cultural and religious—to spread the
Christian faith and the ways of white
“civilization” to the “dark” conti
nent and beyond. For still others,
the motivation was po liti cal. Since
the Eu ro pean balance of power
pre vented direct confrontation in
Eu rope, Eu ro pean state rivalries were
played out in Africa and Asia.
Two impor tant questions follow.
First, why did territorial expan
sion only happen in Asia and Africa
and not Latin Ame rica? Second,
how did Germany and Italy—two
European powers who unified late—
react to having so few of their own
colonies as compared to, say, Por
tugal, a much smaller state? Latin
Ame rica was “protected” from late
nineteenth century Eu ro pean colo
nial and imperial attention by the
Monroe Doctrine— the U.S. policy
of defending the Western Hemi
sphere from Eu ro pean interference.
As to Italy and Germany, once they unified and industrialized, many within each
state felt that to have international re spect (and to guarantee cheap imports of raw mate
rials), both states “needed” to annex or colonize countries in Asia or Africa. Italy
attempted to conquer and colonize Ethiopia, a Christian empire in the horn of Africa,
but suffered a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Adowa in 1896.
To mollify Germany’s imperial ambitions, during the Congress of Berlin in 1885,
the major powers divided up Africa, “giving” Germany a sphere of influence in east
Africa (Tanganyika), west Africa (Cameroon and Togo), and southern Africa (South
west Africa). Eu ro pean imperialism seemed to provide a con ve nient outlet for Germany’s
aspirations as a great power, without endangering the delicate balance of power within
Eu rope itself. By the end of the nineteenth century, 85 percent of Africa was under the
control of Eu ro pean states.
In Asia, only Japan and Siam (Thailand) were not under direct Eu ro pean or U.S.
influence. China is an excellent example of the extent of external domination. Under
the Qing dynasty, which began in the seventeenth century, China had slowly been losing
po liti cal, economic, and military power for several hundred years. During the nine32 CHAPTER Two ■ Historical context of international relationsIn the nineteenth century, explorers often paved the
way for the colonization of African and Asian lands
by Eu ro pean powers. Here, a French expedition
seeks to stake a claim in central Africa.ESSIR7_CH02_020_069_11P.indd 32 6/14/16 10:01 AM