homework encyclopedia

(Ecuador)

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

West Indies

Galapagos Islands

Alaska Greenland

St. Pierre &

Miquelon

Jamaica

Curaçao

Bermuda

Bahamas

Puerto Rico

Martinique

St. Martin

Guadeloupe

Azores

Virgin Islands

New York

Washington D.C.

São Paulo

Rio de Janeiro

Santiago Buenos

Aires

(U.S. occupation)

CAPE VERDE

ISLANDS

MEXICO

BRITISH HONDURAS

BRITISH GUIANA

DUTCH GUIANA

FRENCH GUIANA

FALKLAND

ISLANDS

WINDWARD ISLANDS

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

BARBADOS

CUBA

LEEWARD ISLANDS

NEWFOUNDLAND

ACRE

HONDURAS

CANADA

BRAZIL

COLOMBIA

VENEZUELA

ECUADOR

P

E

R

U

URUGUAY

BOLIVIA

C

H

I

L

E

GUATEMALA

SALVADOR NICARAGUA

COSTA RICA

HAITI

UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

(^) A
R
G
E
N
T
IN
A
PAR
AG
UA
Y
422 History
From the 19th until the early 20th century, much of
the world was governed by a few very powerful
European nations. The. BRITISH RAJ controlled the
riches of India. The. FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION
defended remote forts in the Sahara desert, and there
was a. SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA by empire-builders.
WHO BECAME EMPRESS OF INDIA?
Queen Victoria (1819–1901) was declared
Empress of India in 1876. Under her rule
Great Britain became the world’s most powerful
nation. Victoria had a shrewd grasp of politics
and took a keen interest in her government’s
foreign policy. India was one of the most important
parts of the British Empire. The two countries had
a great cultural influence on each other.
WHAT HAPPENED IN BERLIN IN 1884?
From 1884 to 1885 the world’s most powerful nations
held a conference in Berlin, the capital of Germany.
They divided between themselves vast regions of
Africa. They knew little of these distant lands and did
not consult the peoples living there. Borders were
drawn up to serve their own political needs.
HOW WERE PEOPLE TREATED BY THEIR RULERS?
Most empire-builders claimed to be bringing
civilization to peoples whom they believed to be
inferior. Although the ruling countries did build
towns, ports, and railways, in some colonies the local
peoples were treated little better than slaves.
As explorers discovered new lands in Africa, European powers
rushed in to take them over. The French clashed with the British
in Sudan, and the Germans gained lands in East and West Africa.
WHY DID EUROPEANS WANT TO RULE THE WORLD?
The reasons were many. The factories of the newly
industrialized lands needed resources, such as rubber.
Some empire-builders wanted land for settlement,
others were praying for converts to Christianity.
By the 19th century, real power in India was held by the British East
India Company. Following an uprising by Indian soldiers in 1857,
British government rule, or Raj, was imposed on India in 1858.
THE WORLD IN 1900 3
The chief empire-builders were
the French, British, Germans,
Danish, Belgians, Dutch, Spanish,
and Portuguese. The United
States and Japan were also
gaining overseas territories. The
Russian Empire now ruled the
whole of northern Asia. However,
the Chinese Empire was losing
territory to foreign powers.
SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA
BRITISH RAJ
STANLEY FINDS LIVINGSTONE 3
David Livingstone was a Scottish
missionary and explorer who
wanted to open trading routes
through Africa. Held up by illness
in 1871, Livingstone was found
by H.M. Stanley, an explorer hired
by the New York Herald paper.
4 VICTORIA AT WORK
Queen Victoria, Empress of India, is attended by her Indian
servant as she writes letters and reads state papers in 1893.

Age of Empire