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Imperialism

Unit 6: c. 1750-1900

Main Ideas:

  • European nations + US & Japan used diplomacy & warfare to establish colonies, and they sometimes took direct control over colonies which were already established by non-state companies

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  • European nations + US, Japan, & Russia made some settler colonies → Replaced native population with Europeans

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  • US, Japan, & Russia conquered & settled neighboring land to expand their landholdings

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  • As the influence of Europe, US, and Japan grew, the influence of Portugal & Spain declined

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  • Imperialism was allowed by innovations in transportation & communications technologies, and the Westernization of the colonies helped the colonizers maintain their rule

Imperial Conquest

Europeans, US, & Japan Conquered Other Lands & Expanded Their Influence There

Key Ideas:

  • European nations + US & Japan used diplomacy & warfare to colonize other lands

    • Britain colonized India mostly through diplomacy with local Indian chiefs

    • Europe colonized Africa mostly through warfare

      • The Berlin Conference (1884) set rules for African colonization

    • Japan colonized Taiwan & Korea through warfare

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  • European nations + US, Japan, and Russia colonized other lands as settler colonies, seeking to replace the local native population with their own people
    • Australia & New Zealand were British colonies where the British people sent criminals to try to displace the local aboriginal & Maori populations
    • US expanded westward (Manifest Destiny) and passed laws to displace the Native American population
    • Russia expanded into Central Asia and Eastern Europe

Tools of Imperialissm

Imperialism was Allowed by the Westernization of the Colonies

Key Ideas:

  • Innovations in transportation & communications technologies (steamship, railroad, telegraph) → Easier for Europeans to control the colonies

    • Europeans used the transportation networks to easily travel from Europe to the colonies & also easily travel throughout the colony → Allowed Europeans to maintain their rule

    • Europeans sometimes built telegraph lines directly from Europe to the colonies to make communication easier

    • Europeans also built railroads within the colonies to make transporting raw materials easier & to make it easier to travel throughout the colony to govern it

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  • Europeans westernized their colonies with Western schools, churches, etc.
    • Europeans built Western-style schools to educate the native colonists in a Western style, by making them learn Christianity & learn European languages
    • This allowed some of these native colonists to become educated in European style & later help the Europeans in their colonial administration

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