LIB 102 Responses

You should respond to at least two of your classmates by Day 7. In your responses, discuss how two technologies revolutionized life in the second half of the nineteenth century. Examine one technology in each of your responses. For example, you may discuss one technology in your first response to a classmate and a second technology in your second response to a classmate. Each of your responses should contain at least 150 words. You should cite your sources in APA Style with both in-text citations and a reference list.

Mistec Daley

Oct 16, 2023Oct 16 at 9pm

Manage Discussion Entry

The 19th century had many rapid advancements in technology among European countries that propelled them into a place where they had the power to invade and colonize far reaching places, the means of survival with medicinal advances, and the motivation to seek the raw materials of those territories. Steam power, coal and iron and the resulting railroad transportation helped empower the West against less industrialized parts of the world since they could travel further faster, trade more, and expand their influence in the realm of economics and politics (Fiero,2021, 11.1).

The advances in weaponry like breech-loaders that could quickly reload and the Maxim Gun (machine gun) meant European soldiers could subjugate and overpower foreign territories they invaded for colonization. European forces could now shoot further and faster and with the advances in bacteriology by Pasteur were able to survive issues like Malaria that had prevented them from further encroaching into the African continent. They could also travel further inward using steamboats that traveled against the flow of water and entered the interior of Africa and parts of Asia where the gun mounted boats enabled them to make demands. Along with the telegraph that let European powers communicate quickly over thousands of miles with their colonies, distance stopped being a barrier to ruling or conquering (Brooks,2020, Chapter 6).

The Second Industrial Revolution brought about new technologies like modern steel, telephones and automobiles and their production for increasing populations created a huge demand for raw materials, many of which were not found within Europe or in the United States. Rubber and mineral ores sent European forces into Africa for mining, often resulting in slave labor being used in that area. Europeans also sought “…Chilean nitrates, Australian copper and gold and Malaysian tin, just to name a few…” (Brooks,2020, Chapter 6).

British interest in spice and resources (and the trade monopoly) of India led them to colonize India and in 1858 it came under British rule. After 1800 the push for wealth and gain of capital for industrialization rapidly increased and with greater means of transportation and weaponry, imperialism increased at an unchecked rate that resulted in over 80% of the world being under European rule by end of the 1900s. Technology gave European countries the power to conquer through force, the power to travel there to do it, and the means to survive against diseases. It also was one of the major reasons that Europe and America sought to conquer and control other places-to support the production of their new valued technologies that had transformed their lives, their landscape and their everyday lives. Mass production and capitalism had created a new kind of consumer culture (Fiero, 2021,11.1-11.2).

REFERENCES

Brooks, C. (2020). Western civilization: A concise historyLinks to an external site. (Vol. 3). Portland Community College. https://pressbooks.nscc.ca/worldhistory/

Fiero, G. K. (2021). Landmarks in humanities (5th ed.). McGraw Hill.

Isaac Brown

ThursdayOct 19 at 10:15pm

Manage Discussion Entry

The new imperialism is considered to be a time of conquering of foreign territories and “colonial expansion” (Fiero, 2021). Western technological advancements both enabled and created motive for the new imperialism in many ways. First, it sped up communications between different areas that had never been possible before (Brooks, 2020). Prior to this, “… it could take up to two years for a message and a reply to travel between England and India, but after telegraph lines were constructed over the course of the middle decades of the nineteenth century, a message and reply could make the circuit in just two days” (Brooks, 2020). Next, it improved the militaries. One example of this was equipping the soldiers with better weapons. This then helped them fight, defeat, and acquire new European territories easier. Another way technological advancements helped the militaries was when it came to fighting diseases in other places. We saw this being done when it came to fighting malaria in Africa through the discovery of “quinine” (Brooks, 2020). Lastly, we saw advancement with water transportation. This was done by the creation of steamboats. “…With its power to travel both with and against the flows of rivers, enabled Europeans to push into interior of Africa (and many parts of Asia as well)” (Brooks, 2020). They even armed the boats with weapons making the taking of territories easier and thus enabled this expansion of imperialism.

Reference

Brooks, C. (2020). Western civilization: A concise historyLinks to an external site.Links to an external site. (Vol. 3). Portland Community College. https://pressbooks.nscc.ca/worldhistory/Links to an external site.

Fiero, G. K. (2021). Landmarks in humanities (5th ed.). McGraw Hill