Key Historical Concepts: Imperialism, Industry, and Art

Historical and Economic Definitions

• Armed Peace: A state of tension where countries maintain prepared military forces but are not in active war.
• Taylorism: A system of scientific work organization aimed at increasing efficiency through task division and control.
• Fordism: A mass production model based on standardization and the assembly line to manufacture goods quickly.
• Combustion Engine: A machine that generates motion by burning fuel to transform chemical energy into mechanical energy.
• Imperialism: A policy of expansion and domination by one country over other territories for economic and political control.
• Metropole: A central city or country that politically controls a colony or dependent territory.
• Protectorate: A territory with limited autonomy under the protection and political control of a foreign power.
• Concession: An agreement that allows a foreign company to exploit resources or engage in trade within another territory.
• Colony: A territory dominated and directly administered by a foreign power.
• Berlin Conference: A meeting in 1884–85 to divide Africa among European powers without consulting its inhabitants.
• Chicago School: An economic school of thought that promotes free markets and minimal state intervention.

Culture, Architecture, and Art

Architectural Developments

• Construction of new utilitarian buildings such as train stations, bridges, factories, and markets.
• The Chicago School was responsible for the construction of the first skyscrapers.
• Art Nouveau stood out in Europe, using new materials to seek beauty through asymmetrical and undulating shapes inspired by nature.

Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

• Impressionism: Emerged around 1870, with painters capturing the "impression" or instantaneous effects of atmosphere and light outdoors, using loose brushstrokes and pure colors. Key painters included Monet, Renoir, and Degas.
• Post-Impressionism: Adopted new approaches, experimenting with objects, colors, and objectivity. Painters such as Cézanne, Gauguin, and Van Gogh stood out.

The First Avant-Garde Movements

• Fauvism: Initiated by Matisse, emphasized drawing and applied color flat and independently of reality.
• Expressionism: A modernist movement originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. It sought to express feelings, using colors arbitrarily and representing introverted figures and tragic themes. Key painters included Munch and Kirchner. It presents the world from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect.
• Cubism: Consisted of decomposing objects into geometric shapes, represented with various points of view. Picasso was a key representative.