DBQ

Throughout the late 19th century the development of railroads prominently improved civilian
lifestyle. Railroads were massively implemented and used throughout the world following James
Watt’s discovery of the steam engine. Railroads positively contributed to the ability to build an
afro-Eurasian empire between 1860 and 1918. Such is exemplified through the perceived future
benefits of implementing railroads(2,3,5), the increasing demand of the citizens(6&7) and the
geographical advantage it creates (4& outside).

The first way in which railroads positively contribute to the development of empire-building is
through the beloved future benefits of implementing railroads. The Qing dynasty was the final
Chinese dynasty before the massive Taiping rebellion ending a long era of dynastic rule. A Qing
Dynasty official writes- just like the Great Wall of China, at the time it was perceived to be a
disaster but “later generations relied” on it [doc 2]. Shen Boazhen, the official that wrote this,
exemplifies how though seeming improbable at first, the creation of railroads would prove to be
better and more substantial for the people, similar to the Great Wall of china. The railroads will
be more beneficial for “poor people'' and “foreigners” drastically improving the lives of those
who lived in the Qing empire. Furthermore, another last of its kind, the Ottoman Empire was
ruled over by a Sultan who had primary control of the government. A 1893 government report
touching on building a railway from Damascus to Mecca expressed: unless there is a more
prominent way to travel to Mecca, the coast of Arabia may fall to those who wish to take over
the Sultan.[doc 3] This railway “might” prevent a future invasion or overthrow of the Ottoman
Empire. This was one of the many beloved benefits along with “showing power of the Caliph”.
This would have provided the government with more stability in the eyes of the people and more
support from their community, leading to a better run empire. Along with these, Sir Henry
Norman, an English politician discussing the trans—Siberian Railroad claims that: the
Trans-Siberian Russian railroad will hold equal importance to the Great Wall of China. It will
consolidate Russian influence to an extent “undreamed of”.[doc 5] Sir Norman believes so
greatly in the positive benefits of a railroad that hasn’t even been created yet. He believes this
railroad will single-handedly lead to “domination” by the Russian people, a domination of such
that would substantially grow their empire.

The second way railroads positively contribute to the development of empire building is through
the way it supports the increasing demands of the citizens. In 1904 in Dakar west Africa the
colonial administrative council met with Ernest Roume, governor of French West Africa. He
stated: a perfected means of traveling will make up for the lack of natural means of
communicating that has caused this country to go through “poverty and barbarism” amongst the
people[doc 6]. The governor explains how this railroad would drastically improve the lives of the
west-African citizens and help remove them from poverty. Better lives for the people means a
better functioning empire. Secondly, the British ruled over India throughout the early 20th
century. Despite being located extremely far away, they were still able to essentially rule over
India through the means of colonial style. Lieutenant-colonel Gardiner, a British army officer
stated- the effects of our railroads have brought people who were once essentially unacquainted
nationalities to mold India into a “unified and loyal people”[doc 7]. The Indian railways unified
the people under the British ruled empire. This allowed for Britain to maintain their Indian
empire while being located so far away.

Finally, railroads created immense geographical advantages for the empires which built them. As
shown in Document 4; the British withhold the most territory and are the only empire with
officially completed railroads. This exemplifies how the railroads provided a geographical
advantage allowing the British empire to maintain and rule the most territory. Regardless of the
intentions of the proposed railway, the British being the only ones with completed railroads and
possessing the most territory contributes to proving how railroads provided a geographical
advantage. Another way in which this is shown is through the decline in diseases after the
implementation of railroads. Cases of diseases like Malaria steadily declined after the increase in
railroads due to the ability to travel easier. This enhanced transportation allowed for easier lives
of the soldiers within the colonies of the massive European empires.

Overall Railroads positively contributed to the ability to build an afro-Eurasian empire between
1860 and 1918. Such is exemplified through the perceived future benefits of implementing
railroads(2,3,5), the increasing demand of the citizens(6&7) and the geographical advantage it
creates (4& outside). Though all of these empires did not necessarily last much longer after the
early 20th century, their development and implementation of railroads undoubtedly contrived
successfully to their reign.