World History B Final Exam Exhaustive Study Guide

Global Leadership and Political Power Paradigms

  • Current World Leaders and Associated Nations:

    • Xi Jing-ping: China
    • Kim Jung Un: North Korea
    • Volodymyr Zelensky: Ukraine
    • Vladimir Putin: Russia

  • King Louis XIV (1660) on Democracy and State Power:

    • King Louis XIV articulated a philosophy of absolute monarchy that stands in direct opposition to democracy.
    • He stated, "The head alone has the right to deliberate and decide, and the functions of all the other members consist only in carrying out the commands given to them."
    • He argued that granted power to the "assembled people" only leads to more claims for power.
    • A central tenet of his rule was that the "interest of the state must come first."
    • According to this view, democracy is seen as a way to see an empire "crumble and end."
    • Governance is only viable if the person in power dictates the way and the people follow commands.

Enlightenment Philosophers and Key Ideas

  • Voltaire: Focused on the Separation of church and state.
  • Mary Wollstonecraft: Advocated for Education for Women.
  • Adam Smith: Known for the development of Capitalism.
  • Thomas Hobbes: Developed the concept of the Social Contract; argued that men are by nature greedy and likely to fight to obtain their desires.
  • John Locke: Emphasized Natural Rights.
  • Baron de Montesquieu: Developed the theory of the Separation of Powers.

Monarchs and National Leadership

  • Maria Theresa: Austria-Hungary (Notably the mother of Marie Antoinette).
  • Frederick the Great: Prussia.
  • Catherine the Great: Russia.
  • Phillip II: Spain.
  • Suleiman the Magnificent: Ottoman Empire.
  • Louis XIV: France.

Revolutionary History and Independence Movements

  • Revolutionary Leaders and Their Conflicts:

    • Toussaint L’Ouverture: Led the Haitian Revolution.
    • Simon Bolivar: Led Latin American Revolutions.
    • George Washington: Led the American Revolution.
    • Maximilian Robespierre: Key figure in the French Revolution.
    • Vladimir Lenin: Led the Russian Revolution.

  • Chronological Order of the French Revolution:

    1. Unequal Tax Structure
    2. Storming of the Bastille
    3. Reign of Terror
    4. Rise of Napoleon

  • Chronological Order of the American Revolution:

    1. Boston Tea Party
    2. Battles of Lexington and Concord
    3. Thomas Paine’s ‑Common Sense‑
    4. Declaration of Independence

  • Global Independence Milestones:

    • Haiti: Gained independence from France in 18041804.
    • Brazil: Gained independence from the Portuguese in 18221822.
    • Mexico: Gained independence from Spain in 18211821.
    • South American Countries: With the exception of Brazil (Portuguese), the majority of South American nations gained independence from Spain.

Imperialism in China: The Opium Wars and the Treaty of Nanjing

  • The Opium Wars:

    • First Opium War (1839−18421839-1842): Fought between the British Empire (including the East India Company) and the Qing Dynasty of China.
    • Second Opium War (1856−18601856-1860): Fought between a weakened Qing Dynasty and an alliance of Western powers, primarily Great Britain and France.
    • Causes: The conflict was driven by Western efforts to expand trade privileges and legalize the opium trade. The Chinese government attempted to suppress the illegal opium trade, while British merchants and the British government used military force to maintain and expand it.
    • Results: China lost both wars and was forced to legalize opium. The government was forced to sign "unequal treaties" granting concessions, reparations, and territories to Western powers. This era signaled the "century of humiliation."

  • The Treaty of Nanjing (August 29, 1842):

    • This peace treaty officially ended the First Opium War. It is considered an "unequal treaty" because it imposed harsh terms on China.
    • Key Clauses:
      • Article II: Opened five "treaty ports" where British subjects could reside and trade: Canton (Guangzhou), Amoy, Foochow-fu, Ningpo, and Shanghai. This replaced the previous "Canton System."
      • Article III: China ceded the island of Hong Kong to Great Britain "in perpetuity" to serve as a port for refitting ships and keeping stores.
      • Extraterritoriality: British citizens in China were exempt from Chinese law and were instead subject to British courts.
      • Indemnity: China was forced to pay 21×10621 \times 10^6 dollars (2121 million) to cover war debts to merchants and compensation for destroyed opium.
    • Signers: Sir Henry Pottinger (British envoy); Qiying, Yilibu, and Niu Jian (Imperial envoys representing the Qing Dynasty).
    • Significance: Indicated China’s military technology was outdated and the government was unstable/declining compared to Western imperialism and militarism.

The Industrial Revolution

  • Prerequisites and Resources: A primary reason the Industrial Revolution began in England was its abundant supply of coal.
  • Definitions and Mechanics:
    • Urbanization: The process where large numbers of people become permanently concentrated in small areas, forming cities.
    • The Factory System: A manufacturing method concentrating industry into specialized, large establishments. It replaced the "domestic system" (individual home work) by using water and steam power to mechanize processes in the 18th18^{\text{th}} century.
    • Enclosure Movement: The division or consolidation of communal fields into individually owned and fenced farm plots. This prevented common grazing rights and moved agricultural management into modern, private practices.
  • Social Impact:
    • Led to the growth of the Middle Class.
    • Bourgeoisie: The capitalist middle class (professionals, manufacturers) who owned the means of production and employed the proletariat.
    • Proletariat: The wage-earning working class who sold their labor power as their only source of value.

The Scramble for Africa and Global Imperialism

  • Definition: The colonization and division of the African continent by European powers between the 1880s1880\text{s} and World War I.
  • Key Actors:
    • King Leopold II (Belgium): Aggressively claimed the Congo in the late 1870s1870\text{s} under the guise of humanitarianism, sparking the rush for land.
    • Otto von Bismarck: Organized the Berlin Conference.
  • The Berlin Conference (November 15, 1884 – February 26, 1885):
    • 1414 powers (including European nations and the U.S.) met in Berlin to partition Africa.
    • Zero African nations were invited or included in the decision-making.
    • Significance: In the 1870s1870\text{s}, only 10%10\% of Africa was controlled by Europeans; by 19141914, nearly 90%90\% was incorporated into European empires (except Ethiopia and Liberia).
  • Regional Control:
    • West Africa: France, Great Britain.
    • North Africa: France, Great Britain, Italy.
    • Central Africa: Belgium, France.
    • East Africa: Great Britain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium.
    • South Africa: Great Britain.
  • Industrial Innovations aiding Expansion:
    1. Steamships
    2. Maxim Gun
    3. Quinine (Used to combat malaria)
    • Note: Cannons are not considered a specific Industrial Age innovation that uniquely enabled the expansion into the African interior in the same way as the others.

Imperialism in India

  • Economic and Human Cost: Between 18001800 and 19001900, approximately 30×10630 \times 10^6 (3030 million) Indians died of starvation.
  • Causes of Poverty and Hunger:
    • Destruction of local industries.
    • High taxes imposed on peasants.
    • Replacement of food crops with cotton crops to serve British industrial needs.

World War I and World War II

  • Major Chronology:

    • American Revolution: 17751775
    • French Revolution: 17891789
    • Start of World War I: 19141914
    • Start of the Russian Revolution: 19171917
    • The Great Depression: 19291929
    • End of World War II: 19451945

  • World War I Alliances:

    • Triple Entente: Great Britain, France, Russia.
    • Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy.
    • Neutrality: A policy of siding with none of the major powers.

  • Warfare and Strategy:

    • Schlieffen Plan: A German strategy designed to avoid a "two-front war" by quickly defeating France in the west before turning focus to Russia in the east.
    • Trench Warfare: The dominant form of warfare on the Western Front, characterized by elaborate trench systems and heavy casualties.
    • Two-Front War: A conflict where forces fight on two separate geographic battlefields. In WWI, this involved the Western Front (Germany vs. France/Britain) and the Eastern Front (Germany vs. Russia).

  • Key WWI Figures and Events:

    • Franz Ferdinand: His assassination in Sarajevo ignited World War I.
    • Woodrow Wilson: US President who proposed the "Fourteen Points" and the League of Nations.
    • Zimmerman Telegram: A diplomatic communication from Germany to Mexico proposing an alliance against the US, intercepted by Britain.

  • The Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919):

    • Provisions: Germany had to accept "total blame" (Article 231); pay 33×10933 \times 10^9 dollars (3333 billion) in reparations; limit its army to 100,000100,000 volunteers; abolish military conscription; and surrender all colonies to the Allies.

Political and Economic Ideologies

  • Nationalism: The belief that loyalty should be to a nation of people with shared culture/history rather than a king.
  • Militarism: A policy of glorifying military power and keeping a standing army always prepared for war.
  • Imperialism: A policy where a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, economically, or socially.
  • Socialism: An economic system where factors of production are owned by the public for the welfare of all.
  • Communism (Radical Socialism): Formulated by Karl Marx. A system where all means of production are owned by the people, private property does not exist, and resources are shared equally.
  • Absolute Monarchy: A government where the monarch holds supreme and unlimited power.
  • Totalitarian Rule: Government control over every aspect of public and private life.
  • Oligarchy: Government in which power is held by a few people, often based on wealth.

Social and Ethical Implications

  • Genocide: The intentional action to destroy a people (ethnic, national, racial, or religious) in whole or in part (e.g., the Holocaust).
  • Staub’s Model of Genocide: Identifies the role of the bystander as the key to stopping genocide before it begins.
  • Rudyard Kipling's "White Man’s Burden" (1899): A poem reflecting the view that Europeans had a moral responsibility to "improve" the lives of indigenous colonial peoples.
  • Establishment of the United Nations: Following the conclusion of World War II.

Philosophy: Thomas Hobbes and the Leviathan (1651)

  • Human Nature: Hobbes argued that humans are inherently equal in ability, which leads to equal hope in attaining ends. This creates enmity when two people desire the same thing, leading to efforts to "destroy or subdue one another."
  • Social Contract: To find peace and defense, individuals must be willing to lay down their rights to all things and accept limited liberty against others, provided others do the same. This mutual transferring of rights is the social contract.