Ideologies of Imperialism (1750-1900)

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering the ideologies that motivated the second wave of imperialism between 1750 and 1900.

Maritime empires

Sea-based empires established by Western European states that focused on dominating Indian Ocean trade and colonizing The Americas.

Nationalism

A sense of commonality among a people based on shared language, religion, and social customs, often linked with the desire for self-rule within a territory.

Unification of Italy and Germany

Historical developments within Europe that resulted from the nationalistic desires of people who wanted to live in consolidated states of their own.

Great power status

A status achieved by imperial states during the 1750-1900 period by claiming larger and larger empires across the world due to nationalistic rivalries.

Scientific racism

The idea that humans can be hierarchically ranked in distinct biological classes based on race.

Phrenology

A pseudoscience involving the study of the shape and size of human skulls, used by scientific racists to justify the superiority of the white race.

Child races

A term used by white Europeans to describe other races in order to justify imperial projects and the belief in white superiority.

Charles Darwin

The creator of the biological theory that species evolved from lower life forms over time through the process of natural selection.

Social Darwinism

An ideology that applied the biological theory of 'survival of the fittest' to human societies, arguing that strong, western industrial nations were naturally superior to weaker nations.

Natural selection

The biological process where certain species survive and grow more populous because they are better adapted to their environment.