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Monroe Doctorine Reflects Special US Interests in Latin America
James Monroe establishes the Monroe Doctrine, which prohibits European powers from colonizing in Latin America. This symbolized the US’s grab for power in Latin America. -
China and Britain clash in the Opium War
After Britain refused to stop importing opium into China, China declared war against Britain. Due to the fact that China had not industrialized and it was primarily fought at sea, The british steam powered navy decimated the Chinese junks. As a result of the war, Britain gained trading rights, extraterritorial rights, and a lease on Hong Kong for 99 years. -
Commodore Perry Enters Tokyo Harbor
An American commodore, Perry, enters the Tokyo harbor with 3 steamships, technology unknown to the Japanese, and threatens the Japanese with more ships if the Japanese don’t give the US extraterritorial rights and trading privileges in Japan. As a result of the Harsh awakening that the world outside had surpassed them, Japan instigated a massive industrialization project and soon became one of the leading powers in the world. -
US wins Spanish American War
The US defeats Spanish in a primarily naval war and gains control of many of Spain's territories. After the Maine, a US steam ship, blew up in Cuba, the news companies, such as Hearst and Pulitzer, blamed it on the Spanish and created an incident to justify the US going to war. -
Mexican Revolution Begins
Francisco Madero, a rich liberal, along with war heroes Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata, wage a rebellion against Porfirio Diaz, a longtime dictator who he ran against in an election and defeated, only to be kicked out by Diaz before inauguration. He eventually kicked out Madero, but became a dictator himself. -
Panama Canal Opens
The Panama Canal, a massive building project costing $380,000,000, is completed. The French initially started the project, however they went bankrupt and the construction was passed to the US. The US initially gave columbia $10,000,000 for construction, however when Columbia wanted to renegotiate terms, the US sparked a revolution in Columbia so they could keep the terms of their agreement.
