<aside> <img src="/icons/bookmark-outline_gray.svg" alt="/icons/bookmark-outline_gray.svg" width="40px" /> In this lesson, you will…

1. Explain imperialism and its roots in Social Darwinism
2. Understand how technology enabled the rapid expansion of European colonial territory
3. Analyze the objectives of various European powers in the Second Imperial Era

Big Question: How did the advancements in technology, society, and changes in the balance of power enable Europe to colonize most of the world?

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Empire Strikes Back

Imperialism refers to the political and economic control of one area or country by another. The reach of empire has been limited by the speed of transportation and communication:

In ancient times, Persia and Rome built large empires by conquering their neighbors.

In the 15th century, European nations developed overseas empires in the Americas with new sailing technologies.

By the 19th century, European Great Powers began acquiring colonial empires in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific

The Second Wave of Imperialism

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, European imperialism had been on the decline.

European countries had invested a huge amount of wealth and time into building colonial empires in the Americas from the 16th to the 18th centuries

Rulers questioned the value of colonies if they could just declare independence and the mother country would lose valuable resources

Imperialism appeared to be on the decline but from 1880 to 1900 a new wave of Imperialism would sweep the world

This wave of “New Imperialism” was made possible by the new technological developments of the Industrial Revolution

New technologies improved transportation, communication, production, and military might to the degree that empire was possible at an unimaginable scale.

• The steamship and rail made it possible to reach the interior of Africa and other places previously too difficult or time exhausting to reach.
• The telegram made it possible to communicate with new settlements deep in the interior of regions like Africa and Asia
• Later imperial powers built expansive railroads networks  to ship goods and raw materials to and from their colonies
• New medicines, like quinine to treat malaria, and a better understanding of disease made it possible to explore the tropics with less risks

https://open.spotify.com/episode/77KFkTyM07BL0qWPCalAnM?si=c-Ev_osZQrmpsJSNt1qv8w

Mass-Manufacturing Colonialism

Military technologies were improved upon as rifles became more and more advanced