Unit 6: New Ideologies Leading to Second Wave of Imperialism (1750-1900)

Context and Background

• Previous period: Western European states focused on building maritime empires
  • Dominated Indian Ocean trade
  • Colonized the Americas
• New period: Industrial Revolution led to new motivations for imperialism
• Four major ideologies arose to justify and motivate the second wave of imperialism

Nationalism

• Sense of commonality among a people based on shared language, religion, and social customs
• Linked with a desire for self-rule within a territory
• Shift from loyalty to sovereigns (kings, queens, emperors) to loyalty to one's nation
• Enlightenment ideas and industrialization fueled nationalism
• Nationalism led to major historical developments:
  • Unification of Italy and Germany
  • Fueled bitter rivalry among states to expand empires for greater power status

Scientific Racism

• Idea that humans can be ranked in distinct biological classes based on race
• Not a new idea, but the period introduced the "scientific" aspect
• Scientific racism transitioned the division from religious to secular
• Used pseudoscience like phrenology (study of skull shapes and sizes) to "prove" racial superiority
• Justified European imperialism and domination of other races

Social Darwinism

• Derived from Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection
• Applied the concept of "survival of the fittest" to human societies
• Social Darwinists believed Western industrial societies were the "fittest" and therefore had the right to dominate weaker societies
• Used to justify imperialism and the conquest of weaker nations

The Civilizing Mission

• Belief that Western societies had a duty to civilize "lower" civilizations
• Mission to convert colonized peoples to Christianity
• Reorganized colonial governments according to Western models
• Imposed Western-style education, suppressed indigenous languages and cultures

Implications

• Combined, these ideologies fueled a powerful and justified sense of imperialism
• Resulted in significant global changes and expansion of Western powers

Next Steps:

• Upcoming videos will explore how this second wave of imperialism took place