Imperialism: Europe in Asia
Imperialism affected almost every country outside of Europe and America, as these two powers attempted to bring all of the world’s natural resources to their factories. Many of these non-European countries did not like the “invasion” that was taking place in their country and did not see it as “White Man’s Burden”, but more as “White Man’s Invasion”.
The native Indians of India were fed up with British incursions into their land and attempted to break from of the Redcoats in 1857. This “Sepoy Mutiny” led to much death. Go to this web page and read about the Sepoy Mutiny. On a piece of paper, write a paragraph summary of the event (Who, What, Where, Why, and the Results).
During this same time, the Ottoman Empire was also losing power. Click here to see the Ottoman Empire at its in 1699 and compare it to 1914 at the start of World War I (Click here). After looking at that, you can go to this web page and read about the problems that the Ottoman Empire went through at this time. Go back to the same paper and compose another paragraph that answers the following question: “Why did the Ottoman Empire became known as the “Sick Man of Europe”? In addition, think about why the Balkans (click here for a modern map of the Balkans) was known as the “Powder Keg” of Europe. Write a few sentences explaining that.
China is another area of the world that was “fed up” with European aggressiveness. They fought back during the Boxer Rebellion. See this web site OR this web site for a quick summary of the events. On your paragraph paper, add a few lines explaining why the Boxer Rebellion occurred and what the results of this were.
The Japanese even got into the act, and although no European power was successful at colonizing Japan, they felt threatened by many European countries (especially America); however, none as much as Russia. Russia had her eye on Japan since the growth of Vladivostok had taken off due to the Trans-Siberian Railroad being completed and decided to attack her off the coast of Japan. Remember, Russia’s East Coast extended all the way to Japan; however, her navy was based in the Baltic Sea, so getting into Japan was no small feat (scroll half-way down this website and look at the map). They finally did clash at the Battle of Tsushima Straits. It is extremely important when we talk about WWII, but it also sets up a lot of the action in World War I. Click on this web site for a quick study of this battle. For further info, try this site (but I warn you, it goes into more detail than you will ever need for this class, but is interesting. You don’t need to read it today, but may come back to it at any point…) In essence, this battle foreshadowed WWII...for extra credit, in one sentence explain how the Battle of Tsushima Straits led to an important moment/idea in WWII.
These paragraphs are due at the end of class today.
