The Opium Wars

What happened during The Opium Wars?

For many years, China was a very isolated country from the rest of the world. They had a mentality that their culture was superior to others. They were not influenced by European culture. In the Opium Wars, the British wanted to make money and trade with China. China exported tea to Britain, which was very popular during the 18th century. China felt like they did not need anything from Britain. It was during this period of time that Britain found a very addictive drug in India that they could use to export to China.

Why are they called The Opium Wars?

Opium was a highly addictive drug that was destroying the Chinese people. By the 19th century, nearly 10 percent of the Chinese population was smoking opium. China had to find more gold, silver, tea, and other products to pay for the opium. Eventually, opium weakened the Chinese and the emperor decided that it was time to end the Opium trade with Britain. The Chinese government put an end to the Opium trade and set up a law that it was illegal to sell Opium for smoking purposes. It was serious enough that it was in the same category as murder.

While this law did stop local dealers from selling opium, British continued to sell opium to China. Because British men were smuggling opium into China, war broke loose.

Who won and why?

England won. Technologically, the Chinese were no match for the British. England had superior technology and weapons.

The White Man's Burden

What is the "White Man's Burden?"

The "White Man's Burden" is a poem which describes the duties of the white man. In the "White Man's Burden," Rudyard Kipling states that it is up to the white men to save the world, Christianize, and civilize other countries. According to Analysis #3, it is like having Europe and America as "world policemen."

Do you agree with the analysis on the website(s)?

I do agree with the most common, straightforward analysis. The "White Man's Burden" was written to present a Eurocentric view of the world. Kipling wanted to show that Europeans were superior to other countries and that other countries were "childish" and outdated.

There is a more eccentric analysis which also caught my eye. In this analysis, readers believed that Kipling was actually undermining imperialism, and that he was not an Imperialist at all. Rudyard Kipling simply wanted to give readers the perspective of an Imperialist, and not provide his own thoughts. I do not lean toward this analysis because there is no sarcasm whatsoever in the poem. Kipling writes it with sincerity and seriousness.

Are we still living the "White Man's Burden" today?

I do not believe that we are still living the "White Man's Burden" today. While we are still imperialistic to a certain extent, we are not totally imperialistic. If we truly were fully imperialistic, we could take over most of the world with our technology and weapons. The war in the Middle East is one example of America being partially imperialistic. Another way we are imperialistic is influencing international government. America tells other countries what to do and how to rule their countries. I believe that we should just have a hands-off policy and worry about what we need to worry about as a country.

"The Scramble for Africa"

1.) What were the main European nations involved in this scramble?

France, Britain, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Italy were the main European nations involved in the "Scramble for Africa."

2.) What were these nations looking for in Africa?

The European nations were looking for natural resources. Africa was known for its diamonds, gold, silver, other metals, and ivory. Africa was also used for the slave trade. African men were sold for money and used as servants with no rights.

3.) How were they able to dominate Africa so easily?

The European nations easily had the upper hand against Africa in terms of weapons and technology. New steam powered ships and guns allowed the nations to overcome the Africans. European nations even invented the machine gun. Once the machine gun was invented, Africans were easy to deal with.

4.) How did this scramble affect the African people?

The Europeans created weird borders in Africa that separated friendly tribes and brought enemy tribes closer together. Africa still suffers from tribalism. Tribes constantly struggle and start fights in Africa. Sometimes, it is a large enough struggle for it to be a civil war (a war between people in the same country).

Film Lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

1) In the film "Mountains of the Moon", what were some of the hardships that Europeans faced as they explored Africa?

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As John Speak and Richard Burton explored Africa, they faced many hardships. Because they were white, they stood out from others and looked odd to native Africans. Because of this, African tribes did not hesitate to attack the invading Europeans. In a very gruesome scene in Mountains of the Moon, a tribe member throws a javelin into Richard Burton's head. Luckily, it only went through a minor area and the javelin only pierced his cheeks.

John Speak and Richard Burton also had trouble gaining the faith and trust of the people they hired. Some people would run away and steal their goods, and some would betray Speak and Burton while in the middle of their expedition.

John Speak and Richard Burton had to deal with diseases and fatigue. After traveling for months, John Speak got a bug in his ear and he had to ruin his ear in order to kill the bug. Richard Burton also caught a disease which weakened his legs.

Last but not least, John Speak and Richard Burton discovered a lake when travelling for about six months. This lake was very large. In order to confirm that the lake was the source of the Nile River, they had to circle the lake and observe its shores. It ended up that the lake was NOT the source of the Nile.



2) Why is it strange that the source of the Nile River, (Lake Victoria - the third largest lake in the world) is named after a British Queen?
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It is odd that an African lake is named after a British Queen because the lake was already "named." It was named by the original inhabitants of Africa. The British pretty much marched into Africa and named a foreign like which they did not own. Although the lake was undiscovered to Europeans, the lake was already known to hundreds of thousands of people in Africa.



3) What was the primary technological advantage that Europeans had over African people? Why were Europeans eventually able to conquer Africa so easily?
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Europeans had many technological advantages over African people. African people had never seen white men before. Europeans had guns and powerful weapons. In one scene in the movie, John Speak and Richard Burton give a handgun to the chief of a village. The chief is fascinated with the gun and all the people in the tribe are scared when the gun goes off. Europeans also had telescopes that allowed them to see things from far away.

Eventually, Europeans easily conquered Africa because of their guns and ships. In their ships, they carried a large army of people with machineguns. They easily took over the country.



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