In what ways did the energy revolutions of the nineteenth century facilitate military expansion and transform the nature of imperial rule? In what ways did those same revolutions provide opportunities to challenge imperial rule?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary but correct responses should include: Militarization and industrialization were linked to the mid-century fat crisis: armies and industries needed intense concentrations of energy for sustenance and transport and lubricants for munitions and machines.War stimulated energy-delivering industries. Wartime logistics generated innovations in production, supply, and communications. Coal-generated energy and steam power fuel industrialized production of weapons and ammunition. Largest industrial nations (Europe, United States) developed massive armies and navies were equipped with weapons and ammunition that were more deadly. Transportation technology such as railroads and steamships were used to transport troops and supplies rapidly across oceans and continents. This allowed tighter control of homelands and colonies through technologically advanced military forces. Electrical technology brought the first practical application of communication used by the military in telegraphy to coordinate troop movements. This gave countries the ability to maintain control of large-scale armies on battlefields or across continents and oceans via telegraph messages.