Final Modern World History Test Terms
Revolution of 1911
"long-awaited revolution against the feeble and incompetent government" after Cixi's death in 1908, the government had been weak, so the revolution was not a surprise. Some people wanted Sun to be the head the new parliament, but General Yuan Shikai, the head of the army, replaced Sun to avoid civil war. "The Republic of China was formally declared in 1912."
Sun Yat Sen's Three Principles
1) The Principle of Mínzú (民族主義, Mínzú Zhǔyì) is commonly rendered as "nationalism", literally "Populism" or "the People's rule/government", "Mínzú/People" clearly describing a nation rather than a group of persons united by a purpose, hence the commonly used and rather accurate translation "nationalism". 2) The Principle of Mínquán (民權主義, Mínquán Zhǔyì) is usually translated as "democracy"; literally "the People's power" or "government by the People." 3) The Principle of Mínshēng (民生主義, Mínshēng Zhǔyì) is sometimes translated as "the People's welfare/livelihood," "Government for the People". Social Welfare
Regulating Act
Act of 1773- Parliament wanted more oversight over colonies and specifically india
Bengal Renaissance - Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Born (1772): Devout high-caste Hindu, who strongly supported Western education. His goal was to produce men "Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, and in intellect", leading to the improvement of the native population. He promoted a more liberal and enlightened system of teaching, eg. embracing mathematics, natural philosophy, useful sciences.
The Raj:
British rule in India Glossary definition: shorthand for the British Raj, a term that refers to the period of British rule in India.
Lin Zexu Letter
Celestial Court (346) court of China- like Supreme Court legislative decisions are made there Poisonous Drug (346) opium "in coveting profit to an extreme, they have no regard for injuring others" says "barbarians" (traders) brought in opium and they don't care about the people getting addicted to it Death Penalty (347) "he who sells opium shall receive the death penalty and he who smokes it also the death penalty" not only clearly stated opium was no longer allowed, but also threatened the traders Celestial Empire (347) Lin thinks China is an empire believes it is higher than every other country even though he is asking England for mercy
Calcutta
City in West Bengal in Eastern India. Center of BEIC operations in India
Profitability issues in the 1600s
Corrupt employees, who took a lot of the profits for their own, which angered the investors Competition from the French East India Company, Robert Clive only takes care of one problem - rival of the French, does not take care of the skimming of the company Charles Cornwallis in the late 1700s took care of the corrupt employees.
Problem with peasant farmers in late 1700s and early 1800s (495):
Farmers were required to produce products for the British (tea and opium). The result was the farmers' being pauperized which lead to a famine
Indian National Congress
Formed in 1885 of 72 Indian professionals, the Indian National Congress (INC) was politically moderate through its first 20 years and was critical of Britain's economic exploitation of India through unfair trade, high taxes, and restraints placed on native industries. At the end of the 19th century, the INC became more radical and transformed itself into a mass political party of all religious sects and classes who opposed British rule.
British East India Company (BEIC)
Founded in 1603 it's a privately owned trading company, monopolized indian manufacturing, eventually took over india entirely (colonial arm of the british) Investors (shareholders) bought shares in the company and the company would then share the spoils. They split (lessened) the risk and the reward for everyone involved.
Sun Yat-sen
Glossary definition: Educated in Western schools, Sun helped overthrow the Qing monarchy and became one of the founders of the Kuomintang Party and of the Chinese Republic. "intellectual leader if an anti government reform movement that quickly swept the whole country." (early 1900s) "convinced that a revolution from below was the only answer to China's many ills." came up with the "Three Principles" that he thought would help reform China
Nawab/Raja:
Glossary definition: provincial rulers of the Indian Mughal Empire and the Raj. They became important to the British East India Company, because they were the people who negotiated, After mughal breakup they negotiated with the BEIC over land and resources BEIC got Bengal and in return the nawab and raja got money
Sepoys
Glossary: term applied to rank-and-file Indian soldiers of the East Africa Company and British Indian Army. A European trained indian soldier
Act of Abolition (1829)
Governor-General William Bentinck passed the act which eliminated sati (wife would die with burning husband) and allowed Hindu widows to remarry.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Leader of Extremist part of the Indian National Congress. Extremists sought immediate Indian independence. The british saw Bal Gangadhar Tilak as a threat, so they imprisoned him in 1897 and 1908. His motto was "Freedom is my birthright and I shall have it." In his speech to the Indian National Congress in 1907, Tilak sets forth his ideas on Indian independence. He believed that self government was the ultimate goal, and the British were not sufficient rulers- they just kept the Indians in ignorance of what a government should look like, and that unity was the only way to reach that goal.
The Decline of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty: originated outside of China in Manchuria Western Technology effected China later than all of the other countries overpopulation and famine decentralized power lost legitamacy
Treaty of Paris - 1736
Surrendered most control of India to britain Ended the Seven Years War
Opium Wars (1839-1842)
The BEIC started to trade opium to china instead of gold and silver The british put huge pressure on the chinese emperors to open ports and to participate in capitalis
French competition:
The British are having problems with the French The FEIC and the BEIC fought for control of indian resources, land and money The French East indies Company in the 1670s tried to enlist Indian princes to act as native go-betweens to assist them in administering their territories. Both the French and the British appointed local rajas to rule key territories in India. Joseph Francois Dupleix was the governor-general of French possessions in India.
The Great Game - Afghanistan Wars
The Great Game - 1842 - was when the BEIC invaded the Sind (the Indus region), seizing its ports to discourage Russian designs on southern Asia and its outlets to the western Indian Ocean. The Afghanistan wars - 1 soldier out of an army of 17,000 survived in the winter of 1842. The British underestimated their enemy each time.
Great Mutiny (Sepoy Rebellion)
The Great indian Mutiny (1857) was a mutiny of indian soldiers of the east india company army caused by cultural insensitivity of company officers.
Seven Years War
The Seven Years' War took place between 1754 and 1763; the main conflict occurred during the seven-year period 1756-1763. It involved most of the great powers of the time and affected Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines, but the two major sides were Great Britain and France
Nabobs
The company employees who were skimming off the top and coming back to Europe as wealthy men.
Utilitarianism- Cultural Imperialism
Utilitarianism: taught that the greatest good is whatever is best for the greatest number of people. This idea caused the Character Law in 1813 to be passed -- the purpose was to eliminate discrimination against Indians in the service of the BEIC. It was never followed in practice. Cultural Imperialism: The belief that one's cultural is naturally superior (I think).
Warren Hastings/Charles Cornwallis
Warren Hastings: Governor of BEIC possessions in India after Clive. One of the victims of the 1773 regulating act which curved the autocratic style of governors. Lord Charles Cornwallis: In charge of the Indian possessions in 1786. Fired all employees and proposed that BEIC raise salaries to reduce skimming of profits. Believed that Indian customs and religions were not to be interfered with and were to be respected.
Battle of Plassey - 1757
Won by Robert Clive, Dupleix lost it for the french War between Siraj (indian french mercenaries led by Dupleix) and 1000 british soldiers A significant defeat for the FEIC Ended the Seven Years War (international war between mainly france and britain) reduced French involvement in India
"Three Principles"
a book written by Sun Yat-sen full name of the book: :Three Principles of the People". describes his thinking about the role of government. "He took up the cause of reform among the overtaxed and impoverished peasantry, believing that China could regain political harmony only after a measure of social justice had been established."
Confucian examinations
examinations based on ideas of Confucianism to grant government offices. abolished in 1905, which "opened the way for aspiring officials with modern ideas, many of whom had been educated in the West or in rapidly Westernizing Japan."
"protecting power, but not titular" (Robert Clive)
indirect rather than direct the Nawab they have guns, and money reserved to protect themselves The british actually have power but not the title
British Racism - Darwinism
survival of the fittest Evolution of the species natural selection Survival of the fittest idea introduced by Darwin in (the origin of species) Caused perceived racial superiority
Unequal Treaties
this treaty made china lose power over some of its territories China lose control of its trade let opium trade continue British residents would be under british laws opened up chinese ports
Lin Zexu
was appointed by the emperor to deal with the problem (opium) His attempts to destroy Opium stores lead to a war between the Chinese and the British The British easily won this war and the chinese had to sign the Unequal Treaties
