World History of the 18-19th century - Essay Example

History 113-World History Exam Questions 1. Definition of key terms i. Authority- Authority refers to the power or right to make decisions, give orders and enforce obedience. ii. Legitimacy- Conforming to law by virtue of being legally authorized. For example the Congress has legitimacy to make laws on behalf of the American people. iii. Sovereignty- Sovereignty refers to the ultimate legitimate authority of a state to govern itself or other states. iv. Intolerable acts- Are the Coercive acts of parliament that were enacted by the British parliament in 1774. v. Macartney Mission- This a name used to refer to the 1973 British Embassy to China. The embassy was named after the first British envoy to china known as George Macartney. vi. Extraterritoriality- Is the immunity from the legal jurisdiction of a nation that is usually given to foreign diplomats, soldiers and officials. For example, American soldiers who committed crimes in other countries are usually returned to face their charges in the United States. vii. Gunboat diplomacy- Is a foreign policy supported by intimidation, military coercion and the threat of force. For example, Britain used its naval power to coerce other weaker states into granting to its unequal treaties. viii. Treaty system- A collective set of international agreements that regulate international relations. For example the arctic treaty system banned military activity in the Antarctic continent. ix. Industrial revolution-Refers to the period of rapid and radical socio-economic changes that began in England and spread to the other parts of Europe and North America. The period was marked by the mechanization of industrial production. x. Industrial Capitalism- A social-economic system whereby industry, trade and capital are under private ownership and operated for profit. xi. Reign of terror- A period during the French revolution which was characterized by bloodshed and remorseless repression. xii. Nationalism-refers to devotion and loyalty to ones National interests and culture. xiii. Liberalism- Is a political orientation that advocates for non violent changing of social economic institutions and champions the principles of unrestrained freedom of religion, thought, speech, conscience and politics. xiv. Emancipation- Breaking away from bondage, restraint, oppression power or control of another. xv. Socialism- Refers to a system of social organization advocating for communal control and ownership of the means of production and ownership in order to achieve social equality. xvi. Indirect rule -Was a mode of colonialism used to govern indigenous communities directly by the colonial powers. The colonies appointed their rulers to govern the existing communities evidently the British rule in Nigeria. xvii. Direct rule- Was a colonial administration policy in which the colonies, states or provinces were controlled and governed by a central government. For example, traditional local power structures were incorporated in the colonial administration. xviii. Ideology -a framework of ideas that can be used to organize society partially, economically, socially and culturally. xix. Westernization -the adaptive procedures of assimilating to the western culture and the customs of western civilization. xx. Triangular trade-a historical term referring to trade among three regions example is the pre colonial transactions in Africa like the Trans Saharan trade where they exchanged gunpowder and ivory through batter trade. xxi. Laissez faire- This is a term used to refer to the doctrine that opposes any governmental interference or regulation of commercial affairs. xxii. Battle of Somme-The famous main allied attack on the western front during 1916. It comprises the laws of 58000 British troops on the first day of the battle. xxiii. Congress of Vienna- This was a conference of ambassadors of European states in the year 1819.the representatives were from the states that had participated in the wars under the leadership of Australian statesman Klemens Von Metternich. xxiv. Cape to Cairo- Refers to the Great North Road found in sub-Saharan Africa which was a colonialist project to connect north and southern Africa. xxv. Schlieffen plan-German general staffs early 20th century generally strategic arrangement for conquest. It was a plan to avoid two front wars by focusing troops in the west. xxvi. Treaty of Nanjing- Was a treaty signed in august 1942 by the British to end the first opium war. It is also referred to as the first unequal treaty. xxvii. International settlements- Refers to the coordination of international monetary and financial cooperation through organizations such as the bank for international settlement. 2. Working with primary sources a. Response to the Excerpt from “On the adoption of western learning” by Feng Guifen) With regard to the context of the excerpt, “On the adoption of western learning” was published in 1861 by Feng Guifen who was a renowned Chinese scholar. This was period when the ruling Qing dynasty in china faced a number social economic problems as well as a series of military defeats during the Sino-Japanese wars. Fend Guifen was one of the leaders who began to develop proposals for strengthening the military strength of the Chinese empire through the adoption of western military and industrial technologies. The author argued that the Chinese society adopt and make use of the advanced western science and technology but should continue to be based on Confucian ethics (Rowe, 208). Generally, the article is a comprehensive account of the Chinese view of western culture at the time. The excerpt reveals a number of biasness that existed in the Chinese view of Western culture. For example, although Feng viewed western science and technology with a sense of awe, the Chinese of the 19th century had a negative connotation about Europeans and this is particularly seen in the statement that “there are some who have learned from barbarians who can surpass them”. b. Response to the Excerpt from “Science and Islam” by Afghani The book was published at a time when the European countries were manifesting their greatness and power through colonization and military conquest of many parts of the world including Islamic countries. This is best captured when the author narrates that “the English are now in Afghanistan and the French in Tunisia and this is attributed to their science” Afghani suggested that the knowledge gap could only be overcome by adopting knowledge as the foundation of Islamic faith. Published in the year 1882 by Afghani, article Science and Islam alluded the progress made by various Christian civilizations and argued that Islam must reform and adopt modern technology as the only means of its civilizational survival (Uberoi, 32). The major distortions include the fact that Afghani has failed to acknowledge any of the Islamic scholars in his book. He also argued that the Semites unlike the Indo-Europeans have no philosophy or science. The article highlights the general frustrations of Islamic world in the 19th century when who felt humiliated by their lack of science and consequently envied the western world. c. Response to “A contrary view: Gandhi on the meaning of Civilization” Gandhi’s view on the meaning of civilization was particularly shaped by the socio-economic events of the 19th century. Some of the events included the period of Enlightenment, American Revolution, and Industrial revolution and Western imperialism. Having undergone his education in London, Gandhi understood the western culture and consequently his views tended to compare between the Western civilization and the Indian civilization (Hardiman, 45). Throughout the book, Gandhi argues that the stability and development of a civilization, it should be free from any state of isolation. Unlike other Asian scholars of the time, Gandhi was opposed to the perception that Western civilization was superior to other civilizations and argued that it is a process that every culture must gradually go through. He also believed that civilization destroys morality and religion and came to the conclusion that “Immorality may sometime be taught in the name of morality”. Generally, the narrative best captures the general perceptions of the events such as the Industrial revolution during the 19th century. 3. Long response Questions i. Industrialization: Was it a causatory factor or a co-relative factor for the changes of the 19th century. As evidenced in the changes in English economic and social life after the industrial revolution, the revolution was more of a causatory factor than a co-relative factor for the changes witnessed in the 19th century. The transition after the industrial revolution caused a number of changes in the British society. For example as production becomes mechanized, many people migrated to the urban centers leading to increased urbanization. On the other hand, the quick urbanization in turn caused a number of social problems such as increased crime rates and poor sanitation. Generally the industrial revolution that was first witnessed in Britain significantly resulted in the conversion of the socioeconomic order of the time and some of the changes that took place eventually led the way for the industrialization in other parts of Europe and North America. Consequently industrialization was not a co-relative factor but was a major causatory factor for most of the socio-economic changes witnessed in the 19th century. ii. Why and how the Western nations obtained and extended control in Kenya (Sub Saharan Africa), India and China. In all the mentioned regions, the primary reasons for the acquisition and control of the colonies included to look for new markets for their industrial goods, search for raw materials, national prestige and for strategic purposes. For example, after the completion of the Suez Canal, the British conquered Kenya because it was a strategic route to Uganda the source of river Nile which served their interests in Egypt. On the other hand, the European nations sought colonies in China and India purely to safeguard their economic interests such as their trading rights. iii. Compare and contrast one aspect of American and French revolutions The American and the French revolution had a number of similarities and differences. One of the similarities is that both the revolutions were products of the enlightenment ideals of the 18th century that advocated for natural rights and equality. For example, the Americans were fighting to gain freedom from the British domination and heavy taxation while the French were fighting to abolish the tyrannical rule of the French monarchy. A major aspect of differences between the two revolutions is their outcome. For instance, the American Revolution ended up in the creation of the Declaration of the American independence while the French revolution resulted in some freedom but the king continued to rule (Reddy, 106). iv. What was the relationship between nation, nationalism and ideology in the 19th century? Throughout the 19th century, a wave of nationalism in which various European nations each created and supported different ideologies aimed at glorifying their nation states. The French revolution significantly challenged the European assumptions and beliefs about society and in some cases, the states manipulated nationalist ideologies in order to promote unity against external threats. As a result a romantic nationalism swept across many parts of Europe uniting various small states such as Germany and Italy to build national identity and exporting the new ideals of nationalism (Spielvogel, 40). The 19th century nationalism was an important ideology that particularly emerged after the French revolution and the period of enlightenment. Lastly, the strong nation-states of Britain and France inspired ideologies of nationalism throughout Europe resulting in the Unification of Germany, Italy and the formation of other nation states such as Greece. v. Compare and contrast the abolishment of slavery in Britain and the United States There existed similarities as well as a few differences in the abolition of slavery in Great Britain and the United States. In both countries, the abolition of slavery was preceded by a number of civil rights activities that included media campaigns, debates and petitions. The main difference however was that the abolishment of slavery in Britain was largely a peaceful national campaign process while the American abolition of slavery resulted in the American was of emancipation. Additionally it Britain was the first large trading nation to abolish slavery in 1807 and forsake huge amounts of profits. Unlike the other countries such as the US and France, slavery was ended in Britain my millions of people both blacks and whites who openly campaigned against slavery and decided they could no longer tolerate it. On the other hand, the United States was the last nation to abolish slavery 1865 and only after a long blood civil war. vi. Examples of continuity and change in the revolutionary movements of Mexico in the 19th century There are a number of examples of continuity ad well as change that were witnessed during the 19th century revolutionary movements of New Spain(Mexico). With regard to continuity, the revolution resulted in the continuation of the projects of the previous pre-revolutionary government of Porfirio Diaz that advocated for the development and modernization of Mexico through the activities of a centralized government. The Mexican revolution was primarily influenced by a number of events some of which included the dictatorial policies, widespread corruption and repression of workers, Indians and peasants who tried to oppose the alienation of their lands and the unbearable working conditions. The pre-revolutionary regime also imprisoned and exiles many of its critics and political opponents. Consequently although the revolution was intended to bring radical changes, the new leaders such as Madero continued to centralize the Mexican political system with only moderate reforms and this resulted in the continuity of the programs of the pre-revolutionary government. On the other hand, a good example of change in the revolutionary movements was that unlike the past regimes, the revolution resulted in the creation of a mass society with less social and regional fragmentation. Works Cited Hardiman, David, K. Gandhi in his time and ours: the global legacy of his ideas. New York: Columbia University Press. 2003. Print. Reddy,William, J. Sentimentalism and Its Erasure: The Role of Emotions in the Era of the French Revolution. The Journal of Modern History 72.1 (2000): 109. Rowe, William. T. China’s Last Empire: The Great Qing. Harvard University Press. 2009. Print. Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization: Vol. 2. St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1998.Print. Uberoi, J. Singh. The European modernity: science, truth and method. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.2002. Print. Read More