Imperialism - World History

From around 1815-1914, the world enjoyed a mostly peaceful existence with no great international wars. This period is attributed to Britain’s widespread power and hegemonic influence, deterring and settling potential conflicts before they could escalate. The exception might be the Crimean War, fought to stop Russian aggression in the Crimea.

Mercantilism is an economic theory that focuses on controlling economic growth for the purpose of growing state power. Britain’s system of mercantilism for its colonies involved collecting raw resources and unfinished goods from colonial workers and then selling the completed products out of Britain to accumulate wealth. In Britain’s original empire, the American colonies were a good example of sending resources only found in their areas across the Atlantic to Britain.

Pax Britannica spanned from 1815-1914, beginning after the British victory in the Napoleonic Wars and ending with the beginning of World War I – the first major international conflict in a century.

Although triangle trade can refer to multiple different trading scenarios between three areas, the classic triangle trade example in World History is the Atlantic Slave Trade. In this trading route, slaves were brought from Africa to the Americas, where they would be used to produce resources that were brought to Europe for processing and sale.

The Middle Passage was the most iconic side of the triangle trade, transporting millions of enslaved African natives across the Atlantic Ocean for approximately four centuries.

The Ottoman Empire was founded in 1299 from a Turkic tribe known as Oghuz Turks, led by Osman I.

The Byzantine Empire generally refers to the later Eastern Roman Empire, or the last remnants of the Roman Empire at the bottom of its decline. In 1453, the Ottoman Turks successfully conquered the capital Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul – marking the end of the Byzantine and East Roman Empires.

Japan began to ramp up its imperial ambitions towards the beginning of the 20th century. It won possession of Taiwan in the First Sino-Japanese War which was originally fought over Korea, and then later annexed Korea in 1910. The Sakhalin Island was a Russian possession that Japan laid claim to, and won a portion of during the Russo-Japanese war that was also fought over imperial ambitions over Korea. Russia would later win back its losses following the end of World War II.

After being conquered in 1453 by the Ottomans, the city of Constantinople became the city of Istanbul, replacing the former Ottoman capital of Adrianople or Edrene.

Following Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910, Japan controlled Korea until the end of World War II in 1945. Japan was then forced to relinquish its control of Korea to the Soviet Union and the United States, who partitioned the nation into the North (controlled by the Soviets) and the South (controlled by the Americans).

With America’s decisive victory over Japan through the reclamation of the Pacific and the use of two atomic weapons, Japan’s imperialistic ambitions came to a final end. Japan relinquished all of its claimed territories and agreed to strict demilitarizing under American watch.