Chapter 9 section 3 European Claims in Muslim Regions
Focus Question: How did European nations extend their power into Muslim regions of the world?
I. Stresses in Muslim Regions
A. Empires in Decline
1. By the 1700s, all of the Muslim empires in Africa were in decline for
many different reasons.
2. Corruptions were wide-spread.
B. Rise of Muslim Reform Movements
1. In the 1800s, reform movements sprang.
2. Most stressed religious pity and strict rules of behavior.
3. Usman dan Fodio led the struggle to reform Muslim practices in
northern Africa.
4. In the Sudan, Muhammad Ahmad and his followers resisted the British
expansion into the region.
5. Another Islamic reform movement, the Wahhabi rejected the schools of theology and law that had emerged in the Ottoman.
6. In their place, they wanted to recapture the purity and simplicity of
Muhammad’s original teachings, which remains influential in Saudi
Arabia today.
C. European Imperialism
1. Western imperialism was a source of stress in the Muslim regions of Africa.
2. Europeans gained better trading terms, demanded special treatment, and interfered in local affairs.
II. Problems for the Ottoman Empire
A. Nationalist Revolts Break Out
1. By the early 1800s, economic problems and corruption added to the
Decay of the Ottoman Empire.
2. Ethnic revolts helped also weakened the multiethnic empire.
3. There were several areas that threatened to break away and several did.
B. European Pressure Increases
1. As the Ottoman Empire crumbled, Russia plotted to seize the
Bosporus and Dardanelles in order to gain access to the
Mediterranean Sea.
2. Britain tried to stop Russia’s ambitions because it saw Russia as a threat to its power.
C. Efforts to Westernize
1. Young men were sent to the West to study science and technology and
many returned with Western political ideas about democracy and
equality.
2. The reforms brought improved medical care and revitalized farming
but the improved farming brought different problems.
3. Several of the sultans, or rulers, of the Ottoman Turkish Empire
rejected the reforms because they threatened their power.
D. Young Turks Demand Reform
1. In 1908, the Young Turks overthrew the sultan but were unable to
achieve their reforms because the Ottoman Empire was plunge into the
world war of 1914.
E. Armenian Genocide
1. The Muslim Turks accused Christian Armenians of supporting the
Russian plans against the Ottoman empire.
2. When the Armenians protested the sultan had tens of thousands of
them slaughtered.
3. Over 25 years, between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians were
killed or died from disease and starvation.
III. Egypt Seeks to Modernize
A. Muhammad Ali Introduces Reforms
1. He is sometimes called the “father of modern Egypt”
2. He made economic reforms, improved tax collection, reorganized the
landholding system, and backed large irrigation projects to increase
farm output in Egypt.
3. Ali brought Western military experts to Egypt to help build a well-
trained, modern army.
B. Building the Suez Canal
1. Ali successors were not as successful.
2. Loans were taken out by Ali successors to build the Suez Canal.
3. They were unable to pay back the loans and Britain eventually gained
control of the canal.
C. Egypt Became a British Protectorate
IV. Persia and the European Powers
A. Persia faced several challenges in the 1800s.
1. It was an absolute monarch and exercised absolute power.
B. The discovery of oil in the early 1900s heightened foreign interest.
1. Both Russia and Britain plotted for control of Persian oil fields.
2. They persuaded the Persian government to grant Russia and Britain
concessions, or special rights given to foreign powers.
3. Persian nationalists were outraged and wanted them to leave.
4. Others wanted to adopt Western ways.
WH Chapter 9 section 4 The British Take Over India
Focus Question: How did Britain gradually extend its control over most of India despite opposition?
I. East India Company and Rebellion
A. Exploiting Indian Diversity
1. The British were able to conquer India by exploiting its diversity.
2. India was home to many people and cultures but it had a weak government.
3. They were unable to unite against the newcomers.
(Question: Why were the British able to conquer India’s vast territory?)
B. Implementing British Policies
1. The East India Company’s main goal in India was to make money.
2. The company did work to improve roads, preserve peace, and reduce banditry.
3. British officials introduced Western education and legal procedures in the early 1800s.
4. Missionaries tried to convert Indians to Christianity.
5. The British worked to end slavery and the caste system and improve the position of women within the family.
6. One law banned sati, a Hindu custom practiced mainly by the upper classes, which called for the widow to join her husband in death.
C. Growing Discontent due to unpopular moves
1. In the 1850s, the East India Company required sepoys, or Indian soldiers in its service, to serve anywhere, either in India or overseas.
2. Problem: For high-caste Hindus oversea travel was an offence against their religion.
3. Second the East India Company passed a law that allowed Hindu widows to remarry.
Problem: It was seen as a Christian conspiracy to undermine their beliefs.
4. New rifles were issued to the sepoy, in which the troops were told to bite off the tips of cartridges before loading them into the rifles.
5. Problem: the cartridges were greased with animal fat, either from cows which Hindus considered sacred, or from pigs, which were forbidden to Muslims.
(Question: What were some of the growing discontent for the sepoy?)
D. Rebellion and Aftermath
1. The rifle cartridges greased with animal fat were the key cause of the Sepoy Rebellion against the British.
2. The Sepoy Rebellion left a bitter legacy of fear, hatred, and mistrust on both sides.
(Question: what was the key cause of the Sepoy Rebellion against the British?)
II. Impact of British Colonial Rule
A. An Unequal Partnership
1. A British viceroy in India governed in the name of the queen and British officials held the top positions in the civil services and army.
2. British policies were designed to incorporate India into the overall British economy.
3. Problem is that the partnership was unequal.
4. Nomadic herders had to become farmers; farmers had to grow cash crops, which lead to deforestation because of the clearing for farmland.
B. Population Growth and Famine
1. With all the new methods introduced by the British it lead to a rapid population growth.
2. By the late 1800s, terrible famines swept India.
C. Benefits of British Rule
III. Different Views on Culture
A. Indian Attitudes
1. Ram Mohun Roy was a scholar who promoted Indian cultural pride and is often called the founder of Indian nationalism.
2. He agreed with some on the Western ideas
B. Western Attitudes
1. Most British people knew little about Indian achievements and dismissed Indian culture with contempt.
IV. Indian Nationalism Grows
A. Indian National Congress
1. British rule led to schooling in Western ideals of democracy, which led to nationalism.
B. Muslim League
1. In1906, Muslims form the Muslim League to pursue their own goals and separate the Muslim state.
(Question: Who promoted Indian cultural pride? What led to Nationalism in Indian?)