AP AP Imperialism & Colonial Empires 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which system, used extensively in the Belgian Congo, forced indigenous people to meet rubber quotas under threat of mutilation or death?
- Encomienda
- Forced labor concession system (Correct answer)
- Indentured servitude
- Hacienda system
Correct answer: Forced labor concession system
King Leopold II's Congo Free State relied on a brutal forced-labor concession system that killed an estimated 10 million Congolese.
Question 2: The Opium Wars (1839–1842, 1856–1860) resulted in China being forced to:
- Adopt constitutional monarchy
- Cede Hong Kong and open treaty ports to Western trade (Correct answer)
- Pay tribute to Japan
- Accept Christian missionaries as government advisors
Correct answer: Cede Hong Kong and open treaty ports to Western trade
China's defeat in the Opium Wars led to the 'unequal treaties,' ceding Hong Kong to Britain and opening coastal cities as treaty ports.
Question 3: The Boer War (1899–1902) in South Africa was fought between Britain and:
- Zulu warriors defending their homeland
- Dutch-descended Afrikaner settlers over control of gold-rich territory (Correct answer)
- Portuguese colonists in Mozambique
- French traders along the Cape Route
Correct answer: Dutch-descended Afrikaner settlers over control of gold-rich territory
Britain fought the Afrikaners (Boers) for control of the Transvaal and Orange Free State, regions rich in gold and diamonds.
Question 4: How did the Meiji Restoration (1868) change Japan's approach to Western imperialism?
- Japan rejected all Western contact and strengthened isolation
- Japan modernized rapidly and became an imperial power itself (Correct answer)
- Japan allied with China to resist Western encroachment
- Japan accepted Western rule in exchange for technological aid
Correct answer: Japan modernized rapidly and became an imperial power itself
The Meiji government industrialized Japan, built a modern military, and launched its own empire in Taiwan (1895) and Korea (1910).
Question 5: Ethiopia's victory at the Battle of Adwa (1896) was significant because it:
- United all African nations against colonialism
- Made Ethiopia the only African country to successfully repel a European conquest attempt (Correct answer)
- Ended British rule in East Africa
- Triggered a general uprising across the continent
Correct answer: Made Ethiopia the only African country to successfully repel a European conquest attempt
Emperor Menelik II's defeat of the Italian army at Adwa preserved Ethiopian independence and became a symbol of African resistance to imperialism.
Question 6: The 'Scramble for Africa' resulted in approximately what percentage of Africa being under European control by 1914?
- About 30%
- About 50%
- About 90% (Correct answer)
- About 70%
Correct answer: About 90%
By 1914, European powers controlled roughly 90% of Africa, leaving only Ethiopia and Liberia as independent states.
AP AP Imperialism & Colonial Empires 2
Which system, used extensively in the Belgian Congo, forced indigenous people to meet rubber quotas under threat of mutilation or death?