AP World History: Industrialization and Empire
Analyzing industrial growth, imperial expansion, and global change from 1750 to 1900
AP World History: Industrialization and Empire
Analyzing industrial growth, imperial expansion, and global change from 1750 to 1900
Social Studies - Grade 9-12
- 1
Explain one major reason Britain was the first country to industrialize in the late 1700s.
Think about natural resources, money for investment, and markets for selling goods.
Britain industrialized first partly because it had abundant coal and iron, which provided fuel and materials for factories, steam engines, and railroads. It also had capital from trade, a stable banking system, and access to colonial markets. - 2
Compare industrialization in Britain and Japan during the period 1750 to 1900. Identify one similarity and one difference.
One similarity was that both Britain and Japan used industrialization to strengthen their economies and military power. One difference was that Britain industrialized gradually through private enterprise, while Japan industrialized rapidly after the Meiji Restoration with strong government support. - 3
A historian argues that railroads were one of the most important technologies of the Industrial Revolution. Explain one piece of evidence that supports this claim.
Focus on how transportation changes affected trade, cities, or factory production.
Railroads support this claim because they moved raw materials, factory goods, and people faster and more cheaply than earlier transportation methods. They helped connect inland regions to ports and cities, which expanded markets and encouraged industrial growth. - 4
Describe one way industrialization changed the lives of working-class people in cities.
Consider working hours, wages, housing, and city conditions.
Industrialization changed working-class life by drawing many people into crowded cities where they worked long hours in factories for low wages. Urban workers often faced unsafe working conditions, pollution, and poor housing, although factory work could also provide wages outside agriculture. - 5
Explain how the Second Industrial Revolution contributed to European imperial expansion in the late nineteenth century.
The Second Industrial Revolution increased European demand for raw materials such as rubber, copper, palm oil, and cotton. Industrial powers also needed new markets for manufactured goods, and technologies such as steamships, railroads, and machine guns helped them conquer and control overseas territories. - 6
Use the Berlin Conference of 1884 to 1885 as evidence to explain one feature of European imperialism in Africa.
Focus on who made decisions and who was excluded.
The Berlin Conference shows that European imperialism in Africa was driven by competition among European powers and often ignored African political boundaries and sovereignty. European leaders divided African territory into spheres of influence without meaningful African participation. - 7
Identify one economic motive for imperialism and explain how it shaped colonial rule.
One economic motive for imperialism was the desire to obtain raw materials for industrial production. This shaped colonial rule because imperial powers built mines, plantations, railroads, and ports to extract resources and export them to the colonizing country. - 8
Explain one way colonized peoples resisted imperial rule between 1750 and 1900.
Choose a specific example such as India, China, Africa, or Southeast Asia.
Colonized peoples resisted imperial rule through armed rebellion, such as the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against British rule. Resistance could also include religious movements, boycotts, refusal to pay taxes, or efforts to preserve local traditions and political authority. - 9
Analyze the impact of industrialization on global trade patterns from 1750 to 1900.
Industrialization shifted global trade patterns by making industrialized countries major exporters of manufactured goods and importers of raw materials. Many colonies and semi-colonial regions became suppliers of commodities such as cotton, rubber, minerals, and food crops for industrial economies. - 10
Explain one way industrialization affected the environment during the nineteenth century.
Think about coal, factories, mining, and urban growth.
Industrialization affected the environment by increasing the use of coal, which produced smoke, soot, and air pollution in industrial cities. Factories, mines, and railroads also changed landscapes and contributed to water pollution and deforestation. - 11
Describe one connection between industrial capitalism and new social classes in the nineteenth century.
Industrial capitalism helped create a wealthy industrial middle class made up of factory owners, bankers, and merchants. It also expanded the urban working class, whose labor powered factories and whose conditions often led to union organizing and socialist ideas. - 12
Explain how ideologies such as Social Darwinism or the civilizing mission were used to justify imperialism.
Explain how beliefs were used to defend political or economic control.
Ideologies such as Social Darwinism and the civilizing mission were used to claim that imperial powers had a right or duty to rule other peoples. These ideas presented conquest as progress, even though imperialism often involved exploitation, violence, and the loss of local sovereignty. - 13
The chart shows that British cotton textile exports increased sharply between 1800 and 1850. Explain one likely cause of this increase.
Connect the increase to machines, factories, and access to raw materials.
A likely cause was the spread of factory production powered by machines and steam engines, which allowed Britain to produce cotton textiles faster and more cheaply. Access to raw cotton from global trade also helped British factories expand production. - 14
Write a defensible thesis for an essay evaluating the extent to which industrialization caused imperial expansion from 1750 to 1900.
A defensible thesis is: Industrialization was a major cause of imperial expansion from 1750 to 1900 because industrial powers sought raw materials, markets, and strategic transportation routes, although nationalism and political competition among empires also played important roles. - 15
Identify one continuity and one change in labor systems during the age of industrialization and empire.
A continuity stays similar over time, while a change shows something new or significantly different.
One continuity was that many workers continued to face coercive or exploitative labor conditions, including in colonies and plantations. One change was the growth of wage labor in factories, mines, and railroads, which became more common as industrial economies expanded.