#9 3,2,1!

I learned more about the plight of the Boers.
I learned about the size and dominance of the British Empire.
I learned about the causes of some of the origins of the world's problems that it faces today.

I found the policy of Gunboat Diplomacy to be very interesting.
I found the policies of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the Congo to be incredibly interesting, albeit barbaric.

What allowed Britain to dominate the world when it came to imperialism?

#8 Suez Canal Today

   The Suez Canal Today

 

The Suez Canal has been controlled by Egypt since 1956.

It is a major shipping lane, used everyday.

It is important in today's world because a large amount of valuable goods, such as oil need to be shipped through it to reach the rest of the world. Without the Canal, the world's trade would have to round the Cape of Good Hope, not only endangering those who ride the ships but also adding time and expenses onto the trip.

It sees an estimated 8% or more of the world's trade each year.

There are fears that the revolutions in Egypt could result in the closing of the Suez Canal, which would totally disrupt world trade and cause economic problems everywhere.

 

#7 Libyan Revolution

The Libyan Revolution began on Tuesday, February 14, 2011 as the end result of the constant oppression of the Libyan people by a dictatorial government for more than forty years. The UN responded to the revolution by creating a no fly zone over Libya. A ceasefire created a temporary peace until Gaddafi's forces attacked and the revolution never looked back. The rebels eventually captured the capitol city of Tripoli, and they tracked down and killed Gaddafi on October 20th, 2011. The revolution was a successful revolution as the government was overthrown and a new one put in place.

#6 Sepoy Mutiny

The Sepoy Mutiny began on May 10, 1857, when the Sepoys of the East India Company revolted after being forced to bite the paper cartridges off of their ammunition for the new style rifle they were issued. Each cartridge was lined with Tallow, which was animal fat, mostly from Cows and Pigs. This was and is against the religious beliefs of the Indians. The key players were the Sepoys(Mangal Pandey attempted to incite it) and the British military. It was successful for a period of about a year, until they were finally crushed and the entire political system of India was changed, with Britain becoming a direct ruler. In the end, it was not very successful and ended up worsening the situation for the Indian nation.

#5 U.S. Actions and Events.

The first event that I chose to cover would be Commodore Matthew Perry's opening of Japan to Western Trade in 1854. Up until this time, Japan had sealed off its borders and its ports to outside trade, as they were fearful of the Westerners.  It was not until Commodore Matthew Perry sailed to Japan and exhausted his diplomatic efforts unsuccessfully that Japan would consider opening its borders. When diplomatic measures failed, Perry used a tactic now affectionately known as "Gunboat diplomacy" to coerce the Japanese to open their borders. They resisted at first, but the wise elders of Japan recognized the fact that their defenses and coastal cities were no match for the advanced artillery of the United States navy, and accepted Perry's terms. This led to a western, modernized Japan.



The second event that I chose was the overthrow of Hawaii and the ousting of the royalty. The U.S. forced the King in 1887 to sign a new constitution, which became known as the Bayonet Constitution. It stripped most of the power from the royalty and the king reigned until his death in 1891, from whence his sister,  Liliʻuokalani, to take over the monarchy. She attempted to draft a new constitution when White business leaders formed the Committee of Safety, which wanted to overthrow the government and be annexed by the U.S. and they called for military back up. The military force prevented the monarchy from defending itself and the Committee over threw the government. They then filed for annexation.

I chose these events because they are as close as America came to being imperialistic during this time, however both events can relate to something the European's had done. The European conquest of Africa and Asia incorporated the same techniques that the United States had used, the difference being that the U.S. did not gut said countries of their goods. The United States opened Japan in much the same way that the British opened China, they both used the same tactic. They both offered something that the other could not resist, for the Japanese, it was the threat of war, for the Chinese, opium. The situation in Hawaii is akin to that of the Boers in Southern Africa, they settled and eventually took over the countries in which they settled in, before being controlled by a larger sovereign nation.

#4 An Imperialsitic U.S.A.?

             I do not think that the United States is an imperialistic country. I say this because we do not take over other countries with malicious intent to pillage them for their goods which would in turn help us. I also believe that we do not exercise control over the countries that we are supposedly imperialistic over, nor do we preside over an empire, which is the most telling characteristic of an imerialistic nation. I do understand that others may believe the United States is imperialistic due to our "conquests" in the middle east, or because other counties attempt to demean the United States and mistake our efforts of peace and the protection of Human rights for imperialism. They could also believe that the U.S.' control of Puerto Rico exemplifies imperialism, however they would be mistaking the fact that if Puerto Rico wanted to leave U.S. protection all they would have to do is vote for it.

#3 U.S. Current Political Cartoon

In this cartoon, Lady Liberty is portrayed as an addict willing to do anything to get a fix of her drug, in this case oil. The author is clearly not pleased with the war in Iraq and blames the war on America's addiction to oil. I find the cartoon somewhat offensive as I do not like to see Lady Liberty portrayed in such a fashion and I don't care for the way the author attempts to blame the war upon America's addiction to oil. It also is biased towards the Iraqi's in my eyes.

#2 Political Cartoons

In the above cartoon, a man representing Great Britain is gobbling up the African continent. The artist is feeling satirical and wants to depict Britain's domination and conquest of African countries, especially the Southern part. I would have to agree with the unnamed artist and believe that this is quite the effective metaphor for the way in which Britain dominated and assimilated the southern part of Africa. I also appreciate the crazed look the artist gave the man to represent the fervor and craze of Imperialism which abosrbed the world.



 

From a different part of the world comes this masterpeice. Teddy Roosevelt pulls a long line of battleships behind him as he circles the Carribean Sea, and he is carrying his big stick while Eagles circle overhead. The artist took a rather stern view of the "Imperialistic" tendencies of the united States in the Carribean during this time. He pokes fun at Teddy by having him walk around with his metaphorical "big stick" and then sends his message with the ships, the first of which is titled " The Receiver " while the final one is titled "The Debt Collector." The author does not seem to be supportive of the U.S.' actions. I find this to be comical, but yet it has such a dark and sinsiter undertone. He makes fun of the president and his big stick and has him pull around toy battleships, but yet the way the battleships are named just makes the U.S. sound so bad. It infers that we set them up to be unable to pay off the debts they owe us and so they will be, in effect, indentured to the U.S.

European Imperialism Ch. 25 #1

 

          In chapter 25, the world is a craze with imperialistic fervor once again, but this time they were motivatied by "Christianity, Commerce, and Civilization." It was during this time that the "White Man's burden" became prevalent. The areas of Asia and Africa, newly opened to the world, became the focal points of Imperialistic desire.

Chapter Objective:  Analyze the impact of Imperialism during this time.

EQ: Who were the major players in this time period and how effective were they in their conquests?

In the beginning of the 19th century, the two dominant forces were that of Britain and France, whereas Germany and Italy will begin to play a huge role in the latter part. It was Britain who set the standard for the imperialistic world, becoming so massive and overreaching that the most effective way to describe her empire was "The sun never sets on the British Empire." It ruled over 458 Million people at its peak and covered over 13 million square miles.