Imperialism And World War I 2nd Period
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Imperialism/World War I Key Terms

Berlin Conference - The Berlin Conference was a conference called by Bismark in 1884 in an attempt to avoid European war. His philosophy was that if everyone could agree to some basic rules about Africa, then there would be less chance for war. The agreements came to 1. claims and 2. free trade. Ironically, the conference was about Africans and their future, but there were no African representatives present. (shea)

Was in 1884 led by Bismarck, who was uninterested in imperialism and wanted to avoid war in Europe. It was a conference to discuss the future of Africa and set ground rules for both claiming territory and a free-trade open to all people. (Hannah)

Boer War- This war was a defining moment for Imperialism across Europe. Lasting from 1899-1902, 400,000 british troops are sent to claim territory in Africa for the DeBeers Mining Company. The English continually are pushing the Afrikaners (descendants of the Dutch, white) further and further back because they keep finding more and more valuable land they are sitting on. This war was extremely expensive, violent (with concentration camps), and over the top because most people didnt even see the need for so many british troops to risk their lives. The public opinion shifts to a question of "why?". Eventually the british realize this and begin to take out troops, but still giving power to the Afrikaners, leading the way for apartide.(Sarah T)

British raj The British raj referred to the British Dominion over India during the 19th and 20th centuries. The British often preferred a more indirect system of rule over their colonies and did not assert direct control until after the disaster of the Sepoy Rebellion. The subcontinent provided many natural resources and markets in addition to playing a large role in the world wars. (Shredder)

Cook, Captain James - Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland. He was an explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. He took three voyages through the Pacific ocean, he was the first European to visit the Hawaiian Islands, and was the first to circumnavigate New Zealand. (shea)

Eugenics The science of Eugenics was actually more of a social philosophy that advocated the cultivation of positive human traits. It promoted higher reproduction rates of people with more desirable traits and lower reproduction rate in people with undesirable traits. Eugenics reached their peak during the early years of the 1900's and were practiced around the world. (Shredder)

Indirect rule, Direct rule - Indirect rule was a system in which the ruling country would control their territories but not in an invasive way. Rather than replacing the current government, the ruling country would become whom the local government answered to. However direct rule was the opposite. This system included entirely replacing the current government with officials from the ruling country. (Hannah)

Leopold II of Belgium- He ruled from 1865-1909 over Belgium and also the Congo Free State. However unlike most rulers rather than ruling the Congo as a Belgian territory, he used it as a personal domain. He hired men like Henry Stanley in order to explore Africa, take land from the locals, and locate rubber and ivory. Although he tortured many of the locals, his reputation as a humanitarian allowed him to continue his own interests in the continent. (Hannah)

Livingstone, David- (1813-1873) David Livingstone was a Scottish missionary and explorer of Africa during the Age of Imperialism and conquest of Africa. He was one of the most prominent explorers during the time period, calling his venture into Africa a “duel quest” to open Africa to both commerce and religion in his work, Missionary Travels (1857). While exploring, he became lost in the Central Congo, and was later found by Henry Stanley. Additionally, he argued against the slave trade in East Africa. [RickyG]

Opium Wars- China was very unique during Imperialism as they were closed off to outside trade, except for the distribution of tea to the English. When the English realize they are being ripped off because of the imbalance of trade due to the Chinese lack of desire to buy any english goods. Opium, being illegal in GB, was not off limits to China though, and England used it's highly addcitive power to create a market for it in China. In 1839, China bans opium and in 1840, they seize all opium on their docks. Once again creating an imbalance of power, the two countries go to war from 1840-1842. England wins through the use of Hong Kong as they open more ports in China. England defeats China easily and restores the balance of power. (Sarah T)

Sepoy Rebellion (1857) - Once British imperialism began to affect every aspect of Indian life, tension grew among the natives that only needed a small spark to incite a revolt. That “spark” came when the British introduced a new gun with a cartridge that supposedly contained grease made of pig and cow fat. Hindus considered cows to be sacred animals, while the Islamic faith held pigs to be unclean. Considering this to be an attack on their faith, the natives organized widespread, mutinous rebellions against the British. In response, the British sent in 200,000 soldiers and thereafter took direct control of India. (Mackenzie)

Shaka Zulu- (1787-1828) Shaka Zulu was the leader of the Zulu Kingdom during the Age of Imperialism and conquest into Africa. During this time period, Shaka Zulu was a military genius, using his sizeable army to build an extensive Zulu Empire in Africa. Because of this, he was able to create a great deal of turmoil within Africa, forcing inhabitants of certain areas to either surrender or migrate to the Zulus. In the case of the Bantu peoples, they were forced to migrate into the British and Afrikaner territories. [RickyG]

Spencer, Herbert- (1820-1903) Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher during the Age of Imperialism and conquest of Africa. His ideas became most known in Europe through his work, Synthetic Philosophy. This work stated that progress was not an accident but a necessity and that the evolution of the world came as a result of the transition from simplicity to complexity and homogeneity to diversity. Additionally, Spencer believed that the marketplace is the true test for the survival of the fittest, a principle championed by Charles Darwin. [RickyG]

Stanley, Henry Henry Stanley was a famous Welsh-American explorer of Africa. Knighted in 1899, Stanley was known for his role in the development of the Congo. In addition, he was the person to pursue and find the lost David Livingstone with the famous remark, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume". (Shredder)

Suez Canal The Suez Canal was first undertaken by Ferdinand de Lesseps of France and was later taken control of by Britain. The canal was critically important in worldwide trade and the British promised to keep the canal open and neutral to all countries even during war time. (Shredder)

Armenian genocide - The Arminians in the Ottoman Empire faced discrimination before the war, but it was only once the war began that, in 1915, they broke their agreement with Russia, made in 1914, to protect the rights of the Arminians, and instead forced the relocation of 1,750,000 to the deserts of Syria and Mesopotamia where many died or were killed. This is an example of civilian involvement in WWI as well as showing the nature of the total war and foreshadowing the next. (Laura)

Article 231, Treaty of Versailles - Also known as the “war guilt clause”, Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, essentially places all blame for WWI on Germany and demands that they pay all reparations for the war. (Hannah)
The Treaty of Versailles included many reparations and punishments directed at the Germans in addition to placing the blame of the war on them. These included, the Rhine land occupied by French troops, a limit on armed forces such as banning the air force and only allowing 12 naval ships, and reparations worth the estimated cost of the war. Mary

Ataturk (Mustafa Kemal) - Brought to power by a nationalist revolt in Turkey, Ataturk ensured the territorial integrity of Turkey. This was significant because the rest of the Ottoman empire, with the exception of Arabia, was being divvied up to the supervision of different western European countries. (Laura)

Balfour Declaration - The Balfour Declaration was made by Arthur Balfour in 1917. It promised the Jews a homeland, which would be created in Palestine, and guaranteed the muslims' rights. This apparent contradiction caused ambiguity, which would cause issues in the future. (Laura)

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk - Signed in March of 1918, by Lenin, this treaty signified Russia’s early exit from the bloody theater of WWI (with much encouragement from the Germans). Russia was forced to cede vast amounts of territory to the Germans, including Finland, Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltic states, which seemed only to confirm that Germany was operating on expansionist desires. These harsh terms merely whetted the Allied desire for victory, and the numbers of men needed to secure this eastern territory weakened the German efforts in the West. (Chuma)

Dreadnought- These modern and impressive warships made by the English created a huge arms race between themselves and Germany. Great Britian wanted to make sure they had a hand up over other countries by stating they must have twice as many warships as the next two countries combined at all times. These dreadboughts brought with them a huge disrupt of the balance of power and raised the bar for all other countries to meet. (Sarah T)

Fourteen Points - This was Woodrow Wilson's proposal for post-world war I. In the fourteen points, Wilson was trying to avoid post-war turmoil and return to a state of a peace without renewing tensions. He outlined some of his ideas, including free trade, free seas, reduced military forces, and a League of Nations (Shea),

Specifically, the League of Nations was designed to be a conflict resolution organization. However, with its confusing rules of alliances and lack of support from major countries like the United States and Russia, it was doomed to fail. Mary

Gallipoli (Winston Churchill) - This campaign as organized by First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill in 1915. It was an attempt to open a third front against the Germans and seize the Bosporus and Dardanelles, which had recently fallen into the hands of the Ottoman Empire, blocking important trade routes to Russia. Mostly troops from Australia and New Zealand were used, and the campaign was a massive failure. (Chuma)

Irish Free State The Irish Free State replaced the Irish Republic and the provisional government of southern Ireland. It was created when Irish and English representatives created the Anglo-Irish Treaty, but Northern Ireland quickly removed itself from the newly created state. Jordan

Lusitania - The Lusitania was a British ocean liner that as sunk on May 7, 1915 as by German U-boats as a result of their philosophy of unrestricted warfare. The stated reason for the German attack was that the ship was carrying ammunitions for use by the Allied forces (which turned out to be true); nevertheless, the attack resulted in the deaths of 128 US civilians, which brought America one step closer to entry into WWI. (Chuma)

Mandates (mandate system) Mandates classified countries, colonies into either A,B, or C, which judged their ability/potential for self-government. This was created during the Paris Peace Conference, and was an obstacle to self-determination for most peoples. Most African colonies were placed under B status, and Pacific colonies under C. The lower a country is in the alphabet, the less control it has in administration by natives. Jordan

Examples of these mandates were Transjordan, Palestine, and Iraq for the British and Syria and Lebanon for the French. This system obviously shows that the British denied Self-Determination rights to these Non-Euro territories. Mary
Princip, Gavrilo - A member of the Black Hand Society and a Serbian nationalist and terrorist, Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife on June 28, 1914. The event sparked a Balkan conflict between Austria and Serbia, which ultimately escalated into World War I. (Mackenzie)

- Black Hand Society- This group was a Serbian nationalist and terrorist organization that plotted against Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand to have him murdered as the heir to the Austrian throne. This was an extremely agressive political attack towards the Austrians, but the organization was not a part of the Serbian government, making a "punishment" towards them difficult. (Sarah T)

Reinsurance Treaty - This treaty was Bismarck’s attempt to continue to ally with Russia after the League of the Three Emperors fell apart so that Germany would be protected from a two front war in France and Russia. In this “Gentleman’s agreement”, Germany and Russia both agreed to remain neutral if the other country went to war. (Mackenzie)

Schlieffen Plan - This was Germany’s military plan for how the army would fight a two front war. On its way to France, Germany would invade Belgium (which was neutral), score a quick victory in the West, and then concentrate its forces in the East against Russia. (Mackenzie)

The Schlieffen Plan ultimately failed because Germany was worried if they didn't destroy Belgium's army then it could reassemble and attack them from behind. To avoid this they slowed down their attack of Belgium, which allowed France to readjust their troops in time to save Paris. (Laura)

Self-determination (Paris Peace Conference) This was heavily preached by Woodrow Wilson at the negotiations in Paris, which states that ethnicity should determine national boundaries. European leaders were on board with this concept to a certain extent, especially in the case of Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia (all slavs), and the Baltic States, but peoples outside of Europe were not allowed self-determination. See Class A,B, and C mandates, judging how prepared certain ethnic groups were for self-government. Jordan

Somme, Battle of (1916) – led by General Douglas Haig, the British Commander, the Battle of the Somme represented the first significant attack led by the British during WWI. After one week of artillery barrage, the British felt confident that they could attack the German trenches while facing minimal resistance. To their shock and horror, the Germans were ready and waiting with their machine guns and mowed down 110,000 Brits, resulting in 60,000 casualties and 19,000 deaths. This level of carnage was unprecedented in British history and left a lingering distaste for war among the British. (Chuma)

Total War- This was a type of warfare pioneered during World War I, where every single segment of society was invested and mobilized in ensuring victory for their country during the Great War. [RickyG]

This system made society realize the importance of women, as they replaced men in many jobs as heavily involved countries such as Austria and Russia experienced casualty rates as high as 70-90%. Many factories were repurposed from manufacturing luxuries to war materials, and music studios as well as printers switched to production of propoganda. Although WWII is known as the greatest example of total war, it was introduced, as well as readily accepted as civilians realized they had become targets as well. Jordan

Verdun, Battle of - This was happened in 1916. It was a German offensive lead by General Folkenahgn. His strategy was to "out attrition" the other side, simply meaning that he intended the German forces to outlive the other side. Folkenhagn promised a 5:2 ratio of french:german casualties. 540,000 French died, 430,000 German died. (Shea)

Although this battle was devastating for the French, a War Hero emerged on their side, General Patain. pronounced puhtaun. The overwhelming number of causalities for the French in this battle can be credited for part of the reason why France was so reluctant to go to war round 2. The Children of Verdun had witnessed the worst of war and were thus willing to do anything to prevent it, even if that meant appeasing Hitler. Mary