Soon after, France divided up a large portion of the Ottoman empire with Britain after the fall of Turkey in 1918.
The two rivals were still neck and neck in competition.
A New Imperialism and the "Scramble for Africa"
After a period in which the drive to conquer was partially put on the back burner (1860 -1880), a new lust for the expansion of empires took hold of Europe in the late 19th century. There were multiple reasons for this new wave among Europeans -- many of them similar to the reasons for the first rise of imperialism -- including: the need for raw materials, a desire to end the slave trade, a place to market new products, a desire to invest overseas, a need to protect the interests of trading companies, a place for soldiers, politics, prestige, power, pride, strategy, the desire to spread the message of Christianity, room to settle newly unemployed citizens (as a result of the Industrial Revolution), a desire to help fight disease with modern medicine, and limited areas left to conquer in Europe.
Known as the "New Imperialism," this time was marked by a frantic "scramble" for the lands of Africa
. In the span of twenty years, the race took European control of Africa from 10% to the exclusion of only Ethiopia and Liberia.
British motivations for this race were many, but primarily revolved around protection of the existing British Empire and its control of the Suez Canal. Other driving forces did include colonization and prestige, but Britain was mainly put on the defensive when France and Germany gained ground in Africa.
France and Britain engaged in a fierce competition for control of the Niger in 1883, ending with an agreement which gave Timbuktu to France and Lagos to Britain.
Then in 1888, after the Suez Canal humiliation at the hands of the British, France took an aggressive stab at Britain's control of the Nile, setting off more fireworks between the already-contentious nations. By 1893, France still had not recovered its pride and attempted again to sabotage the Nile basin.
In 1896, Philip Gilbert Hamerton remarked in an essay on the turmoil between Britain and France:
"Nor does the world-rivalry of France and England show any sign of coming to an end. Their policy at Constantinople and St. Petersburgh has quite recently been antagonistic. It is steadily antagonistic in Egypt, and although the wisdom of rulers (happily greater than that of populations) has led to an agreement about the Suez Canal and the New Hebrides, there may at any time arise the contention that leads to war. Although France is now incomparably inferior to England as a colonial power, the English are still as jealous of French influence as if it might ultimately regain Canada and India."
Jean-Baptiste Marchand did in fact lead French troops into the Nile city of Fashoda; Britain responded by sending Herbert Horatio Kitchener to overtake the Sudan and Khartoum in 1898.
He then proceeded to Fashoda, and war between the two rivals was narrowly avoided.
France would refuse to fully give up on reclamation of Egypt until 1902, when the French agreed to abandon the Sudan in exchange for full control of Morocco.
France's rush for control of African lands was mostly a matter of national pride. As author Michael Doyle explained in his book, Empires, the British and French motives during the New Imperialism were fundamentally different:
"After 1870, & #8230;all the European powers sought out extra-European conquests in the global periphery where increases in territory, resources, and military bases, each adding to power and prestige, could readily be acquired. For the British this impulse meant protecting the route to India through Egypt and the Suez Canal, which necessitated control over the headwaters of the Nile and a predominant position in East Africa. For the French and the Germans the impulse meant acquiring "places in the sun" to demonstrate national prestige. Colonialism, according to a.J.P. Taylor, became a "move" in the European game of the balance of power."
A Humiliated France
Still unsatisfied with her fallen status, France went on to wage yet another unsuccessful "battle" with British forces over the Niger River.
And following soon after, events in Morocco poured salt on France's already wounded ego when the French were forced to seek aid from the British against a determined Germany. This round was settled, but later, to add insult to injury, the Germans made another attempt at power over Morocco, and once again Britain stepped in to save the day.
This time, however, France was forced to concede control of her Congo colonies.
At the same time, domestic issues in France were no more successful, and in a final blow to their attempts at power in Africa, the Insubordinate Army began to rebel in Western Africa.
The Suez Crisis of 1956
By 1922, after another Egyptian uprising led by Saad Zaghlul, Britain was willing to hand the power over an "unprofitable" East Africa back to the Egyptians, on condition that British troops could remain there to protect the canal.
But as with so many previous lofty dreams, perhaps pioneered by Napoleon a century earlier, the French failed at their mission. Yet Egypt managed to break free from Britain anyway by 1956; but to what advantage? Today, in light of the recent revolution in Egypt against Hosni Mubarak, one must again consider the meaning and significance of the word "imperialism," particularly when history has shown how easily it can be applied at home rather than abroad.
References
Aldred, John. British Imperial and foreign policy. Heinemann, 2004.
Bell, Jeffrey. Industrialization and Imperialism. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002.
Chamberlain, Muriel. The Scramble for Africa. Longman, 1999.
Chapman, J. The Westminster Review: Napoleon in Egypt. London: Frederick Warne and Co., 1898.
Cohen, Benjamin. The Question of Imperialism: The Political Economy of Dominance and Dependence. New York: Basic Books, 1973.
Doyle, Michael. Empires. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1986.
Elgood, Percival. Egypt . Arrowsmith, 1935.
Ferro, Mark. Colonization: a global history. Psychology Press, 1997.
Green, Richard. The Commonwealth Yearbook 2006. Nexus Strategic Partnerships Limited, 2006.
Hamerton, Philip. French and English: A Comparison. New York: Macmillan and Co, 1896.
Harlow, Barbara, and Mia Carter. Imperialism & orientalism: a documentary sourcebook. Wiley-Blackwell, 1999.
Henty, George. At Aboukir and Acre: A Story of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt. Fireship Press, 2010.
Hodge, Carl. Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800-1914: A-K. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008.
Ingram, Edward. The British Empire as a world power . Psychology Press, 2001.
Let's Go Inc. LET'S GO EGYPT. Macmillan, 2002.
Louis, William. Ends of British imperialism: the scramble for empire, Suez and decolonization: collected essays. IB Tauris, 2006.
Mbaku, John. Institutions and development in Africa. Africa World Press, 2004.
O'Brien, Patrick. Atlas of World History . Oxford Univ. Press, 2002.
Olson, James. Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
Paton, Andrew. A History of the Egyptian Revolution . Trubner and Co., 1863.
Perry, Marvin. Western civilization: ideas, politics & society. From the 1600s. Houghton Mifflin, 1989.
Porter, Bernard. The Lion's Share. New York: Longman Group Limited, 1975.
Smith, Simon. Reassessing Suez 1956. Ashgate Publishing, 2008.
Thompson, Jason. Egyptian Encounters: Volume 23. Univ of Cairo Press, 2002.
Let's Go Inc., Let's Go Egypt (Macmillan, 2002), 62-66.
Benjamin Cohen, the Question of Imperialism: The Political Economy of Dominance and Dependence (New York: Basic Books, 1973), 9.
Cohen, 10.
Cohen, 10.
Cohen, 10.
Cohen, 10.
Cohen, 10.
Cohen, 10.
Cohen, 15-16.
Cohen, 14.
J. Chapman, the Westminster Review: Napoleon in Egypt (London: Frederick Warne and Co., 1898), 420-434.
George Henty, at Aboukir and Acre: A Story of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt (Fireship Press, 2010), 274.
Jason Thompson, Egyptian Encounters (Univ of Cairo Press, 2002), 90-96.
Jeffrey Bell, Industrialization and Imperialism (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002), 43.
Michael Doyle, Empires (Cornell Univ Press, 1986), 266.
Richard Green, the Commonwealth Yearbook 2006 (Nexus Strategic Partnerships Limited, 2006), 295.
Marvin Perry, Western civilization: ideas, politics & society. From the 1600s (Houghton Mifflin, 1989), 533.
John Mbaku, Institutions and development in Africa (Africa World Press, 2004), Chapter 8.
Mark Ferro, Colonization: A Global History (Psychology Press, 1997), 66-67.
Ferro, 66.
Ferro, 67.
Ferro, 67
James Olson, Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1991), 194.
Bernard Porter, the Lion's Share (New York: Longman Group Limited, 1975), 90.
Olson, 194.
Andrew…
European and American imperialism from 1900-1918 Empire is the term from which the word imperialism is carved. Government implies the act of mastery of one nation by another one, with the sole intention of expanding region, power and impact. It conveys with it the thought of social prevalence from the radical, judging the lifestyle, cultures and convictions of those colonized as sub-par and in need of changeover (Encyclopedia, encyclopedia.com). Nonetheless, Imperialism
Imperialism The notion that whiteness was a superior state to blackness and all shades between, the notion of cultural superiority was already firmly entrenched by the time of the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893. Barely cloaked under seemingly benevolent messages of cultural diversity were clear messages related to the American intention to imperialize and colonize. The establishment of a European cultural hegemony was already under way with the rapid expansion of
Larissa Mom. Can I interview you for my class? Mom Sure, but aren't you getting a little desperate if you're stuck with me? Larissa Oh no. It fits the assignment. I have to interview my mother. So, first, where were your parents born? Mom My mother was born in San Francisco, and my father was born in Kansas City, Missouri Larissa Ok, and where were you born? Mom San Rafael, California Larissa All right. So what differences did you notice between your mother
The Egyptian King Faud (1922-36) repeatedly disbanded popularly elected Wafd governments, despite huge majorities, due to their distinctly nationalist platform. The fickleness of the British position is exemplified by their later coercion of King Farouk (1936-52) to appoint an enfeebled Wafd government due to their need for a neutral Egypt during the Second World War. This intense irony does not detract from the fact that the monarchs in Egypt
53). He points out that four countries (in 1917) -- England, France, Germany, and the United States -- own 80 per cent of the world's finance capital; thus, in his view, the whole rest of the world is subjugated, that is, indebted to and tributary to those four "international banker countries." Where once monopolists exported goods to other countries to make a profit, now they export finance capital. This is
Britain initiated the battle for control over African and Asian territories; other European powers as well as the United States and Japan soon followed suit to keep up with their competitor. Nations like France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States wanted to end Britain's dominance of the world marketplace. Political and military motives also fueled the New Imperialism. This was especially evident in the Spanish-American War. Even before that,
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now