Download Review for Imperialism and Nationalism Test

Review for Imperialism and Nationalism Test
Nationalism
o *** Know the definition of nationalism and other vocab from your list and crossword
o *** Know some examples of nationalism, positive and negative
Summary of Europe in mid-1800s and rise of nationalism
o As Napoleon’s attempt to regain power during his “100 Days” drew to a close in 1815,
Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia began meeting in 1814 as the Congress of Vienna to
restore the royal families to their places of power, including the Bourbons in France. The
Holy Roman Empire of 360 states was reorganized to form 38 German states in the German
Confederation. In 1871, these 38 states would unify to become the country we know today as
“Germany”.
o In 1848, liberalism, a belief that arose from the Enlightenment and stressed the importance of
civil liberties and rights for the individual, swept across Europe. Due in part to these liberal
movements, nationalistic revolutions broke out in Germany, Austria, Italy and France. In
Austria’s empire, for example, there existed Germans, Czechs, Poles, Croats, Serbs,
Hungarians, Italians and more. Many of these peoples wanted a country of their own. Austria
crushed the 1848 uprisings and the revolutions in Austria and the rest of Europe failed, at
least for now. Only after World War One were many of these people given their own country
when Austria lost the war. Still the revolutions of 1848 brought a lot of nationalistic feelings
to the nations and peoples of Europe that would soon have important, history-making effects.
The Unification and Creation of the States of Germany and Italy in 1871
o In 1871, two new countries were created under nationalist movements; Italy and Germany. In
Germany, a prime minister named Otto von Bismarck was the driving force behind
Germany’s unification. Bismarck said, “The great questions of the day will not be decided by
speeches and the resolutions of majorities, but by iron and blood.” Bismarck used war as
well as diplomacy to achieve his goal of German unification. He strengthened German
industry and the military and criticized those who opposed him. He even tricked France into
declaring war on Prussia (the most powerful state of the 38 German states). When Prussia
easily defeated France in about 6 months, the southern German states agreed to join the
Northern German Confederation. On January 18th, 1871, Bismarck and about 600 nobles,
princes, and generals filled the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles in Paris and declared Wilhelm of
Prussia Emperor Wilhelm of the German Empire, and the country of Germany we know
today was created.
o In Italy, inspirational and military leader Giuseppe Garibaldi and his army of about a
thousand volunteers became known as “the thousand” or the “red shirts”. After fighting in
Brazil and Uruguay in South America, Garibaldi returned to his home of Italy. To help his
king, King Victor Emmanuel of Sardinia and Piedmont in northern Italy, Garibaldi led his
“army of the thousand” to the island of Sicily, where he quickly took control of most of the
island by 1860. He then crossed over into the mainland of Italy and marched up the Italian
peninsula winning victories and raising more men for his army as he went. In March of 1861,
a new state of Italy was created under King Victor Emmanuel II. Though most of Italy was
now united, the papal state of Rome was still under control of the Pope with French
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protection, and northern areas like Venice were under foreign control. When the French left
Rome to fight the Prussians (Germans), Italians who wanted unification saw their chance.
The rest of Italy became unified and Rome became its capital by 1871. The year 1871 is
considered the year that both Germany and Italy became states (countries).
o Review: There were also nationalistic movements in South and Central America in the early
1800s. Jose de San Martin and Simon Bolivar helped liberate Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru,
Argentina, Colombia, and Chile from Spain. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823, created by
President James Monroe, states that any more colonizing in North or South America by
European powers would be seen as an act of aggression and may result in U.S. intervention.
Imperialism
o Know the definition of imperialism
o Britain colonized India in the 1700s and began to rule India in the late 1800s. Queen Victoria
of England called India the “Jewel of the Crown”. Britain would continue to do so until a
man named Mohandas Gandhi helped lead India to independence in 1947 without firing a
shot. Gandhi became an inspiration to people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
o In the late 1800s, the Industrial Revolution pushed a drive for raw materials that saw many
European countries “scrambling for Africa” for control of the land and materials there. This
led to all but two countries in Africa being colonized by European powers; Ethiopia and
Liberia, the latter being a state created by the U.S. for returned slaves.
o Britain and France had the most colonial land in Africa between them. One of the most
infamous tragedies in the “Scramble for Africa” was Belgium and King Leopold’s conquest
of the Congolese during the late 1800s at the height of the rubber market. An estimated 8-10
million Congolese lost their lives. The Holocaust of WWII, in comparison, saw the murder of
11 million people, including 6 million Jews.
o British businessman Cecil Rhodes started the DeBeers diamond company in a country named
after him, Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe and Zambia). At one time, he controlled 90% of the
world’s diamond market. Today DeBeers controls 40%. Conflict diamonds, brought to much
of the world’s attention with the film “Blood Diamond” starring Leonardo di Caprio, are
diamonds that come from areas in Africa that are controlled by military regimes that exploit
people and whose mining often involves violence, bribes, and intimidation on a grand scale.
Today, the Kimberley Process Certification attempts to minimize these diamonds as much as
possible, but it is not easy. When your teacher recently got married in 2009, I asked if the
diamonds were conflict free. The only thing they could tell me was, “Hopefully, but we can
never be sure,” and pointed to their Kimberley certification. One of the best ways to insure
that diamonds are not “blood diamonds” is to ask for diamonds from Canada.
o Grade-school history review: In 1846, the U.S. provoked a war with Mexico under
President James Polk who wanted to expand U.S. territory all the way to the Pacific. By
1848, the U.S. had captured Mexico City, capital of Mexico, and the U.S. won the war.
Mexico then ceded all of the land between Texas and California to the U.S.. The Mexican
cession to the U.S. was about 750,000 sq. miles, as compared with the Louisiana Purchase
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which was about 825,000 sq. miles. The war ended on February 2nd, 1848. Bad luck for
Mexico, as gold was discovered in California the week before on January 24th.
The U.S. as an Imperialist Power
o The U.S. also entered the imperialist period with the Spanish American War in 1898 which
forced Spain to cede the Philippines and Guam in the Pacific and Puerto Rico in the
Caribbean to the U.S. The U.S. also received Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for helping Cuba win
independence from Spain, though that treaty is not recognized by the Cubans today.
Theodore Roosevelt, who later would give his name to the term “Teddy bear”, became
famous as leader of the US Cavalry division known as the Rough Riders and charging up San
Juan Hill in Cuba. Only three years later he would become president from 1901-1909.
o That same year, the U.S. also annexed the territory of Hawaii. Many Hawaiians today still
disagree with the manner in which their sovereignty was taken from them by the U.S for
strategic reasons that benefited the U.S.
o In 1903, Colombia’s congress refused to sign the Hay-Herran Treaty with the U.S. that
would have given the U.S. control of the Panama Canal that the French started but couldn’t
finish. To gain control of the canal, the U.S. helped the northern part of Colombia, known
today as Panama, win independence from the rest of Colombia and the U.S. got their canal.
After the fact, in 1925, the U.S. paid Colombia $25 million dollars and apologized for their
involvement in the Panamanian uprising. Full control of the canal was not handed over from
the U.S. to Panama until 1999.
Dates to remember:
1846-1848: Mexican-American War
1861-1865: American Civil War
1871: Italy and Germany become states
1898: Spanish-American War
1898: U.S. Annexation of Hawaii
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