concession - A privilege granted by a government to another government, private company, or individual. “…Japan, Germany, and Russia all extorted concessions from the anemic Chinese Empire.”

nation-state - The modern form of political organization in which the government coincides exactly with a single national territory and population having a distinctive culture, language, history, and so on. “If America was to survive in the competition of modern nation-states, perhaps it, too, would have to become an imperial power.”

reciprocity - An exchange of equal privileges between two governments. “America’s grip was further tightened in 1875 by a commercial reciprocity agreement….”

scorched-earth policy - The policy of burning and destroying all the property in a given area so as to deny it to an enemy. “…the insurgents now adopted a scorched-earth policy.”

reconcentration - The policy of forcibly removing a population to confined areas in order to deny support to enemy forces. “He undertook to crush the rebellion by herding many civilians into barbed-wire reconcentration camps.”

jingoist - Aggressively patriotic and warlike. “…Cleveland–an antijingoist and anti-imperialist    –refused to budge.”

atrocity - A specific act of extreme cruelty. “Where atrocity stories did not exist, they were invented.”

proviso - An article or cause in a statute, treaty, or contract establishing a particular stipulation or condition affecting the whole document. “This proviso proclaimed…that when the United States had overthrown Spanish misrule, it would give the Cubans their freedom….”

archipelago - A large group of islands within a limited area. “…America needed the archi–pelago….”

hostage - A person or thing forcibly held in order to obtain certain goals or agreements. “Hereafter these distant islands were to be… a kind of indefensible hostage given to Japan.”