Unit 6: Topic 1 - Rationale For Imperialism Flashcards
Imperialism
A policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force.
Nationalism
When a group of people have a strong common identity and become loyal to a single state.
White Man’s Burden
A belief that white men should carry the “burden” of managing the affairs of nonwhite countries, which were thought to be less developed.
Social Darwinism
Used to justify racism and imperialism, Social Darwinism is the theory that some people are more potent in society simply because their race or inherent nature is superior. Social Darwinism stemmed from Darwinism, a theory of biological evolution stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual’s ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.
Missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group that is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development. 18th and 19th century Christian missionaries spread both their religion and their support of imperialism by persuading people to give up their traditional beliefs and adopt Christianity.
Colonies
An area under political control from a distant country occupied by settlers from that country.
British East India Company
In 1600, the English monarch granted the EIC (East India Company) a royal charter that gave the EIC a monopoly on English trade with India. After driving the Portuguese out of India, the EIC traded primarily in cotton, silk, indigo, and spices and eventually expanded its activities to East Asia.
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was granted a monopoly on the trade between the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa and the Straits of Magellan at the southern tip of South America by the Dutch government in 1602. The VOC concentrated on the islands around Java (in southeast Asia), replacing the Portuguese who had controlled the region.
Sino-Japanese War
A war was fought between China and Japan from 1894-1895 because of Japan’s intrusion into Korean affairs, which irritated China. Because Japan had already industrialized while Chile had not, Japan won, gained control of Korea, and seized Taiwan.
Protectorates
A state that is under protection by another state. A protectorate differs from a colony because protectorates have local rulers and are not controlled by the other state.
Phrenology
The detailed study of the shape and size of the skull as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities, which people used to prove that white people were intellectually superior to people of other races. Phrenology is a pseudoscience, a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on the scientific method.
Charles Darwin
An English scientist who developed the theory of evolution and proposed that all living species descended from a common ancestor.
