DOCUMENT BASED QUESTION: PRE-HISTORY



DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION: TECHNOLOGY AND IMPERIALISM

Directions

The following question is based on the accompanying documents. (The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise). The question is designed to test your ability to work with and understand historical documents. Write an essay that:

• Has relevant thesis and supports that thesis with evidence from the documents.

• Uses all or all but one of the documents.

• Analyzes the documents by grouping them in as many appropriate ways as possible and does not simply summarize the documents individually.

• Takes into account both the sources of the documents and the authors’ points of view.

Essay Prompt

Analyze the relationship between technology and 19th century imperialism and its impact on colonial peoples. Decide whether technology made it easier to obtain or to maintain empires.

Based on the following documents, discuss the influence and impact of technology on 19th century imperialism. What types of additional documentation would help access the impact of technology during the Era of Colonialism?

Historical Background

Among the many important events of the 19th century, two were of tremendous importance. One was the Industrial Revolution; the other was the domination and exploitation of Africa and Asia by the Europeans, Americans, and later the Japanese. Historians believe the two were interconnected – technological advancements made imperialism successful, while colonies were often acquired as for their resources and their markets. Colonial peoples, on the other hand, had a different perspective and both industrialization and imperialism profoundly affected these peoples.

Copyright @ 2001 by Paul William Philp

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FOOTNOTES: TECHNOLOGY AND WESTERN IMPERIALISM

Daniel R. Headrick, The Tools of Empire: Technology and European Imperialism in the 19th Century (New York: Oxford University Press, 1981), 122.

Headrick, The Tools of Empire, 62 – 70 passim.

Headrick, The Tools of Empire, 17.

Daniel R. Headrick, The Tentacles of Progress: Technological Transfer in the Age of Imperialism, 1850-1940 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), 26.

Bonnie G. Smith, Imperialism: A History in Documents (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 49.

Headrick, The Tentacles of Progress, 210.

Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield, The Human Record: Sources of Global History, 3rd Ed., Volume II: Since 1500 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998), 341-343.

L. S. Stavrianos, ed., The Epic of Modern Man: A Collection of Readings (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966), 263.

Andrea and Overfield, 319-321

Headrick, The Tentacles of Progress, 311-312.

James Hanscom, Leon Hellerman, and Ronald Posner, eds. Voices of the Past: Readings in Modern History. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1967), 151.

Stavrianos 295-296.

Headrick, Tools of Empire, 157 – 164 in passim.

Copyright @ 2001 by Paul William Philp

BIBLIOGRAPHY: TECHNOLOGY AND WESTERN IMPERIALISM

Allen, H. C. Great Britain and the United States: A History of Anglo-American

Relations, 1785 – 1952. New York: St. Martin’s Press, Inc., 1955.

Andrea, Alfred J., and James H. Overfield. The Human Record: Sources of Global History, 3rd Ed., Volume II: Since 1500. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.

Bailey, Thomas ed., The American Spirit: United States history as Seen by

Contemporaries. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1963.

Hanscom, James, Leon Hellerman, and Ronald Posner, eds. Voices of the Past:

Readings in Modern History. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1967.

5. Headrick, Daniel R. The Tentacles of Progress: Technological Transfer in the Age

of Imperialism, 1850-1940. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

------------------------. The Tools of Empire: Technology and European Imperialism

in the 19th Century. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.

Smith, Bonnie G. Imperialism: A History in Documents. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Stavrianos, L. S., ed. The Epic of Modern Man: A Collection of Readings

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.

VOCABULARY: TECHNOLOGY & 19th CENTURY IMPERIALISM

New Imperialism

Imperialism and A. J. Hobson

Imperialism – The Highest Stage of Capitalism and V. I. Lenin

The Influence of Sea Power upon History and A. J. Mahan

Industrial Revolution

Telecommunications: Telegraphs, cables

Transportation Revolution: railroads, steamships, canals

Tropical medicine

Tropical agriculture (cash crops)

Berlin Conference of 1885

Opium Wars

Boxer Rebellion

Colonial wars

Colony

Protectorate

Sphere of Influence

Sheltered Markets

Gunboat Diplomacy

Westernization vs. Modernization

‘Profitability of Colonies’ Myth

transfer of technology

technical monopolies

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Treaty of an Oil Concession by the Iranian Government to William D’Arcy, founder of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, 1901

“The Government of his Imperial Majesty the Shah grants to the concessionaire a special and exclusive privilege to search for, obtain, exploit, develop, render suitable for trade, carry away and sell natural gas petroleum throughout the whole extent of the Persian Empire. This privilege shall comprise the exclusive right of laying the pipelines and also the right of constructing and maintaining wells, reservoirs, stations and pump services, factories, and other works and arrangements that may be deemed necessary. The government grants all uncultivated lands belonging to the state which the concessionaire’s engineers may deem necessary; as for cultivated lands belonging to the state, the concessionaire must purchase them. The government also grants the right of acquiring all and any other lands or buildings necessary for the said purpose, with the consent of the proprietors.”

Petition of Natives of Bengal (India), Relative to Duties on Cotton and Silk, addressed to the British government and signed by 117 high Bengali, 1831

“That of late years your Petitioners have found their business nearly superseded by the introduction of the fabrics of Great Britain into Bengal, the importation of which augments every year, to the great prejudice of native manufactures. Your Lordships must be aware of the advantages the British manufactures derive from their skill in constructing and using machinery, which enables them to undersell the unscientific manufacturers of Bengal in their own country.”

Udo Akpabio, Anang (Nigerian) chief, comments to the Reverend W. Groves in 1936 when asked which were better, the “old days” or modern times.

“Things have changed very much during the last few years. The beginning of [colonial] administration and taxation has not all been well. Before taxation we were informed that the price of palm produce would be raised, but now [palm] oil and palm kernels are very little valued by the Europeans. As palm produce is the chief means of living, I do not know what the life of the people will be in a few years. On the other hand there are advantages derived from this fashion of government. The are many new and better roads throughout the district. We have no trouble carrying loads. Motors bought from the tax money do all this. Many bridges have been built. In some places where the people have to walk many miles for their water, deep wells have been made in their towns.”

John Cristopher Willis, director of Peradeniya Botanic Gardens in Ceylon, from

his 1909 book

“The great development of European planting enterprise in the more civilized and opened-up [colonies] has revolutionized the primitive agriculture or rather has built up a modern agriculture beside it. The [colonial powers] will not permit that the rich and as yet comparatively undeveloped countries of the tropics should be entirely wasted by being devoted merely to the supply of food and clothing wants of their own people, when they can also supply the wants of the colder zones [with] so many indispensable products”

Japanese treaty with the Government of Korea, 1905

“As to the construction of the railways between Seoul and Pusan, and between Seoul and Inchon which is referred to in the reform plan, the Korean government, so long as their public finance is not strong enough, shall enter into a contract with the Japanese government or a Japanese company and start the construction of said railways.

As to the telegraphic lines, which have already been laid between Seoul and Pusan and between Seoul and Inchon by the Japanese government, the Korean government shall conclude a treaty and shall maintain them.

The Korean government shall employ Japanese on the recommendation of the Japanese government as legal and political advisors for the execution of the Korean administrative reforms.

In order to promote further amity and encourage commerce between the two countries, the Korean government shall open a port for foreign trade in the province of Cholla.”

SHIPPING DISTANCES BETWEEN LONDON, ASIA, AND AUSTRALIA BEFORE AND AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE SUEZ CANAL

|Via: |Cape of Good Hope |the Suez Canal |% Saved |

|London to Bombay |19,755 km. |11,619 km. |41 |

|London to Calcutta |22,039 km. |14,970 km. |32 |

|London to Singapore |21,742 km. |15,486 km. |29 |

|London to Hong Kong |24,409 km. |18,148 km. |26 |

|London to Sydney |23,502 km. |22,492 km. |4 |

Macgregor Laird, explorer and famous British shipbuilder, a speech, 1832

“We have the power in our hands – moral, physical, and mechanical . . . the third, bequeathed to us by the immortal Watt. By his invention every river is laid open to us, time and distance are shortened. If his spirit is allowed to witness the success of his invention, I conceive one application of it that would receive his approbation more than seeing the mighty streams of the Niger, Nile, Indus, and Ganges stemmed by hundreds of steam-vessels, [is] carrying the glad tidings of peace and good will toward men into the dark places of the earth.”

BRITISH MILITARY DEATH RATES IN AFRICA FROM MALARIA BEFORE AND AFTER QUININE’S INTRODUCTION AS RECORDED IN THE UNITED SERVICE JOURNAL AND NAVAL AND MILITARY MAGAZINE

|In Great Britain |Before 1817 – 1836 |15 people per 1000 |

| |After 1858 - 1860 |16 people per 1000 |

|In West Africa |Before 1850 – 1855 |250 – 750 people per 1000 |

| |After 1858 - 1860 |50 –100 people per 1000 |

|In Sierra Leone |Before 1819 – 1836 |483 people per 1000 |

| |After 1858 - 1860 |36 people per 1000 |

|In the Gold Coast |Before 1823 – 1827 |668 people per 1000 |

| |After 1858 - 1860 |50 people per 1000 |

|In Gambia |Before 1850 – 1855 |692 people per 1000 |

| |After 1858 - 1860 |52 people per 1000 |

|On Royal Naval ships off coasts |Before 1825 – 1845 |65 people per 1000 |

| |After 1858 – 1860 |22 people per 1000 |

Amir Boktor, Egyptian economist working for the British, 1923, his book

“Technical schools are graduating a number of students annually, but the lack of factories and private enterprises makes it difficult for these graduates to earn a living. There is also reason to believe that these [English] technical schools do not take into account the needs of the country. In the big cities, strange to say, the majority of the people employed in repairing, oiling, and all kinds of work pertaining to motorcars, even selling gasoline, are Europeans. Likewise, electric, water, and gas companies supplying Cairo, Alexandria, and other cities employ Europeans. Tramway companies in Cairo and Alexandria are owned by Europeans; the motormen and the conductors, however, are Egyptians.”

Smet de Naeyer, Premier of Belgium, 1904, a report to the Parliament

“In this sinister and mysterious continent a state has arisen introducing into Central Africa the benefits of civilization. Cities, which rival our seaside resorts, light up and animate the banks of the [Congo]. The Moyamba Railroad, the cataract railroad, and the Great Lakes Railroad pierce the heart of the Equatorial forest; sixty to eighty steamers ply the Congo and its affluents, this regular service of postal communication, this telegraph line these hospitals. All these things, born of yesterday give to the traveler the impression that he is travelling, not in the barbarous Central Africa, but in a country which has been conquered by European civilization.”

OVERSEAS TELEGRAPH CABLES BUILT BY GREAT BRITAIN, c. 1900

|1850 |U.K. to France |

|1852 |U.K. to Ireland @ |

|1856 |U.K. to Turkey, Egypt @ to Yemen @ to Pakistan @ |

|1857 – 1858 |U.K. to Canada @ and the United States |

|1859 |Egypt @ to Yemen @ |

|1861 |Malta @ to Egypt @ |

|1862 |Pakistan @ to Persian Gulf |

|1865 |U.K. to the United States |

|1866 |Across Europe to Persian Gulf; to Malta @, Egypt @ to India @ |

|1871 |India @ to Malaysia (Singapore) @ to Vietnam to Hong Kong @ to Shanghai, China to Indonesia to |

| |Australia @ |

|1873 |U.K. to Brazil and Argentina |

|1875 |Argentina to Peru |

|1876 |Australia @ to New Zealand @ |

|1879 |Yemen @ to East Africa @ to Mozambique to South Africa @ |

|1885 |U.K. to Sierra Leone @ to Ghana @ to Nigeria @ to Congo to Angola to South Africa @ |

|1901 – 1902 |South Africa @ to Ceylon @ to Singapore @ to Australia @ |

|1902 |Canada @ to Fiji @ to New Zealand @ |

190,000 miles in the World; 72% owned by Great Britain

@ indicates countries controlled by Great Britain

Li Hung-Chang, Chinese scholar and Manchu minister, comments in support of modernization of China, 1872

“The westerners particularly rely upon the excellence and efficacy of their guns, cannon, and steamships, and so the can overrun China. The bow and spear, small guns, and native-made cannon, which have been used by China, cannot resist the rifles. The sailing boats, rowboats, junks, and gunboats, which have hitherto been employed, cannot oppose their steam-engined warships. Therefore, we are controlled by the Westerners.”

G. V. Joshi, Indian teacher and schoolmaster, and economist, an essay, 1884

“We are not opposed to the growth of railroads. They are good in their own way as providing cheap transit, and promoting national solidarity, and facilitating trade movement. But it is on no grounds justified in bringing the foreigner with his talent and capital into the country, and suffering him to appropriate permanently the national field of improvement, to the exclusion of the native element, and forming the nucleus of a domineering foreign aristocracy. The value to the British nation was measured by the quality of raw material, which the resources of Indian agriculture enabled it to export for the feeding and maintenance of the Lancashire manufactures. India was to devote all its energies to raise the raw exports; and canals, railroads and improved communications were to be pushed on at any cost to facilitate the export of raw articles and the import of English manufactures. India’s own industrial needs were of no consequence.”

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