Japan Project Topic

I am going to make a powerpoint about the celebration of festivals in Japan. These are very important events in Japan and are celebrated throughout the year. I am going to have an audience of college students studing abroad informing them on what to expect come festival time.

Picture Source- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Yomise%28Yatai%29.JPG

Exploring Extremes

Mount Everest

When (and by whom) was the South Pole reached by an expedition?

It was reached by Roald Amundsen in December 1911.

Source- http://www.enotes.com/history-fact-finder/exploration-settlement/who-was-first-person-reach-south-pole


When (and by whom) was the North Pole?

Robert Edwin Peary was the first to reach the North Pole in April 1909.

Source- http://www.wisegeek.com/who-was-the-first-person-to-reach-the-north-pole.htm


Who led an expedition to summit Everest in 1924 and what happened to him? When was the Summit finally reached for the first (documented) time?

George Mallory led an expedition to summit Everest in 1924. His body was found on May 1, 1999 on Everest’s North Face, and no one knows if he or his partner, Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, reached the summit. On May 29, 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Percival Hillary were the first to reach the summit.

Sources- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/lost/mystery/
http://www.everestnews2004.com/malloryandirvine2004/stories2004/georgemallory.htm
http://www.teameverest03.org/everest_info/index.html


Reflection

I think there a many reasons that people do extreme activities like this. Some might want to do it just for the experience, as in the case of George Mallory who was quoted as his reason for climbing Everest, "Because it's there." Others, like Tenzing Norgay, want to do it because it helps them to feel closer to someone else who had climbed Everest before them. I don't think that I would do something like climb Everest because it would be too dangerous. I don't think that it is worth risking your life to do something like that.

Image Source- http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y154/jfyffe/raidmyspace/layouts/scenery/mount_everest/mount_everest_bg.jpg

More Than 100 Years Later, the World I Live In Still Displays the Impact of the New Imperialism

Hong Kong, a mix of old and new.

Even now, effects of the New Imperialism can still be seen. A good example of this is the city of Hong Kong. The British took over Hong Kong after the Opium War, and it has been greatly influenced by them. It runs on different economic and political systems than the rest of China and has become one of the the world's leading international financial centers. The education system in Hong Kong is even based off of a British model. The British granted sovereignty to the Chinese in 1997, but it still is governed under a different set of laws than the rest of China. Another example of how the New Imperialism can still be seen is in the countries of Africa. When Africa was divided up in the New Imperialism, boundaries were set without regard to tribe or ethnic groups. There are still areas in Africa, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, that are still in conflict.


Picture Source- http://www.goway.com/asia/hongkong/hk_img/hong-kong1.jpg

Positive Effects of the New Imperialism

British India's railroad network in 1872.

Aside from all of the negative aspects of Imperialism, there were also some positive ones. For the British, they saw a major increase in trade because of their efforts and were able to spread British culture to many areas of the globe. The people in India gained a revised legal system for all of its people, regardless of caste. They also gained more modern technology such as the telegraph and railroads. The postal service improved and the availability of schools increased. Even further, practices such as child marriage, sati, the isolation of women in separate quarters, and the rigid caste system distinctions were beginning to end. It also helped the Chinese to modernize and become a republic, at least for a little while.

Picture Source- http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/images/India-rail-lines-map.jpg

Negative Effects of the New Imperialism

Whether the New Imperialism had many negative effects would determine upon whose point of view you were looking at it with. From someone like Britain's point of view, it would have been better for them than say the Indians who had barely any say in their colonization. The British did however have to face things like religious discontent with their policies, which induced the horrible massacre of the Sepoy Rebellion, Nationalism among their conquered peoples, and wars due to the opposition of their trade approach by the Chinese government. The people that were conquered also had their fair share of negative effects resulting from the New Imperialism. The people in India had to face famine because of the British economically centered farming policies, the pressure of a rapidly rising population, and the loss of a once-prosperous hand-weaving industry due to the importation of cheaply made British textiles. The Chinese had to deal with the importation of British opium into their country and the pressures of forced modernization.


Picture Source- http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/894/002072sc6.jpg

What was "the New Imperialism"?

The New Imperialism was new for the main reasons of the increased capacity and quality of emerging technology brought on by the Industrial Revolution and the power of westernized, modern European nations. The increase in manufacturing that was the result of the Industrial Revolution brought about the need to sell goods to other markets in order to increase the profit that the rising economic powers were after. This was one justification of Britain's expansion into Africa. Another characteristic of the New Imperialism was the political force of Nationalism that played a huge role in the expansion, and more importantly in the uprisings, that occurred in this period. The area of time in which the most conquest occurred was from about 1870 to 1914, and most of it occurred in Africa.


Picture Source- http://www.historyking.com/images/New-Imperialism-World-History.jpg