AP World Chapter 27 Vocab

Suez Canal

Ship canal dug across the isthmus of Suez in Egypt, designed by Ferdinand de Lesseps. It opened to shipping in 1869 and shortened the sea voyage between Europe and Asia. Its strategic importance led to the British conquest of Egypt in 1882

New Imperialism

Historians' term for the late 19th century and early 20th century wave of conquests by European powers, the United States and Japan, which were followed by the development and exploitation of the newly conquered territories for the benefit of the colonial

Battle of Omdurman

British victory over the Mahdi in the Sudan in 1898. General Kitchener led a mixed force of British and Egyptian troops armed with rapid-firing rifles and machine guns

colonialism

Policy by which a nation administers a foreign territory and develops its resources for the benefit of the colonial power

scramble" for Africa

Sudden wave of conquests in Africa by European powers in the 1880s and 1890s. Britain obtained most of eastern Africa, France most of northwestern Africa. Other countries acquired lesser amounts

Henry Morton Stanley

1841-1904; British-American explorer of Africa, famous for his expeditions in search of Dr. David Livingstone. Stanley helped King Leopold establish the Congo Free State

King Leopold II

1835-1909; King of Belgium. He was active in encouraging the exploration of Central African and became the ruler of the Congo Free State

Savorgnan de Brazza

1852-1905; Franco-Italian explorer sent by the French government to claim part of equatorial Africa for France. Founded Brazzavile, capital of the French Congo, in 1880

Berlin Conference

1884-1885; Conference that German chancellor Otto von Bismarck called to set rules for the partition of Africa. It led to the creation of the Congo Free State under King Leopold II of Belgium

Afrikaners

South Africans descended from Dutch and French settlers of the 17th century. Their Great Trek founded new settler colonies in the 19th century. Though a minority among South Africans, they held political power after 1910, imposing a system of racial segre

Cecil Rhodes

1853-1902; British entrepreneur and politician involved in the expansion of the British Empire from South Africa to Central Africa. The colonies of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) were named after him

Asante

African kingdom on the Gold Coast that expanded rapidly after 1680. It participated in the Atlantic economy, trading gold, slaves and ivory. It resisted British imperial ambitions for a quarter century before being absorbed into Britain's Gold Coast colon

Menelik II

1844-1911; Emperor of Ethiopia. He enlarged Ethiopia to its present dimensions and defeated an Italian invasion at Adowa in 1896

Emilio Aguinaldo

1869-1964; Leder of the Filipino independence movement against Spain. He proclaimed the independence of the Philippines in 1899, but his movement was crushed and he was captured by the United States Army in 1901

free-trade imperialism

Economic dominance of a weaker country by a more powerful one, while maintaining the legal independence of the weaker states. In the late 19th century, this characterized the relations b/t the Latin American republics, on the one hand, and Great Britain a

Panama Canal

Ship canal cut across the isthmus of panama by United States Army engineers; it opened in 1915. It greatly shortened the sea voyage between the east and west coasts of North America. The United States turned the canal over to Panama on January 1, 2000