History Midterm
Products of the Columbian Exchange: Origins and Impact
From the Americas to Europe, Africa, and Asia:
Corn, potatoes, tomatoes, cocoa, tobacco, chili peppers, squash, beans, and cassava.
From Europe, Africa, and Asia to the Americas:
Wheat, rice, sugarcane, coffee, bananas, horses, pigs, cattle, chickens, smallpox, measles.
Significance of the Columbian Exchange
Potatoes and Corn: High-yield crops that improved diets and supported population growth in Europe and Asia.
Cash Crops: Sugar and tobacco enriched colonial economies but fueled slavery.
Diseases: Decimated Indigenous populations, easing European colonization.
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Abolition Movement
Slave Trade: Millions of Africans forcibly transported to the Americas to work in plantations.
Abolition Movement: Enlightenment ideas, activism by figures like William Wilberforce and Frederick Douglass, led to slavery’s decline in the 19th century.
Timeline of the Moderate Phase of the French Revolution
1789: Estates-General convened; National Assembly formed; Tennis Court Oath; Fall of the Bastille.
1790: Civil Constitution of the Clergy limits Church power.
1791: Flight to Varennes; Constitution establishes a constitutional monarchy.
Causes of the French Revolution
Social Inequality: The rigid division of the Three Estates.
Economic Crisis: National debt, poor harvests, and food scarcity.
Enlightenment Ideas: Push for equality, liberty, and fraternity.
Weak Leadership: Louis XVI’s indecisiveness and failure to reform.
The Three Estates
First Estate: Clergy (privileged, tax-exempt, landowners).
Second Estate: Nobility (owned land, held government positions).
Third Estate: Commoners (97% of the population, taxed heavily).
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
Adopted in 1789.
Promoted equality, freedom of speech, religion, and due process.
Inspired by Enlightenment thinkers like Rousseau and Locke.
Women and the French Revolution: Gains and Losses
Gains: Women's political activism; March on Versailles.
Losses: Limited rights, marginalization in political reforms, execution of figures like Olympe de Gouges.
Napoleon’s Rise to Power
Gained prominence through military victories.
Overthrew the Directory in 1799 (Coup of 18 Brumaire).
Crowned himself Emperor in 1804.
Resistance to Napoleon Across Europe
Nationalist uprisings in Spain and Germany.
Economic resistance to the Continental System.
Coalition wars by Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia.
Lasting Impacts of the French Revolution
End of absolute monarchy in France.
Promotion of secular governance and nationalism.
Legal equality through Napoleonic Code.
Key Figures and Concepts
Bourgeoisie: Wealthy middle class; leaders of revolutionary ideas.
Marquis de Lafayette: Drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette: Symbols of monarchy; both executed.
Jacobins: Radical revolutionaries led by Robespierre.
Sans-Culottes: Working-class revolutionaries advocating for democracy.
Robespierre: Architect of the Reign of Terror.
Napoleonic Code: Codified laws ensuring equality, property rights.
Olympe de Gouges: Advocate for women’s rights, executed during the Revolution.
Guillotine: Execution tool, symbol of the Reign of Terror.
Industrial Revolution: Causes and Effects
Causes: Agricultural revolution, natural resources, capital investment, labor supply, technological innovations.
Effects: Urbanization, rise of factories, class divisions, environmental impact.
Inventions of the Industrial Revolution
Steam Engine (James Watt): Revolutionized transport and industry.
Spinning Jenny: Boosted textile production.
Cotton Gin (Eli Whitney): Accelerated cotton processing.
Economic Systems
Capitalism: Private ownership, profit-driven economy.
Utilitarianism: Policies for the greatest happiness of the greatest number.
Communism: Classless society; theorized by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
Social Changes
Middle vs. Working Class: Economic disparities, lifestyle differences.
Gradual Improvements: Labor laws, unions, better wages, working conditions.
Cult of Domesticity: Emphasis on women’s domestic roles.
Women’s Suffrage: Movements for voting rights led by activists like Emmeline Pankhurst.
Scientific and Social Ideas
Charles Darwin: Theory of evolution by natural selection.
Social Darwinism: Misapplied Darwin’s ideas to justify imperialism and racism.
Temperance Movement: Advocated for moderation or prohibition of alcohol.
Industrial Revolution and Imperialism
Technological advancements supported colonization, military dominance, and resource exploitation.
Imperialism in Africa and Asia
Berlin Conference (1884-85): Divided African territories among European powers.
Christianity: Missionaries promoted faith alongside imperial goals.
Islam: Integral to African history, challenged by European colonization.
Key Events and Figures
King Leopold: Exploited Congo’s resources for rubber production.
Civilizing Mission: Justification for European imperialism.
Declining Islamic Empires: Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid decline.
Imperialism in Specific Regions
Egypt: Modernization under Muhammad Ali; Suez Canal construction.
Crimean War (1853-1856): Conflict over influence in Ottoman territories.
Persia: Center of "The Great Game" between Britain and Russia.
The Young Turks: Reformers in the late Ottoman Empire.
India and British Rule
British East India Company: Controlled trade and governance.
Sepoy Rebellion (1857): Indian uprising against British policies.
British Raj: Direct British rule in India post-rebellion.
China and Japan
Opium War (1839-1842): British trade disputes led to Chinese defeat.
Taiping Rebellion: Anti-Qing uprising; massive casualties.
Meiji Restoration (1868): Japan’s rapid industrialization and modernization.