1800s - 1900s IMPERIALISM (27 dez 1869 ano – 1 jan 1914 ano)

Descrição:

Toward the New Imperialism
Context: Imperialism was one of the most powerful political movements in history and it started in Europe, as European nations began to claim territories in Africa and Asia to create their own colonies, seize land and resources, spread religion and most importantly, establish their own superiority.
Why did it grow?:
Because of industrial growth, there was a need for new markets and new raw materials, which is why Africa and Asia came into play for example.
Nations like Britain, France and Germany used their military power and political influence to seize new territories.
Religious spreading was pretty fervent, having around 18,000 missionaries actively travelling around the world in the 19th century.
America’s involvement: America also joined the political movement while trying to acquire new territories, as they kept on believing they were destined to expand. Important figures such as Theodore Roosevelt supported imperialism; Theodore was inspired to strengthen America’s Navy because of a very famous captain that wrote a book around the supremacy and power of naval armies throughout history.
Theories behind imperialism: Imperialism relied on Social Darwinism, believing that the fittest nations would be the only ones to survive and dominate the world. There was also an Anglo-Saxon belief that English-speaking nations were superior and were destined to civilize the world.

America’s Imperialism
Introduction: The US also thought that Asia was a key target for imperialism; they also thought that they were destined to control the trade in the Pacific Ocean, so they started to take some steps in order to achieve that.
Alaska 1867: The US bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for 7.2 million in order to remove all Russian influence from American territory. The world mocked them saying it was just a giant ice block, though it proved to be quite an investment like Louisiana.
Hawaii - A Stepping Stone to Asia:
Sugar Trade: Hawaii and the US became partners because of the sugar trade agreement that consisted in allowing Hawaiian sugar into the country duty-free. American Planters in Hawaii were generating a very lucrative industry at the expense of cheap immigrant labourers, mainly Chinese and Japanese. Diseases like smallpox reduced the number of Natives in Hawaii, making the Asian group the largest one.
Political changes: American Planters forced the Hawaiian King to accept a constitutional government they controlled. However, the new Hawaiian Queen did not really approve of this, and tried to remove the majority of American Planters out of Hawaii, which caused a lot of conflict and tension.
Rebellion and Revolution: American Planters rebelled against the Hawaiian Queen and started to push for the annexation of Hawaii to the US. President Cleveland did not support the annexation or revolution, as he wanted to respect the fact Hawaiians didn’t want to annex the US, and he thought the revolution was unfair.
The Republic of Hawaii: However, the American Planters disregarded the President’s opinion and created the Republic of Hawaii.
Annexation 1898: The new President McKinley supported imperialism and believed the annexation of Hawaii to the US was part of the “manifest destiny.” Since the Senate didn’t approve the annexation, he conducted a voting system in the Congress and ended up annexing Hawaii in 1898 through a mixture of political manipulation.

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