Understanding Modern Imperialism

Osterhammel distinguishes modern imperialism from modern colonialism in his work by providing detailed and precise definitions of each term and also by extensively listing each of their defining features in comparison to ancient versions. Osterhammel defines imperialism more broadly than colonialism and notes it consists of “all forces and activities contributing to the construction and the maintenance of transcolonial empires” (21). What is distinctive about imperialism in general is its inclusion of international politics in addition to colonial politics. The concept of imperialism comprises all the relationships between the colonial powers and its colonies and the colonies. Within the concept of imperialism, colonies are not only ends in themselves but are considered to be “pawns in global power games” (Osterhammel 21). Another distinctive feature of modern imperialism would be its utilization of technology in the advancement of imperial/colonial expansion. Headrick states, “technological changes were indispensable to the expansion of Europe in the nineteenth century and profoundly affected its timing and location” (234). The availability of new technological developments (e.g. the steamboat, the telegraph, the machine gun, anti-malaria medication, etc.) provided significant advantages to imperial powers by allowing them to “penetrate more easily, more cheaply, and more safely into territories, particularly in Africa, where they earlier had stayed mostly along the edges” (Burbank and Cooper 288). Additionally, the “appearance of a new technology can reinforce or trigger a motive by making the desired end possible or acceptably cheap” (Headrick 234). Technological developments further encouraged European countries to expand in addition to their original motives.

Modern imperialism is distinctive from its ancient versions in its extensiveness and its intensity; modern imperialism is significantly more aggressive in all areas (cultural, social, economic, and political) than its older counterparts.  Osterhammel describes modern imperialism as being “bellicose” as colonial powers pushed to “make their administrations systematic, methodical, and even scientific” (36). For example, colonialism and imperialism of the 17th century, which saw the establishment of the Caribbean plantation economy, was more “rooted in internal European rivalries for power” and was “primarily motivated by the wish to imitate the road to success of the sugar economy” (Osterhammel 30). During this period, colonial and imperialist powers sought to gain power over other countries and to increase trade opportunities whereas with modern imperialism, there is more focus on gaining political dominance in addition to economic dominance worldwide.

Osterhammel defines modern colonialism as being a “relationship of domination between an indigenous (or forcibly imported) majority and a minority of foreign invaders” in which “the fundamental decisions affecting the lives of the colonized people are made and implemented by the colonial rulers in pursuit of interests that are often defined in a distant metropolis” (16-17). Here, Osterhammel has listed two defining features of colonialism. The first is the presence of a relationship of domination between a majority indigenous group and an external minority group of invaders. The other defining feature would be the system of advantage put in place by the foreign invaders. Significant decisions regarding the colonized people are made at an external location or metropolis and are made “according to the needs and interests of the colonial rulers” (Osterhammel 15). Compared to ancient versions of colonialism, modern colonialism is “based on the will to make ‘peripheral’ societies subservient to the ‘metropolises’” (Osterhammel 15). For example, Osterhammel explains colonization that resulted from “empire-building wars of conquest” often rely on external and separate authorities in the metropolis to supervise the administration of the peripheral colonies (8). To further distinguish modern imperialism/colonialism from that of ancient times, how colonial powers responded to instances of rebellion and resistance within the colonial territories should be examined. According to Burbank and Cooper, “emancipation, citizenship, and continued discrimination were ways for an imperial government to respond to pressures, altering the balance of inclusion and differentiation among the peoples involved” (292).

Osterhammel finally adds that the colonizers reject “cultural compromises with the colonized population” and “are convinced of their own superiority and of their ordained mandate to rule” (17). This last point is unique to modern colonialism. In contrast to ancient versions of colonialism, there is a lack of cultural assimilation on the part of the colonial rulers as a result of the belief in their own cultural superiority and in the existence of racial hierarchies. According to Osterhammel, this belief of cultural superiority has taken an “aggressive expansionist turn” in modern times (16). He references this idea of the “spirit of colonialism,” which serves to further fuel the superiority mindset of colonial rulers and the system of dependence the colonized are subjugated to. Cultural superiority also originates from feelings of nationalism and racism. As Burbank and Cooper state in their work, during this time there were “two modes of classifying people [that] became more salient among the multiple ways in which Europeans thought about themselves and others: nation and race” (289). Modern imperialism/colonialism saw a deepening of a racial ideology used to support and endorse the inferiority fo the colonized and the superiority of the colonizers.

Working Definitions

Colonialism: the system of domination in which a majority group of foreign invaders imposes its will upon a minority group of indigenous people. These colonial rulers make no attempt at cultural assimilation with the colonized population and are sure of their own supremacy and right to rule of the colonized.

Imperialism: broader idea that consists of all activities that contribute to building and sustaining a transcolonial empire that includes not only colonial politics but also international politics.

Colony: a new political organization that is created through invasion by a “mother country” which claims exclusive rights to the political organization.

Empire: several colonial possessions (often with relations to each other) that are subordinated to a “mother country” at the proverbial center.

Colonialist Ideology: mentality associated with the colonial situation that consisted of three elements: (1) idea of inferiority of colonized; (2) belief in the right and responsibility to rule and guide colonized; and (3) imposition of order through a utopic vision of a system without politics.

Racial Ideology: mentality or fixed set of beliefs regarding a specific race, particularly of those of African descent; played a significant role in the discourse regarding slavery and free labor.

Cultivation System: utilized by the Dutch state in Asia, which included the distribution of seeds to native farmers and supervision of how crops were planted and cared for. Dutch state also took part in the harvest for itself.

Industrial Revolution: 18th-19th centuries; transition from agrarian and rural societies to industrial and urban societies through technological innovations.

Questions for Further Inquiry

1. Osterhammel describes how ethnocentric arrogance took an “aggressive expansionist turn” in modern times. What exactly was the cause of this?
2. In chapter two, Osterhammel mentions a “tradition of ‘liberal imperialism’”. What does “liberal imperialism” mean and how is it different from imperialism in general?

About the Image

Name: The monument to the Prince Imperial in Zululand: the Zulu Chief Geboodo swearing to protect the Memorial from desecration

Credit: Harvard College Library Database

I chose this image because I found that it captured the colonialist ideology described in the Osterhammel text. Specifically, it displays the idea that colonial rulers have a mission to guide the colonized and shows the imposition of European culture on the colonized, which often occurred.