How Did China Influence American Imperialism

The first source is a political cartoon drawn by Henri Meyer in 1898. The cartoon depicts European countries fighting over trade agreements with China (represented by a pie) with a resisting China behind. China is being ignored by the Europeans. The European countries wanted to find a way to have some control within the Chinese government, so as to economically advance their governments, so they tried to establish trade within China. China, however, had no interest in anything the European countries had to offer. Britain was the one to succeed after finding that opium was of high demand within China’s borders. This image shows the negative view on imperialism from China, while also showing that the European’s paid no attention to the complaints.
The second source is a quote from Cecil Rhodes, the founder of Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe,) which, in short, says that he believes white men are superior and that God wants him to take over Africa.
Later in his will, Rhodes wrote, “Africa is still lying ready for us it is our duty to take it. It is our duty to seize every opportunity of acquiring more territory...," which shows that he, as an imperialist, was extremely passionate about conquering Africa, to the point that he talked about it in his will. Rhodes has a very different view from the last source; source one shows British imperialism from the point of view of a resisting China, where this source provides the thoughts of the British. This quote is extremely pro-imperialism.

In the final source, John Stuart Mill explains how Britain's global empire is beneficial to everyone involved, comparing the empire to woven fabric; the connections between countries, thanks to Britain, allows the countries in the empire to learn from the other countries. This connects to the last line of Mill's statement, “There is no nation which does not need to borrow from others." Mill’s statement explains his thoughts regarding this. While to less of an extent than the previous quote, this quote sheds a positive light on imperialism, saying that it benefits everyone
involved.

All of the sources present the Ethnocentric and Eurocentric views of Britain during the Age of Imperialism. The first source shows that European countries paid no mind to China’s wants or needs during negotiations. In the Europeans eyes, they were more powerful and important. They also held themselves higher because they were white and believed in God. The second source shows how imperialists thought about Africa during the times of imperialism. This was also most likely the thoughts of other imperialists while taking over other countries. Cecil Rhodes was so passionate about conquering Africa that he wrote it in his own will that if he dies, someone needs to continue taking over so as to please God. The third source is less aggressive than the second source, but also says that imperialism is important. Where it differs is that source three says that imperialism is good for everyone involved, since it connects nations that never would have been connected previously. The last two sources show how imperialism shapes the mind of imperialists, while the first one shows how these imperialistic views affect the countries that were taken over and the people within them. All of the sources, in their own way, show that whether you agree with imperialism or not, it has both positive and negative effects on everyone involved.