Britain Naturalist
Charles Darwin
a late 19th-century ideology asserting that white Westerners had a moral obligation to "civilize" non-white, non-Western populations
White Man’s Burden
was a massive Central African state privately owned and ruled by King Leopold II of Belgium, not the Belgian state
Congo Free State
was an Ottoman-Albanian commander who became the viceroy of Egypt (1805–1848), recognized as the "father of modern Egypt"
Muhammad Ali
basic, unprocessed natural resources—such as minerals, metals, timber, and agricultural commodities—essential for producing goods
Raw Materials
British Imperial Queen
Queen Victoria
a late 19th and early 20th-century ideology that misapplied Charles Darwin’s biological theory of natural selection to human societies, arguing that "survival of the fittest" governs social, economic, and political inequalities
Social Darwinism
the 19th-century belief that the United States was divinely ordained to expand its dominion, democracy, and capitalism across the North American continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Manifest Destiny
was a British imperialist, mining magnate, and politician who spearheaded British expansion in Southern Africa, driven by a belief in Anglo-Saxon superiority.
Cecil Rhodes
a chemical process that heats natural rubber with sulfur (and other additives) to create cross-links between polymer chains, transforming it into a stronger, durable, elastic, and temperature-stable material
Vulcanization
Belgian Imperialist in the Congo
King Leopold II
a dependent territory or state that receives diplomatic or military protection from a stronger nation in exchange for ceding control over its foreign affairs and, frequently, certain domestic affairs
Protectorates
a 120-mile-long artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea
Suez Canal
Manifest Destiny President
James K Polk
an agricultural product grown specifically for sale in competitive markets to generate profit, rather than for the farmer’s own subsistence
Cash Crop
Interventionist President Known for his "Big Stick" foreign policy
Teddy Roosevelt
a geographic region or state where an external power claims exclusive, dominant economic, political, or military privileges without holding formal sovereignty
Sphere of Influence
was a diplomatic meeting of European powers and the U.S. convened by Otto von Bismarck to regulate the colonization and trade of Africa, accelerating the "Scramble for Africa".
Berlin Conference
was the German-born Empress of Russia (1762–1796) who championed the Russian Enlightenment, expanded the empire westward and southward, and modernized administration along European lines
Catherine the Great (Catherine II)
a 19th-century communication device that transmitted electrical signals over wires to convey messages
Telegraph
Suez Canal Engineer
Ferd De Lesseps
the world’s first fully automatic, recoil-operated machine gun
Maxim Gun
indigenous Indian soldiers, primarily Hindu and Muslim, employed by European colonial powers—most notably the British East India Company—between the 18th and mid-20th centuries
Sepoy
Inventor of the Maxim Machine Gun
Harim Maxim
a system heavily reliant on selling domestic goods or raw materials to foreign markets rather than domestic consumption
Export Economics (Trading Economy)