AP World Unit 6 Key Terms

Imperialism

Movement to create and establish overseas empires; led in part by the need for resources to fuel industrialization and to create new markets.

Social Darwinism

Adaptation of the theory of biological evolution which argued that the spread of European and U.S. power proved the biological superiority of whites.

Queen Victoria

Monarch of Great Britain during the high point of British imperialism.

White Man’s Burden

The responsibility of Europe and the U.S. to give indigenous people their education, culture, and religion.

Sino-Japanese War

East Asian conflict over Korea, with China resenting Japan's influence in the region.

Phrenologists

Individuals who studied skull sizes and shapes, believing smaller skull size proved the mental feebleness of indigenous people.

British East India Company

Granted a monopoly on trade in India; eventually became the British government’s managing agency in India.

The Suez Canal

Waterway built to dramatically decrease travel time to Asia, managed by the French and constructed using Egyptian corvee labor.

Settler Colonies

Colonies that attracted large groups of Europeans who eventually settled there, such as Algeria.

The Berlin Conference

Meeting of European powers to provide for the orderly colonization of Africa, hosted by Otto von Bismarck.

The Boer Wars

Conflict between the British and Dutch settlers in southern Africa; ended with British victory and the establishment of concentration camps.

King Leopold II

Monarch who personally owned the colony of the Congo, using a ruthless economic exploitation system.

Congo Free State

Ruled by Belgium, where forced labor led to the harvest of ivory and rubber, resulting in the deaths of 8 million people.

Spheres of Influence

Regions in China where Europeans had exclusive trading rights and access to natural resources.

The Taiping Rebellion

Uprising of the lower class in China trying to overthrow the Qing government due to starvation and foreign rule.

The Boxer Rebellion

Uprising against foreign influence in China, led by nationalists seeking to purify their country.

The Trail of Tears

Forced removal of Native American groups from southeastern U.S. to Oklahoma reservations.

The Spanish-American War

Conflict between Spain and the United States over Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and the Philippines.

The Ghost Dance

Form of resistance by Native American groups thought to conjure spirits to remove whites from the continent.

Tupac Amaru II

Spanish educated descendant of Incan leaders who attempted to start an uprising against Spanish rule.

The Indian Rebellion of 1857

Turning point in the British Raj where Indian sepoys attempted to overthrow Company rule.

Indian National Congress

Group of educated Indian nationalists aimed at reforming British rule in India.

Xhosa Cattle Killing Movement

African resistance to Imperialism believing that cattle and crop destruction would drive Europeans out.

Anglo-Zulu War

Conflict between Europeans and the Zulu state over land in southern Africa; Europeans won due to stronger technology.

Cecil Rhodes

British figure in South Africa who founded De Beers Mining Company and dreamt of a railroad from Cape Town to Cairo.

Guano

Bird and bat excrement from South America, highly valued as fertilizer.

De Beers Mining Company

Britain-based company that controlled 90 percent of the world's diamond production.

The Opium Wars

Battles between British and Chinese in the mid-19th century regarding the right to sell opium.

Banana Republics

Small Central American countries dominated economically by foreign corporations.

Indentured Servitude

Labor system where workers signed contracts for a number of years of work and gained freedom afterward.

Penal Colonies

Areas designated for criminals due to overcrowded prisons in Great Britain.

Ethnic Enclaves

Clusters of neighborhoods of migrants from the same foreign country, such as 'Chinatowns'.

Chinese Exclusion Act

U.S. policy that banned Chinese immigration from 1882-1943.

White Australia Policy

Legislation aimed to prevent non-British immigration to Australia from the early 1900s until the mid-1970s.