Chapter 18: Colonial Encounters In Asia, Africa, and Oceania

Colonial rule became a major event in the histories of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The British, French, Germans, Belgians, Portuguese, Russians, and Americas were all involved in colonizing in the long nineteenth century. The Industrial Revolution in Europe created a grater need for raw goods and products while also increased their need to sell their own products. This effected the economic and social constructs in various nations. Europeans also started investing aboard. Imperialism began to grow as it "promised to solve the class conflict of an industrializing society while avoiding revolution or the serious redistribution of wealth" (Strayer 790). The idea of imperialism was then promoted by nationalism. The Industrial Revolution also made it easier for oversea expansion to occur. It also changed the way Europeans perceived themselves and other nations. This allowed Europe to justify expansion as natural and progressive, leading to a new form of racism. This expansion marked a second phase of European colonial conquest. During this conquest Europeans preferred informal control, through economic and military intervention, over all-out colonial take over. European nations were ready to intervene with stronger military control if needed and had a huge advantage because of firepower, such as the machine gun. However, how colonial status was gained varied. In India and Indonesia colonial conquest grew out of the British and Dutch trading companies, which were establish earlier. For most of Africa and the Pacific Islands conquest was more abrupt and deliberate. Americans had also been drawn to the Pacific Islands with hopes of conversion and interest in their products. The South Pacific territories of Australia and New Zealand was similar to that of North America, including the killing of native peoples through the introduction of new diseases. Japan's conquest over Taiwan and Korea were similar to those of Europe, as Japan was becoming increasingly imperialist. Russia also expanded its empire at this time. These patterns were dissolved into "thousands of separate encounters as the target societies of Western empire builders were confronted with decisions about how to respond to encroaching European power in the context of their local circumstances" (Strayer 797). Incorporation into the European colonial empires was traumatic. Both cooperation and rebellion was present in these new established colonies. The nineteenth century European empires were distinct for several reasons. The first being the major role race played in distinguishing who was inferior and who was superior (rulers and ruled).  The second reason was how well the empires could penetrate into the local societies and governments. Lastly, they were distinct because of how the polices in the empires were contradicted by those back in the homelands of Europe. The most significant affect on the subjects of colonial rule was the ways of working. Working for wages increased in popularity, this was to pay taxes, fees, and buy products. Unpaid labor for public projects also increased during this time. Force labor was popular and as a result paved the way for the AIDS epidemic because of new networks increasing the crowds in cities. In some places the introduction of colonial rule facilitated the increase of cash-crop production that benefited the local farmers. Migrant workers increased in numbers as well as people went to work in plantations, mines, construction projects, and homes. This however, impacted the environment.

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