3,2,1

3 things i learned

• the largest two groups in control over land in Africa were France and Britain.
• only two states were independent: Ethiopia and Liberia.
• some of the motives of the Europeans were: nationalism, economic competition, European racism, and missionary impulse.

2 things i found interesting

• that riots and protests are reoccurring today.
• psychology and the theory of evolution were used.

1 question i still have

• How will the riots and protest in African countries end?

The Suez Canal

The Suez Canal, is an artificial sea-level waterway running north to south across the Isthmus of Suez in  Egypt to connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The canal separates the African continent from Asia, and it provides the shortest maritime route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western Pacific oceans. It is one of the world's most heavily used shipping lanes. this makes it one of the most important waterways in the world!

The canal is extensively used by modern ships , as it is the fastest crossing from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean . Tolls paid by the vessels represent an important source of income for the Egyptian government.

This importance is getting augmented with the evolution of maritime transport and world trade. The maritime transport is the cheapest means of transport, whereas more than 80 % of the world trade volume is transported via waterways (seaborne trade). 

The dredging of the canal took almost 10 years using Egyptian labor, and it was opened for navigation for the first time in 17 November 1869. Its depth was about 8 meters, its water are was 304 m ² and the largest ship load that can pass through was 5000 tons, which was typical for ships sizes in these days. As the ships developed and increased its sizes, the canal needed to be developed, which happened when it was still a foreign joint venture before being publicized to take ships with depth of 35 feet and its water area to be 1200 m ² by the end of 1956 and when the canal was publicized by the Egyptian government on the 26th of July 1956. The Egyptian administration was keen to develop the Navigation canal even more on different stages.

Imperialism

Imperialism: The takeover of a country or territory by a stronger nation with the intent of dominating the political,economic, and social life of the people of that nation.

How did imperialism help?

• the french and other European colonies preferred a more direct approach of controlling their colonies. based on attitude of children unable to handle the complex business of running a country, the Europeans developed a policy called Paternalism. using this policy, Europeans governed in more of a fatherly way. more of an emotional feel between the controllers and the people!
• the french also supported a policy of assimilation. this was based on the idea of the time that the local populations would become absorbed into the french culture itself. no clashing cultures!
• direct and indirect control
• indirect- (assimilation) Goal: to develop future leaders, and example would be: Nigeria, India and Burma; U.S.: colonies on pacific islands.
• direct- (paternalism) government institutions are based only on European styles, thus creating an all over similarity between all people. example: (french) Somaliland, Vietnam, (German) Tanganyika, and (Portuguese) Angola.

How did imperialism hurt?

• the belief in racism (the idea that one race is Superior to others) and Social Darwinism (social theory) caused groups to have different opinions about the rights they had, and the duty to bring their results of their progress to other countries. 
• the division of Africa. at the Berlin conference in 1884-85 14 European nations mat to lay don rules for the division of Africa. they agreed that any European country could claim land in Africa by notifying other nations of their claims and showing they could control the area. NO indication on how they were to control that area; they could all govern as the darn-well pleased to. and with that the Europeans divided the rest of the continent without little thought to how African ethnic or linguistic groups were distributed. no African leader attended these meetings, and by 1914 only Liberia and Ethiopia remained free.
• demand for product. when European countries began colonizing, many believed that Africans would soon be buying European goods in great quanities. they were wrong: European goods were not bought. European businesses still needed raw materials from Africa. businesses developed cash-crop plantations to goods and products, these products displaced food crops grown by farmers to feed their families. nice going guys.

Uprising in Egypt

Recently in the news, many of us have heard about uprising and protests in Egypt. The country that had developed to be one of the worlds greatest civilizations has not had it easy lately.
Egyptians protested in hope to change their government and in hopes of loosing there president.
After 18 days of angry protests, Mr. Hosni Mubarak (president of Egypt) resigned and turned over all power to the military on February, 11 2011; this ended his 30 years of autocratic rule and bowing to a historic popular uprising that has transformed politics in Egypt and around the Arab world.

Empire controling colonies

(Protectorate flag)


A Protectorate form of imperialism was one way that a empire could control a colony. A protectorate was a country or territory with it's own internal government but under the control of an outside power. An example of a protectorate would be when Britain established a protectorate over the Niger River Delta. Other forms of imperialism are: colony, sphere of influence, and Economic imperialism.

Gandhi quote

I love this quote! It is what it says, you are, in a way, at peace with yourself when all of you is "agreed" your body, mind, actions are all the same, and you feel good about them. I think this quote is good for people to think about when they have a tough decision to make. It basically supports the whole "follow your heart" idea, and that's why I love it.

Advancement of Science- The Theory of Evolution

Invented by Charles Darwin the theory of evolution created an idea of change over time through "natural selection".  These theories were published in Darwin's book: The Origin of Species by means of Natural selection. The book causesgreat excitement among the scientists of the time and also roused a strom of debate outside of the scientific community.

Edison

Edison and his team invented the first practical electric light bulb in 1879. Within a few years, Edison had perfected a longer lasting bulb and began installing electric lighting in N.Y.C.


Source: Textbook (very hard on internet)

Introduction

An Age of Democracy and Progress, along with the Age of Imperialism.

Chapter 10:

• Spurred by the demands of ordinary people, Great Britain and France underwent democratic reforms.
• During this period, Britain and France were transformed into the democracies they are today.
• Britain allowed self-rule in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand but delayed independence for Ireland.
• Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are strong democracies today, while Ireland is divided and troubled.
• The United States expanded across North America and fought a bloody civil war.
• The 20th-century movements to ensure civil rights for African Americans and Hispanics are a legacy of this period.
• Breakthroughs in science and technology transformed daily life and entertainment.
• Electric lights, telephones, cars, and many other convinces of modern life were invented during this period.

Chapter 11:

• Ignoring the claims of African ethnic groups, kingdoms, and city states, Europeans established colonial claims.
• African nations continue to feel the effects of the colonial presence of 100 years ago.
• Europeans embarked on a new phase of empire-building the effected both Africa and the rest of the World.
• Many former colonies have political problems that are the result of colonial rule.
• European nations expanded their empire by seizing territories from Muslim states.
• Political events in this vital resource area are still influence by actions from the imperialistic period.
• As the Mughal Empire declined,Britain seized Indian Territory until it controlled almost the whole subcontinent.
• India, the second most populated nation in the World, has it's political roots in this colony.
• Demand for Asian products drove Western imperialists to seek possession of Southeast Asian lands.
• Southeast Asian independence struggles in the 20th century have their roots in this period of imperialism.