Apr
30
Imperialist Motives
April 30, 2015 | 20 Comments
The mystery as to why the Western world seemed to suddenly be concerned with mass Imperialism can be explained as a domino effect. Once one country fell for the political, economic, and ethnocentric gains from Imperialism other countries followed so as to not fall behind in the race for global power. Economic: Economic expansion for […]
Apr
7
Cartoons of Imperialism
April 7, 2015 | 20 Comments
The late nineteenth century saw only one-fifth of the world’s land mass not under a European flag up until the onset of World War I. Western European nations believed through Imperialism and expansion of their empires, they would wear the crown of kings over everyone else. Obviously, those living in the motherlands supported their nations […]
Oct
27
The Modern Art Movement
October 27, 2014 | 6 Comments
The Modern Art movement lasted roughly from the 1860’s to the 1970’s. It was a movement that had artists warping images until they were almost unrecognizable. The idea for it came out of the Industrial Revolution. Changes in technology, transportation, etc. affected the social and economic structures of the world, making artist question how everything […]
Oct
24
New Imperialism
October 24, 2014 | 2 Comments
In the late 19th century, Europe made huge advances in Industry, transportation, public health, and education. Because of these advances, Europeans believed that they were superior to non-Europeans. They justified their sense of superiority with Charles Darwin’s Theory of Biological Evolution. Darwin’s Theory of natural selection states that “some [organisms] are more successful than others at adapting […]
Oct
21
Realism in Art
October 21, 2014 | 3 Comments
Realism, was an art movement that started in 1840 and lasted until the early 20th century. This movement was inspired by the uprisings of the working class around Europe. Artists shifted their focus from depicting the elite to depicting the simple. Instead of having a statesman pose while they painted, these artists would go out […]
Oct
14
The Scramble for Africa
October 14, 2014 | 4 Comments
Before the 1870’s Europeans did not know much about Africa. At this time only a small percentage of Africa, mainly along the coastal areas, was under the control of European countries. One of the most ruthless rulers to tap the wealth of Africa was King Leopold II of Belgium who secured much of the Congo. […]
Oct
4
Gregor Mendel
October 4, 2014 | Leave a Comment
The theories of heredity attributed to Gregor Mendel, based on his work with pea plants, are well known to students of biology. But his work was so brilliant and unprecedented at the time it appeared that it took thirty-four years for the rest of the scientific community to catch up to it. The short monograph, Experiments […]
Sep
8
The Boxer Rebellion
September 8, 2014 | 18 Comments
The Boxer Rebellion took place in China in the summer of 1900, during the last breath of the last dynasty of China. Empress Dowager Tsu Hsi was in charge, and had to protect her dynasty from forces without and within. Japan, Great Britain, Russia, and others wanted to exploit China for its trade routes and merchandise. […]
Dec
7
The Modernist Movement
December 7, 2013 | Comments Off on The Modernist Movement
Modernism brought the ideas of the subjunctive, the introspective, the irrational, and the abstract into early 20th century writing. (The West pg. 638) Modern biology, physics, and psychology influenced the change of thought. These ideas and values also influenced art and literature. Literature was no longer about realism; it reflected the deeper meaning of […]
Dec
6
A Brief History of the Opium War
December 6, 2013 | Comments Off on A Brief History of the Opium War
China refused to trade with the West because they saw no benefit from trading with them. The British were especially irritated by the high customs duties the Chinese forced them to pay for they had to pay silver in order to get tea, which was only grown in China. However, they had a plan to […]