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| The principles and empirical processes of discovery and demonstration considered characteristic of or necessary for scientific investigation, generally involving the observation of phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis concerning the phenomena, experimentation to demonstrate the truth or falseness of the hypothesis, and a conclusion that validates or modifies the hypothesis. |
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| Einstein, Albert (1879-1955) theoretical physicist, born in Ulm, Germany. Einstein's 1939 letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt urging that the United States develop an atomic bomb gave rise to the Manhattan Project. Einstein himself, however, played no role in that undertaking. He received the Nobel Prize in physics (1921) for his elaboration of the quantum theory. |
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| A cosmological theory holding that the universe originated approximately 20 billion years ago from the violent explosion of a very small agglomeration of matter of extremely high density and temperature |
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| In 1882 Italy, angry at France chiefly because France had forestalled an Italian advance by occupying Tunis, signed another secret treaty, which bound it with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Thus was the Triple Alliance formed. It was periodically renewed until 1913. In 1882 Serbia joined the alliance, in effect, through a treaty with Austria-Hungary. Romania joined the group in 1883, and a powerful Central European bloc was created. |
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| A world organization established in 1920 to promote international cooperation and peace. It was first proposed in 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson, although the United States never joined the League. Essentially powerless, it was officially dissolved in 1946. |
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| Outline of proposals by Pres. Woodrow Wilson for a post – World War I peace settlement, given in an address in January 1918. The emphasis on "open covenants of peace, openly arrived at" was proposed to change the usual method of secret diplomacy practiced in Europe. Other points outlined territorial adjustments following the war. The last point called for "a general association of nations," which presaged the League of Nations. |
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| (1723-90). Famous son of Kirkcaldy (Fife) and educated at Glasgow University, Smith graduated at the age of 14. After six years at Balliol College, Oxford, he became professor of logic, then moral philosophy, at Glasgow University. Although his reputation was founded on The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), his magnum opus was An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). Itanalysed the operation of free market economies where the key players were motivated by self-interest and profit maximization. Most interpretations have labelled Adam Smith a parent of laissez-faire economics, but he was much more interventionist than this. |
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| A philosophical movement of the 18th century that emphasized the use of reason to scrutinize previously accepted doctrines and traditions and that brought about many humanitarian reforms. Used with the. |
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| Devotion to the interests or culture of one's nation. The belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals. Aspirations for national independence in a country under foreign domination |
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| Influenced by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Robespierre went from being active in the National Assembly of France to being a leader of the Jacobins during the French Revolution. Called "The Incorruptible" because of his self-described moral virtue, he was a member of the Committee of Public Safety and the de facto leader of the country between 1793 and 1794. Robespierre's extreme and violent response to opposition was dubbed The Reign of Terror, and his ruthlessness eventually led to his downfall. On July 27, 1794 he was arrested and tried, then guillotined the next day. |
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| Committee of Public Safety |
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| Political body of the French Revolution that controlled France during the Reign of Terror. It was set up in April 1793 to defend France against its enemies, foreign and domestic. At first it was dominated by Georges Danton and his followers, but they were soon replaced by the radical Jacobins, including Maximilien Robespierre. Harsh measures were taken against alleged enemies of the Revolution, the economy was placed on a wartime basis, and mass conscription was undertaken. Dissension within the committee contributed to the downfall of Robespierre in July 1794, after which it declined in importance. |
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| The putting-out system was a means of subcontracting work. It was also known as the workshop system. In putting-out, work was contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who completed the work in their own facilities, usually their own homes. It was used in the English textile industry, in small farms, and lock making trades as late as the 19th century. |
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| A conference of European nations held in 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. It redrew the boundaries of Europe and sought to lay the groundwork for peace. Under the conservative influence of Prince Metternich of Austria, many European territories were given to the kings and princes who had held them before the French Revolution. Although movements toward democracy in Europe were set back by these events, no major fighting occurred in Europe until the Crimean War nearly forty years later. |
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| is a political philosophy which considers the state undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, and instead promotes a stateless society, or anarchy.[1][2] It seeks to diminish or even abolish authority in the conduct of human relations |
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| The supposed or presumed responsibility of white people to govern and impart their culture to nonwhite people, often advanced as a justification for European colonialism. |
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| A political leader of Germany in the nineteenth century, known as the “Iron Chancellor.” After the Franco-Prussian War had brought many small German states together as allies against France, Bismarck persuaded them to unite in a single German Empire under a Kaiser, with Bismarck as first chancellor, or chief of government. Enormous economic progress took place under Bismarck's leadership. He resigned over differences with Kaiser Wilhelm II, the emperor who was to rule during World War I. |
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| A Dutch colonist or descendant of a Dutch colonist in South Africa |
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| 1884-85, international meeting aimed at settling the problems connected with European colonies in Africa. At the invitation of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, representatives of all European nations, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire met at Berlin to consider problems arising out of European penetration of W Africa. The stated purpose of the meeting was to guarantee free trade and navigation on the Congo and on the lower reaches of the Niger. In fact, the territorial adjustments made among the powers were the important result. The sovereignty of Great Britain over S Nigeria was recognized. The claims of the International Association, a private corporation controlled by King Leopold II of Belgium, were more or less recognized; these applied to the greater part of the Congo. These territorial awards ignored French claims to parts of the Congo and of Nigeria and the historical claim of Portugal to the mouth of the Congo. The attempts to guarantee free trade and the neutrality of the region in wartime and to set up rules for future colonial expansion in Africa were hailed, but soon the agreements proved too vague to be workable. |
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| Nationalist notion of cultural and political unity among Arab countries. Its origins lie in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when increased literacy led to a cultural and literary renaissance among Arabs of the Middle East. This contributed to political agitation and led to the independence of most Arab states from the Ottoman Empire (1918) and from the European powers (by the mid-20th century). An important event was the founding in 1943 of the Ba'th Party, which formed branches in several countries and became the ruling party in Syria and Iraq. Another was the founding of the Arab League in 1945. Pan-Arabism's most charismatic and effective proponent was Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser. After Nasser's death, Syria's Hafiz al-Assad, Iraq's Saddam Hussein, and Libya's Muammar al-Qaddafi tried to assume the mantle of Arab leadership. |
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| (1813-73). Scottish missionary and explorer. Livingstone arrived in South Africa in 1841 to assist in the work of the London Missionary Society. He was soon attracted northward in the hope of spreading the gospel in central Africa. His travels took him first to the Atlantic coast and then across the continent to the Indian Ocean. His discoveries brought him fame in Britain and won him the support of the Royal Geographical Society. The circumstances of his death in the interior of Africa in 1873, during a final journey, proved to be the decisive factor in stimulating British action against the east African slave trade. |
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| also known as the Race for Africa[1] was a process of invasion, attack, occupation, and annexation of African territory by European powers during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I in 1914. |
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| Two trading wars of the mid-19th century in China. The first (1839 – 42) was between China and Britain, and the second (1856 – 60; also called the Arrow War or Anglo-French War) was between China and a British-French alliance. Trade developed between China and Western countries from the late 16th century. The Chinese, accustomed to tributary relationships with others, required that Westerners pay for Chinese goods with silver currency. To offset a growing negative flow of silver at home, the British created a market for opium in China and began importing it there illegally. As demand for opium grew, China tried to stop the practice, and hostilities broke out. Britain quickly triumphed, and the resultant Treaty of Nanjing (1842) — the first of a series of unequal treaties between China and Western countries and, eventually, Japan — was a blow to China. The outbreak of the second war resulted in the Treaty of Tianjin (1858), which required further Chinese concessions. When China refused to sign subsequent treaties, Beijing was captured and the emperor's summer palace burned. The overall result of these conflicts was to weaken the Chinese imperial system, greatly expand Western influence in China, and pave the way for such uprisings as the Taiping and Boxer rebellions. See also Canton system; British East India Company; Lin Zexu. |
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| Tz'u-hsi, who is also known as Yehonala, Empress Hsiao-ch'in, or "The Old Buddha, " was born on Nov. 29, 1835. At the age of 16 she became a low-ranking concubine to the Hsienfeng emperor (reigned 1851-1861), but in 1856, when she gave birth to the Emperor's only son and heir, she was made a second-class concubine. When the Emperor died on Aug. 22, 1861, in Jehol, where he had fled before the allied British and French advance on Peking in 1860, Tz'u-hsi's son became the T'ung-chih emperor (1862-1875). During his minority the new emperor, according to his father's will, would rule through a regency, but all decrees had to be approved by the two empress dowagers - his mother and the senior consort, Empress Tz'u-an |
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| 1850-64, revolt against the Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty of China. Perhaps the most important event in 19th-century China, it was led by Hung Hsiu-ch'üan, a visionary from Guangdong who evolved a political creed influenced by elements of Christianity. His object was to found a new dynasty, the Taiping [great peace]. Strong discontent with the Chinese government brought him many adherents, especially among the poorer classes, and the movement spread with great violence through the eastern valley of the Chang River. The rebels captured Nanjing in 1853 and made it their capital. The Western powers, who at first sympathized with the movement, soon realized that the Ch'ing dynasty might collapse and with it foreign trade. They offered military help and led the Ever-Victorious Army, which protected Shanghai from the Taipings. The Taipings, weakened by strategic blunders and internal dissension, were finally defeated by new provincial armies led by Tseng Kuo-fan and Li Hung-chang. |
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| A principle of U.S. policy, originated by President James Monroe during his time in office (1817-25), that any intervention by external powers in the politics of the Americas is a potentially hostile act against the United States. The principle arose partly from a conflict with Russia over the northwest coast of North America, and partly from the fear that reactionary European states would attempt to take over the Latin American countries that had become independent from Spain. |
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| (1806-72), Mexican president and resistance leader. Despite prejudice against him as a full-blooded Indian, he was appointed justice minister after the Liberal revolution of 1856 and abolished clerical and military legal privileges (fueros). He became substitute president and led Liberal resistance after the 1858 Conservative counter-revolution. Confirmed in office on return to Mexico City in 1861, his suspension of payment on foreign debt led to the French Mexican expedition. Juarista forces eventually retook the country and he was re-elected in 1867. He had himself declared re-elected in 1871 and died as he lived, embroiled in civil strife. |
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