New Imperialism

  • Period: to

    Asia

  • Period: to

    Africa

  • The rise of the Nguyen Dynasty

    In 1802, the Nguyen Dynasty would rise up to power in Vietnam, ending 30 long years of peasants rebelling and constant civil war. This also became the first time in the countries at which a single Vietnamese monarchy was the entirety of the country. The dynasty based itself upon a centralizing scholar bureaucracy fashioned on the Chinese model to build roads, bridges, irrigation canals, and more. A side effect of this though would be the resurgence of peasant unrest in the country as a result.
  • The Decline of the Atlantic Slave Trade

    Since the introduction of industrial machines taking over as a replacement to slaves, the slave trade began to decline. The slave trade in the Atlantic would decline to the point of becoming unprofitable in the 1800's. This would lead to Great Britain and the United States passing laws in 1807 and 1808 respectfully to ban the Atlantic slave trade permanently. The slave trade would continue through illegal means until 1873 where it finally ended.
  • Java War

    In 1799, the Dutch government took control of the Dutch East India Company, which led to a war. The government wanted to transform the company and gain control over Java to establish a modern bureaucratic state. As a result, the Javanese people fought back and rebelled, leading to the bloody Java War that lasted from 1825 to 1830, lasting for 5 years. Eventually, the Dutch emerged victorious and imposed exploitative policies as a consequence of the war.
  • Arrival of Missionaries in India

    The arrival of Missionaries brought upon them established schools using the Western curricula to the denizens of India. A total of 790000 indians attended 24000 schools giving rise to a new elite established upon Western thought and culture. This created a well-educated, English-speaking Indian elite as well as a bureaucracy aided by modern communication established within India in the process. With all of this, the British would lay the groundwork for a unified powerful state decades from now.
  • The Opium War

    A war carried out due to the British exploiting the Chinese and their want for opium using it exploitatively at the Chinese's dismay. The result of this would be the British no longer abiding by China and enacting an expeditionary force on China's ports. This would create the Opium war lasting from 1839 to 1842 for 3 years ending at gunpoint with the Treaty of Nanjing with China's defeat. The treaty included the opening of 5 international ports, fixed tariff goods to 5% and much more.
  • The Australian Colonies Government Act

    Australia gained freedom from Britain in several stages. In 1850 the British Parliament passed the Australian Colonies Government Act to Australia. This would allow the 4 most populous colonies at the time to establish colonial legislatures, to determine the franchise, as well as to frame their own constitutions as well. Australia would then let women vote in elections in 1902 and the years after. This would make Australia one of the first countries in the world to give women voting rights.
  • Taiping Rebellion

    One of the bloodiest wars in world history created as a result of overpopulation within China. The war was out of economic and demographic struggles that China faced at the time after the events of the Opium War. The rebellion lasted from 1851-1864 lasting for 13 years with a death toll of 20 million. The rebellion was instigated by a man named Hong Xiuquan and his religious teachings sooning getting traction and giving rise to the soon to be Taiping Rebellion.
  • The Opening of Japan

    The forceful opening of Japan's border in 1853 by United States who wished to play a great role in the Pacific than they currently were at the time. To do this, Commodore Matthew Perry steamed into the Edo Bay demanding diplomatic negotiations with the empire at the time. Under the threat of military violence from America, Japan reluctantly agreed to America's proposition. This would be concluded with a treaty that the Japanese officials would sign with the United States as a result.
  • The British Empires establishment of control in India

    In the 17th century, the British took control of India after the Portuguese, surpassing their French and Dutch competitors. They took over the declining Mughal Empire's authority and governed most of India under the British Empire's disguise. Eventually, the British replaced the East India Company and established direct British rule. They continued to rule India for several decades.
  • The Great Mutiny / Great Revolt

    The largest and last instance of revolt led by groups of Sepoys during the British Empire's rule in India. The revolt was due to the multiple acts the British had done such as the use of fat from cows and pigs, high tax rates, and the incorporation of low-caste soldiers in the army. The insurrection spread rapidly throughout both northern and central India before being crushed by loyal troops to the British. This event would make British rule far more tight than ever before till decades later.
  • The Self-Strengthening Movement

    After multiple rebellions were finally suppressed, multiple forward-looking reforms began addressing the threat the West held. Using the slogan of ''self-strengthening,'' they set towards modernizing the military along the Western lines. Some of the most progressive of these reformists would initiate new industries between the 1870-1880's. These industries would include the likes of railway lines, steam navigation companies, coal mines, and much more being initiated at the time.
  • Meiji Restoration

    The ousting of the Tokugawa Shogunate from a coalition of reform-minded daimyo. These daimyo would lead a coup and do something not done for 600 years until then. The samurai would lead the coup and declare a return of direct rule by the emperor, something not done for centuries on end. Nevertheless, the coup was successfully carried out with the new emperor ruling all of Japan named Meiji becoming a great turning point for Japanese history.
  • The Meiji Oligarchs Rise to Power

    The Meiji Oligarchs were the domain leaders who organized the coup that started the Meiji restoration. The Meiji Oligarchs used the newly appointed empire to win the lords and commoners gaining all of the power of both groups in the process. Using this power, the Oligarchs sent delegations to the Western powers to learn everything they could of the factories, shipyards, railroads, etc in Europe. The Meiji Oligarchs became instrumental in the following reforms that Japan would take later on.
  • Long Depression

    The crash of the stock in the market in 1873 due to world powers having overwhelming competition with industrialized countries. This would cause an economic recession that would go on to last for several years. A side effect of this recession was the change in century-long practice in place of the lassez faire policy. This change would be the raising of tariff borders by Europe and the United States against the Long Depression.
  • Berlin Conference

    The berlin conference was a meeting attended by all world powers except Africans that stated the claim of territory to be recognized by ''effective occupation''. The conference established nations to have control of African territory by taking possession of the country through signed treaties with local leaders. This effectively set in stone the Scramble for Africa in which nations scrambling for African Territory for 15 years. The event coincided with the world power Germany arising as well.
  • Formation of the Indian National Congress

    The formation of the Indian National Congress was done by a group of educated Indians with demands for equality and self-governance blossoming as a result. The Congress party would call for more opportunities and reforms for Indians just as white-settlers were given. The party also advocated towards unity across religious castle lines, something not thought of since British rule. This was considered ironic though due to most members being upper-caste, Western-educated Hindus.
  • Scramble for Africa

    The scramble for Africa was the colonization of most if not all parts of Africa by the 7 leading Western European powers at the time. This included the likes of Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and portugal. The scramble for Africa increased the territory held under European control from 10% to almost 90% by 1914. Only two countries remained independent after the scramble for Africa which were Ethiopia and Liberia.
  • Introduction of Rubber

    Helped by John Dunlop's invention of the inflatable rubber tire, rubber became increasingly popular in demand throughout the 1890s. This would lead to insatiable demand that became satisfied through King Leopold II's system of terror. Realizing his country was full of the natural resources of rubber, King Leopold forced entire Congolese villages to mine this rubber lest they face death from their belgian overseers. King Leopold would then become the symbol of rubber as a result of this.
  • The Extraction of Ivory in the Congo

    The extraction of ivory in the Congo was done under the orders of King Leopold through killing elephants in the congo during his rule. The dead elephants would have their tusks extracted and sold to the Americas and other countries for years and years. This would stop after nearly all of the elephants in the congo were decimated leading to the lack of ivory and the abandonment of trading ivory to other countries. This would heavily affect the environment in the process for decades afterwards.
  • Introduction of the White Man's Burden

    The White Man's Burden was a belief that was introduced and heavily popularized in the imperialism era to civilize nonprimitive white people. The idea behind this was that nonwhites would be provided with modern achievements and higher standards of living within their countries. This idea was further supported with multiple advertisements stating White Man's Burden in support of the idea at the time. The White Man's Burden also was one of many beliefs shared by white people at the time.
  • The United States implementation of Control Over the Philippines

    The United States would take control of the Philippines in 1898 from Spain who had ruled for centuries at that point. The control of the Philippines was passed down as a result of Spain losing the Spanish-American war to the United States. The acquisition of the Philippines helped to officially solidify the United States as one of the imperialist powers in Asia as a result of this. The United States would go on to support the Philippines and reform the education system, the language used, etc.
  • The Spanish-American War

    A war between Spain and the United States that was monumental in changing the leading world powers at the time to what it is today. The war would last for 3 years between 1898-1902 with the climax in the Philippines with American naval commodore George Dewey sailing into the Manila Bay against the Spanish forces. He would go on to sink a Spanish fleet stationed there and convince Filipino rebels to fight the Spanish ending the war. The Filipinos would declare independence as end result of this.
  • Russo-Japanese War

    The Russo-Japanese War was the war between Russia and Japan fought over the imperial influence and territory in northeast China. This conflict was started from Japan's aggressiveness with the leading European powers for influence and territory within China leading to Japan and Russia clashing. The war would start in 1904 where Japan attacked Russian forces and emerged victorious in 1905 with the war lasting only 1 year. The result changed all of the European countries views of Japan forever.
  • 1911 Revolution

    A revolution that was created from Chinese studying abroad learning about Western political ideas in the process. With the most infamous of these being a man named Sun Yatsen who with Chinese student revolutionaries in Japan, sparked the 1911 revolution. The revolution would bring the long standing monarchy to a halting end after centuries to be replaced by a Western-style republic in the process. China had managed to escape foreign rule but would never be the same ever again.