CSmith Global II Unit 4: Imperialism

What force is evident in the source provided?

• Revolution

• Imperialism

• Colonialism

• Nationalism

Answer explanation

Nationalism can be a unifying or divisive force. It can bring a fragmented people together to form a new nation, or it can tear a multi-national country apart as each separate nation of people wish to control their own socio-political "fates" in the form of being their own independent countries free of outside influences like imperialism.

What two nations were born out of nationalistic unification movements in the 1870s?

• India and China

• France and Britain

• Italy and Germany

• Russia and Serbia

Answer explanation

In Germany, the leadership of Prussia, via Otto von Bismarck, united the Germanic states through realistic politics aimed at achieving a goal no matter the cost, culminating in the Franco-Prussian War and a Prussian victory that united the remaining German states into the modern nation of Germany

In Italy, the work of nationalistic idealists like Mazzini combined with the leadership of Cavour and the military success of Garibaldi gave birth to a modern, united Italy in southern Europe.

What region of the world become the leader in the use of imperialism in the 18th and 19th centuries?

• East Asia

• Northern Africa

• Latin America

• The "West"

Answer explanation

The "West" is used to generally refer to most of Europe (not Eastern Europe) and the U.S. together.

Why did the Western nations so actively pursue imperialism throughout the 1800s?

• A need for global security

• A growing need for raw materials and markets

• A desire to improve the less developed nations of the world

• To abolish slavery globally

Answer explanation

As industrialization took off, the West quickly began to use up its raw materials, and the need for more drove a further pursuit of imperialism. Those nations (Britain, France, Spain) that already possessed global empires were ahead of the game, while the newer nations of Germany and Italy were highly motivated to "catch up" through aggressive (extremely in Germany's case) imperialism policies. Other countries, namely Austria-Hungary and Russia, lagged behind, both industrially and imperially. The idea quickly became that whatever nation had the greatest empire, would be the richest and most powerful in the world. Also included in this was the ability to hold entire regions of the world as economic hostages through imperial control, specifically by controlling what goods were allowed in/out of an imperial colony, and what goods were allowed to be produced there.

What region(s) of the world were targeted by the West for "new" imperialism in the late 18th and all of the 19th centuries?

• Latin America and the Caribbean

• Eastern Europe

• Africa and Asia

• Middle East

Answer explanation

As the West developed industrially and technologically, it jumped ahead of the older powers in East and Southern Asia, while the African continent became more accessible through modern science and medicine. All of this "opened up" these regions for new imperialism from the West. India became solely a British possession, China was carved up following a few conflicts over foreign influence (Opium Wars, Boxer Rebellion), and Africa was nearly completely divided by the Western nations.

How did nationalism contribute to the growth of imperialism in the Industrial era?

• More nations needed to establish themselves

• European nation-states used imperialism to demonstrate their superiority

• European competition led to rising poverty, so imperialism provided income

• New nations of people revolted against the old imperial powers and started their own empires

Answer explanation

The increasingly competitive nature of European politics via industrial outputs in attempts to establish economic dominance led to the increasing of imperialism in the form of European attempts to gain further colonies for more materials to grow and fuel their industrial economies further, and possess more markets to sell their mass produced surpluses.

How did the British gain and consolidate power in the Indian subcontinent?

• Successful economic treaties with the Mughal Empire

• Successfully defeating the Portuguese and establishing trade posts

• Invasion in southern India during the American Revolution

• Secret importation of illegal opium to subvert the local economy and workforce

Answer explanation

The British were able to defeat the Portuguese, earning the gratitude of the local governments in India. These gave them permission to establish trading posts (factories) in East India and Bengal, which were then turned over to the control of the British East India Co. in the late 1600s.

What made the British colonization of India so unique by the 1800s?

• A company, the British East India Company, had total power in the colony

• Indians under British rule were given equal rights as British citizens

• British wars were mainly defensive, protecting their holdings from invasions

• Communism grew successfully within the colonies, and India turned communist in 1899

Answer explanation

Under a decree from King Charles II, the British East India Company was given nearly absolute power in Britain's holdings in India. The company was able to negotiate treaties, control the economy, and hire a private army of both British and local troops, known as Sepoys.

An enduring monument to British imperialism in India is the Indian railway system, which at the time of independence in 1947 had more track mileage than that of any European state and less than only the United States, Canada, and the Soviet Union. The first railway track was laid in India in 1850, and by 1915 India had better than forty thousand miles of track and approximately one hundred million railroad passengers per year. Indian railway building was supported by several powerful groups: British cotton manufacturers, for whom railways were a cheap and efficient way to get cotton to the coast for shipment to England; British industrialists, who supplied India with most of its rails, locomotives, moving stock [railroad cars], and equipment; colonial officials, who saw railroads as a way to move troops quickly to trouble spots and an essential part of the Indian postal system; and millions of Indians, who, rather to the surprise of the British, took to rail travel with great alacrity [enthusiasm]….

According to the author, how did British imperialism benefit India?

• Indian industries were able to access British global markets

• British investments created new jobs for native Indians

• The British built railway systems that benefitted Indian long-term

• Indian workers were given new technologies and job skills from the West

Answer explanation

The British East India Co., and later the British crown, invest heavily in Indian industry, especially in the rail sector, as increased railroad development would benefit all other existing industries as well as transportation sectors.

According to the video, why did the native Sepoy troops rebel against the British East India Co.?

• The company was going to cut their pay

• The company was ready to start a major conflict against the Punjab region

• New cartridges rumored to be greased with animal fats that were sacrilegious to Hindus and Muslims

• An outbreak of anti-British sentiment, started by the former Mughal ruling family

Answer explanation

Existing discontent that had grown with the systematic dismantling of native textile industries in favor of British owned businesses exploded with the spreading of a rumor about the cartridges for the newly issued Enfield rifles the Sepoy troops would use. This rumor of cartridges greased in pork or beef fat simultaneously offended the religious restrictions of Hindu and Muslim Sepoys, and multiple regiments mutiny against their British officers.