World History: Industrialization & Imperialism Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key people, inventions, events, and concepts of the Industrial Revolution and 19th-to-20th-century Imperialism.

Enclosure Acts

Laws through which landowners fenced off land, forcing many small farmers to move to cities and providing more workers for factories.

Capital

Profits from trade, agriculture, and business that could be invested in factories, machines, mines, and transportation.

Entrepreneurs

Individuals who start a business and take a financial risk in order to gain a profit.

Putting-Out System

A production method where merchants supplied materials to workers who made goods at home and returned the finished products for payment.

James Hargreaves

Inventor who created the spinning jenny to help with the spread of textile production.

Edmund Cartwright

Inventor of the power loom, which used mechanical power to weave cloth more quickly than by hand.

Richard Arkwright

Inventor of the water frame, which spun cotton thread quickly and strongly, and pioneer of the modern factory system.

James Watt

Inventor who improved the steam engine to make steam power more efficient and useful for factories, mines, and transportation, reducing the need for factories to be located directly by rivers.

Henry Cort

Developer of the puddling process, which made iron more malleable, less brittle, and stronger for use in tools, bridges, and rails.

Sir Henry Bessemer

Inventor of the Bessemer process, which used blasts of air to remove impurities from molten iron to make stronger and more durable steel faster and cheaper.

Imperialism

The extension of a country's power over another territory or people through political, economic, military, or cultural control.

Direct Rule

A colonial governance system where imperial officials from the controlling country governed a territory themselves.

Indirect Rule

A colonial governance system where an imperial power governed through local rulers or officials who followed instructions.

Partition of Africa

Also known as the Scramble for Africa; the rapid division and conquest of African territories by European powers seeking resources, markets, strategic locations, and political influence.

Berlin Conference

A meeting where European countries divided Africa without African representation, though not dividing all of Africa in a single meeting.

King Leopold II

Belgian king responsible for brutal exploitation in the Congo, particularly regarding rubber collection, who was forced by international pressure to give up control in 1908.

Henry Stanley

Explorer who helped King Leopold II establish control in the Congo.

King Menelik II

Ethiopian leader who defeated Italy at the Battle of Adwa, successfully protecting Ethiopia's independence.

British East India Company

An enterprise that began as a trading company and gradually gained political and military power in South Asia by collecting taxes, maintaining an army, making agreements with rulers, and controlling large territories.

Sepoy Rebellion

Also known as the Indian Rebellion of 1857; an uprising of Indian soldiers against British control due to resentment over policies, loss of authority, economic pressures, and religious concerns, which ended company rule and led to direct British government control.

British Raj System

The historical period of direct British government rule in India.

Viceroy

The British monarch's representative and the top British official in India during the British Raj.

Trade Surplus

An economic condition characterized by importing more than you are exporting.

Trade Deficit

An economic condition characterized by exporting more than you are importing.

Taiping Rebellion

A massive uprising against China's Qing government, led by Hong Xiuquan with the goal of replacing the Qing dynasty with a new government.

Hong Xiuquan

The leader of the Taiping Rebellion who sought to replace China's Qing dynasty with a new government.

Spheres of Influence

Designated areas in China where foreign powers held control over trade and economic activity.

Open Door Policy

A United States policy supporting equal trading access for all nations in China.

Boxer Uprising

An anti-foreign and anti-Christian movement in China put down by an international force, which resulted in China paying a large indemnity and an increase in foreign influence.

Tokugawa Shogunate

A military government that kept Japan largely isolated from foreigners.

Commodore Matthew Perry

American naval officer who entered Japan with a naval fleet and demanded that Japan open its ports to American ships.

Meiji Reformation

A transformation period during which Japan rapidly modernized its government, military, and industry, creating railroads, an education system, currency, a tax system, a constitution, and a conscript military.

Sino-Japanese War

A conflict in which Japan defeated China, gaining control of Taiwan and influence over Korea.

Russo-Japanese War

A war in which Japan defeated Russia, establishing Japan as a major world power.