World History: 1200 to the Present · Module 6 of 16
The Age of Imperialism
Why industrial powers carved up much of the world, and how colonized peoples pushed back.
Causes of New Imperialism
- Economic motives (raw materials, new markets), political competition among European powers, and a claimed "civilizing mission," often tied to Social Darwinism, all drove late-19th-century imperialism.
What economic motive drove European powers to seek colonies during the Age of Imperialism?
Solution. Industrialized nations needed raw materials for their factories and new markets to sell finished goods, and colonies provided both.
The Scramble for Africa & the Berlin Conference
- European powers rapidly colonized nearly all of Africa in the late 1800s, a process known as the "Scramble for Africa.".
- The Berlin Conference (1884–85) had European powers divide up Africa among themselves without any African representation, ignoring existing ethnic and political boundaries.
What was decided at the Berlin Conference, and who was excluded from the decision?
Solution. European powers divided African territory among themselves into colonial claims; no African leaders or representatives were included in these decisions.
Imperialism in Asia
- Britain established colonial control over India, exploiting its resources and labor while also building infrastructure like railroads for its own economic benefit.
- China, though not directly colonized, was carved into "spheres of influence" by multiple foreign powers after military defeats like the Opium Wars, weakening Chinese sovereignty.
How did foreign influence over China differ from Britain's control over India?
Solution. Britain directly colonized and administered India, while China avoided full colonization but was divided into "spheres of influence" where different foreign powers controlled trade and resources without formally ruling the country.
Resistance to Imperialism
- Colonized peoples resisted imperial rule in various ways, from armed uprisings, like the Sepoy Rebellion in India (1857), to political and cultural movements asserting national identity.
What was the Sepoy Rebellion (1857), and what did it represent?
Solution. An armed uprising by Indian soldiers (sepoys) against British rule, representing significant resistance to British imperial control in India, though it was ultimately suppressed.
Check yourself
2 of this module's 5 quiz questions. Pick your answers, then check them in the app, with an explanation for every question.
1. What economic motive drove imperialism?
2. What was the "Scramble for Africa"?