3.2.1

One thing that I learned is that many new inventions and ideas were concieved at the turn of the century.  Another thing I learned is that the African people resisted European control.  Lastly, I learned that Menelik II, Ethiopia would not have remained independent.  One thing I found interesting was that most of the inventions from the turn of the century are still in use today.  Another point of interest was the Suez Canal, and the way in which it saves ships an extra 2,000 miles.  One question I still have is why didn't the Europeans try and make alliances with the Africans rather than declare absolute control over them.

Ghandi

"A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people".  To me, Gandhi is saying that the people who reside within a country define what the country is and what it stands for.  Without its people, a country stands for nothing.  I find this to be very true, and I also believe that if the people of a country lack national pride, then they should find a new country, one that they can be proud of.

Connection Across Time

The Suez Canal is currently owned by the Suez Canal Authority of the Arab Republic of Egypt.  Today, 7.5% of the world's sea trade is carried via the canal.  Thousands of ships pass through the canal each year, over 20,000 in 2008 alone.  Without the canal, ships would have an extra 2,000 miles to traverse around the southern tip of Africa.

Uprising

Ethiopia was the only African country that resisted the Europeans successfully.  This was possibly because of Menelik II, the emperor of Ethiopia.  He did so by pitting the Italians, the French, and the British against one another.  He declared war on Italy after a dispute about the treaty, and defeated the Italians.  By doing so, he was able to maintain Ethiopia's independence.

Control of a Colony

European countries could control a colony in two ways, either direct control or indirect control.  Through indirect control, local government officials were used, and the colony had limited self-rule.  The goal of indirect control was to develop future leaders.  Through direct control, the country brought foreign officials in to rule.  As a result, the colony had no self-rule.  The goal of direct control was assimilation.  Britain used indirect control with the colony of Nigeria, which functioned well.

Advancement in Science

The Germ Theory of Disease was developed by French chemist Louis Pasteur in the mid-1800s.  He discovered that the fermentation of alcohol was caused by a microscopic organism he called bacteria.  He also learned that heat killed bacteria.  He developed the process of pasteurization, which kills germs in liquids.  He also discovered that bacteria was the cause for many diseases.  This affected the world because it provided a cause for disease, and an effective means to fight it.

Imperialism

Imperialism is the takeover of c country or territory by a stronger nation with the intent of dominating the political, economic, and social life of the people of that nation.  It affected the world in many ways, both positively and negatively.  Positively, it increased the land that the parent country has control over, it provides the parent country with resources it might not have had previously, and the colony receives protection from the parent colony when it is required.  However, there were drawbacks.  It caused resistance movements to form, it took rights away from the colony's indigenous people, and it altered the lives of Africans forever.  Africans in colonies were treated as lower level beings by the Europeans.

Phonograph

The phonograph was invented by Thomas Alva Edison in 1877.  It played previously recorded sounds through grooves on a rotating cylinder.  As the cylinder rotated, a needle traces the grooves and vibrates, reproducing sound waves.  The device eventually evolved into the record player, and after that, into the turntable.  All of these devices were used by common people for listening to music.

Introduction

This blog is includes information found in chapters ten and eleven.  Chapter ten is titled, "An Age of Democraccy and Progress", while chapter eleven is titled, "The Age of Imperialism".  In these chapters, we find information on democratic reform, expansion and crisis in the United States, nineteenth-century inventions, and Imperialism.  Through this blog, I hope to provide important points about the inventions of Thomas Edison, advancements in science of the time period, and imperialism.