Unit 6: Topic 4 - Global Economic Development

Question 1

Raw Materials

Answer 1

A basic material used to create a product. Examples include fossil fuels, minerals, cash crops, coal, and oil. The demand for raw materials turned colonies into export economies as imperial attention focused on the tropical climates that were conducive to the presence of raw materials.

Question 2

Guano

Answer 2

Feces that are rich in nitrogen from a certain bird in Peru. It is a good fertilizer. Profits from the guano trade gave way to the abolition of slavery and the stop of American Indian tribute.

Question 3

Vulcanization

Answer 3

Developed by Charles Goodyear, vulcanization is a process that increased the durability of natural rubber by adding chemicals. Rubber became more useful, and the modern rubber industry was born as rubber was now used to produce tires for bicycles (and later automobiles), hoses, gaskets, waterproof clothing, and shoe soles, among other items. The increased demand encouraged the growth of rubber plantations in Africa and Brazil.

Question 4

DeBeers

Answer 4

DeBeers Consolidated Mines was a corporation that monopolized the South African diamond industry with permission from the British Parliament. Led by Cecil Rhodes, the corporation was formed in 1880 and by 1891, De Beers accounted for 90 percent of the world’s diamond production.

Question 5

Cash Crops

Answer 5

Agricultural crops only grown to be sold in markets for as much profit as possible. Examples include cotton, sugar, tobacco, and grains. In most colonies with export economies, farmers were only allowed to raise cash crops at the expense of other agricultural products. This use of land led to monocultures, or a lack of agricultural diversity, particularly in developing nations.

Question 6

Telegraph

Answer 6

A communication system that uses an electrical connection. It drastically improved communication abilities because people could have instant communication from far distances.

Question 7

Export Economies

Answer 7

Economic systems that specialize in the production of natural resources to export to other countries. For example, by the end of the 19th century, 93% of the export revenue in Egypt came from cotton.

Question 8

Palm Oil

Answer 8

Important cash crop in West Africa. European colonists created plantations for palm oil in the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. Palm oil served as a lubricant for machines and was taken from West African trees and exported to industrializing countries to maintain their factory machines.

Question 9

Apartheid

Answer 9

A legislative system that racially segregated South Africa. It came to be after the National Party gained power. Non-white people were disadvantaged compared to the white minority of South Africa because the system severely withheld their rights, such as not providing equal employment and housing opportunities and segregating public facilities and the social scene.

Question 10

Monoculture

Answer 10

The practice of growing one crop in a field at a time, popular in developing nations. It is more efficient for producing profitable crops, however, it can be bad for biodiversity and the soil. Present day former colonies often import basic crops for their population because their croplands have been damaged from use of monocultures.