, by 1908 the Belgian state took over this colony and conditions improved somewhat.

Okay, there’s way more to say about the Scramble for Africa, but that will have to

suffice for illustrative purposes.

Now let’s shift our attention to the imperialistic push into Asia.

And we’ll begin with the British presence in India.

So under the auspices of the British East India Company, Britain, over time, began to

claim more and more territory from the weakened Mughal Empire.

And eventually they went ahead and conquered all of India.

Now, how did they do that?

Well they started by using their own troops, but as the campaign grew they recruited Indian

soldiers called sepoys to join their effort.

And later that’s going to turn into a big mistake, but we’ll have to save that story

for another video.

Okay, what about China?

In China, European powers exercised a different kind of imperialism, namely, economic imperialism.

Now, during this time China was experiencing a period of instability due to natural disasters

and internal rebellion.

So western powers moved in to help stabilize China, get them back on their feet, because

everybody benefits from a strong China….

Not.

No, the western powers were like sharks that smelled blood in the water and then pounces

on a weakened China in order to chew its face off.

They flexed their military might and demanded trading rights with China, and China had little

choice but to agree.

And so the result of this endeavor was that Western powers carved up China into what’s

called spheres of influence.

The Qing Dynasty remained in power, but these Western powers had exclusive trading rights

in their own sphere.

And since we’re in Asia, let’s talk about Japan.

Japan was not in fact colonized during this time, but became a colonizer.

As you may remember, they modernized their military during a period of reform called

the Meiji Restoration and once they became powerful, they started looking around for

other peoples that they could crush like grapes between their powerful thighs.

And chief among their desires was colonial holdings rich in raw materials.

And so Japan’s imperial expansion eventually included Korea, holdings in Southeast Asia,

and some Pacific islands, and parts of China.

But Japan wasn’t the only power to expand into Southeast Asia, the Dutch got on that

too.

The Dutch East India Company established dominance in some of these places, but due to corruption

in the company itself, they eventually failed.

And so once that failure was complete, the Dutch government stepped in and took all those

colonial holdings for themselves.

Alright how about Australia and New Zealand?

Well, the British colonized both.

Australia was established as a penal colony, which is to say that that’s where Britain

sent all of its convicts.

They sent their first convicts there in 1788 in a few contained locations, but by the 1820s

the British had conquered the whole dang continent.

But when they discovered that Australia’s climate was well suited for the production

of wool and once they had discovered copper and gold below the surface, many non-criminals

arrived and it became a proper colony.

New Zealand on the other hand was established as a settler colony.

And this was a little tricky because the islands were already inhabited by the Maori people.

And so in their boundless benevolence, the British created a separate colony for the

Maori and told them to go live there.

And I don’t even have to tell you the rest of the story.

You know the rest of the story: Europeans be Europeans.

You cannot stop a European from being a European.

They simply could not help themselves from encroaching on the Maori land, and so a war

broke out between the British and the Maori.

The Maori were the losers in the New Zealand Wars, and that caused a deep and abiding resentment

in them towards their colonizers.

Alright, now let’s hop over the Pacific Ocean and see how the United States is getting

their imperialistic itch scratched.

The first wave of expansion for the United States was on their own continent.

Deep inside the American identity was an urge to push westward, and they did so until they

conquered the whole of the territory from sea to shining sea.

Now, of course, the western lands weren’t uninhabited.

The natives who lived there from time immemorial, though they resisted the American expansion,

were the losers of that conflict.

For example, in 1830 the American Congress passed the Indian Removal Act which led to

the systematic removal of American Indians from the east onto reservations in the midwest.

This migration was along what became known as the Trail of Tears because of the abuse

and death the Indians experienced as they made the trek.

All of this was the result of what Americans believed to be their Manifest Destiny.

In their minds, Providence had given them the rights to all of this land and it was

theirs therefore to taking.

Now once the Americans possessed the nation from sea to shining sea, that impulse for

expansion didn’t just die away.

If being part of the cool kids’ club meant gaining overseas empires, then the will to

expand could in no wise cease.

And so in the late part of the 19th century America gathered for itself an overseas empire.

Chief among these efforts was the Spanish-American War in 1898.

The Americans declared war on Spain with some trumped up charges, went to war, and ended

up winning a lot of territory including the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.

And not to miss out on all this fun, Russia jumped into the imperialistic expansion game

as well.

Catherine II expanded the Russian empire thusly: she won half of Poland from the Ottomans,

and later Alexander I annexed Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Finland, and part of Armenia.

And even later Russia acquired a large portion of Manchuria from China.

Alright, that’s what you need to know about Unit 6 Topic 2 of AP World History.

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