The Opium Wars

The Opium wars were basically a war against the British and China. It was a war so that British would be able to sell it's Opium to the people of China. This all began when foreigners from around the world wanted China to began trading with them. The Chinese believed that they already had everything they needed. The Chinese people believed they were self-sufficient. They produced their own products for their own people. They didn't need any other goods from foreign countries. When the British finally persuaded the Chinese emperor to trade, the British were losing goods then actually making goods. The Chinese emperor only agreed with certain terms like the trade for a lot more silver for a lot less tea. The British wanted this tea from China, but they had to make a sacrifice in silver for this trade. Britain soon began getting short in silver so they began thinking for another product to sell. That product was opium, this was a kind of drug like heroin which came from the poppy plant. The British began smuggling the drug into China for the trade of tea.
The Chinese emperor began to realize a certain changes in China. Their were problems in the economy. The people of China became addicted to this drug. Farmers slacked in producing food and the military began corrupting. The emperor finally decided to do something so he send a letter to Queen Victoria to tell her to stop selling Opium in China even the fact that opium is illegal in Britain. The letter never arrived to Queen Victoria. The British did not listen, so China began burning all the opium that the British were trying to sell. The British reacted by declaring war on China. The British had more advance technology in battle warfare. China had no match against Britain' s steamboat and tactical battle forces. So China lost the war to Britain. They both signed a treaty called the Treat of Nanking. Britain was allowed control over Hong Kong for trading. America and the French also wanted the same trade rights like Britain. They gained the same rights as Britain with the Treaty of Tienstin. In another Opium war between the French and the Britain against China; China once again lost. After this lost, China's ports were opened to all foreigners to trade.

"The White Man's Burden"

The white man's burden is a load or a responsibility that the white people have to do or accomplish. It's the job of the white man to accomplish conquering and ruling other countries or lands. An example would be the burden of the U.S. trying to take over and control of the Philippines. This began when America went into the Spanish-American war in 1898. The U.S. fought the Philippines in a war and won and eventually began ruling the Philippines.
I agree with the analyzes of the poem "The White Man's Burden" for many reasons. One reason, would be that the poem describes how white people try to take over countries or to rule other countries for their needs. The poem describes why the white people try to rule other countries.

Take up the White Man's burden--
Send forth the best ye breed--
Go, bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait, in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild--
Your new-caught sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.

Rudyard Kipling, "The White Man's Burden" published in McClure's Magazine, Feb. 1899

This 8 lines from the first of seven stanza alone describes lot of the white man's burden. It tells how the white people go to war and how the enemies are when captured. It tells how the white people want the enemies to send their troops for war.
Even though the poem was written in 1899 about the U.S. Imperialism over the Philippines, the U.S. still today is imperialistic a hundred years later. We are still living the "White Man's Burden" today for the fact that are armies are still in Iraq. The war of Iraq is over and still American army troops still patrol the country of Iraq. Even though we have won, America is trying to change something about Iraq. Their trying to change Iraq's government. Their trying to change Iraq into a Democratic country. Event thought their are many people in Iraq who are opposing this new government or who just don't want American troops in their country we still stay and still fight to change the government.

"The Scramble for Africa"

Since Europeans believed they were the best race in the world they believed that they could take over any country they wanted to. The continent of Africa was under the control of Europe the greatest. The scramble for Africa was the ruling of areas of Africa by European nations. It was a time of imperialism of Europe ruling over Africa. Europe's imperialism over Africa happened between 1880 and 1910. There were many European nations that controlled areas of Africa. Major European nation's that had control of areas in Africa were France, Britain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Spain. They would take control and rule these areas for the natural resources found in these area since Africa was rich in resources. They would use these natural resources to make new manufacture goods for the people of Europe and also to sell to the people of Africa. They would also send these new resources back to Europe to become goods for the people. Theses nations would also take control of the areas because the more land they controlled the more power they had. They would take control of these areas so that other nations of Europe wouldn't.European nations were able to take over Africa easily because of many reasons. Europe not only had their technological advantage but also there persuading on tribes of Africa to take control of their lands. Some tribes gave up their land by signing treaties which they had no idea what it said. Other tribes gave their land to nations of Europe so that other tribes of Europe wouldn't take over by force. The tribes also gave up their area's to the nations so that the Europeans could protect the tribe of that area from other tribes. The scramble for Africa had a negative affect towards the people of Africa. Tribes were divided because of the boundaries that the European nations did. They went through a phase of tribalism. The tribes would go to war with each other because they would be in the same boundaries and not like each other.

Film Lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

Throughout the film the Europeans had many difficulties through traveling and exploring Africa. They face the harsh heat from the sun. They faced the danger of the environment such as the dangerous surface of the ground and animals who inhabited the area. Animals such as lions were a great danger to the Europeans in their travels. Also bugs were dangerous if they did not put up their mosquito nets when going to bed. Besides the fact that the animals played a threat to the exploring but the native people of Africa also were a danger to the European explores. The explorers came in contact with the native African people a couple of time. When the explorers and the Native people had come in contact they would go in fights, killing each other or socializing and exchanging gifts.
It's strange the fact that the source of the Nile River which is the 3rd largest lake in the world is called Lake Victoria. Even thought the Lake is in Africa it is named after queen Victoria of Europe. The source was no part of Europe and still it was named after queen Victoria because the modern world believed that they discovered it even through it was inhabited by the native people of the Nile. Till this day Lake Victoria is still called Lake Victoria event thought the Europeans don't own it anymore.
In the end it all mattered on who had the technological advantage. The ones with the technological advantage were the Europeans. They had weapons such as guns which the African people have never seen before. Soon after the Europeans were able to conquer Africa because of Imperialism. They had more then enough technology to takeover Africa.