Imperialism A History in Documents

by Smith, Bonnie G.

• ISBN13: 9780195108019
• ISBN10: 0195108019
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-11-09
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

We talk about living in a global era, but the groundwork for it was laid more than a century ago. By the late 19th century, Europe, Japan, and the United States had taken control of most of the world. Travel and trade between home countries and colonies sent goods and technology to even themost remote corners of the globe. An English lady's letter home on smallpox inoculations in Turkey, an American missionary's account of the forcible collection of rubber in Belgian Congo, and a Chinese official's regulations for European merchants are among the primary sources that Bonnie Smith hasassembled to demonstrate the advantages and drawbacks of the new economy. Society, education, and the environment also underwent massive changes, as witnessed by the selection of excerpts from an exam in a German missionary school in Togo and British reports on the devastation of entire forests inBurma. Imperial growth did not come without a price. A Japanese document outlining governance in Korea and U.S. President Benjamin Harrison's defense of the annexation of Hawaii illustrate the militant nationalism, religious intolerance, and pseudo-scientific racist theories used to justify the bruteforce of colonial rule. The colonized nations fought back-a popular Chinese poem in praise of the Boxers' opposition to foreign rule attests to this rebellious spirit, and a Moroccan's shock at "barbaric" European mores illustrates the conquered's view of the conquerors. A picture essay, "Mixture,"showcases the amalgamation of global cultures through photographs of buildings, furniture, advertisements, sporting events, and sculpture. Bonnie Smith vividly captures the booming expansion of a flawed political system and expertly links the documentary evidence with informed commentary andprefatory essays to each chapter.

Author Biography

Bonnie G. Smith is Professor of History at Rutgers University. Her previous works include Confessions of a Concierge: Madame Lucie's History of Twentieth Century France (Yale UP, 1985) and Changing Lives: Women in European History Since 1700 (D.C. Heath, 1989). She is the forthcoming general editor of the Oxford University Press young adult series The Medieval and Early Modern World, and co-author of that series' Reference Volume & Primary Sources, coming in May 2005.

Table of Contents

What is a Document?	6	(2)
How to Read a Document	8	(2)
Introduction Imperialism in the Modern Age	10	(7)
On the Brink of Modern Empire	17	(16)
Vital Knowledge	19	(3)
Mixed Responses to Europeans	22	(2)
The White Peril	24	(2)
Figuring Out Differences	26	(2)
Freedom's Ferment	28	(1)
The ``New World'' Remakes Colonialism	29	(1)
The Monroe Doctrine	30	(3)
Imperialism Takes off	33	(22)
British Aggression in Asia and the Middle East	34	(5)
Ground for Conquest	39	(8)
Newcomes Join the Race for Empire	47	(8)
Technology and Economics	55	(20)
Plotting Profit-Making	58	(3)
Voices of Opportunity	61	(5)
Devastation	66	(5)
The Clash of Scientific Cultures	71	(4)
Imperial Societies	75	(18)
Remaking the Ruling Class	77	(5)
Imperializing Local Elites	82	(4)
Social Reforms	86	(4)
New Identities	90	(3)
Imperial Culture	93	(18)
Why Others Were Not So Good As the Imperial Powers	95	(5)
Educating for Inferiority	100	(4)
Popular Culture Spreads Imperial Confidence	104	(7)
Picture Essay Mixture	111	(8)
Rivalry and Resistance	119	(16)
Fighting Back	120	(5)
The Great Powers Prepare to Take More	125	(3)
Predicting the End	128	(2)
Challenging the West	130	(5)
World War I	135	(12)
The Race for Empire and the Race to War	137	(4)
Broken Promises	141	(2)
Sensing Change	143	(1)
Remembering the Colonial Dead	144	(3)
The Torturous Path Toward Liberation	147	(17)
Escalation	149	(4)
Brewing and Shaming	153	(2)
Global Mixture Continues	155	(4)
Fusion for Liberation	159	(5)
Epilogue	164	(2)
Timeline	166	(2)
Further Reading	168	(1)
Text Credits	169	(2)
Picture Credits	171	(1)
Index	172