Imperialism & Ideology
This theory misapplied Charles Darwin’s ideas to human societies and was used to justify imperial conquest.
Social Darwinism
This empire rapidly modernized after 1868 and became the first Asian industrial power.
Japanese Empire
This reform movement modernized Japan and ended the Tokugawa shogunate.
Meiji Restoration
Large migrations of Chinese, Indians, and Japanese workers in the 1800s were often driven by demand for this type of labor.
indentured or contract labor
The belief that ethnic groups should form their own nation-states contributed to tensions in Europe.
nationalism
European imperial powers claimed they were bringing “progress” and “civilization” to colonized regions under this justification.
Civilizing Mission
This empire ruled India and controlled territories across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific during the height of nineteenth-century imperialism.
British Empire
Japan’s victory in this war (1894–1895) demonstrated its successful modernization, but further weakened its immediate neighbor.
Sino-Japanese War
Many South Asians migrated to the Caribbean and Africa to work on these after slavery ended.
sugar plantations
European powers formed these defensive agreements that pulled many countries into World War I.
military alliances
This late-19th-century event divided most of Africa among European powers.
Scramble for Africa
This East Asian empire ruled China until 1911 and struggled with internal rebellions and foreign imperial pressure in the nineteenth century.
Qing Empire
Japan defeated this European power in a 1904–1905 war, shocking the world.
Russian Empire
Migrants formed these culturally distinct communities within larger societies.
ethnic enclaves / diasporic communities
Competition among European powers to acquire colonies and control resources around the world increased tensions and rivalries between nations, helping set the stage for World War I.
Imperialism
When a powerful country controls another region’s economy without direct political rule, it is called this.
Economic Imperialism
This multiethnic empire controlled parts of southeastern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East before collapsing after World War I.
Ottoman Empire
Japan expanded partly because this nearby empire was weakening. (Name of Dynasty)
Qing
Migrants moving to industrial economies were often motivated by this economic factor.
job opportunities / higher wages
Militaries expanded and prepared for war in Europe during the early 1900s through this process.
militarization/militarism
This belief argued that European nations had a moral obligation to spread Western culture, education, and religion to supposedly “less developed” societies. Is immortalized in the name of a Rudyard Kipling poem.
White Man's Burden
This Eurasian empire expanded across Siberia and into Central Asia during the nineteenth century before collapsing in revolution during World War I.
Russian Empire
Japan annexed this peninsula in 1910, making it a major part of its growing empire.
Korea
The movement of people from their homeland to many different regions of the world while maintaining cultural connections is known by this term.
diaspora
The region of southeastern Europe known for ethnic tensions that helped spark World War I.
Balkans (Serbia...etc.)