3.2.1. Summary

3 Things I Found Interesting-
     - How many countries actually had colonies in Africa.
     - That the British army would recruit Indian soldiers.
     - That no other African country industrialized themselves like Ethiopia had done.
2 Things I Learned-
     - That the Suez Canal was as important as it is.
     - That the Suez Canal was in Egypt.
1 Question I Still Have-
     - Are there still European colonies in Africa today?

Gandhi Quote

"An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching."  I think what this quote is saying is that a person is only wasting his or her breathe on a matter until that person actually does something about it and turns their words into reality.  In my opinion, this quote is extremely important.  Absolutely anyone can vent, argue, or preach about something they think is important, but not everyone can actually stand up, take one for the team, and do something about what they believe is right, true, and good for the community or nation.

The Suez Canal

The Suez Canal is a man made water way that cuts through the Isthmus of Suez that connected the Red Sea with the Mediterranean.  This is very important because it aided  European ships to go to colonies in Asia and Africa faster.  Today the Suez Canal is in complete control of Egypt.  In 2007 about 18,000 ships passed through this canal in one year, people use it everyday, therefore the canal is still important in today's world.

India

India was seen as the "jewel in the crown" to the British because of their ability to produce raw materials and their population of about 300 million people, the British saw this as a potential market.  Indians were soon being oppressed and began to revolt with the Sepoy Mutiny.
The sepoys, who were Indian soldiers of the British army, heard rumor that the new cartridges that were to used in the guns were cased in raw beef and pork.  Being that Hindus believed that the cow was sacred and Muslims believed that pork was unclean refused to use them since they would have to put the cartridges into their mouths to loud it into the gun.  These Indians were put in jail and rebellion broke out.  This was not very successful, in fact it did the very opposite.  Instead of having just the  East India Company being in India, the British started sending troops to enforce them.

Protectorate

One way an empire could control a colony is by acting as the colony's protectorate.  A protectorate is a country or territory with its own internal government but under the influence of an outside power.  This is also own as a puppet government because it basically tricks the country or colony into thinking that it is independent when really it has absolutely no say in governmental actions. One example of this would be the British control over the Niger River Delta.

Imperialism, Good or Bad

Imperialism helped the world by spreading new innovations and inventions of the Industrial Revolution.  Also, it gave a better understanding of culture and history of the places that were being colonized. Another good thing about imperialism is that it taught the native people a modern way of living, for example Ethiopia being self-sufficient with a new industrialized outlook and became powerful in Africa.
Although Imperialism helped a lot, it was not all good.  The imperialistic countries did experience new cultures, but they also tried to strip the native countries of their history and way of life.  Also the native colonies were forced to follow under the rule of the county that overtook them, they no longer had a say as to what would happen in the government. Another reason why imperialism hurt the world is that the colonies had to work for them, for example India had to grow crops in order to be traded therefore they could not grow crops to sustain their own families which cause famines.

Electricity

Thomas Edison was only able to invent the light bulb because of his discovery of electricity.  This is did not just change the world back in the 1880s but for the rest of time. Edison's first big electrical breakthrough was on September 4, 1882 when he provided enough electricity to power a one mile radius of Pearl Street in lower Manhattan.  Today, electricity is everywhere we look from the alarm clock that wakes us up in the morning to the headlights in our cars to the cell phone in our pockets.  Electricity is one of the biggest scientific advancements of the world, this has helped and will help us discover new things in the future.