World History: Patterns of Interaction: Chapters 27–28

This seizure of a country or territory by a stronger country is called imperialism.

The belief that one race is superior to others is called racism.

Based on this attitude, the Europeans developed a policy called paternalism. Using that policy, Europeans governed people in a parental way by providing for their needs but not giving them rights.

The French also supported a policy of assimilation. That policy was based on the idea that in time, the local populations would adopt French culture and become like the French.

Geopolitics, an interest in or taking of land for its strategic location or products, played an important role in the fate of the Ottoman Empire.

The company even had its own army, led by British officers and staffed by sepoys, or Indian soldiers.

Some historians have called this outbreak the Sepoy Mutiny. The uprising spread over much of northern India.

The term Raj referred to British rule over India from 1757 until 1947.

Some U.S. business leaders pushed for annexation of Hawaii, or the adding of the territory to the United States.

After signing another treaty in 1844, U.S. and other foreign citizens also gained extraterritorial rights. Under these rights, foreigners were not subject to Chinese law at Guangzhou and four other Chinese ports.

Many of Europe’s major powers and Japan gained a strong foothold in China. This foothold, or sphere of influence, was an area in which the foreign nation controlled trade and investment.

So, in 1823, President James Monroe issued what came to be called the Monroe Doctrine. This document stated that “the American continents...are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.”

The Panama Canal finally opened in 1914. Ships from around the world soon began to use it.

To protect those economic interests, in 1904, President Roosevelt issued a corollary, or extension, to the Monroe Doctrine. The Roosevelt Corollary gave the United States the right to be “an international police power” in the Western Hemisphere.