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Industrial Revolution
A period of significant technological advancement in the 18th century that transformed largely rural societies into industrialized urban ones, marked by a shift from hand-crafted production to mass manufacturing in factories using new machines and power sources like steam, leading to increased production, urbanization, and major social changes across Europe and North America. Created a need for new markets to sell manufactured goods and access to raw materials from other countries. -
Opium War
The Opium Wars were a series of mid-19th century conflicts between China and Western powers, primarily Britain, ignited by China's attempts to suppress the opium trade, leading to military confrontations where superior Western forces forced China to open its markets and cede territory through unequal treaties, marking a period of humiliation for the Chinese government. -
Treaty of Nanjing
Marked the end of the First Opium War between China and Great Britain, forcing China to cede Hong Kong to Britain, open several ports to British trade, pay a large indemnity, and grant extraterritorial rights to British citizens, essentially establishing a system of unequal treaties that significantly impacted China's sovereignty and economy in favor of Western powers. -
Suez Canal Construction
Built between 1859 and 1869 and was the result of a massive labor effort that used a combination of forced labor and advanced machinery. Significantly facilitated European imperialism, particularly British imperialism, by drastically reducing travel time and costs between Europe and its colonies in Asia, especially India, allowing for greater economic and military control over these territories -
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Meiji Restoration
A political revolution in Japan that occurred in 1868, where a group of samurai and court nobles overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate, effectively restoring power to the Emperor and ushering in a period of rapid modernization and Westernization, marked by the adoption of new technologies, a centralized government, and social reforms, transforming Japan into a major world power within a generation. -
Berlin Conference
A meeting of European powers where they divided up the African continent into colonial territories, essentially formalizing the "Scramble for Africa" by establishing guidelines for claiming African land and regulating trade amongst European nations, effectively disregarding existing African political boundaries and ethnic groups. -
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Scramble for Africa
The rapid colonization of most of the African continent by European powers during the late 19th century, where countries like Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and Portugal aggressively claimed territories, dividing Africa amongst themselves through treaties and military force, often without regard for existing African ethnic boundaries, leading to significant political and social disruption across the continent. -
Fashoda Incident
The incident was the result of a series of territorial disputes between the two countries over their colonial possessions in Africa. Both countries wanted to connect their colonial territories, with Britain aiming to link Uganda to Egypt, and France wanting to expand its control across Central Africa and the Sudan. The Fashoda Incident was a direct manifestation of European imperialism, as it involved a tense standoff between Britain and France over control of territory in Africa. -
Boer War
A conflict in South Africa where the British Empire battled against the two Boer republics, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, ultimately resulting in British control over the region, largely due to tensions over political rights for non-Boer settlers and the desire for British expansion in the area. -
Russo-Japanese War
A conflict between Russia and Japan primarily over control of Manchuria and Korea, where Japan launched a surprise attack on the Russian Pacific Fleet at Port Arthur, ultimately resulting in a decisive Japanese victory that significantly weakened Russia's influence in East Asia and contributed to internal unrest within Russia. The Russo-Japanese War was directly tied to imperialism as it was a conflict driven by both Russia and Japan competing for contro in Manchuria and Korea.