Factors That Influenced New Imperialism - Essay Example

Introduction The practice of Imperialism has been dominant for many centuries. Ever since the period of the renaissance, subsequent to which the explorers and adventurers of the European countries set foot on distant lands, imperialism has been practiced. However, the period following the Second Industrial Revolution resulted in extensive conquering of countries around the world. Since the source of this practice was at Europe, in the below sections we learn the events that took place during the period of 1860 – 1900 which resulted in most of the world’s countries being conquered by a dominant power and eventually leading to the First World War. It is therefore worthwhile analysing the factors that influenced the behaviour of New Imperialism practiced by the European powers to start with, subsequently followed by the nations of Japan and USA. In particular, we examine the events in Europe and especially Germany during this time and try to find out how it influenced the New Imperialism practice as a whole (Loftus, 2007). Formation of the active colonial policy under Bismarck To understand the formation of the colonial policy under the German Chancellor of the time, Otto von Bismarck, it is important to consider the situation prevalent then, in terms of the political conditions. Germany as a nation as we know has existed only since 1871, after its formation following many battles and wars, which Bismarck was greatly responsible for. Therefore, as the newest nation of Europe, Bismarck wanted Germany to become powerful and influential. Since the years of 1871, he was mainly responsible for Germany’s passive colonial policy. He rather chose to concentrate his efforts on strengthening the nation and building its industry and economy. This policy continued into the 1880s during which there was a surprising change by Bismarck towards active colonial control for the territories of Africa (Berghahn, 1994). It is also important to understand the political setup of Germany at the time. The country had a parliament called the Reichstag; however the Emperor had the power to veto any decision. The Chancellor was usually the person who has involved with the day to day activities of the parliament. Until the late 1890s Bismarck’s command was unquestioned in the parliament. In order to make decisions, apart from convincing the members of the parliament, he had great power. However, when in 1887, the Emperor Frederick died, his son Wilhelm II became the Emperor (Loftus, 2007). With Wilhelm II’s accession to power, Bismarck faced more opposition from him regarding Germany’s domestic and foreign policy. Kaiser Wilhelm II began to take more interest in the running of the government eventually leading to the ousting of Bismarck in 1890. This considerably changed the foreign policy of Germany. Subsequently, it became more aggressive towards the conquering of the foreign lands in Africa and Asia. However, an imperialist policy of Germany had already been introduced under Bismarck. As mentioned before, ever since the formation of the German nation, Bismarck had focussed his efforts on building its industrial and economic might. However, this needed to be done in an environment of peace and stability. He achieved this by creating an atmosphere where there wasn’t a possibility of war against Germany. In order to do this, he needed to make sure that alliances were not formed against the nation, which was responsible for previous wars. He made sure that German policy was friendly towards Russia and Italy and isolated France. However, in the period of 1884-1885, Bismarck proposed the division of Africa amongst the European nations without waging wars. One of the reasons for proposing this was to check the growth of the British Empire’s power and influence in Europe. This was to be done in the Berlin Africa Conference of 1885. This was largely responsible for the division of Africa amongst the European powers without many conflicts. Bismarck’s sudden change in policy towards imperialism is attributed to many factors (Loftus, 2007). Historians have opposing views on why Bismarck chose to adopt a brief policy of colonialism in the mid 1880s; however the most prominent ones are as follows. The economic downturn at the time coupled with the political advantages that could be cashed - in for the election in October of 1884 are two of the reasons believed to be responsible for Bismarck’s actions. It is also believed that Bismarck used the tactic as a way to divert attention from some of the domestic problems of the time. People also believed that the measure of a nations’ economic success is related to the area and number of colonies it has. However, it is also believed that Bismarck would have been unlikely to give – in to domestic pressure. Change in Policy after the Removal of Bismarck Kaiser Wilhelm II acceded to power in the year 1887 after the death of his father. Ever since then, there was a difference in opinion between himself and the Chancellor, Bismarck. Bismarck was not used to an Emperor’s interference in day to day governance of the country. However, the Emperor became increasingly interested in shaping the foreign and domestic policy of Germany and frequently clashed with Bismarck over many issues. Finally, in the year 1900, Bismarck was removed as Chancellor of Germany leading to drastic changes in policy. Firstly, the sensitive atmosphere that Bismarck had built within Europe that favoured a peaceful approach towards Germany by other countries by avoiding the formation of alliances collapsed. Secondly, although Bismarck had initiated the colonial policy towards Africa, Wilhelm II extended it into Asia and followed a more aggressive approach. As the Chinese territory was entered into by the major powers of Europe and the countries of Japan and USA, Germany also began to take interest (Loftus, 2007). China was divided into ‘Spheres of Influence’ similar to the division of Africa; however this division was concerned more with trade, rather than geography. Wilhelm II used many reasons to justify the colonial approach of Germany. Domestically, the Kaiser argued that the industries and commerce sectors of the country needed raw materials which could only be supplied by colonies. The atmosphere at the time which supported the reasoning that a growing country needs colonies to source its industries and machinery helped Wilhelm in creating an aggressive foreign policy. However, the reasoning that Germany needed the resources of colonies through the practice of colonialism should not be given much importance. This can be highlighted by the fact that the production of Iron, which was used as a means to judge a nation’s ability, of Germany was among the top 2 in Europe even before following the policy of colonialism. In the years following its formation in the 1870s, Germany was one of the lowest producers of Iron. However, as the economy grew stronger, much before the 1890s and the practice of colonialism, its production of Iron was one of the highest in Europe (Loftus, 2007). One of the other important policies that changed under Wilhelm II was regarding the naval might of the country. Since Germany is landlocked on all sides but one, traditionally, resources were used to strengthen its army rather than its navy. However, under Wilhelm II, all this changed. In order to fulfil his ambitions of colonial might and to restrict the British interests in the North Sea, Wilhelm II began a massive naval fleet program that would be capable of extending the German Empire in the East. The Boxer Rebellion As noted above the Chinese nation was divided into spheres of influence by the major powers of Europe with the active participation of Japan and the USA. Germany under Wilhelm II did not like to be left behind and decided to use its naval might to have influence over the region. As China was divided into spheres of influence, the colonial powers who were occupying such new lands did so only out of self interest. In the process, they committed atrocities on the indigenous people. The people of China decided to strike back under the leadership of a secret group by the name, The Fists of Righteous Harmony. In the year 1900, this group of people took a number of foreign envoys as hostages in the capital. This enraged the western powers who decided to retaliate in a fitting manner. Wilhelm II fearing that Japan and Russian would use this opportunity to extend influence over the region began to make proactive decisions. Meanwhile, The Fists of Righteous Harmony brutally murdered the German envoy Clemens von Ketteler, giving Wilhelm II the trigger that he needed (Loftus, 2007). He immediately called for unification of the European powers to strike back in China and independently mobilized two navy battalions and also formed the East Asian Expeditionary Corps, a voluntary brigade of soldiers to take on the East Asian country. However, this move did not create much response from the other powers and Wilhelm II himself lost interest after the release of the nationals in August of that year. Wilhelm II’s impatience with regard to foreign policy can be gauged by studying this and other such retaliatory moves in Africa. Influence of European and domestic politics on German Imperialism Traditionally, the powers of Britain, France, Portugal and Spain were responsible for imperialism in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. However, the period of the late 19th century was that of dynamic politics in the European continent where an increasing number of nations around the world began to practice colonialism in the race to become more powerful. Let us examine the influence of European and domestic politics on German Imperialism since its formation in 1871. Ever since its formation, the German nation was under pressure to follow an imperialist policy since the other powers of the continent were increasingly following such a policy. In order to compete with them, it was widely regarded domestically as an imperative policy to have. However, Germany under Bismarck and Italy avoided this for a long time until 1884. As analysed above, certain factors forced Bismarck to initiate a colonial approach. Whatever be the reasons, it can be sure that foreign politics had an influence over his decision. He might have also done it to deal with the pressure in the Reichstag. The Berlin Africa Conference of 1885 was an important turning point for Germany. Although it did not have immediate consequences on the nation’s colonial policy, it set a path which Wilhelm II used to expand the colonies in Africa and take interest in Asia (Loftus, 2007). The justification given by the Emperor in following this policy was that, in order for Germany to become a powerful force within the continent, it needed to have colonies appropriate to its military and industrial might. Therefore, Wilhelm II formed policies of Germany so that the balance of power in Europe would not lean towards Britain or France, each of whom had extensive colonies in Asia and Africa. Part of Wilhelm II’s action can also be attributed to domestic politics in the years leading to Bismarck’s ouster. Since the general feeling in the parliament and among the people was one which favoured colonialism, Wilhelm II’s action of a pro – colonialist policy would make him popular and hence the justification (Berghahn, 1994). Conclusion Having analysed the events in Germany and the rest of Europe during the period of 1860 – 1900, it is safe to say that they had an impact on the entire world and the subsequent events leading up to the First World War. Germany, which had largely been following a policy of passive imperialism, changed it following the ouster of Bismarck. Under Wilhelm II, Germany and the other European nations were responsible for actions that determined the fate of a host of nations around the world. Therefore, the events of the above period were responsible for the practice of colonial Imperialism which has effects on various countries around the world to this day. References Berghahn, V. (1994). Imperial Germany, 1871 – 1918. Economy, Society, Culture and Politics. Oxford, Berghahn Books. Loftus, D. (2007). Nations and imperialism 1870-1900 Exploring history : medieval to modern 1400-1900. Open University. Read More