Imperialism: Causes, Impacts, and Resistance Flashcards

Vocabulary-style flashcards based on lecture notes regarding global imperialism, resistance movements like the Boxer and Sepoy rebellions, and the colonization of Africa and China.

Imperialism

A policy or practice by which a country increases its power by gaining control over other areas of the world, often involving missionaries, indigenous peoples, and government officials with differing perspectives.

Zulu Resistance

The efforts of the Zulu people in South Africa to defend their land and autonomy against European colonial powers during the 19th century.

Anglo-Zulu War of 1879

The conflict that led to the military defeat of the Zulu people and the annexation of their territory by the British.

Boxer Rebellion

A violent uprising in China against foreign influence and Western powers during the rule of Empress Dowager CiXi, which fostered nationalist sentiments despite its defeat.

Empress Dowager CiXi

The ruler of China during the time of the Boxer Rebellion, a period marked by foreign intervention and intrusion on Chinese territory.

Sepoy Rebellion

An uprising in India triggered by the introduction of Enfield rifles with cartridges greased with animal fat, offending Hindu and Muslim soldiers.

East India Company

The entity whose rule in India ended as a direct result of the Sepoy Rebellion, leading to direct British colonial rule.

Divide and Rule

A policy and set of stricter controls implemented by the British in India due to increased suspicion and distrust following the Sepoy Rebellion.

Berlin Conference

A meeting where European powers established guidelines to partition and colonize Africa, often shifting political borders with little regard for traditional cultures.

Lord McCartney's Mission (1793)

An unsuccessful British attempt to establish diplomatic relations and negotiate for trade opportunities in China beyond the single port of Canton.

Canton

The only Chinese port open to trade with the British prior to the outcomes sought by Lord McCartney's mission.

Spheres of Influence

Regions in China where specific foreign countries (such as Russia, Germany, Britain, France, and Japan) held exclusive trading rights.

Scramble for Africa

The rapid invasion, occupation, and colonization of African territory by European powers between 1881 and 1914.

King Leopold II

The Belgian monarch who personally claimed the Congo as his private possession, leading to widespread exploitation and abuses.

Belgian Congo

A territory controlled by Belgium from 1884 to 1908 where Congolese people were subjected to forced labor for the extraction of rubber and ivory.

Lin Zexu

The Chinese Commissioner who wrote a letter to Queen Victoria in 1839 to protest the harm caused by the British opium trade.

Opium

A substance referred to as "poison" by Commissioner Lin Zexu, which the British exported to China for profit despite prohibiting it in their own country.

Ethiopia

An African state noted for organizing a successful resistance movement against European colonial actions shown on maps from ca. 1800 to 1914.

Rubber

A scarce commodity in the Congo rainforests that saw soaring demand in the 1890s due to the mass marketing of bicycles and automobiles.