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Monroe Doctrine reflects special US interests in Americas
Although most of the colonies in Latin America had gained their independence by the 1800s, many still feared that European nations would attempt to conquer the new republics again. The United States was a new nation as well and also feared the possibility that it would be reconquered. To prevent this from happening, President James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine. Its primary goal was to ensure that the American and European nations would remain entirely separate. -
China and Britain clash in the Opium War
China was very self-sufficient and had little interest in trading with the West. However, British merchants smuggled opium into the country for nonmedical use, discovering the one product that China would buy in large amounts from the West. By 1835, as many as 12 million Chinese were addicted. The Qing emperor wrote a letter to Queen Victoria about the problem, but the British refused to stop trading the drug. This led to the Opium War, where China was defeated by the British. -
Commodore Perry enters Tokyo Harbor
Like the Chinese, the Japan chose to isolate theselves from other nations. Then, in 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry sailed four of his steam-powered ships into what is now Tokyo Harbor. The ships and cannons intimidated the Japanese, and they accepted Perry as well as the letter that he had brought with him from US President Fillmore, asking for free trade between the US and Japan. Perry threatened that he would return in a year with a larger fleet to receive their reply (the Treaty of Kanagawa). -
US wins Spanish American War
The United States objected to how harshly Spain treated Cuba, one of its last colonies in the Americas. In 1898, The US joined the Cuban war for independence (the Spanish American War). Cuba gained its independence in 1901, but the United States established a military government there and continued to exert control over the new nation. This caused resentment among many Cubans, which resulted in a split between these two nations. -
Mexican Revolution begins
Porfirio Diaz ruled over Mexico as a dictator from the mid 1870s to 1911. Although the country saw progress under his rule, the wealthy became wealthier while the poor continued to grow poorer. He used violence against those who did not support him, and offered land or power to anyone who did. In 1910, Francisco Madero, a leader of a powerful political party opposed to Diaz, announced his candidacy for president. Diaz had Madero arrested and exiled, and Madero called for an armed revolution. -
Panama Canals opens
The US had been thinking about constructing a canal that would cut the travel time between its east and west coasts in half. President Roosevelt offered Colombia $10 million for the right to build a canal. Colombia demanded for more money, so the US encouraged and helped with a revolution in Panama, which independence from Colombia and granted the US a ten mile-wide zone to build a canal. Despite the thousands of deaths that occurred during its construction, the Panama Canal opened in 1914.
