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Afrikaners
The mostly Dutch descendant of whites who had settled in South Africa over the 18th and 19th centuries before British imperialists came. Virulently racist, with strong notions of racial superiority, they came into conflict with the British when gold deposits were discovered in the Afrikaner province of Transvaal.
Balance of Power
The European geopolitical system based on the assumption that nations are inherently expansionist, which maintained peace by pitting various camps or alliances of equal power against each other, thereby minimizing one nation's ability to conquer and disrupt the peace. The system originated after the defeat of Napoleon, continued throughout the 19th century in Europe and succeeded at promoting peace. The balance of power collapsed in 1914 under the pressure of the arms race, a shift in the criteria of power, and the mistaken expectation of a short war rather than the World War that seized Europe.
Boxers
The Western name for the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists, a Northern Chinese secret society that engaged in the 1899-1901 Boxer Rebellion against foreign (Western) imperialist and Christian interests in China. The name comes from the fact that many of the society’s members engaged in martial arts, which the Westerners called “Chinese boxing” at the time of the Rebellion.
Congress of Berlin
The 1878 peace conference concluding the First Balkan Crisis, in which Russia supported the nationalist revolt of Bosnia-Herzegovina against the Ottoman Empire. Bosnia and Herzegovina were turned over to Austria-Hungary and Russia pledged to abandon its support of Serbia nationalism—all in the name of the balance of power.
Extraterritoriality
The policy that foreigners were exempt from Chinese law enforcement and that, though on Chinese land, they could only be judged and tried by officials of their own nation who generally looked the other way when profit was the goal; contributed to considerable indignation on the part of the Chinese.
Kulturkampf
Literally, "struggle for civilization"; the name given to Germany's campaign against Catholics and the influence of Catholics in government in the name of loyalty to the German state; included barring priests from government office, restricting religious education, and instituting civil marriage. Eventually the policy caused such concern from the general population that the Catholic Center party gained a substantial showing in the Reichstag, forcing the government to back down from its repression.
Labour Party
A British political party that first gained prominence in 1892 with the election if its first representative to the House of Commons. It represented the interests of British workers and called for the beginnings of socialist platform, and generally advocated the welfare state, government intervention in the economy, protection to workers, a short work day, and other measures that would gather steam in 20th century.
“Scramble for Africa”
The term that was used by some historians to describe the European powers’ 1875-1912 imperalist rush to divide up and colonize the African continent in the latter part of the 19th century. This coincided with imperialism throughout Asia. The term itself tends to mask the brutality of the colonization on the people of Africa.
Social Democratic Party
By 1914, the largest single party in the German Reichstag; represented the left of the political spectrum, held a Marxist political and economic philosophy, and adapted to cooperation within the democratic system. Socialist democrats advocated a state socialist system—including a welfare state, union power, unemployment insurance, worker protection—within the government. Unlike the violent revolutionaries, this party supported a gradual development from capitalism to socialism by making changes beneficial to the worker within the capitalist government.
Spheres of Influence
Territories, ports, shipping lines, rivers, et cetera in which one nation held exclusive rights to profits and investment; granted to most European states by China after numerous military defeats throughout the second half of the 19th century.
Three Emperors’ League
An alliance coordinated by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1873 between the three most conservative powers in Europe: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. Each nation pledged to consult the others on matters of mutual interest and guaranteed that in case one went to war with a nation in western Europe, the other two would remain neutral. The league showed Bismarck’s plan to eliminate the threat of a two-front war for Germany; also suggests the prevalence of the balance of power.
Treaty of Nanking
Agreed to in 1842, the first of the “unequal treaties” between China and the European powers that gave the west important inroads and economic dominance in China’s port cities and trade. An utter humiliation to the Chinese, the treaty forced the Chinese to pay huge indemnities to the British and grant large spheres of influence to its conquerors.
Triple Alliance
The pre-exisiting alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary was expanded in 1882 after Italy was asked to join. This maintained the balance of power in Europe in the face of the Triple Entente.
Triple Entente
Informal alliance in 1907 between France, Russia, and Great Britain. France and Russia had maintained an alliance since 1895. Great Britain joined in reaction to ominous developments on the Continent, especially the formation of the Triple Alliance.
