Step 3 of 95
Forms of imperial control
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- Direct rule (colony): Imperial power governs the territory directly through its own administrators. Examples: French Algeria, British India after 1858, Belgian Congo.
- Indirect rule: Imperial power governs through existing local rulers who are allowed to remain on their thrones but follow imperial directives. British in Nigeria used this extensively.
- Protectorate: Local government exists but is required to follow imperial guidance on foreign policy and major decisions.
- Sphere of influence: Region in which one imperial power has exclusive trading and investment privileges, but does not directly govern. Heavily used in late Qing China.
- Settler colony: Substantial population of settlers from the imperial power emigrates and establishes its own society, often displacing indigenous peoples. Examples: Algeria, Kenya, Australia, the United States.
- Economic imperialism: Domination through economic means without formal political control. Britain dominated Latin American economies in the nineteenth century without colonizing them.
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