The Silk Road:
A network of ancient trade routes connecting Europe, China and the Mediterranean Sea, facilitating cultural and economic exchange.
Mercantilism:
An economic system where the government controls trade and accumulates wealth through a favorable balance of trade, often through colonies.
Capitalism:
An economic system where private individuals or corporations own the means of production and operate for profit in competitive markets.
Columbian Exchange (Grand Exchange):
The widespread exchange of plants, animals, goods, diseases, and ideas between the Old World (Europe, Africa, Asia) and the New World (Americas) after Christopher Columbus's voyages.
European motivations for imperialism & neo-imperialism:
Desire for resources, new markets, political power, cultural superiority, and strategic dominance.
European motivations for exploration:
Seeking new trade routes to Asia, spreading Christianity, gaining glory, and acquiring wealth through discovery.
European motivations for colonialism:
Establishing settlements abroad to exploit resources, assert dominance, and spread European culture and governance.
Eurocentrism:
Viewing the world from a European or Western perspective, often interpreting other cultures and histories in relation to Europe.
Ethnocentrism:
Evaluating other cultures according to the standards and values of one's own culture, often leading to a biased perspective.
Economic imperialism:
Economic dominance and control over regions or countries by powerful nations or corporations, often through indirect means like trade agreements or debt.
Slave trade:
The buying, selling, and transporting of human beings, especially Africans, as forced laborers to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Indentured labor:
Contractual labor where a person agrees to work for a specified period (often several years) in exchange for transportation, food, housing, and other benefits.
Child labor:
The employment of children in any work that deprives them of their childhood, potential, dignity, and is harmful to physical and mental development.
Depopulation:
Significant reduction in the population of a region or country, often due to disease, war, or forced migration.
Colonization of India:
British control and exploitation of India from the 18th to 20th centuries, resulting in political, economic, and cultural dominance.
Mahatma Gandhi:
Leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule, known for his philosophy of nonviolent resistance (Satyagraha).
Apartheid:
System of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa enforced by the government from 1948 to 1994.
Rwanda:
A country in East Africa known for the 1994 genocide where Hutu extremists killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Colonization in Canada:
European settlement and control over indigenous lands in what is now Canada, leading to displacement, cultural suppression, and conflict.
Treatment of indigenous peoples in Canada:
Historic and ongoing issues including land dispossession, forced assimilation, and social marginalization of indigenous populations.
African Scramble:
The rapid colonization and division of Africa by European powers during the late 19th century, motivated by resource extraction and strategic control.
Forces Driving Colonization:
Economic motives (resources, trade), political competition (power and influence), religious zeal (spreading Christianity), and cultural superiority (ethnocentrism).
Updated 262d ago
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