1848 - 1875: Thirst for new materials and new markets. What is new about this new imperialism:

  • The time
  • focused on Africa and Asia rahter than the Americans
  • expansion of old powers such as France, Britain in the 19th
  • New imperial powers: Germany, Japan, Belgium, US, Italy
  • nationalism big role, motivation for imperialism
  • Other powers recede, for example: Spain, the Ottoman empire, Austrian (Habsburg) Empire, Portugal, Chinese empire.
  • Mass participation in politics.

Why particularly in Africa?

  • Strategic competition between the France and the Britain which were also fighting about Egypt.
  • Changes in African economic and power structures: vegetable trade for example and other sort of products become the heart of African market instead of slave trade.
  • Technology: Maxim gun. (Repression) At home: criticism

Berlin West Africa Conference (1884/5) : Because there was conflict over Egypt and parts of Africa.

  • General act conditions under which territory could be acquired along coast.
  • Congo and Niger river internationalised: Everybody can trade on these rivers.

- sub theme: campaign to stop the overland slave trade.

  • Congo Free State: private proporty of King Leopold the II Belgium. This territory is claimed by Leopold at the end of the conference.
  • By 1900 90 precent of Africa is claimed by Europeans.

Motivations behind this European expansion:

  • Economic motivations: markets and getting materials.

- political ‘social imperialism': idea that imperialism can influence the people at home. Idea of ‘

  • Nationalism Big strong nation'
  • ‘science'/ knowledge
  • white mans burden idea.

Impact of Empire?

  • Geographical - physical landscape
  • Political: Creating institutions of legal system. The idea of the nation state and the administration that comes from facilitating European power. English became the main language in parts of Africa.
  • Economic, social cultural: Living in this new urban centres. Working structure Develops whole new underclass. (Jobs that Europeans let African people do for them: mining, Domestic servants. Rubber plantations in Belgian Congo) Campaign against inhuman acts against workers on rubber plantations, first campaigns that used visual images.

Conflict and Resistance against this European expansion

  • Menelik II of Euthiopia Battle of Adwa, 1896
  • German - Herero War 1904 - 1907/8: Military resistance by Herero and Nama people starving people (The Herero) concentrations camps (were also used in the spanish cubain war, used by the US in the Filippines, Used by the British in Boer War, South Africa.)

Legacies of colonial violence:

  • Demographic
  • Historical debate: paving the way to 20th century genocide? - Raphael Lemkin, 1944

Extremely violent societies rather than genocidal societies, because intent is hard to prove.

Pacification of German South-West Africa : Sense at home that this was a little bit to far, a bit excessive. You can't kill the entire population, also for the practical reason that you need someone to work for you Indigenous races have to be protected.

Empire and Popular culture: Empire also makes Europe (culture, products, advertising (race,)making people at home interested in empire). Image that indigenous people are subjects to be exposed. exotisism

Racial 'science'

  • Evolution theory: natural selection (this idea was corrupted) (Charles Darwin,

Origins of Species, 1859)       national selection (social Darwinism)

  • Herbert Spencer Principal of Biology: Start of the : survival of the fittest theory.
  • Count Arthur the Gobineau: There is a higher race, classification in race.

The scramble for Africana

Kingdom of Benin, West Africa

  • origins in the 14th century
  • Nigeria
  • strategic position - trade (at the crossroads of trade routes) wealthy kingdoms
  • ethnically Edo
  • origins back to city of Lellfe
  • brass highly value becomes rich in this process
  • courtly culture

Rule: The Oba of Benin

  • dynasty created by the first oba, Oranmiyan, around 1300
  • spiritual leader
  • ideological centre
  • principle patron of the arts
  • How do we know? Oral histories
  • 'Benin bronzes'
  • control declines by the 1860s British come oversees British Punitive Expedition, Benin, 1897

Making of Ethnographic Museums

  • cabinets of curiosity. Wunderkammer
  • Exhibitions
  • Education

Where do ethnographic objects come from?

  • Looted/war booty
  • Ethnographic collectors - from military to missionaries
  • Commissioned by colonial officials
  • Gifted, uneven relationship

Poltics of Display: Arrangement

What does this object mean in this museam setting, how does it differ from it's original setting, what does this say about power relations?

  • 19/20th c: hierarchies or ‘developments'
  • 20th/ 21th century: geographical/ cultural areas
  • ways of ordering knowledge
  • Objects in European museums are usually verbonden met de history of emipire, look at the infrastructure and the trade to explain how these objects ended up in the museums.
Similar posts: