Unit 7 Preview/Guided Study Sheet
All material on this sheet is a guide to the unit as a whole. When we talk about/read about something that
ties in with one of these questions or ideas, write it in the space provided.
Enduring Understandings = BIG IDEAS OF UNIT
Complex Idea
Students will understand that nationalism, Social
Darwinism and competition among European
nations led to the partition of Africa.
Students will understand the social divisions
between the colonizers and those who were
colonized.
Students will understand that colonial rule
created a new social class of Westernized
intellectuals.
Students will understand that short term and
long term economic, social and political
consequences of Imperialism.
Students will understand that nations responded
differently to imperialism and those responses
impacted the course of history in the country.
Students will understand that nations that were
subject to imperialistic powers responded
differently.
Simplified Idea – You think about
this
Europeans took over Africa in 1880s
to prove how tough and powerful
they were.
Europeans kept their conquered
peoples away from them because
they thought they were inferior.
Some conquered people adopted
European language and style to try to
get power and respect.
Taking over other people made
money and showed off power at first
but got expensive and destructive
over time (by 1918).
Some countries got conquered and
had bad things happened to them
(like in Africa), some tried to find a
way while cooperating with
European conquerors (like India) and
a very few adopted European
weapons and habits and defended
their own land (like Japan).
See directly above
Essential Questions (we will be doing these as a group at the beginning of each class – they are the
possible short essay questions on the test):
What is the difference between "Old Imperialism" and "New Imperialism?" Which centuries fit
each phrase? [When did Europeans start conquering others? When did they stop? Was anything
different between times?]
What ingredients lead to the “Scramble of Africa”?
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To what extent, if any, can social divisions keep a society peaceful? [Can you rule a society by
keeping people separated?]
What was the White Man’s Burden? [poem and its meaning]
To what extent did a countries response to imperialism impact its future? [How did countries react
to European aggression? What was a “bad” way? What was a “good” way?]
What is the best response to Imperialism? [How did countries react to European aggression?
What was a “bad” way? What was a “good” way?]
How did Imperialism foreshadow World War I? [How did Imperialism cause World War I?]
Essential Vocabulary (write the definition down when you come across it in the book):
imperialism
nationalism
Social Darwinism
WWI
mercantilism
ethnocentrism
aggression
colonialism
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Identification (these will be multiple choice questions)
1. Why did imperialism happen? Nationalistic, political, economic reasons; "The White Man’s
Burden," Social Darwinism.
a. See above for definitions
b. Pages for these:
c. Notes that cover these:
d. Answer:
2. Where was "new imperialism" practiced (where did the Europeans – and Americans – try to
follow the “white man’s burden”)?
a. Pages for these:
b. Notes that cover these:
c. Answer:
3. How did the British rule India - including the British East India Company and the Raj (direct
British government control)?
a. Pages for these:
b. Notes that cover these:
c. Answer:
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4. Know the aspects of the Scramble for Africa: role of the British, French, Belgians, and Germans;
the Congress of Berlin, African resistance (Zulu Empire), Boer War, Cecil Rhodes and 19th
century slave trade legislation
a. Pages for these:
b. Notes that cover these:
5. What were the effects of European imperialism in China: spheres of influence, the Opium Wars
(1839 - 1842 and 1858 - 1860) and the Treaty of Nanjing, unequal treaties, extraterritoriality,
Boxer Rebellion, and Sun Yat-sen and the Chinese Revolution .
a. Pages for these:
b. Notes that cover these:
6. How is Imperialism now viewed? Multiple perspectives as well as the immediate/long-term
changes made under European rule and long-term effects in Europe and the rest of the world.
a. Pages for these:
b. Notes that cover these:
Thinking (these are short answer, bulleted or graphic organizer type questions):
1. What were the pros and cons of Imperialism?
a. Pros:
b. Cons:
2. What actions or regions were isolationist in the 1800s? What actions or regions were imperialist in
the 1800s?
a. Isolationist:
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b. Imperialist:
3. How did Social Darwinism affect imperialism?
a. Pages for these:
b. Notes that cover these:
c. Answer:
4. How was Imperialism connected to World War I?
a. Pages for these:
b. Notes that cover these:
c. Answer:
5. How did nations react to Imperialism (think about the conquered and the conquerors)?
a. Pages for these:
b. Notes that cover these:
c. Answer:
6. Be able to show what regions were affected by Imperialism on a map.
a. Pages for these:
b. Notes that cover these:
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