Tools of Imperialism

By Trevor Getz

Imperialism was the idea that launched a thousand ships. The leaders of
industrial empires used the ideas of imperialism to support their actions
around the world.

1090L
Tools of Imperialism
Trevor Getz

Imperialist Ideas
Imperialism is an idea—a belief that a society has a right, and perhaps a duty, to conquer or dominate other
places and rule or subjugate other people. But the word is also often used to describe things that actually happen
because of these ideas. For example, adventurers and armies travel abroad, and try to get other people to do what
they want. Sometimes they do this without actually conquering and claiming control of these other communities.
We call this “informal imperialism”, because there is not a formal claim to sovereignty or the establishment of a
colony. Sometimes, territories and people are actually conquered and a colony is established, creating another
set of practices that we usually call “colonialism”. In all cases, people’s lives are changed and, sometimes, taken.
Imperialism starts as an idea, but it has substantial consequences.

How does all of this happen? What are the physical methods, instruments, and technologies that help turn
imperialism (the idea) into the imperialist practice of colonialism? The many different answers to these questions
would fill several books, but here is our take on it.

Ways of Thinking About the World

Of course, the first tool of imperialism is just the way pro-empire thinkers see the world. You know by now that in
the long nineteenth century, empire promoted a variety of ideas. There was the incorrect belief that the people of
the world could be divided by race, and that some races were better than others. There was another, similar belief
that some people were civilized, while others were barbarians or savages who could be upgraded to “civilized” if
they were taught to act differently. This encouraged the attitude that the imperial society should act like a “father”,
teaching and disciplining the “children” of the colonies.

The Navy Leagues of Britain (and Australia) lobbied and advocated for a larger navy and Empire. They even
recruited children into this effort. From the State Library of New South Wales collection, public domain.

2
Tools of Imperialism
Trevor Getz

These ideas helped to justify the creation of empires in the age of industrialism. They also brought people together
in organizations that supported imperialism, such as the American National Geographic Society or the British Navy
League or, later, Japan’s Imperial Rule Assistance Association. These organizations published books and messages
to convince the public that empire was a good idea, and they lobbied their governments to expand the empire.

The Tools of Imperialism

Many tools of imperialism were abstract ideas, but there were also actual, physical tools. Industrial age weapons,
for starters, allowed imperialists to coerce or conquer people with low-tech weapons. Railroads and steamships
allowed imperialists to move armies, supplies, and administrators to control large and distant territories more
effectively. New medicines allowed them to survive diseases that had previously kept them out of tropical areas.
Telegraph and radio technology allowed imperial governments to communicate with their far-flung ships, governors,
and agents. Imperialists used these and other industrial technologies to claim that they were superior to the people
they wanted to rule.

Industrial empires with high-tech weapons or larger militaries could often bully other states into doing what they
wanted, without ever invading or directly controlling them. This informal control is how Latin America, the Ottoman
Empire, and China encountered imperialism. Britain, France, Japan, the United States, or another imperial power
would demand something. Usually, this was something economic, like better trade deals or access to local markets.
If the local government refused, the imperial power would send in a diplomat backed by a fleet or an army. Because
imperial powers so often relied on powerful navies, it also became known as “gunboat diplomacy”.

A 1904 cartoon about US President Theodore Roosevelt’s “Quarterdeck Diplomacy”. Roosevelt, who said he wanted to
“speak softly and carry a big stick” sent a fleet into the Caribbean to show off American naval power. Public domain.

3
Tools of Imperialism
Trevor Getz

Knowledge was another tool of imperialism, used in at least two ways. First, as with technology, imperialists felt
knowledge proved their superiority, and justified colonial rule. Scholars from the empire would visit a place that
had nothing to do with them and claim that it was without knowledge. They would dismiss oral tradition, local
knowledge, and skills that weren’t industrial. They would reject ways of writing that differed from their formal
disciplines like History or Anthropology. Similarly, they dismissed local religions as inferior to their own.

In a more practical way, imperial powers used knowledge they gained from traveling the world. Imperial ships didn’t
just carry soldiers and sailors; they also carried scientists. Science and empire were mutually reinforcing. Empires
funded scientists to travel around the world, and those scientists encountered new knowledge that often benefited
the empire in some way. The botanists, anthropologists, historians, and others who went to study foreign places
were also, in some ways, acting as spies. They gathered knowledge about valuable resources as well as local
politics and conditions that allowed armies and governments to march in and rule them.

The Tools of Rule

Once a colony was actually conquered or otherwise acquired, a new set of tools came into use. These were the
tools of administration and bureaucracy. Colonial administrations created laws, and systems of government, that
locals had to follow. Colonial subjects could not argue for what they needed, or appeal a bad situation, unless they
followed these laws and used these courts. But the courts were often unfamiliar and didn’t use the local languages.
This gave the colonizers a great deal of power, since they made, interpreted, and enforced the laws. Local people
could sometimes create pressure to change laws, but usually with limited success.
Money was another important tool of colonial rule. Colonialism brought conquered people under a new capitalist,
industrial system. Colonial subjects suddenly had to work for wages and pay taxes. Many were perfectly happy to
ignore the colonial government, if possible. But they were still forced to pay taxes. To pay taxes, they needed money.
To get money, they needed to work for the people who had it.

Colonial administrations usually issued their own money. This is an Indian five-rupee note from the colonial era, with the head of British
monarch, King George V. This was the official (and only official) currency of India under British rule. Public domain.

And who had that money? Mostly companies that were run from the center of imperial power. These companies
wanted to make profits and pay as little as possible to workers. Some ran the big rubber plantations of Southeast

4
Tools of Imperialism
Trevor Getz

Asia, other companies bought the products that local people made. In West Africa, the price of cocoa was set by a
board that was dominated by the big chocolate companies like Nestle and Cadbury. Obviously, they wanted to pay as
little as possible to the cocoa growers to keep costs low and profits high.
The companies, on the other hand, paid very little in taxes. The colonial administration made money by taxing local
populations, or by putting import taxes on manufactured goods going to the colonies. In particular, locals had to pay
extra for goods imported from countries other than the imperial power. For example, British colonies put big taxes
on goods coming to India from Japan, Siam, or France. They wanted sales to go to British companies. At the same
time, these taxes helped pay the soldiers and administrators who ran the colony.

Indirect Rule
Colonies were expensive. Labor was cheap, but salaries for imperial administrators and soldiers were quite
high. Colonial administrators needed a tool for keeping down those costs. Rebellion was also really costly, so
administrators needed to prevent unrest.

The method they often used is called indirect rule.1 This was a strategy learned partly from the British experience in
India, who in turn had learned from Mughal rule in South Asia before them. Indirect rule meant finding some locals
and appointing them, at much lower salaries than Europeans (or Americans). Locals often acted as clerks, soldiers,
and minor officials under supervision by citizens of the imperial power. Local labor was less expensive, and they
also understood the local society better. Indirect rule, of course, had a weak spot. Local clerks, soldiers, and
officials became experts on the imperial system. If they turned against colonial rule, the empire was in big trouble.

And finally, schools. In the colonies, schools were set

up mostly to train locals in basic skills so they could
serve as clerks, soldiers, and officials. They were to
learn adding and subtraction, reading and writing, and
the language of the colonizers. But schools did
something else. They taught locals all of those ideas of
imperialism—that they were inferior, that they were less
civilized, and that all important knowledge came from
the imperial power. This method was especially used in
the colonies of European states. Again, there was an
ironic problem here. Once people could read in the
languages of Europe, they could read European thinkers
who argued that everyone deserved liberty or equality,
and use that to evaluate colonialism’s legitimacy.
A French colonial school in Madagascar. Don’t the students look
So you see, everything comes back to ideas. like they are getting exciting, enriching, and affirming learning?
Imperialism was a set of ideas that inspired actual Public domain.
practices and policies in the real world, namely
colonialism. These were extremely unjust practices, in
many cases. But along with colonialism and imperialist
ideas, other ideas promoting freedom and individual sovereignty traveled around the world, and those ideas would
be very difficult for colonial governments to control.

1 There were a few colonies that didn’t rely on this strategy. Technically, these colonies used a system of “direct rule”, where the colonial
government just told local inhabitants what to do almost entirely without local intermediaries. But in reality, it was very rare because it was
expensive and needed a lot of settlers or colonial officials to work efficiently, as local populations disliked it even more than indirect rule. So we
won’t spend a lot of time on it.
5
Tools of Imperialism
Trevor Getz

Trevor Getz
Trevor Getz is Professor of African and World History at San Francisco State University. He has written or edited eleven
books, including the award-winning graphic history Abina and the Important Men, and co-produced several prize-winning
documentaries. He is also the author of A Primer for Teaching African History, which explores questions about how we should
teach the history of Africa in high school and university classes.

Image credits
Cover: British ships destroying an enemy fleet in Canton, 1841. First Opium War, China, 19th century. © DeAgostini/Getty
Images
The Navy Leagues of Britain (and Australia) lobbied and advocated for a larger navy and Empire. They even recruited
children into this effort. From the State Library of New South Wales collection, public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.
org/wiki/File:Naval_League_cadets_in_uniform_march_to_Hoyts_De_Luxe_Cinema,_George_Street,_Sydney_for_the_
film_%22Nelson%22,_6_August_1928_-_photographer_Sam_Hood_(6804246649).jpg
A 1904 cartoon about US President Theodore Roosevelt’s “Quarterdeck Diplomacy”. Roosevelt, who said he wanted to
“speak softly and carry a big stick” sent a fleet into the Caribbean to show off American naval power. By William Allen Rogers,
courtesy of Granger Collection, public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tr-bigstick-cartoon.JPG
Colonial administrations usually issued their own money. This is an Indian five-rupee note from the colonial era, with the
head of British monarch, King George V. This was the official (and only official) currency of India under British rule. By the
colonial government of the British Raj, public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_V_on_British_Indian_
banknotes_-_Type_3.4.1B_-_Printed_at_Nasik_Press.jpg
A French colonial school in Madagascar. Don’t the students look like they are getting exciting, enriching, and affirming
learning? Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colonial_school_in_Madagascar.jpg

The Lexile® Framework for Reading

Articles leveled by Newsela have been adjusted along several
dimensions of text complexity including sentence structure,
vocabulary and organization. The number followed by L indicates
the Lexile measure of the article. For more information on Lexile
measures and how they correspond to grade levels: www.lexile.
com/educators/understanding-lexile-measures/
To learn more about Newsela, visit www.newsela.com/about.
The Lexile® Framework for Reading evaluates reading ability and
text complexity on the same developmental scale. Unlike other
measurement systems, the Lexile Framework determines reading
ability based on actual assessments, rather than generalized
age or grade levels. Recognized as the standard for matching
readers with texts, tens of millions of students worldwide receive
a Lexile measure that helps them find targeted readings from
the more than 100 million articles, books and websites that have
been measured. Lexile measures connect learners of all ages
with resources at the right level of challenge and monitors their
progress toward state and national proficiency standards. More
information about the Lexile® Framework can be found at
www.Lexile.com.