6.10 The New Imperialism

Motives for New Imperialism

After 1870, Europeans pursued New Imperialism, seizing territory in Africa and Asia for economic, political, and cultural reasons. Industrialists sought raw materials and new markets; nations competed for prestige and strategic naval bases; and many Europeans believed in a civilizing mission rooted in Social Darwinism, using pseudo-scientific racism to justify domination over non-European peoples.

Scramble for Africa

European powers carved up Africa with little regard for existing ethnic or political boundaries, formalized at the Berlin Conference (1884-85). Belgium's brutal exploitation of the Congo under Leopold II exemplified the violence of colonial rule. Britain and France built vast empires, while rivalries occasionally sparked crises, such as the Fashoda Incident.

Justifications and Technology

Writers like Rudyard Kipling ('White Man's Burden') promoted the idea that Europeans had a duty to civilize 'inferior' races, blending racism with religious and cultural paternalism. Superior military technology—machine guns, steamships, quinine to fight malaria—gave Europe overwhelming advantages, enabling conquest and control despite fierce resistance from indigenous populations.

Key terms

New Imperialism

The renewed wave of European colonization after 1870, driven by economic, political, and cultural motives.

Berlin Conference (1884-85)

Meeting where European powers divided Africa into colonies without regard for indigenous boundaries.

Social Darwinism

Pseudo-scientific ideology applying 'survival of the fittest' to justify racial hierarchies and imperial conquest.

White Man's Burden

Rudyard Kipling's phrase expressing the belief that Europeans had a duty to civilize colonized peoples.

Congo Free State

Territory brutally exploited for rubber under Belgium's King Leopold II, marked by forced labor and mass violence.

Try an AP-style question

The New Imperialism (1870–1914) focused mainly on…

1. Antarctica
2. Africa and Asia
3. the Americas
4. Europe itself