Transcript Slide 1

EUROPE IN UPHEAVAL,
1850-1914
After the Revolutionary changes/idealism of the early 19th
century, Europe began to follow a more pragmatic
(practical) course…Congress of Vienna…
determined by both Conservative politicians and reformers
to varying degrees, they would play a key role in one
of the period’s more significant developments: the
Rise of the Nation-State
the force behind this was nationalism, especially as it was
harnessed by individual philosophers and politicians
“new” nations would be created, and eventually
the forces that would lead to World War I would be
unleashed
– the nationalism of this period would incorporate not
only territory, population, and military capacity; it would
also include an economic dimension…brought on by
imperialism
FRANCE
No longer a monarchy, but a republic
– but Louis-Napoleon (Bonaparte)
was an autocratic figure whose use
of nationalism threatened this
balance
Louis-Napoleon had emerged as a
compromise figure in the ongoing
dispute between the monarchists
and the republicans
– he served as president (in the
Second Republic) and later took
the title of emperor, ruling as
Napoleon III over the Second
Empire
As president of the 2nd Republic, LouisNapoleon had to contend with being limited to
one 4 year term…
he and the monarchists wanted to extend his
rule, leading to a coup d’etat
–the Assembly was dissolved,
–universal male suffrage was introduced (with
a property qualification),
–leading radicals were arrested, and the army
occupied Paris, killing 200 rioters in the
process…
–Louis then proclaimed himself emperor and
promised to restore democratic rights,
including a series of plebiscites where the
people supported him
– He was able to do this as the
economy was prosperous, with …
– railroad construction
– high employment
– available credit
– government assistance/planning
(seen in the re-design of Paris by
Haussman)
– By the 1860s, discontent was on
the rise, because of political
scandals;
– Napoleon III responded with
democratic reforms (responsible
government, free speech,
unions…)
– that kept his popularity high
Napoleon III did have military
ambitions:
in 1854, he sought to protect
Christians in the Ottoman
Empire, challenging Russia in
the process…
the main thing the Crimean War
did was to presage what future
wars would become…please
checkout the poem I’ve included.
it also showed the influence of
war correspondents and the
need for better medicine…
Florence Nightingale;
and since Russia fared poorly,
France was able to re-establish
itself as the center of European
diplomacy.
ITALY
one of the “new” nations
united in this period – it
combined idealistic
nationalism, population,
uprising, realpolitik and
took place in spite of
opposition from the
pope and Austria
this movement, known
as the Risorgimento,
had been around since
the early 19th c. and
had been kept alive by
secret societies known
as carbonari
– their early uprisings failed,
leading to the rise of
Giuseppe Mazzini – he
founded a Young Italy
society and dreamed of a
unified Italy based on
nationalism and liberalism
after a series of uprisings,
Mazzini est. himself as pres. of
a republic in Rome: when
Austrian and Fr. troops tried to
intervene to restore the pope,
Giuseppe Garibaldi and his
Red Shirts tried to defend the
city (they had to surrender in
1849)
the more seasoned politician
Camillo Cavour stepped forward,
using realpolitik to secure Italy
unity – he cheated in elections,
made and unmade foreign alliances,
and put It. unification on the agenda
of the 1856 Paris Peace Conference
(he was partially successful)
at this point, Garibaldi and his
remaining 1000 Red Shirts (i mille)
captured Sicily and s. Italy, meeting
w/ Cavour in 1861 to secure the
Kingdom of Italy under King VictorEmmanuel II (constitutional
monarchy) in 1866 Venice was
added (It. supported Pr. in its war w/
Aus.) and in 1870 Rome was added
when Nap. III removed Fr. troops to
fight Pr….Rome then became the
capital
GERMANY
Romanticism + Realpolitik
Liberal nationalists had worked for a unified Germany since 1815
The nation states under Prussia created an economic union in
1834 – the Zollverein (customs union) – led to economic
independence, and railroad expansion; the belief that a unified state
was needed began to be recognized
The debate was
between the “Greater
Germans” (who wanted
Austria included) and
the “Lesser Germans”
(who were pro-Prussia)
at this point, Count Otto
von Bismarck
established himself as
the leading Prussian
politician – known for
his use of realpolitik in
achieving his political
goals (“blood and iron”)
– All Bismarck needed was an
excuse: Denmark gave him one
when it put a claim on the
regions of Schleswig and
Holstein – both Austria and
Prussia quickly defeated them
(and the Prussian army, armed
by Krupp, established its
reputation)
– He then proposed the re-org. of
the German Confederation based
on universal suffrage; he knew
this would be rejected in Austria
and that it would probably lead
to war between Prussia and
Austria.
The Prussian army, with its
weaponry and led by Gen.
Helmuth von Moltke, won
the Austria-Prussian. War in
7 wks….Bismarck.
negotiated a lenient peace
and created a new German
Confederation under
Prussian leadership
(Prussian Kaiser Wilhelm I
acted as king)
Other southern German
states, such as Bavaria,
signed a military alliance
with Prussia and went on to
develop closer economic
and political relations
(Austria was pushed out)
The main threat to emerging
German unity was France,
where Nap. III had won a key
plebiscite in 1870
– this would lead to the FrancoPrussian War
it began as a diplomatic
dispute over succession to
the Spanish throne (Prussia
and Spain still had family
connections)…the France
feared being surrounded
and newspapers in both
Prussia and France
inflamed nationalist
emotions
– Prussia did remove
their candidate to the
Spanish throne, but the
French made additional
demands (that Prussia
wouldn’t try this again),
which Bismarck edited
and released to the
press…with France
“honour” sullied, Nap.
III declared war in 1870
– Prussia won within
months…1/2 million
troops were moved to
the front by train and at
Sedan they captured
100,000 French troops
and Napoleon III…
– this, combined with the
brutal siege of Paris, led
to the collapse of the
2nd Empire
In the 1871 Treaty of
Frankfurt, France
ceded AlsaceLorraine, paid
reparations, and
dealt with Prussian
occupation for 3
years.
HUMILIATING!!!
LATE VICTORIAN BRITAIN, 1867-1914:
DISRAELI AND GLADSTONE
democracy has been
entrenched by this time, and
the extension of the franchise
was an accepted part of the
process
– in 1867, the 2nd Reform Bill
was passed by the
government of the
Conservative (Tory)
Benjamin Disraeli
with this, working class
male householders were
given suffrage
– in 1884, a 3rd Reform Bill
went through under the
Liberal William Gladstone,
extending the franchise to
male rural householders
late 19th century Great Britain still
saw the same ongoing conflict
though:
reform vs. tradition
Disraeli tried to profit from this by
creating a new conservatism that
appealed to established
landowners and the working class
– emphasized tradition,
patriotism, and reform,
working with Queen Victoria,
who emerged as key symbol
of his vision
– Disraeli also emerged as a
leading imperialist:
– he made Victoria the Empress
of India
– and bought shares in the Suez
Canal,
– and fought colonial wars in
Asia and Africa
– At home, his social reforms
recognized unions, public
housing, consumer
protection, workplace safety…
Gladstone and the Liberals followed “Peace,
Retrenchment, and Reform”, favoring free trade
and fewer colonial wars/adventures
– They also favoured a laissez faire approach
and the eradication of outdated laws
– In this respect, they reformed the army, civil
service, and educational institutions, doing
away with patronage
– after ongoing Balkan conflict saw the
slaughter of 1000’s of Christians by the
Ottomans (and Disraeli backed the Ottomans
because of his concerns over Russia),
Gladstone was back in office
Gladstone was not successful in his own foreign
policy initiatives – conflict with the Boers in South
Africa
and the Irish showed that peace was elusive; with
his introduction of the Irish Home Rule Bill he split
his own party
with these developments and those in other
European nations, a new type of rivalry had
emerged, based on industrialization, imperialism
and economic competition
nationalism in the Balkans…where is this… was
especially complex because of the number of ethnocultural groups in close proximity;
they were stuck in the collapsing Ottoman and
Austro-Hungarian Empires, and the Balkan Wars of
1912-13 only inflamed emotions
the “spark” that ignited World War One
would thus occur in this region, creating
the total war that would transform the
20th century
Germany and G.B. emerged as the key
powers in this period often called “The
Road to War” – both identified their
dominance as a natural outcome of
earlier history:
the difference was that in Germany the
old aristocracy retained its influence
without much trouble, while in G.B. the
dispute between the landed interests
and the people led to constitutional
crises and reforms
SOCIALISM
socialism had appeal for the growing trade
union movement. as well as those who
gravitated to Marx
– several attempts at real socialist organization
had been made and had not succeeded
– subsequent attempts took a different approach:
– gradualism replaced revolution for many
socialists
this approach came to be known as revisionism, and it
divided the socialist World
even so, Social Democratic parties did begin to
appear and had success in Germany and France.
– in G.B. the Labour Party arose during this period to
represent the working class
– from its inception, the Labour Party was divided
between the trade unionists and intellectuals ( the
Fabians)
the entrenchment of socialist
ideals had created a sense of
crisis in Europe – it was more
pronounced in the repressive
conditions of Eastern Europe
– Russia in 1905 saw the beginning
of profound change as revolution
began to grip the country (during
the time of Czar Nicholas II,
1894-1917)
– Russia was in the midst of an
identity crisis:
– czarist repression +
industrialization (much of which
was financed by foreign capital; it
created the Russian working class
and the demand for revolutionary
change)
The principal Marxist Party,
and the Social Democratic
Party, had been exiled to
Switzerland – they were
caught in the revisionist
debate along with other
Euro. Socialists
Vladimir Lenin authored
What Is to Be Done?,
defending the Marxist
concept of revolution and
advancing the ideal of a
vanguard
– the majority agreed with him =
Bolsheviks (while the minority
were called the Mensheviks)
– as events in Russia
deteriorated (economic
slump, defeat in the 1904-5
Russo-Japanese War), a
real revolution unfolded
the spark was Bloody
Sunday, when the
czar’s troops opened
fire on peaceful
demonstrators - this
led to crises across
Russia, leading
Nicholas II to create the
Duma in an effort to
reach a settlement
the Duma’s powers
were limited and the
radicals and
conservatives were at
odds over the pace and
direction of reform:
Nicholas continued as
an autocrat