World Civ Blog: May 2008

Thursday, May 29, 2008

The End of Imperialism

Africa:

1941-1960: About half the continent was freed during this era.
1961-1980: About a fifth of the continent was freed during this era.
1980-Present: Only two countries were freed during this era.
Prior to 1800: Only one country was freed during this era.
1801-1900: Only one country was freed during this era.
1901-1920: Only one country was freed during this era.
1921-1940: Only one country was freed during this era.
Non Independent: Only one country was freed during this era.

Asia:

1941-1960: About a quarter of the countries were freed during this era.
1980-Present: A little bit under a quarter were freed during this era.
Prior to 1800: Around 5 countries were freed during this era.
1801-1900: Only 3 countries were freed during this era.
1961-1980: Only 3 countries freed during this era.
1901-1920: Only 2 countries freed during this era.
1921-1940: Only one country was freed during this era.
Non Independent: No countries

Africa & Asia:

1941-1960: Most Countries were freed during this era.
1981-Present: A good sum of Asia freed during this era and a few in Africa.
Prior to 1800: Around 7 countries freed during this era.
1961-1980: A good chunk of Africa freed during this era and a few in Asia.
1801-1900: Around 4 countries freed during this era.
1901-1920: Only 3 countries freed during this era.
1921-1940: Only 2 countries freed during this era.
Non Independent: Only one country not freed.

During the coding of these maps many of our views about the world changed. We discovered that many countries did not gain their independence until after World War II. I guess this kind of shows that for great change to happen a global event must take place. Another thing that we noticed about the maps is that many of these colonies were being governed by European countries. Europe had staked claims in many areas of the Asia and Africa and were pumping their resources for their own personal gain. Coding the map showed exactly which areas where being exploited and a lot of them were areas with spices and precious gems and metals.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Pros & Cons of Imperialism on Western Culture

Pros:

Super Powers received the money they were looking for.
They didn’t have to worry about the foreigners.
They were the “superior” race and were doing their job as they thought.
The Colonies paid for themselves due to high taxes.
Foreigners believed they were superior.
Their culture spread around the world.
Medical breakthroughs.
They spread their religion (Christianity).

Cons:

They had to mesh old and new ways.
Some Colonies did not succeed.

The Most Powerful Country in 1914

Based on the charts and the imperialism map we have concluded that Great Britain was the most powerful country in the world. Not only is their population very large but they have the land to support it. The colonies alone had 470,000,000 people. They owned land in Africa, Asia, and all of Australia. Colonies were posted in all of these countries. Because of the area controlled by Great Britain it shows that they are the most powerful country in the world.

The most Powerful European Country

Based on the statistic and the map we believe that Great Britain was the most powerful country in 1914. They owned more land then any other country in the world. Also, their population was way higher then any other country. The colonies of Great Britain also seemed to be prospering with a population of 470,000,000. If they had enough resources to control and support these areas then they must have been really powerful. Without the power then they could not have pulled any of that off.