Imperialism
What is imperialism? How is imperialism different from colonialism? These lesson plans and resources introduce ideas like economic and cultural imperialism in a global historical context, helping students understand how today's empires compare with those of ancient history.
Featured Materials
Imperialism Cartoons
Imperialism isn’t funny, but these cartoons will give you insights into the thinking of imperialists and those who rejected imperial control.
Tools of Imperialism
Imperialism was an idea, a belief. But how did imperial powers actually make it a reality? What were the tools they used to build empires?
Industrial Imperialism, the “New” Imperialism
Political revolutions sent empires into retreat in the early years of the long nineteenth century. But they were soon back. Several factors led to this “new” imperialism.
Imperialism: Crash Course World History #35
Empires weren’t a new invention, but why were there suddenly so many large ones in the late nineteenth century?
Opium Wars and Economic Imperialism
The Opium Wars pitted the world’s two strongest economies against each other: the British Empire and Qing Dynasty China. The results transformed the global economy.
Claim Testing – Imperialism
In this activity, students write and evaluate supporting and refuting statements for claims about imperialism.
Contextualization – Opium Wars
In this activity, students will continue to work on their contextualization skills by analyzing the conditions that led to the Opium Wars.
The Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference gathered a bunch of Europeans to plot ways to divide up Africa. It may not have been the “start” of colonialism, but it sure accelerated the process.
Explore the lesson plans
