Deck 19: E: Colonial Encounters in Asia, Africa, and Oceania 1750-1950

Question 1

Personal Reflection: Do you believe that the Industrial Revolution was the key to Western Europe's growing importance during the nineteenth century,or do you believe that Europe would have exerted a similar level of influence in any case because of the developments of the early modern period?

Answer 1

•An assessment of the global trade network established in the early modern period and its importance to European influence
•An assessment of the relative influence of Europe on the world before the Industrial Revolution
•An effort to assess the contributions that the Industrial Revolution made to the expansion of European influence
•A reasoned conclusion that seeks to assess the relative importance of the two developments with reference to each other

Question 2

In what ways did European states exploit their colonies,and in what ways did colonial rule benefit colonial populations?

Answer 2

•A discussion of exploitation should identify the various ways European states extracted resources,both material and human,from their colonies.Examples of forced labor should be provided (statute labor,cultivation system,Congo under Leopold).
•A discussion of benefits should identify examples where cash-crop agriculture worked to the advantage of local farmers,the new opportunities offered in wage-based employment,and the possibilities opened up by Western education.
•The discussion should show how certain aspects of colonial rule both exploited and benefited colonial populations.For instance,the construction of bridges,roads,and so on,required the exploitation of colonial labor and primarily served the interests of colonial rulers.However,it also created an infrastructure from which colonies could start to industrialize.

Question 3

How did European imperialism affect the societies that experienced colonial rule in the nineteenth century?

Answer 3

•These societies faced the immense military might and political ambitions of rival European states.
•They became enmeshed in networks of trade,investment,and sometimes migration that radiated out from an industrializing and capitalist Europe to generate a new world economy.
•They were touched by various aspects of traditional European culture because some among them learned the French,English,or German languages;converted to Christianity;or studied European literature and philosophy.
•They engaged with the new culture of modernity-its scientific rationalism;technological achievements;belief in a better future;and ideas of nationalism,socialism,feminism,and individualism.
•A discussion of economic effects should explain the different forms of forced labor under colonial regimes,the role of cash-crop agriculture,the shift to a wage-based labor market,the patterns of migration,and the implications for women.
•A discussion of the social effects should identify which segments of the colonial population benefited from colonial rule and which suffered.
•A discussion of the cultural effects should focus on the role of education,religion,and notions of race and tribe in forging new and constantly changing identities.
•The discussion should highlight both the exploitative nature of colonial regimes and the opportunities it offered some segments of the colonial population.