Author: Ronak Gupta, Bear Creek High School
📍Stockton, CA

Imperialism in the 19th century arose due the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 18th century. It transformed European economies and societies, leading to a massive increase in production and the need for new markets to sell goods. This drove European powers to seek control over distant lands rich in resources and potential consumers. At the same time, the development of advanced military technology, such as steamships, machine guns, and ironclad warships, gave European nations the ability to project power across the globe, making imperial expansion more feasible. Nationalism and competition among European states also played a role, as nations sought to demonstrate their strength and prestige by acquiring colonies. Socially, imperialism was justified by ideas of racial superiority, with Europeans believing it was their duty to “civilize” non-European peoples through the spread of Christianity, Western education, and European culture. These factors created a climate where European powers, driven by economic interests and a belief in their cultural superiority, expanded their empires throughout Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, fundamentally altering the global balance of power. European imperialism, shown by the changes to community structures in a post-colonized Africa, a change in women’s roles as a result of the enforcement of cash crops, and the weakening of the Qing Dynasty, significantly changed traditional structures in Asia and Africa during the 19th century.

First, while colonizing Africa, European colonists imposed tribal divisions in Africa that had profound and lasting impacts on African societies, and reshaped social, political, and cultural dynamics. Before colonization, many African communities had fluid social structures, where identity was tied to local affiliations, language, kinship, or membership in broader state systems, usually without clear or rigid boundaries (Strayer & Nelson, 464). In contrast however, assigned different groups of people to distinct tribes. By categorizing Africans into discrete groups, European powers created divisions that greatly changed how Africans related to one another and to their environment. The creation of these artificial tribes often forced different groups into a single unit, which created tension between groups that previously had none (Strayer & Nelson, 465). The British imposition of the “Nyakyusa tribe” in present-day Tanzania exemplifies this as communities that had governed themselves independently were now forced to function under a single “paramount chief,” with no regard to the different cultural customs each group had practiced previously. This can be seen in the cartoon titled The Rhodes Colossus (1892), which depicts Cecil Rhodes, a British businessman and imperialist standing on Africa with one foot on Egypt and one foot on South Africa with a triumphant pose. This cartoon depicts his dream of “from the Cape to Cairo” which referred to building a railroad that stretched that entire length. However, the

cartoon doesn’t include African people nor the communities he’d likely be splitting up as he laid the tracks for this railroad. This shows how little regard Europeans had for the existing cultural bonds that existed between he African people and just put the into groups and split them up however they saw fit. Moreover, the European emphasis on tribal affiliation permeated daily life through bureaucratic requirements. Africans were compelled to identify their “tribe” when seeking employment, education, or official documentation, which made these groupings hard to ignore. In some cases, groups that previously had no collective identity, like the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria, began to adopt the tribal frameworks introduced by Europeans. By the 1940s, Igbos, who had traditionally lived in independently governed villages, started advocating for tribal unity and cooperation on a national level (Strayer & Nelson, 466). This forced reorganization of African identity through European-imposed tribalism not only disrupted traditional social structures but also laid the groundwork for ethnic rivalries and conflicts that persist in many regions of Africa today.

European imperialism in the 19th century also transformed women’s roles in Africa and Asia, particularly through the introduction of new forced labor systems and the shift to cash-crop agriculture. In precolonial Africa, women were central to agricultural production, as they managed food crops and local trade alongside household responsibilities. However, under colonial rule, forced labor systems often moved only men to work on plantations, mines, and infrastructure projects, which left women to shoulder the burden of maintaining subsistence farming and household management alone (Strayer & Nelson, 457). The men had to withdraw from subsistence production to meet colonial demands for cash crops for fear of brutal punishment. This can be seen in the photograph titled “Colonial Violence int he Congo” which shows photos of children with their hands cut off. This was a common punishment in the Congo for Africans who failed to meet the production requirement set upon them by the colonizers. At the same time, women had to take over full responsibility for food production. In Cameroon, for example, a study found that “women’s working hours increased from forty-six per week in precolonial times to more than seventy by 1934,” (Strayer & Nelson, 455) illustrating the severe impact of these labor systems on women’s lives. As colonial economies pulled men into urban centers, settler farms, and mines, women were left as the heads of the households. As a result of these forced labor systems imposed by European imperialists, women were forced into taking on greater economic responsibility (Strayer & Nelson, 456). They also took on traditionally male tasks such as clearing land and managing livestock. In response to these pressures, women adopted labor-saving agricultural techniques, formed self-help associations in cities, and found ways to engage in small-scale trade. Some, like Nupe women in northern Nigeria, became successful itinerant traders, often contributing more to household income than their absent husbands. Colonial forced labor systems inadvertently reshaped gender dynamics by pushing women into new roles.

British imperialism significantly weakened the Qing Dynasty in China, largely through the demonstration of Britain’s overwhelming military dominance during the Opium Wars. Firstly, during the First Opium War (1840–1842), when Britain’s industrialized military forces, which included advanced warships and modern weaponry, easily defeated the poorly armed and tactically outdated Chinese military (Strayer & Nelson, 486). Additionally, China was weakened by the prevalence of opium addiction among their people. This can be seen in the photograph titled, “Addiction to Opium” which shows several Chinese men likely high while smoking opium. During this period a very large percentage of China’s population was addicted to opium, which was worsened by Britain’s refusal to stop selling opium in China. The high amounts of opium would render Chinese soldiers unfit to fight and would significantly hinder their army. The British navy’s control of key waterways and their superior artillery proved decisive, culminating in China’s humiliating defeat and the imposition of the Treaty of Nanjing. This

treaty was very unequal and opened five major ports to British trade, imposed heavy financial indemnities on China, and marked the beginning of China’s subjugation under European influence (Strayer & Nelson, 487). The Second Opium War (1856–1858) further underscored British military supremacy. British and French forces not only defeated Chinese troops but also marched on Beijing and vandalized the emperor’s Summer Palace, which served as a symbol to many Chinese people of the Qing Dynasty’s incompetence. At the end of the war, China was forced to accept additional humiliations, including the opening of more ports, unrestricted missionary activity, and foreign patrols on Chinese rivers (Strayer & Nelson, 488). This pattern of military defeat and forced concessions left China vulnerable to further encroachments by other foreign powers. These repeated losses not only weakened the Qing in relation to other world powers, but they served as symbols of the Qing’s incompetence to a Chinese population that was already not fond of the Qing, which later led to several civilian uprisings and rebellions calling for the Qing to be removed.

The effects of European Imperialism on Asia and Africa were numerous and can still be felt to this day. Today, countries grapple with dismantling the social hierarchies enforced during this period that still persist today.