Unit 6: Industrial Empires
1850 – 1950 CEIndustrialization offered new weapons to empires. Thanks to innovations like steamships, trains, and machine guns, industrial empires spread their borders further than ever, opening new markets and resources to fuel their factories.
Imperialism and Colonialism

Lesson 6.2
Industrial Imperialism
The tools of industry soon became tools of conquest. How did technological innovations and new ideas empower empires?

Lesson 6.3
Colonialism
Colonialism is more than just military invasion. It is a system of control that seeks to control, transform, and even eliminate Indigenous peoples to exploit natural resources and open new markets. Learn the methods and motivations of colonial powers.

Lesson 6.4
Resisting Colonialism
Industrial empires deployed devastating new technologies in the nineteenth century. Yet, in every colony, people resisted. Review some of the ways colonized people pushed back, from armed uprisings to more subtle forms of noncompliance.
Teaching This Unit
Vocabulary Guide
Strategies and routines for building vocabulary.
Reading Overview
Reading strategies to help students dig into a variety of texts.
OER Teaching Sensitive Topics in Social Studies Guide
Support for having discussions that are difficult, but meaningful.
Historical Thinking Skills Guide
Develop the skills needed to analyze history and think like a historian.