UNIT 7: Industrialism + Imperialism

enclosure

the process by which wealthy landowners forcibly seized and consolidated lands that were formerly shared by peasant farmers, in order to create larger fields that could be cultivated more efficiently

thomas malthus

laissez-faire thinker who believed that population growth overly strained the food supply, making poverty inevitable; the solution, he proposed, was for families to have fewer children--he discouraged charitable handouts and vaccinations; his view was eventually disproven as the food supply caught up with population

means of production

term that describes the farms, factories, railways, and other large businesses that produce and distribute goods

social darwinism

erroneous, racist misapplication of the biological theories proposed by Charles Darwin, including natural selection and survival of the fittest, to human societies, embraced by many in the West, who used it to justify their conquest of "weaker races" as nature's way of improving the human species

the “great game”

name for the 19th century competition between Britain and Russia for imperial in parts of Asia, including in Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and Afghanistan; while Russia aimed to protect its southern frontier and expand into Central Asia, Britain's top priority was to protect its interests in India; it was further intensified by the discovery of oil in the regionc

concession

special rights given to foreign companies or individuals, such as those awarded by the Persian government, ostensibly to raise funds for modernization, but in reality to line officials' pockets or fund lavish courts; most notably, Asian leaders granted these to Western companies to explore potential oil fields

sepoy uprising

1857 uprising against the British East India Company by the Indian soldiers on whom it relied for security in the subcontinent; prompted by the British issuing rifles, the tips of whose cartridges, greased with animal fat, had to be bitten off, angering Hindus, to whom cows are sacred, and Muslims, who are prohibited from consuming pig products; in some places, the sepoys brutally massacred British men, women, and children--when they finally quelled the rebellion, the British took terrible revenge these acts, slaughtering thousands of unarmed Indians; the ultimate result of this event was that control of the subcontinent passed from the British East India Company, which had effectively ruled it since 1757, to the British government, which ruled it indirectly until 1947

raj

name for the system of British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent from 1858-1947, during which India was the "jewel in the crown" of the British Empire; the British ruled indirectly, relying on the British viceroy and other British officials, who held up positions in the civil service and army; during this period, the British modernized and Westernized the subcontinent to suit their own needs

muslim league

political party founded in 1906 by Muslims, most of whom had once belonged to the Congress Party, who, fearing that the Hindu-dominated INC would not protect the rights or represent the interests of the subcontinent's Muslims, felt that they needed their own political organization; like the INC, the party first favored within the Raj, but later came to demand a separate state, independent state that would serve as a homeland for South Asian Muslims

extraterritoriality

the right granted to British, and eventually other Western nationals China to live under their own laws and be tried own courts; i.e., exemption for Europeans from having to obey Chinese laws

boxer uprising

1899-1900 peasant uprising that aimed to expel the "foreign devils"--troops, missionaries, and businesspeople, who disrespected Chinese traditions and discriminated against natives, launched by the secret "Righteous Harmonious Fists" society; it attacked and killed foreigners throughout China, prompting intervention by a multinational Western and Japanese military coalition; its defeat forced China to make even more concessions to the West, ultimately convincing even conservative holdouts that China had no choice but to modernize

sun yixian

father of Chinese nationalism, who organized the Revolutionary Alliance in the early 1900s to rebuild China on "Three Principles of the People": nationalism (freeing China from foreign domination), democracy, and livelihood (economic security for all Chinese)--when the Qing Dynasty was toppled, he was sworn in as president of China's new republic (1912), which faced domestic problems and external invasions

how did industrialization in agriculture establish the conditions needed to industrialize other area of the economy?

new farming methods required less workers → workers had to find other jobs in cities

what is the capital? discuss the need for capital in the process of industrialization

-industrial capitalism: the economic system that emerged during the industrial revolution, characterized by the dominance of industrialists over merchants and the shift towards factory production

Why did middle class (bourgeois) business leaders and owners favor the “laissez-faire” approach to the economy?

because more goods were made at lower prices, making them affordable

what is the ultimate goal of socialism?

-to benefit the poor

-was the solution to poverty + injustice

summarize the goals of the “new imperialism”

-satisfy the demand for natural resources + markets

-relocate growing populations

-military harbors + merchant vessels

-nationalism

-national security interests

-conver/”civilize” indigenous peoples

what was the purpose of the 1884 berlin conference?

to settle disputes between the european powers with interests in african to create pseudo borders of ownership

describe the process through which the british established a protectorate in egypt in 1882

british bought shores on the suez canal from egypts ruler, nationalist revolt in 1882 britain made egypt protectorate → egypt modernized under british protection

why did the meiji restoration take power in japan? what was its goal? did it succeed?

-to restore the empire

-aimed to reform + modernize japan

-succeeded + japan itself changed and became an imperialist power in east asia

what prompted the 1857 sepoy uprising?

-BEIC introduced new rifles which sepoys had to bite off tips of cartidges with pig or cow fat before loading

describe the dirty-dog trick that the british devised to finally force china to open to trade. to which conflict did this lead?

-opium → became rich and addicted, chinese government outlawed it and executed chinese dealers

-british refused their request to stop shipments because right of free trade → led to 1839 opium war