European Colonialism and Expansion

A set of vocabulary flashcards keying in on essential terms, historical entities, treaties, and conflicts in European colonialism across America, Africa, and Asia.

Colonialism

The act of a developed nation occupying the land of a less developed, distant nation and establishing their rule on the occupied country.

Council of the Indies

An organisation established by Spain to rule its American colonies.

Berlin Conference 1884

A 1884 conference of European nations in Berlin organized to discuss possibilities of dividing African territory among themselves and exploring opportunities available to them.

Congo Free State

The name given to Congo after Belgian supremacy in the region was acknowledged by all European nations at the Berlin Conference in 1884.

John Cabot

An explorer granted permission in 1496 to establish colonies on American land, establishing British ruling authority in North America and building Jamestown in 1607.

Maritime Law

A restriction imposed by England to suit its colonial interests that authorised only British companies for sea transport.

Stamp Act (1765)

An act passed in 1765 that made it obligatory to purchase special stamps for important documents in British colonies in America.

Boston Massacre

An incident on 5th March 1770 in Boston where some people were shot down by British soldiers.

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 act of resistance in which local residents of Boston dumped East India Company tea boxes into the sea.

First Continental Congress

A 1774 meeting held at Philadelphia where strong opposition to the import of British goods was expressed and a boycott on British goods was decided.

Second Continental Congress

A meeting held on 4th July 1776 where thirteen American colonies declared independence from Great Britain and adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence

A document drafted by Thomas Jefferson and adopted on 4th July 1776, declaring 13 American colonies as independent sovereign states and defining natural rights as Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness.

Battle of Saratoga

A decisive victory for the American colonies over the British army that served as a turning point, leading France and later Spain to join the conflict against the British.

George Taubman Goldie

A British citizen who founded 'The National African Company' in England and received a charter from the British government to conduct trading operations in Nigeria.

British East Africa

The protectorates declared by England consisting of Zanzibar, Pemba island, and Nyasaland (Malawi).

First Anglo-Burmese War

A two-year war declared by Lord Amherst after Burmese attacks on Assam, resulting in the British navy capturing the port of Rangoon (Yangon).

Second Anglo-Burmese War

A war fought during Lord Dalhousie's tenure after a fine on two British individuals was used as a pretext to attack Myanmar, leading to the British capture of Rangoon, Pegu, and Prome.

Third Anglo-Burmese War

A war fought around 1885 C.E. under Lord Dufferin after King Thibaw levied a fine on the Bombay-Burma Trading Corporation, resulting in the capture of Mandalay and King Thibaw's surrender.

King Thibaw

The king of Myanmar who surrendered during the Third Anglo-Burmese War and was placed under house arrest by the British in a three-storeyed palace in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.

1890 Treaty (Sikkim)

An agreement between the British and China establishing Sikkim as a British protectorate, securing Darjeeling tea gardens and creating a buffer zone.