Imperialism Practice Test

Many of the political divisions shown on this map were directly related to the

• Meiji Restoration

• Opium War

• Berlin conference

• Boer War

Which claim is best supported by the evidence included in this map?

• In 1913, European countries controlled most of the territory in Africa.

• 1. In 1913, European countries controlled all of the territory in Africa.

• By 1913, European countries built extensive railroad systems in sub-Saharan Africa

• In 1913, European countries ruled territory in Africa with the consent of the Africans who lived there.

Rudyard Kipling was a British short-story writer, poet and novelist. Considered one of the most popular writers in Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Kipling eventually won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Kipling was born in Bombay, India in 1865. During this time India was under British control and many young British families lived in colonies like India. His poem, White Man’s Burden was published in a popular American magazine. 

The White Man’s Burden.

“Take up the White Man’s burden— 

   Send forth the best ye breed— 

Go, bind your sons to exile 

   To serve your captives’ need;

To wait, in heavy harness, 

   On fluttered folk and wild— 

Your new-caught sullen peoples, 

   Half devil and half child. . . .”

This stanza from Kipling’s poem is most closely associated with the belief that it was the duty of Western colonial powers to 

• learn from the people they conquered 

  
  

• teach their colonies how to produce manufactured goods 

  
  

• civilize the people they controlled

• welcome less developed countries as equals

Rudyard Kipling was a British short-story writer, poet and novelist. Considered one of the most popular writers in Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Kipling eventually won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Kipling was born in Bombay, India in 1865. During this time India was under British control and many young British families lived in colonies like India. His poem, White Man’s Burden was published in a popular American magazine. 

The White Man’s Burden.

“Take up the White Man’s burden— 

   Send forth the best ye breed— 

Go, bind your sons to exile 

   To serve your captives’ need;

To wait, in heavy harness, 

   On fluttered folk and wild— 

Your new-caught sullen peoples, 

   Half devil and half child. . . .”

An historian would find this poem most useful to understand

• a point of view that opposed Kipling’s claims

• a point of view concerning imperialism supported by some Europeans

  
  

• the economic reasons the Europeans supported imperialism 

  
  

• the effects of Kipling’s poem in the 20th century

  
  

An Excerpt from the Treaty of Nanjing

ARTICLE III. 

It being obviously necessary and desirable, that British Subjects should have some Port whereat they may careen and refit their Ships, when required, and keep Stores for that purpose, His Majesty the Emperor of China cedes [gives] to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, etc., the Island of Hong Kong, to be possessed in perpetuity [forever] by Her Britannic Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and to be governed by such Laws and Regulations as Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, etc., shall see fit to direct.

Source: “Treaty of Nanjing (Nanking), 1842,” USC-UCLA Joint East Asian Studies Center

What historical event led to the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing?

• Boer War

• WWI

• Opium Wars

• French Revolution

 

An Excerpt from the Treaty of Nanjing

ARTICLE III. 

It being obviously necessary and desirable, that British Subjects should have some Port whereat they may careen and refit their Ships, when required, and keep Stores for that purpose, His Majesty the Emperor of China cedes [gives] to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, etc., the Island of Hong Kong, to be possessed in perpetuity [forever] by Her Britannic Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and to be governed by such Laws and Regulations as Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, etc., shall see fit to direct.

Based on the excerpt above, what did the British gain as a result of the Treaty of Nanjing? 

• Unlimited coal resources

• An island to use as a port

• 1. Control of all of Japan

• 1. The right to make the Queen of Great Britain the Empress of China

 Based on this political cartoon, which statement best describes the author’s point of view?

• 1. Africa was not affected by imperialism.

• 1. Europeans wanted to spread Christianity in Africa.

• 1. European countries colonized Africa for natural resources.

• 1. African people welcomed European colonists.

Which event was most likely the result of the action being taken in this cartoon?

• African and European states engaged in equal trade agreements.

• 1. African people resented the presence of European powers on their land.

• Europeans helped establish democratic governments in African countries.

• 1. The Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain. 

Base your answers to questions 12 and 13 on the passage below and on your knowledge of social studies.

 . . .As late as the 1870s, only 10% of the continent was under direct European control, with Algeria held by France, the Cape Colony and Natal (both in modern South Africa) by Britain, and Angola by Portugal. And yet by 1900, European nations had added almost 10 million square miles of Africa—one-fifth of the landmass of the globe—to their overseas colonial possessions. Europeans ruled more than 90% of the African continent. . . . 

— Saul David, “Slavery and the ‘Scramble for Africa,’ ” BBC British History in depth 

Which event most directly influenced the change referred to in this passage? 

•  outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion

• meeting of the Berlin Conference

• signing of the Munich Pact

•  collapse of the Ottoman Empire

  
  

. . .As late as the 1870s, only 10% of the continent was under direct European control, with Algeria held by France, the Cape Colony and Natal (both in modern South Africa) by Britain, and Angola by Portugal. And yet by 1900, European nations had added almost 10 million square miles of Africa—one-fifth of the landmass of the globe—to their overseas colonial possessions. Europeans ruled more than 90% of the African continent. . . . 

— Saul David, “Slavery and the ‘Scramble for Africa,’ ” BBC British History in depth 

Which of these is considered a cause of the situation described in the passage?

• European desire for raw materials and technological and medical advances

• 1. African desire to create new markets for manufactured goods 

• 1. The end of Apartheid in South Africa

• The Meiji Restoration