The Americas, Asia and Africa from 1700-1900

Question 1

What group primarily opposed reforms of the Ottoman state throughout the 1700s and into the 1800s?

Answer 1

In the 1700s and early 1800s, the janissaries proved resistant to adopting any change or modernization in the Ottoman state, and proved an effective counter-balance to the Ottoman sultans who sought to reform the Ottoman bureaucracy or modernize the Turkish Army.

Only in the wake of the successful Greek War of Independence did the janissaries lose much of their power.

Question 2

What reforms were instituted by Sultan Mahmud II beginning in the late 1820s?

Answer 2

Sultan Mahmud II adopted a professional conscript army and navy that successfully put down janissaries and established a separate power base.

In turn, this enabled Mahmud II to institute legal reforms (such as taking away the power of Turkish governors to sentence people to instant death) and cultural reforms (including adopting European-style clothing). Mahmud II’s reforms laid the groundwork for the later Tanzimat Reforms.

Question 3

Between 1839 and 1876, the Ottoman Empire introduced the _____ _____, aimed at modernizing the Ottoman state.

Answer 3

Tanzimat Reforms

The Tanzimat Reforms were a series of measures that sought to simplify the Ottoman legal system, import Western educational reforms, establish postal and telegraph systems, and increase religious tolerance for non-Muslims.

The Tanzimat Reforms even went so far as to provide limited public education for women, some of whom began to enter the Ottoman public life. The changes were limited, however, and the Ottoman Empire continued to suffer serious problems.

Question 4

_____ _____ led a revolution against the Ottoman Empire in Egypt in the 1805s.

Answer 4

Muhammad Ali

Ali’s revolution was largely successful, although the Ottoman Empire did continue as the nominal ruler over Egypt. Ali named himself Khedive and dedicated his rule to modernizing Egypt, bringing in Western professionals to build the Egyptian army, introducing large-scale cotton production, and establishing small-scale industrialization.

Ali expanded territorially as well, pushing south into the Sudan and eastward into Syria and Iraq. Only the intervention of France and Britain prevented him from toppling the Ottoman Empire itself.

Question 5

Which region broke away from Ottoman control in the 1870s?

Answer 5

In the 1870s, several states in the Balkans declared their independence from the Ottoman Empire, establishing the nations of Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro. On behalf of the new nations, Russia declared war on the Ottomans, defeating them soundly.

At the Congress of Berlin in 1878, called to resolve the war, the independence of these breakaway states was internationally guaranteed, and Russia was prevailed upon to grant the Turks a lenient peace treaty.

Question 6

The construction of what waterway led to increased Anglo-French interference in Egyptian affairs?

Answer 6

The construction of the Suez Canal, between 1854 and 1869, led to increased Anglo-French involvement in Egyptian affairs. Originally planned and funded by the French, the British took over control of the Canal in the 1860s and 1870s.

When an Egyptian revolt in 1881 threatened their investment, the British established a protectorate over the region as far south as Sudan, ruling through the Khedive, as the Egyptian ruler was termed.

Question 7

Where did the French establish North African colonies?

Answer 7

Beginning in the 1830s, the French established colonies and protectorates over Morocco (excepting a small portion of Spanish Morocco), Tunisia, and Algeria, directly across the Mediterranean from France.

French control was confined mainly to the coast, and armed conflict was almost continual in the territories’ interior.

Question 8

Further contributing to Ottoman destabilization, the Italians attacked which Ottoman territory in 1911?

Answer 8

In 1911, the Italians attacked the Ottoman territory of Libya. The Italians wanted a North African territory of their own and Libya, being both far from Turkey and lightly garrisoned, seemed a ripe target.

Nevertheless, the Ottoman Army strongly resisted Italian efforts, and only the outbreak of another Balkan War convinced the Turks to cede the territory to Italy.

Question 9

Which two countries divided Persia into “spheres of influence” in the 1800s?

Answer 9

Russia and Britain divided Persia into spheres of influence. Although the country remained under the nominal control of the Qajar Dynasty, the northern part of the country was essentially under Russian control while the British dominated the south.

Spheres of influence refers to the informal control of one country’s nominally independent territory by another.

Question 10

Scramble for Africa

Answer 10

The Scramble for Africa was the conquest of virtually the entire continent of Africa between 1880 and 1914, primarily by Britain, France, and Germany. Belgium and Italy played a smaller role, and both the Portuguese and Spanish had existing colonies on the continent.

Although only 10% of Africa had been under European control in 1880, by 1914 only two African states remained independent: Ethiopia and Liberia.

Question 11

What African territory was ruled by the Belgians?

Answer 11

The Belgians ruled the Congo, which had large deposits of rubber trees. Belgian rule was far harsher than British and French rule, and large groups of Congolese workers died of poor treatment, famine, and wholesale massacre.

Question 12

Which African country did the Italians try to subjugate in 1896?

Answer 12

In 1896, the Italians tried to conquer Ethiopia, but the country’s ruler, Menelik II, had prepared his country and his troops.

The Italians were resoundingly and embarrassingly defeated at the Battle of Adowa, and Ethiopia remained independent into the 1930s.

Question 13

How did Germany fare in the Scramble for Africa?

Answer 13

While Germany established a large colonial territory, generally scattered in regions in which the other powers were not interested.

Germans could be harsh rulers; their suppression of the Herero revolt in German Southwest Africa (modern-day Namibia) is widely acknowledged as genocide. Germany also had colonies in Togo, and on the African east coast.

Question 14

At the _____ _____ in 1884-85, the Great Powers set in place the rules for African colonialism.

Answer 14

Berlin Conference

Organized by Otto von Bismarck, the Berlin Conference was an attempt by the Great Powers to determine among themselves their various spheres of influence in Africa, offsetting any danger of war on the Continent. At the time, Germany’s colonial possessions were negligible. But by 1914, she would be the third-largest colonial power.

Question 15

What conflict erupted in South Africa in 1899?

Answer 15

In 1899, war broke out between the Boer Republics and British South Africa, arising out of British attempts to control the region’s rich gold and diamond mines.

The Boers strongly resisted the British encroachment, and resistance only collapsed when the British concentrated Boer civilians into camps known as “concentration camps” where some 27,000 Boer civilians died.

Question 16

What led to the Indian Mutiny in 1857?

Answer 16

In 1857, sepoys (Indian troops serving the British East India Company) were issued new rifles with greased cartridges. A false rumor attributed the grease to pig and cow fat, which would be unclean to Hindus and Muslims. Internal revolts arising out of the cartridges rapidly turned into a nationwide revolt, and thousands of British soldiers, civilians, and natives were massacred.

In 1858, British soldiers and sepoys loyal to the Raj retook control, but the mutiny was a sharp shock to British confidence in Indian loyalty.

Question 17

Following the 1857 Indian Mutiny, what change took place in the government of the Raj?

Answer 17

In 1858, the British government took over direct rule of India from the British East India Company. For nearly a century, India would be the jewel of the British Empire.

Question 18

Whom do historians consider the last strong leader of China’s Manchu (or Qing) Dynasty?

Answer 18

Historians consider Qianlong, who ruled China until his death in 1799, to be the last strong Manchu Emperor. Qianlong was able to maintain China’s balance of trade by taking advantage of the Europeans’ desire for tea while restricting European imports.

Question 19

How did Britain break into Chinese markets beginning in the early 1800s?

Answer 19

In the early 1800s, Chinese markets were closed to European trade until the British began flooding China with Indian-grown opium. Large portions of the Chinese populace became highly addicted to opium, and the British made huge profits.

Question 20

In the 1860s, the Chinese government launched the Self-Strengthening Movement. What was the movement’s purpose?

Answer 20

The goal of the Self-Strengthening Movement was to reform China’s bureaucracy, economy, and military. The movement proved temporary, and China sank back into its ennui.

Question 21

Who led China beginning in the 1860s?

Answer 21

Cixi seized control of China, which she ruled through her nephew. A staunch conservative, Cixi opposed any efforts at reform, but did little to protect China from foreign aggression.

During her de facto reign, much of Mongolia and northern China fell under Russian control, while the French, British, and other European nations expanded their holdings along the Chinese coast. The Manchu Dynasty would collapse shortly after Cixi’s death in 1908.

Question 22

Which nation defeated China in a war in 1894-95, taking control of Korea and Formosa?

Answer 22

A newly emergent Japan seized Korea and Formosa during the Sino-Japanese War, marking another humiliating defeat for China and a further loss of Chinese territory.

Question 23

What rebellion against foreigners broke out in China in 1900?

Answer 23

In 1900, Boxers (martial artists who exercised in Chinese gymnasiums) attacked foreigners throughout China, slaughtering missionaries and laying siege to European legation.

The rebellion was only put down when an eight-nation army invaded China and subdued the Boxers. The Chinese were forced to pay a heavy indemnity.

Question 24

Who led China’s Nationalist Party (the Kuomintang) following the collapse of the Qing (or Manchu) Dynasty in 1912?

Answer 24

Sun Yat-Sen led the Nationalist Party, which asserted power over the Chinese Republic that was founded in early 1912. Sun Yat-Sen was the first popularly elected national Chinese politician in the nation’s 5,000-year history.

Question 25

Satcho Alliance

Answer 25

The Satcho Alliance was an alliance between the two southern Japanese provinces of Satsuma and Choshu beginning in the 1860s. Aware that China was being subjugated by the Western powers, the Satcho Alliance urged the Tokugawa Shogunate to stand up to the Western powers.

When that failed, the Satcho Alliance overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate and gave the new emperor, Meiji, full imperial powers.

Question 26

What reforms were adopted during the reign of Japanese Emperor Meiji?

Answer 26

Emperor Meiji established a constitutional monarchy, which included a parliament, the Diet. Meiji reduced the power of the samurai and dispatched men of the upper class to the United States and Europe to study industrial science, economics, and military science.

Question 27

Which country did Japan beat in battle in 1904-1905?

Answer 27

On both land and sea, Japan resoundingly defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, enabling Japan to claim Russia’s province of Manchuria.

Question 28

What philosophical school influenced the leaders of the American Revolution?

Answer 28

The leaders of the American Revolution, such as Washington, Jefferson, and Adams, were influenced by the writings of Enlightenment philosophers, such as John Locke.

The Declaration of Independence opens with language similar to that from Locke’s Two Treatises of Government. Meanwhile, the Constitution’s notion of balance of power derives from Montesquieu.

Question 29

What caused the outbreak of the American Revolution?

Answer 29

After 1763, the English government established taxes on the American colonists to pay the cost of the French and Indian War and to fund the British Army forces protecting the colonists.

Irritated that they were being taxed without their consent, the American colonists sent missives to the British government and, when these were refused, broke out into open rebellion.

Question 30

Why were the American forces able to achieve victory in the American Revolution?

Answer 30

There were many roots for American victory in the Revolution. The war was unpopular in England, and Britain never dispatched the full might of the British Army to America.

The British supply line also stretched across the Atlantic, while the Americans were fighting close to home.

Finally, a timely alliance between the Americans and the French tilted the balance against England, and peace was declared in 1783.

Question 31

The American federal government has three branches. What are they?

Answer 31

The three branches are the executive (the President and his cabinet), the legislative (the House and the Senate), and the judicial (the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts). The Constitution established a divided government to ensure that no branch became too powerful.

The American Revolution and the Constitution served as ideals for democracy movements ranging from the French Revolution of 1789, the Atlantic revolutions of the 1810s and 1820s, and even Ho Chi Minh’s efforts to oust the French from Vietnam in the 1950s.

Question 32

What American purchase may have been the best real estate deal in history?

Answer 32

In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, a territory of some 828,000 square miles, for $15 million. The purchase doubled the size of the United States overnight.

Question 33

Manifest Destiny

Answer 33

Manifest Destiny was an American belief that it was entitled to the entire North American landmass between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

The United States fought wars against both the Native American tribes and Mexico to assert control of most of North America and, by the 1850s, had most of the modern United States.

Question 34

Which Latin American country was the first to successfully achieve independence from Spain?

Answer 34

In the 1810s and 1820s, Mexico fought a successful war of independence from Spain.

Mexico’s war for independence was the first of a number of conflicts that saw much of Latin America freed from Spanish control.

Question 35

Between 1846 and 1848, Mexico fought a war with what power, eventually losing much of its territory?

Answer 35

Between 1846 and 1848, Mexico fought the Mexican-American War against the United States. Mexico sued for peace after U.S. forces captured Mexico City. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico gave up most of what is today the Western United States.

Question 36

What was the underlying cause of the American Civil War?

Answer 36

The underlying cause of the American Civil War was slavery, which had disappeared in the Northern United States, but remained prevalent in the South. In a bloody conflict that lasted from 1861 to 1865, the South and its economy was destroyed and slavery was outlawed.

Question 37

What status did the British government grant Canada in 1867?

Answer 37

In 1867, the British government allowed Canada dominion status, meaning that Canada would be largely self-governing and have its own parliament and constitution.

The granting of dominion status followed a large series of lenient British policies in Canada and the merger of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The British government followed the dominion model in Australia and New Zealand.

Question 38

Who was Simón Bolívar?

Answer 38

Simón Bolívar led many of the Central and South American nations in their wars of independence beginning in 1815.

A member of the Creole class in Venezuela, Bolívar led revolutions against Spanish authority in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia, beginning in 1815.

After promising to protect the rights of creoles and emancipation to slaves in his 1815 Jamaica letter, Bolívar began to see success and by 1821 had freed Venezuela and Colombia.

Question 39

What Bolívar ally emerged to lead revolutions against Spain in South America?

Answer 39

In 1816, José de San Martín, an ally of Simón Bolívar, led revolutions against Spain in South America, freeing Argentina, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

Question 40

Gran Colombia

Answer 40

Gran Colombia was a union of the newly freed states of southern Central America and northern South America under the leadership of Simón Bolívar.

The new nation collapsed in 1831 after Bolívar resigned from leadership, eventually forming the nations of Venezuela, Ecuador, and New Granada (Colombia and Panama).

Question 41

Why was it difficult to establish functioning republican governments in the Latin American states following their independence?

Answer 41

Unlike the United States, the Latin American states had little tradition of constitutional rule, meaning that concepts such as political rights and civil liberties had little meaning.

Further, throughout the 19th century, political strongmen, known as caudillos, seized control of many of the Latin American states, inhibiting the growth of representative government and provoking frequent civil wars.

Question 42

What is monoculture?

Answer 42

Monoculture refers to the devotion of a country’s or region’s natural resources to the growth and export of a small set of products. For instance, in the 19th century, the American South’s primary product was cotton.

The term “Banana Republic” refers to the countries of Latin America whose monocultural production was primarily related to fruit exports.