IMPERIALISM

Old Imperialism

Europeans establish colonies in Americas, India, Southeast Asia, Africa, and China. European power was limited.

New Imperialism

The European expansion in Africa and Asia to achieve direct control; motivated by the acquisition of power, wealth, prestige among nations, and access to new markets.

Nationalism related to New Imperialism

Promoting a nation's superiority to justify expansion.

Protectorate Imperialism

A country with its own internal government but under the control of an outside power.

Indirect Rule

Colonial government in which local rulers are allowed to maintain their positions of authority and status.

Direct Rule

System of colonial government in which the imperialist power controlled all levels of government and appointed its own officials to govern the colony.

Scramble for Africa

Term given for the rapid invasion of Africa by the various European powers. This began imperialism in Africa.

Berlin Conference of 1884

A meeting of European powers that established rules for colonizing Africa; organized by Otto von Bismarck (Chancellor of Germany) and Jules Ferry (Premier of France).

Quinine

An agent that proved effective in controlling attacks of malaria, which had previously decimated Europeans in the tropics.

Telegraph

A device for rapid, long-distance transmission of information over an electric wire. It was introduced in England and North America in the 1830s and 1840s. Facilitated direct and indirect control over new colonies.

Maxim Gun

First fully automatic machine gun; invented in 1884; technological innovation that helped Europeans conquer Africa.

David Livingstone

A missionary from Scotland who traveled into central Africa to promote Christianity.

Social Darwinism

The application of ideas about evolution and 'survival of the fittest' to human societies - particularly as a justification for imperialist expansion.

White Man's Burden/Rudyard Kipling

A poem that included the justifications for European imperialism was the notion that superior white peoples had a moral obligation to raise ignorant native peoples to a higher level of civilization.

Indigenous

Native to a certain area.

King Leopold II

King of Belgium who exploited Central Africa and became the infamous ruler of the Congo Free State (to 1908) for ivory and rubber.

Congo Free State

A private colony ruled personally by Leopold II, king of Belgium; it was the site of widespread forced labor and killing to ensure the collection of wild rubber; by 1908 these abuses led to reforms that transferred control to the Belgian government.

Ethiopia

Defeated Italian efforts to imperialize.

Suez Canal

Ship canal dug across the isthmus of Suez in Egypt, designed by Ferdinand de Lesseps. It opened to shipping in 1869 and shortened the sea voyage between Europe and Asia. Its strategic importance led to the British conquest of Egypt in 1882.

Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902)

British entrepreneur and politician involved in the expansion of the British Empire from South Africa into Central Africa. The colonies of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) were named after him.

Boers/Afrikaners

Belonging or relating to white people of South Africa whose ancestors were Dutch

Zulus

A native African group who fought with the Boers for control of the land

Boer War (1899-1902)

War between the British and the Boers (Dutch farmers) in South Africa; laid the foundation for racial segregation

Spheres of Influence in China

One country would have special authority or presence and another country would have a different area of authority. China became divided by European powers. The different European countries supported each other through the spheres of influence because of economic advantage.

1st Opium War (1839-1842)

War between Britain and China over trading rights, particularly Britain's desire to continue selling opium to Chinese traders.

Treaty of Nanking (Nanjing) 1842

Treaty signed by China and Great Britain ending the Opium War; Britain obtained Hong Kong, China was obliged to open up 5 ports (eventually up to 11) to the British, forced China to pay an indemnity.

Boxer Rebellion (1900)

An uprising in China directed against foreign influence. It was suppressed by an international force of some eighteen thousand soldiers, including several thousand Americans. The Boxer Rebellion paved the way for the revolution of 1911, which led to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912.

Meiji Restoration

The political program that followed the destruction of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1868, in which a collection of young leaders set Japan on the path of centralization, industrialization, and imperialism.

Commodore Matthew Perry

The commodore of the U.S. navy who convinced the Shogun to open Japanese ports of trade.

Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)

Japan's imperialistic war against China; gained control of Korea, Taiwan, and the Pescadores Islands.

Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

War between Japan and Russia over Manchurian territory; resulted in the defeat of Russia by the Japanese navy.

British East India Company

A joint stock company that controlled most of India during the period of imperialism. This company controlled the political, social, and economic life in India for more than 200 years.

Indian Rebellion of 1857

Caused the British Government to take direct control over the Indian colony, which had previously been controlled by the British East India Company.

Sepoy Rebellion/Mutiny

The revolt of Indian soldiers in 1857 against British practices that violated religious customs; also known as the Sepoy Mutiny.

The Crown Jewel of the British Empire

After Britain defeated France in the Seven Years War, Britain increasingly sought control over India ultimately becoming the Crown Jewel of its colonial empire.

The British Raj

When India came directly under the British crown during the reign of Queen Victoria between 1757-1947.

French Algeria

Algeria was ruled as a colony from 1830 to 1848, and then as multiple departments, an integral part of France, with the implementing of the Constitution of French Second Republic on 4 November 1848, until Algerian independence in 1962.

French Indochina

Area of southeast Asia controlled by France during Imperialism. Includes modern day Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.