eResources
Imperialism - Fordham University
This is a great place to look for primary sources.
UW - History sources - Primary and Secondary
This is a great resource. It has links for all regions of the world and includes primary and secondary sources, as well as geography and image resources.
World History Matters A portal to world history websites developed by the Center for History and New Media.
Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Imperialism
A review of imperialism throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
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ABC SPLASH : Timeline The Movement of PeoplesNorth America, Australia, Caribbean, Ireland, India 1750-1901
Letter to Queen Victoria
Kishlansk Introduction] Lin Tse-Hsu (1785-1850) was the Chinese Commissioner in Canton whose actions precipitated the Opium Wars (1839- 1842). Although opium was used in China for centuries, it was not until the opening of the tea trade to Dutch and British merchants that China was able to import large quantities of the drug. By the early nineteenth century opium was the principal product that the English East India Company traded in China and opium addiction was becoming a widespread social problem. When the emperor's own son died of an overdose, he decided to put an end to the trade. Lin Tse-Hs� was sent.to Canton, the chief trading port of the East India Company, with instructions to negoiate an end to the importation of opium into China. The English merchants were uncooperative, so he seized their stores of opium. This led to immediate military action. The Chinese were decisively defeated and had to cede to a humiliating treaty that legalized the opium trade. As a result commissioner Lin was dismissed from office and sent into exile.
Lin Tse-Hsu's "Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria" was written before the outbreak of the Opium Wars. It was a remarkably frank document, especially given the usual highly stylized language of Chinese diplomacy. There remains some question whether Queen Victoria ever read the letter.
For FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER: CLICK HERE
Sources
A Prisoner of the Boxer Rebellion, 1900
"Kill the foreign devils! Kill! Kill! Kill!" At the beginning of the 20th century, America begins its journey to becoming a world power and finds itself embroiled in a revolution in China.
The Assassination of Gandhi, 1948
"Just an old man in a loincloth in distant India: Yet when he died, humanity wept."
AUSTRALIA
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Anzac Day 2015: Up to 15,000 'forgotten' Indian soldiers fought alongside AnzacsARTICLE : Up to 15,000 Indians fought with allied troops at Gallipoli, but their contribution remains relatively unknown and unrecognised in Australia and their homeland, research has found.
TES
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Teachers TV: KS3 Black History - Black BritonsA look at the first black people in Britain, and their impact
NEW GUINEA
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Papua New Guinea Patrol ReportsReports from government patrols are a major source of primary information on Papua New Guinea’s colonial-era history. Patrol officers and other officials wrote detailed documents reporting on all aspects of the work carried out by the patrols. The reports give first-hand accounts on many topics, from first contact with remote Highland villages, to census counts, tax collection, health care, justice, labor recruiting, plantations, missionaries, anthropological descriptions, tribal warfare, languages, and more. The reports in this collection date primarily from the post-World War II era of Papua New Guinea, up through 1975, when PNG gained independence from Australia; a few pre-War reports are also included.
Europe
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Leopold II, King of BelgiumKeen on establishing Belgium as an imperial power, he led the first European efforts to develop the Congo River basin.
ABC SPLASH
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The seeds of independence in British-ruled IndiaDiscover the origins of the movement for Indian independence and the response of the British government. In this clip from a 1965 University of the Air program, Hugh Owen of the University of NSW discusses how British rule unintentionally brought about its own demise.
For Teachers
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Free Presentations in PowerPoint format: ImperialismAlso has links to lesson plans
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Big Era Seven: Closeup Unit 7.5.1 : Resistance to Imperialism in Africa, Asia, and the AmericasTraditionally the so-called "new" imperialism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has been investigated from the perspective of the colonizers: their interests, ideologies, conflicts, and agreements with one another. But an equally important aspect of this contested period is the response of the people that imperial policies affected.
eResources
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British EmpireThe Rise of the British Empire, Living in the British Empire, the Fall of the British Empire.
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•Commodore Perry and The Opening of JapanVery useful for primary source images and brief history
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Marxist Internet Archive : Anti-Imperalism & Marxism in AfricaA broad collection of writings by leaders of the Anti-Imperialist and Anti-apartheid movement and Marxists in Africa, and documents by and about all varieties of socialism in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Marxist Internet Archive : Marxism & Anti-Imperialism in IndiaWritings of Marxists on India and the writings of important Indian Communists and freedom-fighters.
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SPLASH VIDEO : The East India CompanyWhat are the consequences of imperialism? What changes and what remains the same? In this clip from a 1965 University of the Air program, Hugh Owen from the University of NSW discusses the growth of British power in India and its effects on both societies.
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SPLASH VIDEO The end of Japan's isolationUnder the shoguns, Japan was deliberately isolated from the outside world from around 1600 CE. However, by the mid-19th century, Western imperialism was entering a new phase of expansion that no Asian state was able to resist. Discover what happened when the West came beating on the doors of a closed society. This clip is the third in a series of six.
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The Age of ImperialismDuring the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the United States pursued an aggressive policy of expansionism, extending its political and economic influence around the globe. That pivotal era in the history of the USA is the subject of this online history.
From Empire to Independence: The British Raj in India 1858-1947
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Living in the British Empire - India
A case study from UK Archives that includes sources.
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Video ffrom ABC Splash
Imperialism
In which John Green teaches you about European Imperialism in the 19th century. European powers started to create colonial empires way back in the 16th century, but businesses really took off in the 19th century, especially in Asia and Africa. During the 1800s, European powers carved out spheres of influence in China, India, and pretty much all of Africa. While all of the major (and some minor) powers in Europe participated in this new imperialism, England was by far the most dominant, once able to claim that the "sun never set on the British Empire." Also, they went to war for the right to continue to sell opium to the people of China. Twice. John will teach you how these empires managed to leverage the advances of the Industrial Revolution to build vast, wealth-generating empires. As it turns out, improved medicine, steam engines, and better guns were crucial in the 19th century conquests. Also, the willingness to exploit and abuse the people and resources of so-called "primitive" nations was very helpful in the whole enterprise.
eResources
The Boxer Rebellion:
Boxer Rebellion (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Boxer Rebellion (History.com)
Boxer Rebellion (Australia’s involvement – Australian War Memorial)
Boxer rebellion (Wikipedia)
The Opium Wars:
Opium Wars (Encyclopedia Britannica)
The Opium Wars (About Education)
First Opium War (Wikipedia)
Second Opium War (Wikipedia)
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National Library of Australia : CHINA: Contact and conflictIn relation to the West, when the Qing dynasty began in 1644, access to Chinese markets for the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English had been restricted to Canton since 1550. Europeans were not allowed to reside in Canton. However China remained a place of infinitive fascination and possible opportunity for Western leaders and merchants.
Africa
Africa: Imperialism and Colonialism
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PBS: The Slave KingdomsThis site tells about West Africa and its involvement with the slave trade. Read diary entries of Africans as they reflect on the slave trade in their countries.
PBS: Europeans Come to Western Africa
This site examines the history of Portuguese exploration in Western Africa and the roots of the European slave trade. Click on the links to see contemporary illustrations and read further details, or browse the Resource Bank to see historical documents or read interview excerpts with modern experts.
Decolonization and Nationalism Triumphant: Crash Course World History #40
On this site students can learn about the lasting effects of colonialism on Africa. Read the articles to learn about French and British colonial styles or view case studies of how several different African nations achieved independence. Includes audio clips.
BACKGROUND Colonisation and Contact
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Aztec TimelineFrom Timeline Index
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Cortes and the fall of the Aztecsfrom Conquistadors from PBS.
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The Fall of the AztecsFrom PBS.
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Pizarro and the conquest of the Incasfrom Conquistadors by PBS.
eResources
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MIT Visualizing CulturesTreaty of Nanking
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The Open Door Policy and the Boxer War: The US and ChinaOffers free accounts
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In a nutshell: The Opium WarsHistory Extra
Mahatma Gandhi Pilgrim Of Peace
End of Empire (1985), chapter 1: The Beginning of the End
End of Empire (1985), chapter 2: India, Engine of War
Language
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MacaulayismFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia : Macaulayism is the conscious policy of liquidating indigenous culture through the planned substitution of the alien culture of a colonizing power via the education system.
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MACAULAY'S MINUTE ON INDIAN EDUCATIONDated 2ND OF FEBRUARY, 1835
Articles
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What is Scurvy?By Helen Dockrell on March 24 2016
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How British colonialism determined whether your country celebrates HalloweenWashington Post : accessed Nov 3 2016
South Africa
Slavery and the 'Scramble for Africa'
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Britain in the World: The EmpireBy the National Archives, the UK government's official archive.
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Cape Town: British RuleOutline of British rule in South Africa
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British Imperialism and the AfrikanersTaken from Rita M. Byrnes, ed. South Africa: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1996