There are lots of theories about why there was a rush of empire-building in the late nineteenth century. There had been empires before, of course, but the early years of the long nineteenth century had actually seen a retreat in the size and number of empires. What changed? The list of answers is long: technology, industry, capitalism, racism, nationalism, and the “man-on-the-spot” all feature in any analysis of this question.

This article will familiarize you with the theories about the rise of new and bigger empires in the late nineteenth century. It will help you to identify what was “new” about these empires, which could only have arisen in an age of industry and revolution. This is important background knowledge to help you to understand the impact of imperialism in different regions.

Think about the following question as you read the article: Using evidence from this article explain how various environmental and technological factors contributed to the expansion of empires from 1750 to 1900? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1 – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2 – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. In what ways were the empires of the late nineteenth century not new?
2. How were the empires of the late nineteenth century new?
3. How did technology help to support imperialism?
4. How did capitalism and industrialization create motivations for Europeans to conquer new colonies?
5. How does the author argue that racism provided a motivation for Europeans to conquer new colonies?
6. Why did nationalism contribute to the rise of empire in this period?
7. Who are “men-on-the-spot” and how did they contribute to the growth of empire?

Read 3 – Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. Using evidence from this article explain how various environmental and technological factors contributed to the expansion of empires from 1750 to 1900?
2. This article provides several different theories to explain the origins of the “new imperialism” in the late nineteenth century. Which do you think were the most important? Which do you think were less important? Why?

In this sourcing activity, you’ll read two primary sources that provide differing perspectives on imperialism. You’ll complete the Sourcing Tool for both excerpts and provide an analysis focusing on point of view, purpose, and importance. By comparing these two sources, written from different perspectives on the same topic, you’ll refine your sourcing skills and become better at understanding how an author’s point of view and purpose impacts the why (importance) of a historical work.

Claim testing, comparison
As with the other sourcing activities in the course, this activity also asks you to use your claim-testing skills to evaluate primary sources. However, in this activity, you’ll also incorporate comparison as you compare two documents from the same time period, on the same topic, both written by authorities. Then you’ll use claim testing to decide how an author’s point of view and purpose influences the importance of their writing.

In this activity, you'll work either in pairs or on your own to read two primary source documents, complete the Sourcing Tool focusing on the point of view, purpose, and importance rows of the tool, and write a response to a prompt. Note that the Sourcing Tool and the source excerpts are included in the Sourcing – Differing Perspectives on Imperialism worksheet.

Your teacher will either hand out or have you download the Sourcing – Differing Perspectives on Imperialism worksheet. Read the excerpts, starting with the introductory paragraphs, and as you read, think about this question: To what extent did ideology impact imperialism? Complete the Point of View, Purpose, and Importance rows of the tool for each excerpt.

Then, after you’ve completed these rows of the tool for each of the primary source texts, respond to these follow-up questions:

1. How do the authors differ in their analysis of imperialism?
2. What are the similarities between the documents?
3. How does each author try to convince you of their argument regarding this topic?

Be prepared to discuss your answers and the evidence you used to support these answers with the class. Then, write a one- to two-paragraph response to the following prompt: Develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which ideology impacted the development of imperialism and state expansion.

Your paragraphs should make specific reference to the Point of View, Purpose, and Importance rows of the tool but can include other categories as well.

Your teacher will collect your worksheets and responses to evaluate how your sourcing skills are progressing.

According to John Green, imperialism was largely driven by economic concerns. Small numbers of Europeans (and some others) managed to take over large regions and rule them through a system of indirect rule. The tools of the Industrial Revolution provided European empires new weapons in their colonial ambitions. Local populations often resisted, but many people figured out how to live under colonial rule, at least for a while.

This video provides an introduction at the global level to some key ideas about modern imperialism, including how and why empires were built, how they were run, how locals reacted, and finally some of the legacies of imperialism. It connects the economic changes caused by industrialization to the creation and expansion of European empires. All of these ideas will be more deeply developed in later articles, so this video is meant as an introduction to these concepts.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. Why did the British go to war with China in 1839?
2. What were the results of the Treaty of Nanjing?
3. Why, according to John Green, were Europeans suddenly able to extend control over large parts of Africa in the late nineteenth century?
4. How did Africans respond to European colonialism?
5. How, according to John Green, did Europeans manage to rule their distant overseas colonies?
6. Why does John Green theorize that local leaders put up with colonial rule?
7. How did Egypt end up as a colony?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. Using evidence from this video, explain how and why internal and external factors have influenced the process of state building from 1750 to 1900.
2. John Green states that a legacy of imperialism survives today. What evidence does he provide, and is he convincing?

This exercise will give you a unique way to think about the experience of colonialism, colonial subjects’ reaction to that experience, and some of the difficulties colonial subjects faced in resisting imperial rule. You will be weighing ideas about ownership and power and conflict resolution. This will lay the groundwork for events such as the Sepoy Mutiny and Boxer Rebellion, and will establish a connection again when studying about the wave of post-WWII nationalism and decolonization.

Reading, sourcing
You will analyze setting, characters and plot in this fable. You will also be challenged to consider point of view, audience and purpose, which are a part of your sourcing skills.

In this activity, you will first read a version of the fable, “The Gentlemen of the Jungle”. You will discuss the fable as a source and engage in a whole class discussion about it, led by your teacher.

Read the fable to yourself—this is more of a story than the typical article you read in this course, so try to enjoy the change of pace. After you finish, have a brief discussion about the fable with your class. Your teacher will then ask you a few questions, then read the story aloud to you again. After that, you’ll have another round of class discussion.

Empires don’t seem like they should last very long. How can small groups of people run large territories with big populations, including colonies that are far away from their own capitals? Some of the tools of empire were ideas. Others were physical objects or new technologies. These tools were, in many cases, supported by other big trends of the era—industrialization, capitalism, nationalism, and reformism.

You have already learned about some of the motives and beliefs that led people in industrialized societies to create new and enlarged empires in the late nineteenth century. This article identifies the tools that imperialists used to create and control those empires. This is important background information for you to evaluate continuity and change that resulted from imperialism in this period.

Read 1 – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2 – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How are “colonialism” and “imperialism” different?
2. What were some ways of thinking about the world that supported imperialism?
3. What physical tools helped imperial powers to create empires?
4. What is gunboat diplomacy?
5. How did science sometimes function as a tool of imperialism?
6. What is indirect rule?

Read 3 – Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following question:

1. To what extent does this article explain how various technological factors contributed to the expansion of empires from 1750 to 1900?
2. The tools of imperialism were being developed at the same time as other transformations were reshaping the world. What are some connections you see between these tools and transformations like industrialization, the rise of capitalism, reformism, and liberal and nationalist political revolutions?

3x5 note cards or cut up paper

This sourcing collection, along with the Quick-Sourcing Tool, gives you an opportunity to practice a quicker kind of sourcing than you do in the sourcing practice progression. The tool and the process for using it—specifically designed for unpacking document collections—will help you be successful on both the SAQ and DBQ portions of the AP^® World History: Modern exam.

If you are unfamiliar with the Quick-Sourcing Tool or the process for using it, we recommend reviewing the Quick-Sourcing Introduction activity in Lesson 1.4.

The Quick-Sourcing Tool can be used any time you encounter a set of sources and are trying to respond to a prompt or question, as opposed to the deeper analysis you do when using the HAPPY tool that is part of the sourcing progression.

First, take out or download the sourcing collection and review the guiding question that appears on the first page. Then, take out or download the Quick-Sourcing Tool and review the directions. For Part 1, you’ll write a quick summary of each source in terms of how it relates to the guiding question (we recommend using one note card or scrap of paper for each source).

For Part 2, which uses the first four letters of the acronym from the HAPPY tool, you only have to respond to one of these four questions. This will get you a partial point on the AP^® World History: Modern exam. You should always include the historical significance or “why” (the “Y” in “HAPPY”) for any of the four questions you choose to respond to.

In Part 3, you’ll gather the evidence you found in each document and add it to your note cards so you can include it in a response later. Once each document is analyzed, look at your note cards and try to categorize the cards. There might be a group of documents that support the claim you want to make in your response, and another group that will help you consider counterclaims, for example.

To wrap up, try to respond to the guiding question.

This collection explores the territorial and economic expansion of empires from 1750 to 1900 CE. Imperial expansion at this time looked very different from the empires of earlier eras in history; it came in the form of industrial/economic imperialism.

The AP^® World History: Modern CED suggests students develop their sourcing skills in line with certain topics. For Unit 6, two of these topics are “State Expansion from 1750 to 1900” and “Economic Imperialism from 1750 to 1900”; therefore, we’ve compiled a number of primary source excerpts to help you develop these skills in relation to this content. This should help prepare you to be successful on the AP exam.

We recommend using the accompanying Quick Sourcing activity (above) to help you analyze these sources.

The Qing Dynasty ruled China in 1750, but European influence was growing. The British gained more influence through unequal treaties enforced by military force. Although China was never formally colonized, external pressure from British gunboat diplomacy combined with internal rebellions to create instability for the government. In order to resolve these challenges, the government tried to modernize China while also emphasizing a return to tradition in some aspects of society.

In this lesson, we look at how imperialism and empires had an effect outside of formal colonies. Although China was not formally colonized in this era, it experienced significant informal imperialism, to which its leaders and people responded in a variety of ways.

Think about the following question as you read the article: To what extent does this article explain how various economic factors contributed to the expansion of empires from 1750 to 1900? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1 – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2 – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What were some internal divisions that the rulers of China were dealing with in the long nineteenth century?
2. Why was China subject to unequal treaties in the nineteenth century?
3. What was the Taiping Rebellion, and how did European and American soldiers participate in it?
4. What was the goal of the Tongzhi Restoration?
5. What led the Dowager Empress and Emperor Guangxu to institute the Hundred Days’ Reform?

Read 2 – Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article explain how various economic factors contributed to the expansion of empires from 1750 to 1900?
2. China was not formally colonized during this period, except for very small regions. In what ways did it experience imperialism?
3. Should we regard the Qing rulers, especially the Dowager Empress Cixi, as defenders of China, or as imperialists themselves? Why? Is it possible to be both?

In this activity, you will continue to work on your contextualization skills by analyzing the conditions that led to the Opium Wars. By doing this, you will be better able to respond to the Unit Problem about how modern empires contested the authority of other empires and regions of the world. In prior contextualization activities, you have examined contextualization on a fairly large, often global scale. In this activity, you will zoom in a bit to examine the local contexts and conditions that allowed for the Opium Wars.

Causation, CCOT
You will be analyzing the causes and consequences of the Opium Wars in China to better understand the historical context and processes that led to these wars and how the wars’ consequences shaped both China and Western powers long after they ended. With this analysis, you will see the resulting changes and continuities as well.

In this activity, you will use the event cards to complete the Contextualization Tool. Then, you’ll use the information from your completed tools and evidence from the article “Opium Wars and Economic Imperialism” to write a multi-paragraph response that answers the following question:

What were the broader temporal (time), spatial (location), and cultural contexts that made it possible for the Opium Wars to occur?

Now, your teacher will either hand out or have you download the Contextualization – Opium Wars worksheet and have you work in pairs to complete the Contextualization Tool, which is included in the worksheet. Start by writing the dates and location for the Opium Wars and then divide the event cards into broad and narrow context.

Once everyone has divided their cards, join up with another pair to form a group of four and follow the directions below:

1. The first pair places two event cards on the funnel.
2. They must give a short reason for their placement of each card.
3. The next pair takes a turn placing two of their event cards on the funnel. The second pair can move any of the event cards they think were placed incorrectly by the prior pair, but if they do so, they have to provide justification for why they moved from broad to narrow context or vice versa.
4. Then, this pair places two event cards that have not yet been placed on the funnel.
5. Pairs will follow the same process, alternating turns until all event cards have been placed on the funnel.

Then, return to your pair-partner to answer the remaining questions on the tool.

Finally, use your descriptions of broad and narrow context on the tool and information from the “Opium Wars and Economic Imperialism” article to individually write a multi-paragraph response to the question posed at the beginning of this activity:

What were the broader temporal, spatial, and cultural contexts that made it possible for the Opium Wars to occur?

At this point in the course, you should be familiar with writing contextualization paragraphs. Remember that your paragraphs should include a thesis statement that answers the question posed above. Your teacher will collect your tools and paragraphs at the end of the activity to assess your understanding of the topic as well as your understanding of this historical thinking skill.

At the dawn of the long nineteenth century, the merchants and leaders of the British Empire desperately wanted access to trade goods from China. In particular, British consumers demanded more tea. There was just one problem: the British Empire had nothing the Chinese wanted, other than silver. However, the British East India Company soon discovered something Chinese consumers wanted: opium. Despite efforts by the Chinese government to stop the harm done to their people by the opium trade, British merchants continued to smuggle the drug into China. The result was two wars and harsh treaties, which set the stage for a “century of humiliation.”

You’ve already encountered many examples of direct imperialism. This article provides an example of indirect, economic imperialism. Like other parts of the world, including the Ottoman Empire, China was not directly colonized by an industrial empire. And yet, thanks to the two Opium Wars, several industrial empires were able to impose their will on the Qing Dynasty in the long nineteenth century.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How does the author define economic imperialism? Why did some empires use this method?
2. Why was tea so important to the relationship between China and Britain?
3. What did the British find to sell to Chinese consumers, and what did the Chinese government do in response?
4. What caused the First Opium War?
5. What is meant by the “unequal treaties” era?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following question:

1. Do you think the legacy of the Opium Wars is still important today? What’s one way in which this history might influence global affairs today?