Imperialism

Global Economy

The concept that the whole world is connected economically; what happens in one part of the world affects other parts of the world.

Telegraph

The first long distance communication system consisting of wires on poles transmitting a series of electronic dots and dashes known as Morse Code.

Suez Canal

A canal built by the French and British (with Egyptian labor) between the Mediterranean and Red Seas that shortened the sailing distance from Europe to Asia.

Corporation

A large, multi-location company that offers shares of ownership (called stock) to the general public to raise money.

Stock

Shares of ownership in a corporation; owning these can result in the corporation paying a small amount of revenue back to the holder.

Emigration

The act of leaving a country with the intent to relocate permanently in a different country.

Immigration

The act of entering a country with the intent to stay there permanently.

Migration

The process of large groups of people moving over longer periods of time to new places.

Imperialism

The taking or controlling of foreign land by stronger countries that dominate the economic, political and social circumstances of the conquered territory.

Colony

Areas of imperial control in foreign countries directly run by the technologically superior country.

Protectorate

Foreign countries under the control of the technologically superior country.

Economic Imperialism

Foreign countries under the control of a corporation from a technologically superior country.

Zulu

An African tribe that famously fought the British Empire in South and East Africa.

Sphere of Influence

A concept where a foreign power’s control over a less advanced country grows larger based on infrastructure and increasing influence.

East India Company

The English trading company that dominated Indian and western Pacific trade between the 1600 and 1900s.

Raj

The title of the British administrator in India and the land ruled by that administrator.

Extraterritorial Rights

The process of exempting someone from the laws of the country they are in.

“The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire”

A phrase reflecting the power and scale of the British Empire on earth.

“The Jewel in the Crown”

A metaphor regarding the importance of India to the economic power of the British Empire.

Sepoy

An Indian soldier in India that worked for the British army.

Great Rebellion

The failed rebellion of India against the British Empire in 1857; also known as the First War of Independence.

Boxer Rebellion

An uprising of violence against foreigners in China that hurt China's ability to keep foreign countries out.

Opium

A drug distilled from the poppy plant that the British East India sold in China, leading to significant consequences.