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World History Unit 6: Consequences of industrialization (c. 1750–1900)

Industrial states built empires to gain raw materials and markets, provoking resistance and mass migration.

Covers: Rationales for imperialism, state expansion, Indigenous responses, global economic development, economic imperialism, migration

Study guide

Industrialized states needed raw materials like rubber, cotton and palm oil and new markets for their goods, driving a new wave of imperialism. Rationales included Social Darwinism, which misapplied ideas of evolution to claim some races were superior, and the civilizing mission, expressed in phrases like the 'white man's burden.' Steamships, railroads, the telegraph, quinine (which protected Europeans from malaria) and the Maxim gun made conquest easier. At the Berlin Conference (1884–1885), European powers divided Africa among themselves without African input. Britain took direct control of India after the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857. Japan, Russia and the United States also expanded, with Japan taking Korea and Taiwan and the US taking the Philippines.

Colonized peoples resisted. The Sepoy Rebellion in India, the Zulu war against Britain, the Ghost Dance movement among Native Americans, and the Xhosa cattle-killing movement were all responses. Ethiopia defeated Italy at the Battle of Adwa in 1896 and stayed independent. In China, the Taiping Rebellion and the Boxer Rebellion challenged the weakened Qing.

Economic imperialism meant controlling a region's economy without fully governing it. Britain fought the Opium Wars (1839–1842 and 1856–1860) to force China to accept opium imports, and the Treaty of Nanjing opened ports and gave Britain Hong Kong. Spheres of influence divided China among foreign powers. Colonies were turned into export economies built on cash crops and minerals, like Egyptian cotton and Congo rubber. Industrialization also caused mass migration: people moved to cities and abroad, often as indentured servants (Indian and Chinese workers to the Caribbean, Africa and Southeast Asia). Receiving countries responded with ethnic enclaves and sometimes restrictive laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882).

The unequal treaties after the Opium Wars also gave foreigners extraterritoriality, the right to be tried in their own courts in China. Qing officials responded with the Self-Strengthening Movement, which adopted Western weapons and shipyards while keeping Confucian values but had limited success. The discovery of diamonds and gold in southern Africa drew British investors like Cecil Rhodes and led to the Boer War (1899–1902) against Dutch-descended Afrikaners. In settler colonies such as Australia and New Zealand, Europeans displaced Indigenous peoples, and the Māori fought the New Zealand Wars and formed a King Movement to resist land loss.

King Leopold II of Belgium ruled the Congo Free State as his personal possession, using forced labor and brutal punishments to extract rubber. International outrage forced Belgium to take control in 1908. The Suez Canal (1869) cut travel time between Europe and Asia, and Britain occupied Egypt in 1882 partly to protect it. France colonized Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) for rice, rubber and other resources, while Siam (Thailand) stayed independent as a buffer between British and French territory.

The Irish Potato Famine (1845–1849) killed about a million people and drove more than a million others to emigrate, mostly to the United States and Britain.

Key ideas

• Industrial states built empires for raw materials and markets.
• Social Darwinism and the civilizing mission justified imperialism.
• Technologies like steamships and the Maxim gun made conquest easier.
• Colonized peoples resisted through rebellions and religious movements.
• Economic imperialism controlled trade without full political rule.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Thinking all of Africa was colonized; Ethiopia and Liberia stayed independent.
• Confusing direct colonial rule with economic imperialism like spheres of influence.

Words to know

Imperialism

One country extending power over other territories.

Social Darwinism

The false belief that some races or nations are naturally superior.

Civilizing mission

The claim that colonizers were bringing civilization to others.

Berlin Conference

1884–1885 meeting where Europeans divided Africa.

Maxim gun

Early machine gun used in colonial wars.

Quinine

Drug that protected Europeans from malaria.

Sepoy Rebellion

1857 Indian uprising against the British East India Company.

Battle of Adwa

1896 Ethiopian victory over Italy.

Boxer Rebellion

1900 Chinese uprising against foreign influence.

Economic imperialism

Controlling another region's economy without fully ruling it.

Opium Wars

Wars Britain fought to force China to accept opium.

Spheres of influence

Areas of China where foreign powers had special trading rights.

Export economy

An economy built on exporting raw materials or cash crops.

Indentured servitude

Working for a set number of years to pay off travel costs.

Ethnic enclave

A neighborhood where migrants of one culture cluster.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 US law banning Chinese immigration.

Sample practice questions

5 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.