Empires in Collision: 1800-1900 (Chapter 19)

Vocabulary flashcards about the empires in collision during 1800-1900.

Opium War

Conflicts between China and Britain in the mid-19th century, primarily caused by the British trade in opium to China. Resulted in unequal treaties and eroded Chinese sovereignty.

Treaty of Nanjing

Treaty that ended the First Opium War in 1842. Imposed numerous restrictions on Chinese sovereignty and opened five ports to European traders.

Self-Strengthening Movement

Chinese policies in the 1860s and 1870s that sought to reinvigorate traditional China while cautiously borrowing from the West.

Boxer Uprising

Anti-foreign movement in northern China (1898-1901) led by militia organizations. Resulted in foreign occupation of Beijing and large reparation payments from China.

Taiping Uprising

A large-scale rebellion in China from 1850 to 1864 that threatened to topple the Qing Dynasty and replace it with a Christian-inspired kingdom.

The Sick Man of Europe

The Ottoman Empire was referred to as the 'sick man of Europe' due to its weakened state and vulnerability to European powers.

Tanzimat

Reformist measures undertaken by the Ottoman leadership after 1839 to provide the economic, social, and legal underpinnings for a strong and newly centralized state.

Young Ottomans

A group of lower-level officials, military officers, writers, and journalists who sought major changes in the Ottoman political system itself during the mid-19th century.

Young Turks

A group that advocated a militantly secular public life and modernization along European lines in the Ottoman Empire. Gained power in a coup in 1908.

Meiji Restoration

A decisive turning point in Japanese history in 1868 when a group of young samurai overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate and restored the emperor to power.

Lin Zexu

Chinese commissioner who led the campaign against opium use in the 1830s.

Unequal Treaties

Agreements imposed on China and other weaker nations by Western powers that eroded their independence and granted special privileges to foreigners.