European Imperialism and Global Integration Since 1865

Introduction: A European-Dominated Global System

Duiker and Spielvogel's World History Since 1865, Volume II examines the emergence of imperialism promoted by Europeans and the resulting effects of their determination to expand, far surpassing even imperial Rome. Great Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and even Russia intruded forcefully into Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the South Pacific, and finally sought out the North and South Poles. Today, there is common agreement that European overseas expansion was a constant feature of the nineteenth century, with British commercial activities the most obvious expression of this drive.

The key aspect of this expansive movement — and what dominated world history from 1500 to the present — is the gradual integration of the world into a European-dominated global system. One of the more interesting aspects of this "globalization" is the recognition that countries outside of Europe were not simply passive victims of this movement. Historical, social, economic, and political dynamics all contributed to European imperialism, particularly during the nineteenth century. By comparing world cultures and civilizations, it becomes easier to understand how regional and eventually global integration became possible.

Duiker and Spielvogel view world history, and European imperialism in particular, as part of a larger "world system" that played a significant role in creating cross-cultural interactions that influenced other civilizations. As they observe, "European intellectual life in the eighteenth century was marked by a revolutionary transition to the largely secular, rational, and materialistic perspective that in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries defined the modern Western mentality and dramatically affected much of the rest of the world."

Chapter 8 of Duiker and Spielvogel's book discusses early civilizations in Africa, depicting urban life, lineage, the role of women, and eventually slavery as recurring themes in African society. Africa was among the regions that drew the focused attention of the new imperialism. Along with Asia, it offered a treasure chest of much-needed raw materials for European countries feeling the pressures of the Industrial Revolution. Although the climate and terrain of Africa did not make it a popular destination for European settlement, it provided a politically open atmosphere for the acquisition of goods.

Africa and Asia as Targets of New Imperialism

The authors note that slavery was common in Egypt long before it became widespread across sub-Saharan Africa. In North Africa alone, as much as 75% of the population was enslaved at certain points. During the nineteenth century, both Great Britain and France were seeking strategic trade outlets, and by the end of the century both held significant territorial holdings in Africa — France in Algeria and Great Britain in South Africa.

Africa and Asia were destined to play a key role in the new imperialism. They offered new outlets for trade and ports of call that would serve not only as strategic outlets for commercial competition but as valuable naval bases as well. By 1895, nine-tenths of Africa had been carved into European colonies. Between 1871 and 1900, Britain alone added 4.25 million square miles and 66 million people to her empire.

As we strive to understand the theories that support imperialism, a complicated picture begins to emerge — one suggesting that the phenomenon was not entirely Eurocentric, simply fanning outward from Europe to non-Western countries. As one account notes, "The activities taking place on the local scene — by merchant, adventurer, soldier, or missionary, far from the capitals of Europe concerning expansionist capitalism or a glory-seeking nationalism" — were equally formative forces.

Theories and Motivations Behind European Expansion

By 1815, the world had already experienced some four hundred years of continuous European imperialism. Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British colonial empires had followed one another in succession. The very list of these countries underscores the lead taken in this expansion by the western, maritime peoples. The creation of dynastic empires by the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Turks, the German drive eastward in quest of land for settlement and trade, the conquests of Napoleon, and the rapid advance of Russia into southern and central Asia during the nineteenth century are all examples of the same process carried out within continental lands rather than across oceans.

Imperialism in its simplest form is defined as the policy of extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or by establishing economic and political hegemony over other nations. Duiker and Spielvogel support this definition by providing material that describes a "progressive" European society as the emerging force behind intellectual reformation and cultural and social change. Africa, Asia, and India are portrayed, from within that European framework, as regions of lesser development — places that would ostensibly benefit from European globalization.

France, England, and the other major powers justified their expansion by claiming to bring the benefits of advanced civilization to worlds beyond their own borders. As Raymond F. Betts observes, this was "a smug and simple argument, but one of great appeal in the late nineteenth century when European technological superiority could be measured." The failure — or unwillingness — to distinguish wisely between technology and culture allowed the Europeans to be arrogant, and moreover to assume that in any arrangement of the world, they stood at the center.