Imperialism Flashcards
What is imperialism?
The takeover of a country by a stronger one with the intent of dominating its social, political, and economic life
Why did European countries want to own colonies?
Natural Resources Markets to sell goods to Nationalism Social Darwinism (to civilize the natives) To control trade routes Spread Christianity Worldwide naval bases
What empire ruled India before imperialism?
Mughals
Who took over in India after the fall of the Mughals?
British East India Company
Who did the English hire to conquer India?
British officers and Indian soldiers
What is a sepoy?
An Indian soldier that is fighting for the East India Company
What rumor caused the sepoy rebellion?
The new bullet casings were greased with pork and beef fat
Why did that rumor upset the sepoys?
Muslims don’t eat pork, and Hindus don’t eat any meat, especially beef
Who defeated the sepoys after the East India Co. left?
The British Government
What is the Raj?
The time period that India was ruled by the British GOVERNMENT
What were the problems that Europeans had in trying to conquer Africa before industrializing?
Terrain was impassable (mountains, deserts, etc)
Rivers were dangerous
Both sides had the same weapons
Malaria and other diseases
What inventions were created to that allowed the Europeans to take over Africa?
Railroads
Steamboats
Maxim Gun
Quinine
Describe how Africans were living before Europeans invaded?
There were hundreds of smaller tribes and ethnic groups, and they were used very little modern technology/were not industrialized.
How did David Livingstone create the urge to conquer Africa?
His reports of a slave massacre prompted the Europeans to invade to stop it, and they never left again.
He also mapped out much of the water routes that were used for the invasion
What kind of countries were invited to take part in the Berlin Conference? Who was not invited?
Powerful European countries were invited, African countries were not
What was the purpose of the Berlin Conference?
To split up Africa without going to war with each other
What determined how much of Africa each country got at the Berlin Conference?
The amount of military and economic power the country had
What two African countries didn’t get taken over by the Europeans?
Liberia, Ethiopia
What did Europeans consider when deciding which areas to claim?
Natural Resources
What did they ignore when carving up Africa?
Tribal boundaries and ethnic groupings
Why did the plan to sell goods to Africans not work out for the Europeans?
The didn’t use currency
What is a cash crop?
A crop grown to sell for profit
What are four examples of cash crops?
coffee, cacao, peanuts, rubber, cotton, opium, indigo, etc.
What was different about Menelik II’s method of fighting the Europeans?
He was able to fight the Europeans with their own kind of weapons
How did African tribes react to colonization overall?
Sustained violent resistance
What were four positives of imperialism in Africa?
less local warfare
Better health, sanitation, and medicine
Better life expectancy and literacy rates
Better technology
What were five negatives of imperialism in Africa?
Lost independence and were used for forced labor
Many people died from new diseases, resistance movements, and famine
Africans never got the economic benefit of its resources
Totally destroyed African leadership, and put nothing in place when Europeans left
Dividing lines between tribes torn apart some ethnic groups, forced enemies to become allies, and set up the modern problems in africa
What empire owned most of the Middle East from 500-1800 b.c.e.?
The Ottoman Empire
Describe the Ottoman Empire at its peak.
It was the center of power, culture, and science for hundreds of years during the Dark Ages.
Why did the Ottomans begin to fall behind the Europeans?
Lack of progress due to infighting and corruption
Why did the Europeans want control of the Middle East?
Control of trade routes that connect the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as oil eventually
Define Geopolitics?
An area is seen as important because its location has strategic value to another country
Who joined the Ottomans, and why would they do that?
France and Britain, so they could be the ones to take over the Crimean Peninsula instead of Russia
What was the major difference in the European armies compared to the Russian army?
England and France had a smaller but industrialized and modern army, while Russia’s was old and huge
What happened after the war to the Ottoman Empire?
They lost land to the Europeans and independence movements
What did the Crimean War prove to the rest of the world?
That countries need to industrialize or be taken over by the Europeans
How did the Egyptians try to modernize their country?
Built the Suez Canal
Started to plant cash crops and irrigation systems
Updated communication and transportation networks
How much did that cost? Where did they get that money?( suez canal)
500 million dollars, European banks
How did the British use the debt to take over?
Britain used Egypt’s inability to pay its debt to force their way into the Egyptian government
Persia is known as which country today?
Iran
How did the Persians try to raise money to modernize?
By selling oil and tobacco rich land to European countries
Why did Persias plan not work?
The rulers took all the money, and didn’t use it to modernize
Which two countries invaded Persia and split it into “Spheres of Influence?”
Russia and Britain
What is a “Sphere of Influence?”
A sphere of influence is any area in which one nation wields dominant power over a part of a different country
