Roots and Legacies of Globalization

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the roots, historical concepts, ideologies, and contemporary legacies of globalization.

Gomes de Zurara

Portuguese author of The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea (1453) who grouped diverse African peoples into a single category to create hierarchy and justify Prince Henry's evangelical mission.

Race Making

The process described by Ibram X. Kendi as an essential ingredient in racist ideas—the foundational concept that groups human populations together and assigns them negative qualities to rationalize power and hierarchy.

Negros da terra

A 16th-century Portuguese term meaning 'Blacks from the land,' used by colonizers in Brazil to homogenize diverse Indigenous peoples into a single racial category.

Neel Irvin Painter's Definition of Race

An idea, rather than a biological fact, whose contours evolve over time and whose construction is intricately tied to systems of power and domination—specifically imperialism, colonialism, and slavery—to justify inequality.

Ibram X. Kendi's Thesis on Racism

The principle that ignorance is not the root cause of racism and slavery, but rather slavery and racism produce ignorance to justify an exploitative economic system driven by profit and power.

Eurocentrism

A world-view that regards European history, customs, and values as 'normal' and inherently superior, serving to produce and justify Europe's dominant global position.

Lord Kitchener

British Commander in Chief in India (1902) whose quote illustrated Eurocentrism by asserting that European superiority prevented any native soldier, regardless of rank or ability, from being an equal to a British officer.

Assimilation

The process whereby a minority culture or group is absorbed into a dominant group, exemplified in Canada by policies designed to absorb Indigenous peoples into mainstream society.

Indian Act (1876)

Canadian federal legislation referenced by Duncan Campbell Scott used to facilitate European settlement plans and assimilate Indigenous peoples and their lands into mainstream Canadian society.

Duncan Campbell Scott

Canadian Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs who in 1920 affirmed that the goal of the Indian Act was to assimilate Indigenous cultures into mainstream Canadian society so native territory could be transferred peacefully.

Mitch Landrieu's View on Monuments

The perspective from In the Shadow of Statues stating that taking down Confederate monuments is not erasing history, but correcting a false historical narrative to build a better future.

Jason Kenney's View on Monuments

The perspective of the Alberta Premier (2019–2022) arguing that while debating historical figures is acceptable, removing or damaging historical monuments constitutes unauthorized vandalism of history and heroes.

Global Economic Inequalities

A contemporary legacy of historical globalization where wealth amassed from colonial trade, resource extraction, and early industrialization leaves many former colonies economically disadvantaged compared to former imperial powers.

Cultural Diffusion and Hybridity

The spread and blending of languages, religions, customs, and culinary traditions across regions through historical trade, colonization, and migration, producing modern multicultural societies.

Migration Patterns (Colonial Legacy)

Demographic realities shaped by historical mass movements, notably the transatlantic slave trade and colonial labor migrations, which established enduring diasporas worldwide.

Arbitrary Political Borders

Borders drawn by colonial powers that disregarded existing ethnic and cultural territories, creating persistent modern conflicts and tensions in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Global Power Structures

The enduring dominance of Western nations in modern international organizations, diplomacy, and global governance resulting from historical empires, industrial leadership, and trade dominance.

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996)

A Canadian government commission that investigated the historical and contemporary relationship between Indigenous peoples, the Canadian government, and Canadian society as a whole.

White Man's Burden

A poem and concept by Rudyard Kipling encapsulating the Eurocentric paternalistic ideology that Western powers had a duty to rule and assimilate non-Western populations.

Containerization

A modern transport innovation using standardized shipping containers that dramatically decreased shipping costs, accelerated transit times, and transformed global trade networks.

Global Village

The concept that modern telecommunications and media technologies have collapsed physical distance, allowing people worldwide to experience events and share information almost instantaneously.