| A | B |
|---|
| Assimilate | The social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another. |
| Balance of Power | A political policy in which countries attempt to preserve peace by keeping an equal military and economic status. |
| Balfour Declaration | A promise made by British Prime Minister Balfour in 1917 to create a homeland for the Jewish people. |
| Berlin Conference | European leaders met in Berlin, Germany 91884-1885) to discuss plans for dividing Africa peacefully. The European leaders had little regard for African independence and had no representation for native Africans. |
| Boers | White colonist descending from the Dutch who lived in South Africa. Was also called Afrikaners. |
| Boer War | War between Great Britain and the Boers in South Africa (1899-1902) over control of country. Great Britain won and created the Union of South Africa comprised of all the South African colonies. |
| Boxer Rebellion | A rebellion by the people of China in 1900 to end foreign domination. |
| British East India Company | A joint stock company that controlled most of India for more than 200 years until the Sepoy Mutiny. |
| Colonialism | Attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory. |
| Diplomacy | The work of maintaining good relations between the governments of different countries. |
| Empire | An area, usually acquired by conquest, which has a common ruler but in which people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds live. |
| Extraterritoriality | A policy that guaranteed European citizens in China were only subject to the laws of their own nation and could only be tried by their own courts. |
| Foreign Policy | A nation’s actions regarding how they treat other nations. |
| Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere | An imperialistic system founded by Japan consisting of other Asian countries during the early 20th century. Japan reduced its members to puppet nations, taking their raw materials and using them as new markets. |
| Imperialism | The seizure of a country or territory by a stronger country. It is a foreign policy. |
| Isolationism | A national policy of avoiding involvement in world affairs. |
| Meiji Restoration | The restoration of the Emperor Meiji to power in Japan, overthrowing the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1868. |
| Nationalism | Pride in one’s country or culture, often excessive in nature. |
| Open Door Policy | A policy of the United States that stated China should be open to all nations that which to trade with them. This policy did not include the consent of the Chinese, and was another form of imperialism. |
| Opium Wars | A war between Great Britain and China that begin in 1839 as a conflict over free trade and ended in 1842 with the Treaty of Nanking. |
| Panama Canal | A canal that crosses the isthmus of Panama connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Built by the Unites States between 1904 & 1914. |
| Protectorate | A country or region that is controlled by a more powerful country. |
| Scramble for Africa | Term given for the rapid invasion of Africa by the various European powers. This began imperialism in Africa. |
| Sepoy | A soldier working for the British East India Company, recruited from the native population of India. |
| Sphere of Influence | A foreign region in which a nation has control over trade and other economic activities. |
| Social Darwinism | A social theory which states that the level a person rises to in society and wealth is determined by their race and ethnicity. |
| Suez Canal | A canal built in 1864-1869 linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. |
| Taiping Rebellion | A revolt by the people of China against the ruling Manchu Dynasty because of their failure to deal effectively with the opium problem and the inference of foreigners. |
| Treaty of Nanking | An unequal treaty between Great Britain and China (1842) resulting from the Opium War. Stated that China was to reimburse Britain for costs incurred fighting the war. China was also forced to open ports to British trade, give control of Hong Kong to Britain, and grant extraterritoriality to British citizens living in China. |
| White Man’s Burden | The duty of white people to care for nonwhite natives. (Also, a poem by Rudyard Kipling written in 1899.) |
| Yellow Journalism | Journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers. |
