Escalating Tensions, 1880 - 1914

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Western CivilizationChapter 24

• Escalating Tensions, 1880 - 1914

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• By 1885, only 1/9 of the worlds land surface had
  been surveyed
• By 1900, each of the continents had been explored
  and measured
• Efforts were made to map territories and to
  standardize time
• However, there were disagreements about the need
  for standardization, especially with time zones
• Germany had 5 time zones in 1891
• The U.S. had over 200
• They couldnt agree on the placement of the prime
  meridian. Countries were too busy expanding
  boundaries to fix them for a map.

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World Time Zones
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The New Imperialism

• Nations had always taken over other territory
• This was imperialism
• After 1870, acquisition of territories was on an
  intense scale, helped by all the new inventions
  in transportation, communication, and weapons
• Europe began concentrating on taking over
  undeveloped lands
• A competition for colonies developed among
  European nations, especially among England,
  France, and Germany

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The Technology of Empire

• Steam, iron, and electricity were all-important
  to Europes imperial expansion in the 19th
  century
• Steam was used in factories and in transportation
• They could then transport more people and cargo
  more quickly
• Iron ships were more durable, lighter,
  water-tight, faster, and more fuel-efficient than
  wooden vessels
• Iron steamships allowed Europeans to maintain
  closer contact with their colonies
• Europeans could also go upriver in the new ships
  helping them learn about the terrain, natural
  beauty, and resources

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• Technology allowed for the deepening of harbors
  and the creation of canals
• Two major ones were built the Suez Canal and
  the Panama Canal
• Suez Canal was built by the French and bought by
  the British and was completed in 1869 opening a
  new trade route
• Panama Canal was started by the French and
  finished by the U.S., connecting the Atlantic to
  the Pacific
• Both canals shortened the distance of travel and
  made a shortcut

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Suez Canal
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• The electric telegraph had revolutionized global
  communication by the end of the 19th century
• This enabled colonizing nations to keep in closer
  contact with their colonies
• There were new medicines allowing colonizers to
  venture inland in new territories
• Quinine comes from the cinchona tree bark and
  combats malaria

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Panama Canal
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Panama Canal
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• New types of firearms helped Europeans take over
  areas defended only by spears and blow guns
• There were machine guns and new rifles
• So the new technology allowed for the new
  imperialism and new European control worldwide
• Example the sun never sets on the British Empire

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Motives for Empire

• Economic reasons
• New raw materials for industry
• New markets for manufactured goods
• Fortunes could be made or lost, depending on the
  risk
• Europeans had the desire to expand investment
  opportunities
• Not all new territories proved profitable
• The purpose of colonies was to enrich the Mother
  Country

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• Geopolitical reasons
• Countries were encouraged to expand even into
  territories that probably werent economically
  valuable
• These areas could be used as fueling bases, a way
  to protect sea routes, or could offer a presence
  to help control an area
• This caused an increase in naval budgets and the
  size of naval fleets
• Britain had the largest navy, but were challenged
  by the U.S., Germany, and Japan to some extent by
  1900
• Each wished to dominate the seas

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• Armies also grew to protect the newly acquired
  lands and the people in them traders,
  missionaries, and government officials
• Between 1890 and 1914, military expenditures of
  Western nations grew greatly
• There was a buildup of new weapons, armies, and
  navies
• This also increased the influence of the military
  and naval leaders in foreign policy decisions

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• Nationalism
• National prestige and national pride were at
  stake
• Keeping up with the other great nations of
  Europe so your nation could be great also
• A Great Nation is one with an industrialized
  economy and colonies
• This idea of prestige was helped along,
  popularized by newspapers
• Newspapers capitalized on national sentiment
• They used the imperialist passion of their people
  and their governments to sell papers

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• Newspapers helped shape new public opinion
• This, in turn, helped shape foreign policy
• Newspapers were manipulated by government
  officials to get backing for whatever it was they
  wanted
• The idea of Jingoism emerged, a term phrased by
  J.A. Hobson
• It meant inverted patriotism, where the love of
  ones country is transformed into hatred of
  another country, and into a fierce craving to
  destroy the individuals of that other nation
• Jingoism pressured governments to defend their
  national honor abroad by expanding their
  boundaries to keep up with other nations doing
  the same

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Jingoism
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European Search for Territory and Markets

• Two fundamentally different social structures
  governed life in non-industrialized regions that
  became targets for European imperialism
• In sub-Saharan Africa, tribal societies
  emphasizing communal rule dominated
• In Asia, societies were strictly organized
  hierarchically and under the power of distinct
  ruling elites
• European empire-builders used indirect rule in
  places like India where the ruling elite became
  puppets of the conquerors

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• Tribes, Europeans believed, needed to be
  conquered and rules formally and directly
• All those who were taken over did show some
  resistance but didnt have a chance against the
  new European weapons

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Scramble for Africa

• Europeans controlled only 10 of the African
  continent in the early 19th century
• By 1914, they dominated 90
• Theyd send in traders and missionaries
• Christian missionary activity was central to
  European expansion in Africa in the early 19th
  century
• This increased European knowledge of tribal
  cultures
• They also acquired land within tribal communities
• The need to protect these missionaries encouraged
  European governments to formally colonize African
  territories

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Africa 1900
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• This process increased greatly in the last 25
  years of the 19th century creating that Scramble
  for Africa
• Traders also aided in the colonization process
• They established posts in African regions
• They learned the languages and customs
• They built up a relationship with the people
• The British dominated world trade in the 1800s
  through their world markets, and they were
  expanding into Africa.
• Not to be left out, the Germans established
  market areas in Africa. By 1880s, they had
  annexed Togo, Cameroon, S.W. Africa, and German
  East Africa

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• The formal taking of territories accelerated in
  the early 1880s because one nation wished to get
  a territory before another nation did
• Germany, France, and Britain vied for new
  territories in Central and West Africa
• Conflict arose when all 3 were trying to take the
  Congo
• This resulted in the calling of the Berlin
  Conference in 1884, resulting in the Berlin Act,
  1885
• They set up the game rules for colonizing no
  guns for Africans
• A nation had to occupy territory before it could
  be annexed
• This only seemed to intensify rivalries.

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• There was fierce rivalry concerning the
  headwaters of the Nile River
• This conflict brought French and British forces
  to the brink of war in 1898-1899 at Fashoda with
  French Captain Marchand vs. the British General
  Kitchener
• While they waited for orders about whether to
  fight each other or not, they would meet for
  evening cocktails
• There was talk of war in England and France, but
  problems back home in France made the French
  unwilling to get involved in a war and Marchand
  withdrew

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• When the scramble for territory was over around
  1914, the French claimed to have the most
  extensive African territories
• However, Britain and Germany werent far behind

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Imperialism in Asia

• India was the heart, the center, the jewel in
  the crown for Britain
• It was of great importance because of its many
  riches
• Queen Victoria had herself crowned the Empress of
  India and appointed a viceroy to represent her
  there
• India was the center of Britains foreign policy
• British trading in Indias markets began in the
  17th century
• Formal British rule dated only from 1861 after
  the Sepoy Mutiny
• British East Africa Company proved ineffective at
  ruling for the British government, so Britain
  began its formal rule of India

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• Britain used, utilized much of the existing
  hierarchy already established in India indirect
  rule
• They exported Indias goods cotton, salt, opium
• In China, Britain first exchanged Indian cotton
  for tea, but Chinese demand for cotton waned
• So the British began trading Indias opium for
  tea which made a lot of money for the British as
  more Chinese became addicted
• This angered Chinese officials
• In 1729, 200 chests of opium were sold to the
  Chinese
• In 1838, that rose to 40,000 chests

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• Opium became Britains most important crop
• In 1839, the Chinese government destroyed British
  opium in the port of Canton and touched off the
  Opium War, 1839-1842
• The British blocked Chinese ports, took over the
  port of Canton, and occupied Shanghai - all to
  protect their trade in opium
• The war ended with the Treaty of Nanking
• Unequal treaty system set up
• Extraterritoriality
• Resumption of opium trade
• Special privileges for the British
• China had to pay for the war

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Opium War
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• This treaty showed British arrogance toward the
  Chinese culture and their belief in white
  superiority
• Extraterritoriality meant the British in China
  did not have to follow Chinese laws they only
  had to follow British laws in China
• Other European nations made incursions Germans,
  French, and Japanese
• All had spheres of influence their own chunks of
  China
• By 1912, over 50 major Chinese ports were in the
  hands of foreigners

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• In 1900 the Chinese resentment of foreigners and
  Christian missionaries resulted in the Boxer
  Rebellion
• Named for a martial arts group
• They killed foreigners
• They took over consulates
• 16,000 well-armed Japanese, British, Russian, and
  American forces fought back to save their
  privileges in China
• They showed no mercy towards the Chinese
• They sacked Beijing
• Europeans then resumed operating through their
  spheres of influence

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Boxer Rebellion Boxer Prisoners
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• Europeans had interests in other parts of Asia
• British took Hong Kong in 1842, Burma in 1886,
  and Kowloon in 1898
• Russians took the Maritime Provinces in 1858
• French moved in on Indochina in 1884 taking Annam
  (Vietnam), Tonkin, Cambodia, and Laos
• European culture was spread through the
  establishment of colonies.
• Many from colonies like India went to England for
  schooling and some stayed.

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• And Europeans moved to other places as well
• Between 16th and 18th centuries, 6 million left
  Europe
• Between 1870 and 1914, 55 million Europeans left
  for the Americas, Australia,, and New Zealand
• Emigration scattered people and spread cultures
  overseas, putting a European stamp on people and
  societies abroad influencing their economies,
  art, architecture, philosophy, and politics

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19th Century Philosophies

• 1850 the idea of Liberalism was strong in
  Europe
• By 1900 there were other isms to challenge
  liberalism
• Liberalism
• generally for the expansion of civil rights
• for free trade
• upheld the right to private property
• for power in the hand of men
• wanted to ensure worker safety
• for public welfare

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• Socialism
• Marxist and non-Marxist wanted to gain support of
  workers by supporting their causes
• Some were in favor of reaching objectives
  gradually and peacefully
• Others wanted the violent overthrow of capitalist
  systems
• Different countries started their own Socialist
  parties
• Britain Independent Labour Party (1893)
• More popular was the Fabian Society (1884) that
  criticized Capitalism and believed factories
  should be owned by the state for the good of all.

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• Germany began a Socialist Party in 1875
• One German Socialist leader was Edward Bernstein
  who believed that through gradual democratic
  means, socialism could come about
• Another German Socialist leader was Karl Kautsky
  who believed only revolution would bring about
  socialism

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• Anarchism
• Said humans could be free only when the state had
  been abolished
• People of a stateless society would automatically
  join together in communes and share what they had
• Some felt they could educate people about their
  goal and, it would naturally be achieved
• Others were for a more violent approach like
  attacking existing authority Example- Michael
  Bakunin of Russia fought against the Tsar and
  other authoritarian governments in Europe in
  1848, feeling all governments were oppressive

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• From 1894 1901, anarchists killed the president
  of France, the prime minister of Spain, the
  empress of Austria, the king of Italy, and the
  president of the U.S., William McKinley
• These assassinations made people view anarchism
  as violent and not improving peoples lives
• Many workers were more for unionization and
  direct action
• This was called Syndicalism
• Workers should join unions
• Workers should call general strikes
• This would cripple capitalism
• Popular in Mediterranean area

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• Opponents to Liberalism and Socialism were the
  Conservatives on the political right
• They were for
• keeping the existing order
• nationalism
• racist ideologies that were common in the 19th
  century Ethnocentrism
• They tried to back up their racism with twisted
  science.

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• Anti-Semitism was the result of this racist
  thinking
• Originally, hatred of the Jews was based in
  religion
• Later, pseudo-scientists said Jewish blood was
  different and inferior
• They were unworthy of the same rights others
  shared in a democratic society
• Jobs were restricted
• Neighborhoods were separate
• Emancipation of the Jews began with the French
  Revolution and then spread to Germany and Austria
  by the 1860s.

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• New opportunities came to Jews
• Some did not like this new equal standing in
  society
• Resentment followed saying Jews were dangerous
  and wicked
• All misfortunes were blamed on them
• Those professing anti-Semitism were elected to
  political offices
• Russia organized pogroms or massacres and those
  who werent killed left Russia in 1905
• 2 million left mostly for the U.S.

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Pogrom
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• Many Jews started to believe they would only be
  safe in their own nation
• Zionist Movement was started by an Austrian
  Jewish journalist, Theodor Herzl
• advocated establishing a Jewish state in Israel
• Israel was finally created in 1948

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• 1880s was characterized by irrationality and
  uncertainty with the spotlight on instinct and
  emotion rather than on rational thinking
• Friedrich Nietzsche
• said reason could not solve human problems
• said God is dead
• without a God, we are free to live as we please

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• Sigmund Freud
• founded psychoanalysis as a way to treat psychic
  disorders
• explored the unconscious
• felt people are guided by unconscious feelings
  and emotions
• there are unresolved inner conflicts
• said irrational forces play a significant role in
  human behavior

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• Gaetano Mosca
• political scientist
• said an elite minority rules over the majority
• desire to dominate is part of human nature
• surface appearances are deceptive
• elite minority manipulates the people

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The Arts

• Avante Garde
• French for forefront
• broke societys taboos and conventions
• created new forms of expression
• the art of this era did not have a clear message
• they wanted to show mood, nightmares, violence,
  and horror

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Questioning

• There was a decline in church attendance and in
  the practice of Christian rituals
• Some became attracted to Buddhism and Hinduism
• Scientists questioned long-held beliefs
• 1905, Albert Einstein proposed his theory of
  relativity that changed fundamental ideas about
  time and space

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End of 19th Century

• By the end of the 19th century, political systems
  of Europe were shaky
• In democracies, more were voting and that changed
  who was in power
• Traditional members of Parliament had to be
  responsive to the new electorate or get booted
  out
• Ireland
• was a problem for England
• wanted British out
• finally got Home Rule in 1914 but World War I
  broke out and it was up in the air again

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• England
• 1906 brought in a Liberal government that worked
  toward social reform
• had old-age pension funded by a tax on landed
  wealth
• liberal government had some difficulties
• brawling in Parliament

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Womens Suffrage Movement

• At end of 19th century, women began organizing to
  get the right to vote
• Had little success at first
• In 1906 they became more militant
• Led by Emmeline Pankhurst and her 2 daughters

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• They would disturb Parliament
• They threatened to kill the Prime Minister and
  the King
• They went on hunger strikes and were force fed
• They were attacked by male thugs
• There was widespread force shown in many areas of
  life

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• France
• 1870, had their Third Republic that was unstable
• There was a series of crises and scandals
• They had no strong leadership
• Example The Dreyfus Affair
• Alfred Dreyfus was a captain in the French army
  in 1894 and was accused of giving French secrets
  to Germany
• There was no proof, but he was a Jew and an
  officer, hence untrustworthy
• They forged evidence against him
• He was sentenced to life in prison on Devils
  Island off the coast of South America

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• 1896, the French found that Major Esterhazy was
  the real spy, but they would not reopen the case
  because that would mean the French army was
  mistaken
• 1897, the French public found out and the affair
  became controversial
• 1899, there was a retrial and Dreyfus was still
  found guilty, but he could be pardoned
• 1906, Dreyfus was exonerated, and he ended his
  days as a general
• People were angry at the Catholic Church for
  having backed the courts against Dreyfus
• Some stormed the churches

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• There were labor strikes
• Traditional life in France seemed to be breaking
  down

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• Italy
• Had parliamentary system
• Unification came in 1860, but true unity was
  elusive
• The vote was given to those who owned property,
  about 3 of the population
• Government tried to bring reforms to improve the
  general standard of living, but they werent
  successful
• There was rapid population growth, from 25 to 35
  million 1870-1890
• Country had limited moneys
• There were wealthy landowners who owned
  latifundia or plantations

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• Most people were poor and landless
• Industry paid low wages
• There were protests
• Protests were put down brutally by the government
• Autocracies in Europe were in crisis. Germany,
  Austria-Hungary, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire
  faced grave problems by the end of the 19th
  century.
• Demands for democracy were growing and the
  opponents used any means they could, including
  violence, to put down protests. Violence was met
  with violence

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• Germany
• Had a parliament that answered to the Kaiser, not
  the people
• Kaiser Wilhelm II (r. 1888-1918) wanted to rule
  as well as reign but wasnt fit to govern
• Wilhelm II had a crippled hand but
  overcompensated for his deformity by being
  forceful and brutal
• He had a poor self-image
• He wanted Germany to be a world power with
  colonies, a navy, and world influence
  (Weltpolitik world politics)
• Other European countries saw Germany as
  aggressive
• Weltpolitik was supported at home because it
  created jobs

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Kaiser Wilhelm II
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• There was also opposition to the Kaisers
  autocratic way of governing, and he was seen as
  irresponsible
• 1912, 1/3 of Germans voted for a socialist
  candidate dedicated to the downfall of capitalism
  and autocracy
• 1912, 1 million workers went on strike, and more
  and more Germans pressed for Parliamentary
  government
• Kaiser Wilhelm II couldnt take criticism and
  wanted the army to crush any opposition to him
• Things were coming to a head

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• Austria-Hungary
• Plagued by crises
• Was a multi-national empire with many ethnic
  groups
• Ruled by Franz Joseph (r. 1848-1916)
• Hard to control the empire, with Hungarian and
  Austrian sides

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• Habsburg government introduced universal male
  suffrage in 1907
• This seemed to make the empire more difficult to
  govern
• There were 30 ethnically based political parties
  in Parliament
• Debates became explosive
• 1914, the emperor dissolved the Parliament
• The empire was falling apart

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• Ottoman Empire
• Seen as the bridge between Europe and Asia
• Was also falling apart by 1914
• Had been on a downward slide since 1700
• There were secessionist movements from within
• There was European aggression from without
• Empire ruled by Sultan Abdul Hamid II (r.
  1876-1908)
• He was a dictator called the Great Assassin
• He brutally put down any uprisings
• Social unrest continued
• They were nearing bankruptcy

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• There were different ethnic, linguistic, and
  religious groups within that wanted self-rule,
  independence
• Abdul Hamid was overthrown in a coup in July 1908
  by young, Western-educated Turks who despised
  one-man rule

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• They set up representative government that tried
  to stop the loss of territory through strong
  central government
• Those in outlying areas like Macedonia, Albania,
  and Armenia did not like this Turkification
  and rebelled
• Many were killed like the Armenians
• Other nations felt this was good time to take
  down this weakened empire
• Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia formed the Balkan
  League and attacked the Ottomans successfully in
  1912
• The empire lost, as a result, most of its
  European possessions

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• Russia
• Attempts were made to industrialize the country
  in the 1860s
• Serfs were freed and given land they later
  discovered they had to pay for
• By giving them land, the Tsar hoped the
  peasants would produce more and he could make
  more money to use for industry
• Universities increased in number as did the
  number of students
• This intelligentsia then worked to bring down the
  Tsar
• Repression increased
• Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in March 1881
  as he was about to sign a decree that might have
  given them a parliament

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Alexander II, Tsar of Russia
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• Alexander III took over for his father

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• Alexander III thought his father had been too
  lenient and upheld his autocracy
• There would be no self rule and no parliament
• He died in 1894 and his son Nicholas II took over
  as Tsar
• He, too, was an autocrat but was not forceful
• Nicholas wanted his people to like him
• He did not know how to delegate duties
• Instability followed
• Life was restricted
• There was not enough food for an increasing
  population
• There was some industry but with bad conditions
  and unrest

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Nicholas II
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• 1898, the Russian Social Democratic Party formed
• 1903, it split into Menshevik and Bolshevik
  factions
• Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Lenin

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• 1904-1905, Russia vs. Japan over control of North
  Korea Japan won
• January 1905- there were demonstrations at one of
  the Tsars palaces where people were asking for
  bread and an 8-hour day the military opened
  fire and massacred the demonstrators
• This was known as Bloody Sunday
• Demonstrations spread
• Tsar Nicholas II promised the people a Duma, a
  parliament, freedom of religion, speech,
  assembly, and association to get his country back
  under his control

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• The Duma never had any power although it met
• There was increased population and famine
• There was a workers strike in 1912 where 725,000
  took part that numbered doubled by 1914
• The authoritarian states in Europe and the
  democratic ones were being challenged by a
  restive public by the start of 1914
• Even though no European nation wanted a war,
  their policies said otherwise

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• By 1914 there were 2 major alliances in Europe
• The Triple Alliance Italy, Germany,
  Austria-Hungary
• The Triple Entente - Great Britain, France,
  Russia
• There were international rivalries, military
  build-up with weapons and ships, imperialism,
  alliances, and nationalism that led to World War
  I
• 4 Main Causes of World War I
• Militarism
• Alliances
• Imperialism
• Nationalism

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• The Trigger
• The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and
  his wife Sophia by Gavrilo Princep of the Black
  Hand on 28 June 1914
• It was an ideal pretext for war against Serbia
  that protected nationalist student groups from
  Austria-Hungary

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The Arrest
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The Great War, The War to End All Wars, World War
I

• 28 June 1914 assassination of Austria-Hungarys
  Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia, in
  Sarajevo, Bosnia by Gavrilo Princip of the Black
  Hand
• 23 July 1914 ultimatum sent from
  Austria-Hungary to Serbia (unreasonable demands
  and a time limit for retribution)
• 28 July 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on
  Serbia ( only with German backing)
• 30 July 1914 Russia declared war on both
  Austria-Hungary and Germany

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• By 4 August 1914 Germany declared war on Russia
  and France and marched through neutral Belgium to
  surprise France
• France declared war on Germany
• Britain declared war on Germany after it had
  violated Belgian neutrality