Unit 6 Terms - AP World History

Aboriginal

Indigenous peoples of Australia who faced land seizure, displacement and population decline under British settler colonialism during the 19th century.

African Slave Trade

The longstanding draft in enslaved Africans, which continued internally within Africa and some Indian Ocean regions even after the Atlantic trade ended; European imperialism often exploited existing systems.

Afrikaners

Dutch descended white settlers in South Africa, who developed their own identity and language and later clashed with the British over the control over the region.

Apartheid

A system of racial segregation and white minority rule in South Africa developed from earlier colonial racial hierarchies and later formed in the 20th century.

Banana Republics

Central American countries whose economies became dominated by foreign fruit companies, resulting in political manipulation and economic dependency under US influence.

Berlin Conference

A meeting of European powers that established rules for dividing Africa during the scrapple for Africa, ignoring African political boundaries and interests.

Blue-collar

Industrial working class laborers who performed manual or factory work during the era of industrialization and global labor migrations.

Boer Wars

Conflicts between the British and Afrikaners over the control of South Africa, especially its gold and diamond resources. Britain ultimately won and consolidated the region.

Boxer Rebellion

In a Chinese anti-imperialist uprising led by the Boxers, who sought to expel foreign influence; it was suppressed by international coalition of imperial powers.

Cacique

A local political boss in Latin America who held regional power, often supported by national governments or foreign interests, during the imperialist era.

Caliphate

A Muslim state led by a caliph.

Canal System

Large scale canal projects that improved global transportation, facilitated imperial expansion, and increased trade efficiency.

Cape Colony

A South African colony originally founded by the Dutch and later taken by the British. A key strategic point trade to Asia.

Capital

Financial resources used for investment.

Cash Crops

Agricultural products grown for export rather than local consumption, such as cotton, rubber, tea, and palm oil. Imperial powers often force colonies to specialize in these.

Chinatowns

Ethnic Chinese communities formed in cities around the world as a result of the 19th century labor migrations, often shaped by discrimination and restrictive immigration laws.

Chinese Exclusion Act

The US law that banned Chinese immigration, reflecting anti Asian racism and fear of Labor competition during the industrial era.

Colonial Service

The administrative workforce of the European empires, staffed by officials who govern colonies and implanted imperial policies.

Colonization

The process in which a state established control over foreign lands, settles its people there, and exploits resources for economic and political gain.

Colonization Society

Organizations that promoted oversea expansion and settlement as part of a national imperial ambition.

Concentration camps

Detention camps used by imperial powers (Most notably by the British during the Boer Wars) to confine civilians under harsh conditions as part of counterinsurgency strategies.

Congo Free State

A Central African territory controlled by King Leopold ll of Belgium, where forced labor, violence and exploitation were used to extract rubber and ivory.

Convicts

Prisoners transported by imperial governments, especially to Britain, to colonies like Australia to provide labor and populate settlements.

Corn Laws

British tariffs on imported grain that protected domestic producers. Their repeal in 1846 reflected growing support for free trade during the industrial era.

Corve'e laborers

Unpaid workers forced by the state to provide labor, often for public works.

Criollos

People of Spanish descent born in the Americas.

Culture Systems

Colonial agricultural systems requiring farmers to grow cash crops for experts to benefit the imperial power.

Diaspora

Large scale migration of people who form communities abroad.

Economic Imperialism

Control over region's economy by foreign businesses or investors rather than direct political rule.

Emigrate

To leave one's home country and settle elsewhere.

Ethnic enclaves

Communities formed by migrants abroad where cultural practices, language, and traditions were present.

Export Economies

Colonies structured to produce raw materials and cash crops for export to industrial nations and often the expense of local food production.

Gentlemen's Agreement

An informal agreement between US and Japan in which Japan restricted immigration of its laborers, reflecting anti Asian sentiment in the US.

Ghost Dance

A Native American spiritual movement that promised the restoration of indigenous lands and the disappearance of white settlers. The US authorities eventually violently suppressed it.

Gold Rush

Mass immigration triggered by gold discoveries such as California or Australia, which attracted global laborers and reshaped local economies.

Great Famine

A devastating famine in Ireland caused by the potato crop failure. British policies worsened the crisis and contributed to mass emigration.

Great Game

A geopolitical rivalry between Britain and Russia over the control and influence of Central Asia during the 19th century.

Groundnuts

Peanuts grown as a cash crop in African colonies, especially under French rule, supply European industries.

Guano

Accumulate bird droppings used as fertilizer. Peru and other regions explored guano in large quantities, making it a valuable global commodity.

Imperialism

The policy of extending a nation's power through territorial conquest, economic domination, or political control over foreign lands, especially prominent in the 19 century.

Indentured Servants

Laborers who signed contracts to work for a set number of years in exchange for passage, wages, or land.

Indian National Congress

A political organization that was forming 1885 by educated Indian elites to advocate for the greater self rule and eventually independence from British colonial role.

Indian Rebellion of 1857

A major uprising against British rule in India, sparked by grievances among sepoys. This oppression led to direct British government control over India.

Indian Territory

A region in the United States is designed for the forced relocation of Native American groups.

Indochina

A French colonial region in Southwest Asia, including Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, used for plantation, agriculture and resource extraction.

Kangani

A South Asian labor recruiter who supervised in transport Tamil workers to plantations in British Ceylon.

Kangani System

A labor migration system in which Kanganis recruited entire families or groups from India to work on plantations, creating a stable migrant communities.

Mahdi

A Sudanese Islamic leader, Muhammad Ahmad, who led a successful anti-imperialist revolt against Egyptian and British forces in the late 19th century.

Maistry

The Indian labor overseer who recruited and supervised workers on plantations, especially in British controlled regions.

Manifest Destiny

The US believed that it was destined to expand across North America, used to justify territorial conquest and displacement of indigenous peoples.

Maori

The indigenous peoples of New Zealand who resisted British settler colonialism and faced land loss and population decline.

Mauritius

The island in the Indian Ocean used by European powers, is a plantation colony and a major destination for Indian indentured laborers.

Meiji Restoration

A Japanese restoration movement that ended Tokugawa shogunate, modernized Japan, and launched its own imperial expansion.

Mohandas Gandhi

An India's nationalist leader who organized non-violent resistance against the British rule.

Monocultures

Agricultural systems in which colonies were forced to grow a single cash crop, leading to soil depletion and economic dependency.

Monroe Doctrine

A US policy opposing European intervention in the Americas, later used to justify US influence and imperialism in Latin America.

Natal

A British colony in South Africa that received large numbers of Indian and Gentry laborers for sugar plantations.

Nationalism

A political ideology emphasizing loyalty to a nation.

Open Door Policy

A US policy calling for equal trading rights in China and the preservation of Chinese territorial integrity aimed at limiting European spheres of influence.

Opium

A narcotic drug grown in British India that led to widespread addiction and Opium Wars when China tried to restrict the trade.

Pampas

Fertile grasslands in Argentina used for large scale cattle ranching and agricultural export economies.

Pan-Africanism

A movement promoting unity among the peoples of African descent worldwide and opposing colonial rule in Africa.

Penal Colony

A settlement where convicts were sent to serve sentences; British used Australia as a major penal colony.

Phrenologist

A practitioner of phrenology, a pseudoscientific belief that skull shape determines intelligence and character used to justify racist imperial ideologies.

Plantation Syndicate

A group of investors or companies that control plantations, agriculture, and colonies, often coordinating production and labor systems.

Popular Culture

Mass produced entertainment and cultural practices that spread globally during the industrial era through migration and imperial networks.

Proclamation of 1763

A British decree restricting colonial settlement West of the Appalachian Mountains.

Pseudoscientists

Individuals who promoted false scientific theories, such as scientific racism to justify imperialism and racial hierarchies.

Quasi

Meaning 'almost' or 'partly'.

Quinine

A medicine derived from cinchona used to prevent malaria; enabled European imperial expansion into tropical regions.

Refined materials

Processed raw materials such as metals, brothers, or sugar, that industrial nations produced using resources extracted from colonies.

Remittance

Money sent home by migrants working abroad; a major economic link between migrant laborers and their home communities.

Roosevelt Corollary

The extension of the Monroe Doctrine stating the US could intervene in Latin American nations to maintain stability, reinforcing US imperial influence.

Scots-Irish

Migrants of Scottish and Irish descent who moved to the United States and other regions, contributing to the settler populations during the age of migration.

Scramble for Africa

The rapid European conquest and partition of Africa in the late 19th century, formalized through agreements like the Berlin Conference.

Second Generation

Children of immigrants born in a new country often experience cultural blending and different opportunities compared to their parents.

Sepoys

Indian soldiers employed by the British East India Company; their grievances helped spark the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Settler colony

Colonies where a large number of Europeans settled permanently, often displacing indigenous populations.

Siam

A Southeast Asian Kingdom (modern Thailand) that avoided colonization and modernization by negotiating with European powers.

Social Darwinism

A pseudoscientific ideology applying Darwin's ideas to human societies by using imperial powers to justify conquest and racial hierarchies.

Spheres of Influence

Areas in China where specific foreign powers had exclusive trading rights and economic privileges without formal colonization.

Standard of Living

A measure of material well-being.

Subsistence farming

Agriculture focused on growing enough food for local consumption rather than export; often undermined by colonial cash crop demands.

Survival of the fittest

The phrase used by social Darwinists to argue that the stronger nations were naturally destined to dominate weaker ones.

Taiping Rebellion

A massive Chinese civil war led by Hong Xiuquan against the Qing Dynasty, which weakened China and increased foreign influence.

Trail of Tears

The forced relocation of Native American groups from their homelands to Indian Territory, resulting in mass death.

Treaty of Nanking

The treaty ending the First Opium War, which forced China to open their ports, cede Hong Kong, and grant trading privileges to Britain.

Treaty of Paris

General term for multiple treaties, but refers to the agreements ending imperial conflicts and transferring colonial territories.

Treaty of Tientsin

Treaties after the Second Opium War that expanded foreign access to Chinese ports and legalized more foreign presence.

Treaty of Waitangi

The agreement between Britain and the Maori leaders in New Zealand, interpreted differently by each side, leading to land disputes and British dominance.

Unskilled Laborers

Workers with little formal training who performed manual labor.

Vulcanization

A process that strengthened rubber, making it more durable; increased global demand for rubber from colonies like the Congo and Southeast Asia.

White Australia Policy

A set of rules restricting non-European immigration to Australia, especially targeting Asians and Pacific Islanders.

White-collar

Professional or clerical workers who perform non-manual labor, often associated with the expanding middle class during industrialization.