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3 Things I've Learned:
3. What paternalism and assimilation are and the similarities and differences between them
2. The differences between colonies, protectorates, the sphere of influence, and economic imperialism
1. Alfred Dreyfus was a Jewish officer in the French army who was convicted of treason even though everyone know he would never sell military secrets to Germany because he loved France deeply and believed in the country

2 Things I Found Interesting:
2. From 1871-1914, there was a new system of government established approximately every ten months
1. Queen Elizabeth was England's longest serving monarch

1 Question I Still Have:
1. Why wasn't Africa one of the fourteen nations that met to divide their country?

Captain Alfred Dreyfus' public degradation

Gandhi Quote

"A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble." -Mahatma Gandhi

When I read Gandhi's quote above, I agree with every part of it. I believe that when he said this, he was making the point that it is wrong to lie and deceive people. If a person does something wrong, it's best to admit to the wrong then lying about it to please someone or avoid trouble. It's best to tell the truth because when a person lies, they're only creating more problems. If the truth is told right from the beginning, one may find himself in trouble. But if the same person continues lying, they will only find themselves in more trouble then they would have been if they had just told the truth.


Mahatma Gandhi



Suez Canal

The Suez Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world that runs north to south across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It is one of the worlds most heavily used shipping lanes that separates Africa from Asia and provides the shortest route between Europe and land around the Indian and western Pacific oceans. The Egyptian government controls the Suez Canal and therefore makes vessels pay tolls to provide a source of income. In 2007, there were 18,193 ships that passed through the Suez Canal. The Canal is very important in today's world because if it had never  been constructed, oil prices would be rise. As of early February 2011, the pipeline accommodated 1.7 million barrels of crude oil daily. It would cost much more because of supply and demand; it would take a longer time to transport it around the continent which would mean it would take longer to get where it was needed. The same thing would happen with American wheat traders.

The Suez Canal

Maji Maji Rebellion

In 1905, the Africans were angered because there was a German policy designed to force Africans to grow cotton for export from, which lasted until 1907. A spirit medium by the name of Kinjikitile Ngwale gave his followers "war medicine" that would turn German bullets into water; it was made up of castor oil and millet seeds. Because the Africans had this "war medicine" also known as maji-maji (majic water), they began an uprising full of resistance to colonial rule in the German colony of Tanganyika. This was known as the Maji Maji Rebellion.
The numerous number of Africans were poorly armed with cap guns, spears, and arrows. Although they had these weapons of little effectiveness, they tried their best because they strongly believed they weren't going to get hurt from the German bullets. African fighters found themselves very unsuccessful when they attacked a German machine-gun post and were trampled on by thousands. 26,000 resisters were recorded to be dead but there were twice as many found dead in the famine that folloewd.


Cotton: The plant that started the Maji Maji Rebellion



Paternalism

European powers wanted a more direct control of their colonies; they viewed Africans as children that were unable to handle the difficulties of running a country, so the developed paternalism. Paternalism is a policy of treating subject people as if they were children, providing for their needs, but not giving them their rights. In order to accomplish this policy, the Europeans brought their own bureaucrats to Africa and didn't train the local people in the European methods of governing. An example of paternalism is the French colony Somaliland.


The Somaliland Flag



Pros and Cons

Good and bad things came from imperialism. Some of the good things that came from imperialism are the Suez Canal, quinine, and the acquisition of territory for the United States. The Suez Canal still helps us today as well as quinine because the Canal helps transport important goods such as crude oil and wheat faster, and quinine protects us from malaria. As well as those, the United States acquired the Philippine Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam as a result of the Spanish-American War. Gaining the Philippines helped solve a debate in the U.S. over imperialism.

Some of the bad things that came from imperialism are racism, colonialism, and different forms of imperialism. Because Europe was more advanced in technology, they believed they were better than everyone else. Racism caused problems back then as well as today. Out of colonialism, the Africans lost control of land and independence, died from new diseases, and suffered from a breakdown of their traditional cultures. Also, the African continent was divided which caused problems that plagues African colonies during European occupation and still today for the nations that evolved from former colonies. The different forms of imperialism caused burdens, price wars, being controlled by parent countries, etc.
 

The Germ Theory of Disease

In the mid-1800s, the French chemist Louis Pasteur was examining the fermentation process of alcohol. Wine was spoiling very quickly which caused great economic loss, so Pasteur was called upon to solve the problems in the French wine industry. While looking at wine under a microscope, he discovered that fermentation was caused by little microscopic organisms that were producing lactic acid. He named the cells bacteria. He experimented more and soon developed the process of pasteurization, which kills germs in liquids (such as milk) by using heat. When Pasteur heated the wine at about 120 degrees, the lactic acid producing bacteria was killed.  It was also discovered that bacteria causes illness. This process killed germs which prevented sickness for people during that time as well as today.

Milk going through the pasteurization process