Nationalism & the Development of Empires
- Nationalism is a political ideology that emphasises the loyalty and devotion of a group of people to their nation, often defined by a common culture, language, history, or territory
- The development of empires is the process of expanding the political, economic, military, and cultural influence of a state or a civilisation over other regions or peoples
- 19th-century nationalism was important in the development of empires, as well as a source of conflict in Europe and beyond, as other nations became part of larger empires such as the British Raj in India
- Nationalism can motivate imperial expansion of a nation by creating a sense of pride, superiority, and destiny among its citizens, as well as a desire to spread their values and civilisation to other parts of the world
- Although, expansion of the British Empire was initially through trade rather than nationalism, over time, many British people became to believe their large empire was a result of Britain being superior. This led to a national unity of pride in British achievements overseas
- Nationalism can also challenge the imperial domination of a nation by inspiring resistance movements and independence struggles among the colonised or oppressed peoples, who seek to assert their own identity and sovereignty
- Many countries in Africa sought independence during the mid 20th century as a resistance to colonial rule
- Nationalism and the development of empires have had significant impacts on world history, culture, politics, and economy, as well as on the issues of human rights, diversity, and globalisation
19th century World Map
- Various wars and revolutions in Europe, changed dynastic rule and formed many of today's nations
- War with France in 1871 united the small states of German speaking people to form Germany
- Industrialisation allowed European nations to expand their empires:
- Spain and Portugal acquired huge areas across South America
- France expanded its empire to include:
- Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in Asia
- French Polynesia in the South Pacific
- Much of north west and central Africa and Madagascar
- The competition by European nations to take over as many colonies as possible led to the 'Scramble for Africa'
- A term used to refer to the expansion of European empires into Africa during the Age of Imperialism
- Called a 'scramble' because of the way European nations raced to capture as much territory as possible, in order to expand to their empires
- This competition also created tension and conflict between the nations, adding to a sense of nationalism
- On October 11 1899, following a Boer ultimatum that the British should stop building their forces in the region, the South African War, sometimes called the Boer War or Anglo-Boer War, began
- It raged between Britain and the self-governing Afrikaner (Boer) colonies of the South African Republic (the Transvaal) and the Orange Free State for 2 years (1901), a final agreement was reached in May 1902
- At the outbreak of war, Britain ruled the South African colonies of the Cape and Natal
- The Boers (Dutch origin) had refused political rights to non-Boer settlers, known as Uitlanders (outlanders), most of whom were British, or to give civil rights to Africans
- However, gold had been discovered in the Transvaal and the international financial system, including the British pound, was based on the gold standard and it was to British advantage to gain control of the Transvaal and eventually the whole of South Africa in order to maintain its 'power' status
Empires and their colonies
- Indigenous people of the colonies often resented being controlled by another nation
- This helped to push a sense of nationalism within the colony, that perhaps wasn't there before colonial rule
- Before India became part of the British Empire, it was divided into several kingdoms
- Opposition to rule of the British Raj in India led to uniting many Indians together despite cultural and ethnic differences
- Independence movements rose, as people felt they had a common goal and were based on:
- The recognition and promotion of a shared history
- Identification of particular qualities of a people
- Promotion of an independent nation state for people to build together, once free of colonial rule
- This was known as the 'wind of change', as many colonies began to seek independence