World History Unit 6 Vocabulary

Imperialism

The policy of extending a country's power and influence by exploiting another country through diplomacy or military force for economic gain.

Nationalism

The loyalty of a people to their common culture, traditions, ethnicity, geographic territory, and the idea of self-rule.

Social Darwinism

The idea that certain people become powerful in society because they are innately better.

East India Company

English chartered company formed to trade with East and Southeast Asia and India.

King Leopold II

King of Belgium from 1865 to 1909, best known for his personal control of the Congo Free State.

Cape Colony

Dutch colony established at Cape of Good Hope in 1652 to provide a coastal station for Dutch ships traveling to and from Asia.

Dutch East Indies

A Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia.

Berlin Conference

1884-1885 Meeting at which the major European powers negotiated and formalized claims to territory in Africa.

Scramble for Africa

The way in which European countries brought nearly all of the African continent under their control as part of their separate empires.

Monroe Doctrine

Warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that America had the 'God-given' right to expand from sea to shining sea.

Great Game (Russia & Britain)

A period of geopolitical competition between Russia and Britain for control and influence over Central Asia.

Penal Colony

Distant or overseas settlement established for punishing criminals by forced labour and isolation from society.

Boer Wars

(1899-1902) War between Great Britain and the Boers in South Africa over control of rich mining country.

Seven Years' War

A conflict between France and Great Britain that began in 1754 as a dispute over North American land claims in the region around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Taiping Rebellion

A massive civil war in China from 1850 to 1864, led by Hong Xiuquan, who sought to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and establish a new Christian-based kingdom.

Boxer Rebellion

An uprising against foreigners that occurred in China about 1900, begun by peasants but eventually supported by the government.

Spanish-American War

A conflict between the United States and Spain that effectively ended Spain's role as a colonial power in the New World.

Corvee Labor

A system of forced labor in which individuals are required to work for a certain number of days per year for the state or a local lord without any payment.

Spheres of Influence

Areas in which countries have some political and economic control but do not govern directly.

Settler Colony

Colonies in which the colonizing people settled in large numbers, rather than simply spending relatively small numbers to exploit the region.

Suez Canal

Artificial waterway in Egypt that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

Afrikaners

South Africans descended from Dutch and French settlers of the seventeenth century.

Ghost Dance

A spiritual movement among Native Americans in the late 19th century that aimed to restore their traditional ways of life.

Tupac Amaru II

A revolutionary leader of indigenous descent in the late 18th century who led a major uprising against Spanish colonial rule in Peru.

Sepoys

Indian troops, trained in European style, serving the French and British.

British Raj

The period of British rule in India from 1858 to 1947.

Cherokee Nation

A Native American tribe originally from the southeastern United States, recognized for its complex society, rich culture, and governance.

Cotton

A natural fiber harvested from the cotton plant, widely used for making textiles and clothing.

Rubber

A tough elastic polymeric substance made from the latex of a tropical plant or synthetically.

Cash Crops

An agricultural crop that is purposely made strictly to be sold in a market environment for as much money as possible.

Export Economies

Economic systems that rely heavily on exporting goods and services to generate income and drive growth.

Railroads

A system of tracks and trains used for transporting goods and people over long distances, which became a crucial component of the Industrial Revolution.

Steamships

A vessel that is propelled by steam power, typically generated by burning coal in a boiler.

Telegraph

Communication device that allowed messages to be transmitted over long distances using electrical signals.

Apartheid

A policy of strict racial segregation imposed in South Africa to permit the continued dominance of whites politically and economically.

Treaty of Nanjing

(August 29, 1842) Treaty that ended the first Opium War, the first of the unequal treaties between China and foreign imperialist powers.

Opium Wars

A series of conflicts between China and Western powers, primarily Britain, in the mid-19th century, over trade imbalances and the illegal opium trade.

Economic Imperialism

The use of economic power to exert control over other countries, regions, or peoples.

Banana Republics

Derogatory term for a country that has an economy dependent solely on revenue from exporting a single product or commodity.

Indentured Servants

A worker bound by a voluntary agreement to work for a specified period of years often in return for free passage to an overseas destination.

Diaspora

The dispersion of any people from their original homeland to various locations around the world.

Emigrate

To leave one's country to settle in another, often driven by factors like economic opportunities, political instability, or social conditions.

Mohandas Gandhi

Leader of the Indian Independence Movement known for a strategy of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience.

Porfirio Diaz

A dictatorial general that ruled Mexico from 1876-1911; he made the most notable attempt to encourage industrialization.

Chinese Exclusion Act

Prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States.

White Australia Policy

A set of historical policies that aimed to restrict non-European immigration to Australia.

White Collar

Characterizing lower-level professional and management workers; not requiring physical labor.

Blue Collar

A working class person who performs manual labor.

Ethnic Enclaves

Geographic areas where a particular ethnic group is concentrated, often surrounded by a different culture.