APWH Unit 6 Nationalism, Imperialism, and Economic Changes from 1750 to 1900

Definition: Movement advocating that the nation aligns with the state, promoting sovereignty over a homeland to create a nation-state.
Significance: Encouraged self-governance and national interest.

Overview: Massive civil war in China led by Hong Xiuquan (claimed to be the brother of Jesus) aiming to overthrow the Qing Dynasty with radical social and religious reforms.
Zeng Guofan's Role (1850–1861):
- Qing official/military leader key in fighting the rebellion.
- Emphasized Confucian values as a defense against rebellion.
- Contributed to the preservation of the Qing Dynasty.

Opium Wars

conflicts between China and Britain
sparked by Britain's desire to expand its trade with China and to gain access to the Chinese market.
The Chinese government banned the import of opium and seized and destroyed opium shipments in the British trading port
Britain showed up in force and began the first conflict of the Opium Wars, defeating and humiliating the Chinese
Treaty of Nanjing
- Chinese government was forced to sign a very unequal treaty, opening several new trading ports to the British and giving Britain enormous economic influence over China

Goals: Modernization of China post-opium wars/taiping rebellion. Adopt Western technology while maintaining Confucian values.
Reforms:
- Built arsenals, shipyards, and industries.
- Sent students abroad for Western sciences.
Challenges:
- Limited success due to corruption, conservative resistance, lack of coordination.

Context: India sought independence from British rule amidst discontent over exploitation and cultural suppression.
Key Events:
- Sepoy Mutiny (1857) - Demonstrates resistance to British policies.
  - cause: British disrespect for Indian religious customs
- Rise of groups pushing for civil rights and independence.

Shifts in Power:
- Introduction of imperialism, colonial expansion by European powers in Africa/Asia.
  - creating a strong demand for raw materials, markets for manufactured goods, and a desire for expanded investment opportunities, leading European powers to seek overseas colonies
- Decolonization movements in the Americas weakening European control.
- Centralization efforts (Japan’s Meiji Restoration, German unification).
- Decline of empires (Ottoman, Qing).

Contributions of Ideologies:
- Social Darwinism: Justified imperial expansion via racial superiority.
  - fittest survive
  - trong nations eat weak nations.
- Nationalism: Driven power assertions—justified territorial expansions like Germany/Italy unifications.
- Scientific Racism: A determinant for racial classification aiding exploitation.
  - shape and size of human skulls to justify the superiority of the white race.
- Civilizing Missions: A moral imperative to 'Westernize' colonized territories.

Causes:
- Famine (e.g., Irish Potato Famine), economic opportunities in industrialized areas.
- External factors (imperialism, labor demands).
Effects:
- Cultural diversity in host nations (migration of workers).
- Racial/ethnic discrimination against migrants.
- Changes in family structures (absence of men in home societies leading to new women’s roles).

Colonial Economies:
- Conversion to export economies—focus on cash crops (e.g., cotton in India, palm oil in West Africa).
- Dependency on manufactured goods from imperial powers.
- diplomacy in action is the Berlin Conference,
  - → African continent into European colonial holdings.
Economic Imperialism:
- Use of economic means to exert control over weaker states, e.g., Opium Wars, investment in infrastructure.
Economic Developments
- transformed the colonial economies into export economies
- The need for raw materials for industrial factories
- focusing on the production of cash crops or natural resources
- closed market for imperial states.
- colonial peoples became increasingly dependent on their imperial parents

US- Manifest Destiny

destined to expand its territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, driven by a sense of divine purpose.
led to the displacement of indigenous peoples
- forcibly moved onto reservations
American-style boarding schools to strip indigenous children of their culture and assimilate them into American society.

cause:
- Increasing questions about political authority around the world
- influenced by Enlightenment thought
  - → led to the spread of ideas such as popular sovereignty and the social contract.
  - question the legitimacy of Imperial power.
Forms of Resistance:
- Direct Resistance: Wars (e.g., Yah Asante War).
  - resisted British attempts to conquer their territory and access the rich deposits of gold.
  - sparked the British desire to find the Golden Stool, a symbol of the Asante people's cultural unity and authority.
  - The British claimed the Asante territory
- Indigenous Rebellions: Movements inspired by religion (e.g., Kosa Cattle Killing Movement).
  - slaughter of hundreds of thousands of cattle. believing that new healthy cattle would rise up to replace them and their ancestral spirits would drive the European intruders from their land.
  - The Kosa people's starvation made it easier for the British to fully claim their territory
- Creating New States: E.g., establishment of the Cherokee Nation.

Nativism:
- Protecting native-born interests, often infused with prejudice against immigrants. E.g., Chinese Exclusion Act, White Australia Policy.
Ethnic Enclaves:
- Geographical areas with high concentration of specific ethnic groups contributing to cultural preservation and diffusion.

Impact of Imperialism: Substantial transformation of global economies; establishment of export economies leading to interdependence and societies increasingly reliant on colonial powers.