Review Guide: Atlantic Revolutions (Part I), Industrial Revolution, & Western Imperialism
The Era of Western Hegemony, 1750-1900
The Enlightenment: What was it?/Philosophers + key ideas for each: John Locke, Francois Voltaire, Baron de Montesquieu
Atlantic Revolutions (1775-1830): American colonial subjects led a series of rebellions, which facilitated the emergence of
independent states in the US, Haiti, and mainland Latin America. French subjects rebelled
against their monarchy.
 Order of Atlantic Revolutions: American, French, Latin American (Haitian, Spanish America, Brazil)
American Revolution (1775-1783): Causes & Effects
 Goals of the American Revolution?
 US declaration of independence from Britain: 1776
 To what degree was popular sovereignty granted in the United States after independence?/Suffrage restrictions?
 Republic declared + features of that republic
French Revolution (1789-1799): Causes & Effects
 French Revolutionary slogan: “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite!” = “Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood!”
 Old Regime abolished = Feudal/manorial system abolished
 Abolishment of traditional aristocracy
 Catholic Church restrained from influence (political & economic)
 Absolutism  Limited monarchy  Abolished monarchy  King Louis XVI & Queen Marie Antoinette guillotined
 Republic declared
 National Assembly (parliament) + constitution
 French nationalism boosted (+symbols of French nationalism: flag, national anthem)
 Maximilian Robespierre’s “Reign of Terror” (contrast to American Revolution)
 Women & slaves in French colonies (ex. Haiti) miss out on reforms/equality  Haitian Revolution
 Absolutist nations in W.Eur feared spread of Enlightenment-based revolution  war against France
 Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise to autocratic power, 1799-1815
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Attempted to create French Empire in Europe (+failed conquest of Russia)
Unsettled Latin America accidentally by threatening Spain & Portugal  independence movements (Revolutions) in Latin America, 18101830
 New modes of political thought across Europe & Americas: Conservatism, Liberalism, & Radicalism (define each)
Compare & contrast the causes & effects of the American and French Revolutions
Industrial Revolution
 Began c1750 in Britain
 Reasons IR began in Britain?
 Variety of factors led to the rise of industrial production:
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Inventions that were essential to the early stages of the IR? (ex. James Watt’s steam engine)
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The development of machines, including steam engines and the internal combustion engine, made it possible to exploit vast new resources
of energy stored in fossil fuels, specifically coal and oil. The “fossil fuels” revolution greatly increased the energy available to human
societies.
To what areas of the world/nations had the IR spread by c1850?
Western European nations shifted focus from mercantilism to capitalism due to industrialization.
Describe working conditions for most industrial laborers during the nineteenth century (ex. “factory system”, “specialization
of labor”)
Describe living condition in industrialized urban areas (ex. Manchester, England)
Changes in food production and improved medical conditions contributed to a significant global rise in population.
New industrial transportation & communication methods: Railroads & Steamships/Telegraph & Telephone + effect on global
economies, warfare, empire-building, migration patterns
The “Second Industrial Revolution” (c1850-c1900) led to new methods in the production of steel, chemicals, electricity, and
precision machinery.
By 1900, due to the IR, Britain was the most economically and militarily powerful nation in the world.
In industrialized states, many workers organized themselves to improve working conditions, limit hours, and gain hirher
wages, while others opposed capitalist exploitation of workers by promoting alternative visions of society
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Europe’s location on the Atlantic Ocean
Geographical distribution of coal, iron, & timber
European demographic changes
Urbanization
Improved agricultural productivity
Legal protection of private property
An abundance of rivers & canals
Access to foreign resources
Accumulation of capital
Explain the key concepts of Socialism and Marxism
What are the main arguments of Karl Marx in his Communist Manifesto, 1848?
In the West, demands for women’s suffrage and an emergent feminism challenged political and gender hierarchies (1800searly 1900s)
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Western industrialization led to a new round of global imperialism! (New patterns of global trade and production developed
and further integrated the global economy as industrialists sought raw materials and new markets for the increasing amount
and array of goods produced in their factories.)
Key contributions of Louis Pasteur & Charles Darwin
What factors caused the legal Atlantic slave trade to come to an end by the early 1800s? + Britain’s role in ending it?
Western Imperialism
 Causes of Western Imperialism in the period of 1750 to 1900?
 Advances in industrial technology/science permitted Europeans to expand their colonization efforts:
o Railroads, Steamships, Rifles, Maxim Gun, Quinine
 Africa, Asia, and the Pacific were the main focal points of Western imperialism in the period 1750-1900
 What is meant by “The White Man’s Burden”?
 Define “Social Darwinism” + Explain how this ideology influenced Western imperialism from c1860 – 1900s.
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*note: Herbert Spencer developed this pseudo-science, not Charles Darwin
Compare/Contrast Western imperialism in the period 1450 to 1750 vs. 1750 to 1900.
How did the industrial revolution shape Western imperialism in the period of 1750 to 1900?
Core/Dependency Theory
Examples of raw materials extracted from colonies: India, Congo, Indonesia, South Africa
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The British placed restrictions on Indian cotton textile production in order to prevent competition with British textile industry.
Describe labor systems used to extract these raw materials
Identify major colonizing nations and examples of their colonies in the period 1750 to 1900
Explain the imperialism process in the areas of Java (Indonesia), India, South Africa, New Zealand, & Hawaii
Compare Dutch imperialism in Java VS. British imperialism in India
What role did the British East India Co. play in the colonization of India?
o As the British East India Co. expanded control over India, the Mughal Empire collapsed
o British Raj, 1858-1947
The Berlin Conference, 1884-1885: Purpose/Outcome/How was it unfair to Africans/Long-term effects?
What was the “Scramble for Africa”? + Major participants
In what ways did Westerners attempt to alter the cultural traditions of indigenous people that they colonized?
Native people attempted to resist Western imperial control, but usually with little real chance of permanent success
o Why? + Examples?
o Zulu Wars in South Africa, late 1800s
o Sepoy Mutiny/Rebellion in India, 1857: Significance?
o Ethiopia succeeded in holding off Italian attempts at colonization there
Definitions & examples of Settler Colonies, Tropical Dependencies, & White Dominions
Industrial economic competition and imperial competition between Western European nations led to intense nationalism,
militarism, and a massive arms buildup that eventually caused the First World War (1914-1918)