Imperialism: Scientific Racism and Colonialism

• Study notes for the provided text:

Scientific Racism

• Used science to justify racism.
• Whites believed to have bigger skulls, suggesting their racial superiority due to advanced intelligence.

Social Darwinism

• Applied Charles Darwin's "survival of the fittest" to society.
• Promoted the idea that war and aggression were natural ways to eliminate the "weaker" members of society.

Scramble for Africa

• Took place between 1875 and 1900.
• European powers divided and colonized Africa.
• Ethiopia and Liberia remained independent due to rivalries and large territories.

Settler Colonies

• Large groups of "neo-Europeans" settled in Australia, South Africa, British North America, and Mexico.
• These settlers spread European diseases, leading to a 75% decrease in native populations.

Indian Rebellion of 1857-1858

• An uprising against British rule in India.
• Rebellion had people from diverse backgrounds united in discontent with the British.
• Factors leading to the rebellion included local rulers losing authority, increased taxes, and unemployment.
• Resulted in a racial divide and the end of the British East India Company.

Congo Free State

• A private colony in Belgium under King Leopold II characterized by forced labor.
• People were forced to collect rubber with minimal food, and those who failed were killed.
• Word of escapes from the state reached Europe, leading the Belgian government to take control in 1908.

Cultivation System

• A 19th-century forced labor system in the Netherlands.
• Peasants had to give up 20% of their land for cash crops to pay taxes.
• Cash crops were sold cheaply to the government and resold on world markets at inflated prices.
• Those who couldn't give up crops became dependent on money lenders.

Africanization of Christianity

• Occurred in non-Muslim parts of Africa.
• Christianity adapted to African culture as more people from different areas converted.

Factors of the Industrial Revolution on European Imperialism

• Resource Availability: Europe needed more agriculture and raw goods, leading to positive connections with other countries.
• Markets: Surplus of goods in Europe led to international markets, making other countries dependent.
• Nationalism: Rivalry due to connections with Italy and Germany. Gave Europe the "Great Power" status.
• Technologies: Allowed more efficient communication. Medicine cured diseases and decreased death.
• Religion: Shift from religious views to secular arrogance.

How Europe Imperialized

• Informal control: Achieved through economic penetration and military intervention due to being cheaper and less likely to start wars.
• Taking advantage: Exploited countries facing hardships (e.g., Africa's droughts reduced crop production).

Europe's Contradiction of Enlightenment Values

• Harsh labor practices contradicted the concept of Natural Rights.

Effects of European Colonization on Colonized People

• Education: Access to higher education led to better jobs and government positions.
• Religion: Introduction of Christianity, which native populations adapted to their lifestyles.
• "Race" and "Tribe": Africans educated in Western culture created their own identity and traditions.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

• Heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
• Assassinated on June 28, 1914, by a Serbian Nationalist.
• The assassination triggered Austria-Hungary and Serbia to turn to alliances, leading to WWI.

Western Front

• The area where Germany fought the British and French.
• Trench warfare saw its first uses.

Treaty of Versailles

• Ended WWI in June 1919.
• Germany lost territory, had military restrictions, and was required to take responsibility for starting the war.

Woodrow Wilson

• 28th president of the US
• Shared idea of The League of Nations which was a failed peace keeping group

Bolsheviks

• Led by Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov.
• Started as a small socialist party and renamed their country the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Vladimir Lenin

• Leader of Russian Bolsheviks.
• Tried to overthrow the Russian government, causing the October Revolution.

Russian Revolution

• Occurred in 1917 when Russians overthrew the Romanov dynasty.
• Tsar Nicholas II left the throne.

Stalin

• Leader of the Soviet Union.
• wanted a socialist society

Collectivization of Agriculture

• Communist policy by Stalin.
• Ended private land ownership; private landowners moved to government-owned land.

Great Depression

• Started in the US after a stock market crash due to overproduction.
• Spread into Europe due to connections; banks closed, people lost savings, and unemployment rose.

Factors that contributed to the start of WWI

• Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism

Total War

• War required a country's whole population to fight.
• Led to women taking over men's jobs

Consequences the Treaty of Versailles had on Germany

• Lost colonial empire, payment to winners, restricted military, and responsibility for starting the war

Causes of the Start of the Russian Revolution

• Poor rule by Tsar Nicholas II, unfair privileges

Conflicts under the Soviet Union communist society

• Starvation, Stalin’s terror, Intrusive control

Fascism

• Driven by nationalism; goal was to “purify” the nation
• Fascists praised violence and were against democracy, communism, and individualism bc they believed it caused division and weakness

Benito Mussolini

• Leader of the Black Shirts party
• Promised a different approach to communism and maintaining social order
• Anyone against his order was imprisoned or executed

Mein Kampf

• Book written by Hitler; mentions his thoughts about Jews and his plan to racially purify Germany

Nazi Party

• Germany’s way of European fascism; goal was to expand territory, force nationalism, and purify germany
• Promised to fix economic issues from the Depression; most of German population supported the Nazi’s because Hitler brought them out of the Depression and created more jobs

Kristallnacht

• Night of November 9, 1938; the mark of the start of the Nazi party targeting Jews; Nazi’s started breaking into businesses

Revolutionary Right

• Japanese political movement during the Great Depression
• Goal was to exalt the emperor because of the lack of support during the Depression

Holocaust

• Mass genocide of Jewish people; resulted in the killing of 6 million Jews as well as dangerous or undesirable people

Ho Chi Minh

• Leader of the Vietnamese communist movement
• Created communist control in North Vietnam before spreading it throughout the whole country

Chinese Revolution

• Led by Mao Zedong
• Led to increase recognition of Chinese Imperial system and helped them gain power

Causes of Authoritarian Government

• Italy: economic instability
• Germany: bad economy, mass unemployment and pressure from Treaty of Versailles
• Japan: economic issues, increased prices, and unemployment

Soviet Communism

• Focused on class conflict and industrialization
• Believed in socialism, leading to the elimination of private ownership

European Fascism

• Goal was to purify the nation
• individualism, democracy, communism, etc. were criticized because it weakened the country

Technology: Heavy Bombers

• Aircrafts that carried bombs that were dropped from the air
• Most powerful military aircraf

Technology: Fighter aircraft

• Mostly used in battles between Japan and US
• Carried nuclear bombs

Technology: Radar

• Developed by British and US scientists
• Allowed the ability to see waves and signals of people coming from hundreds of miles away

Technology: Atomic Weapons

• Explosive devices that used nuclear energy and radiation
• Destroyed electronic equipment from all the radiation from thousands of miles away as well as land destruction

“Final Solution”

• Nazi Germany’s final stage of mass killing of Jews
• Used methods of mass shootings and gassing people with poison gas

What reforms did the Chinese Communist Party make after the Revolution?

• Experiments or reformation of land and rights for women

What did Communism look like

• Soviet communism: Focused more on industrialization in urban areas and expanding the economy internationally as an attempt to spread communism
• Chinese communism: Focused on the reformation of land for peasants; controlled the economy using nationalism to prevent it from failing and rebellions