History - Old Imperialism 🏰 Flashcards
What is the definition of “Imperialism”?
Imperialism is the policy of extending a country’s power and influence beyond its own borders by acquiring partial or total control over another region.
What are the two types of Imperialism?
Old imperialism and New imperialism
When did Old imperialism take place?
From the Late 1400s to the early 1800s.
What was the purpose of old imperialism?
To find trade routes, establish colonies, and set up trade posts as a source of wealth.
During old imperialism, where did land tend to be colonised?
Along coasts.
When did New imperialism take place?
From the late 1800s to the early 1900s.
What was the purpose of new imperialism?
To create empires to expand economy, military, religion, social ideas, and politics.
What continent was most affected by imperialism?
Africa, the effects are still lasting.
Why was the 1400s a peculiar time in europe?
On one hand the black death was wiping out huge cities, cities going bankrupt, and wars going on, but on the other hand ordinary people were enjoying better wages.
Why did Europe start imperialism in the 1400s?
Due to wanting to escape all the conflict going on in europe, and to find spices, wealth, resources, and places to plant cash crops.
What place did europeans first try to take over?
The Canary Islands.
What people lived in The Canary Islands before the Europeans came?
The Guanches.
Which island did Europe first try to conquer? Why is this?
First, France landed on Lanzarote. This is because it had the flattest land of all the islands.
How many Guanches were estimated to live in the Canary Islands in 1402?
80,000
Which country joined France on the assault on the Canaries?
Portugal, in 1415.
Which country took over the French and Portugal’s rule?`
Spain, in 1475.
How many of the islands did Spain take over?
All but 3 islands.
Which country allied with the Guanches? Did this last?
Portugal had a brief alliance with the Guanches, but then soon betrayed them to side with spain.
What did the Guanches do once portugal betrayed them?
They left the islands on their own in defeat.
By when did europeans capture the Canary islands?
1496
How did Europeans make money off of the Canary islands?
By growing sugar with the help of slaves and free labour from Europe and Africa.
What did deforestation on the Canary islands lead to?
It reduced rainfall, which increases risk of floods and famine.
By when had all pure-blooded Guanches died out?
1541.
What were the European’s #SECRET_WEAPONS to take over the Canary islands?
Horses, and epidemics.
How did horses give the Europeans an advantage over the Guanches?
Guanches had never seen horses before, so they didn’t know how to deal with them.
How were epidemics useful against the Guanches for europe?
Viruses and diseases that the Guanches had never dealt with and has no treatments or immunity to meant that they were a surprisingly powerful weapon.
What animal stopped Europeans from conquering the Madeiras islands?
Rabbits, they let out and reproduced so much that they took over the island.
What was the Azores?
Another island that the Europeans took over.
What was “Seeding”?
When Europeans let out sheep, cattle, and goats on an island to make them reproduce.
What things grew well on the Azores? What things grew badly?
Wheat and woad (a dye plant from France) grew well; sugar did not.
How did sailors take advantage of Indian monsoon winds?
Monsoons create wind patterns, and sailors ride the winds to be more efficient. Monsoon winds change throughout the year.
What was the main rule of trade?
“The seas belong to no-one”. This meant there was little violence in the seas.
Which country began to take over the seas?
Portugal
How did the Portuguese take lead in the seas?
They had a new sailing strategy, and had new ships.
What made Portugal’s new ships so good?
They had iron cannons to use actual force when sailing, and deep-sea sailing “round ships” with lots of storage space.
Why are wind patterns so complicated in the Atlantic ocean?
Unlike the Indian ocean, wind in the Atlantic ocean goes in many directions. which make it hard to navigate.
What was the sailing technique used in atlantic ocean trade by Portuguese?
“volta do mar”
What was the original “volta do mar” like?
You start somewhere in portugal, go straight down the coast of Africa to go south to your destination, then on the return journey you sail west to the Azores, Canaries, or Madeiras, from there you catch usable winds to sail back to towards Europe.
What were the problems with the original “volta do mar”?
It was counter intuitive, as you had to head away from Portugal to get back, and only worked in the north atlantic.
What was the wind pattern like in the South Atlantic?
It was the reverse of the North Atlantic.
Who solved the issues with the original “volta do mar”?
Bartolomeu Dias.
Who was christopher columbus?
A Genoese mapmaker working for Spain. He knew that the earth is round and wanted to sail west to Africa.
What islands did Christopher Columbus go to when sailing west? Why were they important?
The Canaries, Madeiras, and Azores. They helped him have a route and places to stop at.
What was the colombian exchange?
The exchange of native plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World (Eurasia and Africa) and the New World (Americas) after Columbus landed in the New World in 1492
What plants were from the old world?
Rice; Wheat; Barley; Oats; Coffee; Sugarcane; Soybeans; Citrus Fruits; Bananas; Grapes; Onions; Olives; Turnips; Peaches; Pears
What plants were from the new world?
Maize (corn); Potatoes; Sweet potatoes; Cassava (manioc); Tomatoes; Chili peppers; Paprika; Eggplants; Pumpkins; Squash; Peanuts; Cacao; Pineapples; Coca; Vanilla bean; Tobacco
What animals were from the old world?
Horse; Cattle; Sheep; Goat; Pigs; Honeybees
What animals were from the new world?
Turkey; Alpaca; Llama
What diseases were from the old world?
Smallpox; Malaria; Measles; Typhus; Influenza; Whooping cough; Chicken pox; Diphtheria; Cholera; Scarlet fever; Bubonic plague
What diseases were from the new world?
Syphilis
Do potatoes exist?
NO THEY ARE NOT REAL OKAY
What impact did foods brought from the new world have?
They were nutritionally better and had more vitamins and taste.
What impact did foods brought from the old world have?
They grew better in new world land.
What was the impact of disease in the island of Hispaniola?
Within 50 years of contact with disease they went virtually extinct.
What was the impact of disease on Native Americans?
It is estimated that 80-95% of the population was wiped out within the first 100-150 years of contact from epidemics.
What was the impact of disease in Central Mexico?
In 1519, it had an estimated population of just under 15 million, but fell to just 1.5 million by 1619
How did the drastic drop in native American population lead to the transatlantic slave trade?
At that time, in addition to the drop in native population, there was a high demand for new world crops in the old world due to their nutritional value meant that new people would have to be brought to work.
From which continent were most slaves brought from during the transatlantic slave trade?
Africa.
What areas were slaves brought from during the transatlantic slave trade?
Senegambia Sierra Leone Windward Coast Gold Coast Bight of Benin Bight of Biafra West Central Africa
What areas were slaves taken to during the transatlantic slave trade?
South America (Brazil)
The Caribbean
North America
What was the majority class of people brought in as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade?
Commoners.
What fraction of people taken as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade were men?
2/3rds. (mostly young)
What fraction of people taken as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade were children?
1/4th
Were rich/powerful Africans brought as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade?
Very few, most stayed behind.
In what ways were slaves taken during the transatlantic slave trade?
- Wars
When slave ships appeared, wars began. This may have been forceful… kidnapping? - Convictions for crimes
People convicted of “crimes” were sold to traders. Over time, all punishments to crime became slavery. - Purchase at markets and fairs
It was linked to Islamic slave-trade routes.
Who would take slaves during the transatlantic slave trade?
- European ship captains (Fort trade)
Captains bought slaves from other Europeans along the coast at forts. - African merchants (Boat trade)
If there were no forts, slave trade happened on slave ships after African merchants brought slaves by boats.
What were the spice islands?
A small group of islands to the north east of Indonesia.
What were the spice islands known for?
They were known for being the largest producers of mace, nutmeg, cloves and pepper in the world.
Who first took over the spice islands?
The Portuguese.
What strategies did portugal use to take over the spice islands?
Building forts, Signing treaties, and murder.
What was the VOC?
The dutch east india company.
How did the VOC take over the spice islands?
They massacred the natives.
Who tried to match the major profits the VOC were making?
The British east india company.
What was the battle of new york?
When the dutch attacked the british colony in the Banda islands, and the british took over new amsterdam in retaliation. A treaty was made that gave the Dutch the colony and Britain new amsterdam (now new york)
