Imperialism Flashcards
imperialism
the domination of one country by another country (politically, economically, and/or culturally)
what factors helped inspire or cause imperialism?
- economic (resources from other countries)
- political + military (power projections- ex: US imperialising Hawaii for a navy base)
- humanitarian
- social darwinism (survival of the fittest)
What factors allowed the western powers to be so successful in subjugating people in Africa and other parts of the world?
- stronger economies and better organized government (more unified)
- more modern and advanced/ powerful militaries (machine guns vs. bow and arrow) (“we’ve got the maximum gun”)
- medical knowledge (ex: anti malaria meds) (diseases were brought into Africa)
- Africa was divided and weakened (divided by skin colors … hutu and tutsi) (western powers put the countries of Africa against each other)
name and explain the 3 types of control of associated with imperialism
- direct control: imperial powers run the colonized country (british colonising south africa)
- indirect control: people from the colonized country rules for the imperialist country (someone from south africa ruling south africa for great britain)
- protectorate: one country controls a colony (no one else allowed in)
- sphere of influence: when country is split up and other countries have control of different areas on the divided nation (ex: China)
what impact did the berlin conference have on imperialism in africa?
- berlin conference was led by bismarck in 1884 when western powers were fighting over africa, so the land was divided among the western powers
- africa had no input
- europeans recognized legitimate claims to land saying that africa could be occupied by whoever can take it
- free trade routes
- established rules for claiming new land
- european powers and united states at the meeting, but no africans/indigenous people
what were the short-term impacts of imperialism? what impacts did it have on the “grand
scheme” of history? why should it concern us in 2023?
short term:
- western domination took over resources,
money, and people
long term:
- africans not getting taken into account during
imperialism and left independent. but with
debt, disease, and not being able to get out
because of these reasons
- genocide in rwanda (tutsi hutu)
- poor medical infrastructure
2023:
- china has to loan money to these countries to
help pay off debt; only putting in more debt
who were the boers? What caused the boer war? who won?
- boers were original dutch settlers
- boer war caused by dutch not liking that they were being controlled by by the english so they waged war
- the english won
what weaknesses existed in north africa (and the middle east) that made this area
susceptible to the western powers?
- lack of strong leaders
- conflict between social classes
- conflict between nationalities
- government corruption (not representing properly)
- clash of ideas (modernization vs. westernization)
- size of empires
- lack of military strength compared to western powers
what does modernization vs. westernization mean?
modernization: led by muslim africans in the north to try to improve agriculture, economics, etc. in order to become more modern and powerful to fight of western power- but doing so would lead to loss of lost cultural value (muslim)
westernization: didn’t want to follow british values so they kept their own religion (in southern africa)
what was apartheid? know some aspects of this system as practiced in south africa.
apartheid: “apartness” the system of racial segregation in south africa from 1948-1994 that gave white minority control of political, legal, military, and social institutions of south africa
- led to harsh treatment, atrocities, and massacres
- opposition exemplified by Steve Biko and Nelson Mandela
community helped end apartheid by economic and political pressures
- commercial/military trade embargos banned from olympics 1964-1988
how did steve biko hope to bring an end to apartheid?
- Anti-apartheid activist
- african nationalist
- began the black consciousness movement (taught black people they were good enough; if continuously told you’re not good enough then you’ll start to believe it)
- arrested for breaking the 6pm curfew
- died in police custody
what influence(s) does sport have in a society? Prove it.
Mandela used rugby to bring blacks and whites together in south africa. he proved that sports can help overcome problems in society. this was a white man’s sport and black africans hoped their national team would lose because what the white men did to them. the whole nation cheered when they won the world cup and brought unity to the country.
what problems/challenges has south africa faced since the dismantlement of apartheid?
- political situation
- land controversy
- violence
- HIV/AIDS
- covid
- whites outvote blacks
- weak economy
what was the root of the ethnic violence in rwanda in the early 1990s? how was it
resolved? why didn’t the western powers intercede?
root:
- belgians divided citizens of rwanda into hutu
and tutsi
- said tutsi more european looking so they would
run country indirectly
resolved by:
- civil war
- west did not interfere with civil war
no intercession:
- british and americans attempted to pull out all
peacekeepers
- US had no trade with rwanda
Explain two problems that exist in Modern Africa as a result of Imperialism. What should the USA do about these problems, and why?
- unequal distribution of wealth (rich getting richer; poor getting poorer)
- Government is limiting the economic growth of majority
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