Transcript 14.PoliticsOfThe19thCentury

Politics of the 19th Century Part I
(~1800 to 1850)
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Congress of Vienna (1815)
The Revolutions of 1848
Independence in Europe
Struggle for Independence in Latin
America
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Congress of Vienna (1815)
The Congress of Vienna was convened
to reorganize Europe after the defeat of
Napoleon
Legacy of Napoleon:
Unsuccessful attempt to unify Europe
Napoleonic Code: Guaranteed equality
of all citizens before the law (basis of
today’s French legal system)
Growth of Nationalism
• The Congress of Vienna was led by
Clemens von Metternich. Metternich
dominated Austrian politics for more
than 30 years. The revolts in the
Austrian empire caused his
resignation.
• Results of the Congress of Vienna
1. “Turn back the hands of time” to before
the French Revolution in 1789
2. “Balance of power doctrine”
3. Restoration of Monarchs
(Austria, Prussia, France)
3. New political map of Europe: Creation of
the Kingdom of Netherlands. France
was encircled by the Kingdom of
Netherlands, Prussia and Austria
4. New political philosophies (ideologies):
• Conservatism: Favored monarchies,
established churches and aristocracy.
(put Europe back the way it had been
before the French Revolution)
• Liberalism: Favored constitutional
government, freedom of religion, and
individual rights.
• Nationalism: Goal is to establish a
homeland for people with a common
heritage (independence from empires)
• Nationalists and Liberals challenged the
old order which was supported by
conservatives.
5. The terms of the Congress of Vienna led
to widespread discontent in Europe.
People all over Europe were enthusiastic
about ideas of independence for
themselves and for their countries.
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The Revolutions of 1848
As liberalism & nationalism grew stronger
revolution spread across Europe.
In 1848 all of the major European nations,
except for Britain and Russia, experienced
explosions of revolutionary violence.
These revolutions failed to create lasting
democratic governments.
Unsuccessful revolutions of 1848
increased nationalistic tensions.
• In contrast to continental Europe, Great
Britain moved toward democratic reform in
the 19th Century.
• The House of Commons (legislative
branch) increased its power and its
membership became more representative
of the general population (no women,
however)
• The British made slavery illegal in the
British Empire.
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Struggle for Independence in Europe:
Serbia gained autonomy within the
Ottoman Empire in the early 1800s.
Greece gained full independence from
the Ottoman Empire in 1821.
Belgium gained independence from
Holland. (1830)
Struggle for Independence in Latin America:
• Latin Americans were influenced by the
works of Enlightenment thinkers.
• Discontent in Latin America resulted from
the domination of social and political life
by peninsulares (Spanish born rulers)
• Creoles (European descendant Latin
Americans), like Simone Bolivar, traveled
to Europe during the French Revolution
and were inspired by French ideals.
• Napoleon’s invasion of Spain led Latin
Americans to view Spain as weak and to
demand independence.
• Independence came to French, Spanish
and Portuguese colonies in Latin America.
• Toussaint L’ Ouverture: Defeated
Napoleon and helped Haiti win
independence from France (1804).
• Haiti became the only nonslave nation in
the Western Hemisphere)
• Simon Bolivar: After a long independence
struggle against Spain, Bolivar organized
the Republic of Venezuela and wrote the
constitution of Bolivia.
Politics of the 19th Century Part II
(~1800 to 1900)
Imperialism
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Imperialism in the 19th Century
Vocabulary
Cash Crop: A crop grown to sell on the
world market (Cotton, opium)
Deforestation: Massive amount of cutting
of trees to creating new farmlands (India)
Extraterritoriality: The right of foreigners
to live under their own lands and to be
tried in their own courts (China)
Genocide: The destruction of an entire
religious or ethnic group (The Armenians
under the Ottoman Empire)
4. Indemnity: Payment for losses in War.
(The Opium War)
5. Protectorate: An imperial system in
which local rulers were left to rule.
6. Favorable balance of trade: More
exporting more than importing.
7. Trade deficit: More importing than
exporting
8. Sphere of Influence: An area in which an
outside power claimed exclusive trading
rights.
• The Industrial revolution created a need
for:
1. Raw materials (coal, cotton, metals)
2. Wider markets for manufactured goods.
• Imperialism is the economic and cultural
domination of one country by another
country.
• Social Darwinism was used as a
justification for imperialism (European
races were superior to all others)
“The sun never sets” on the British Empire
• Many westerners felt genuine concern
for their “little brothers.” Though many
Christian missionaries and doctors
worked in Africa and Asia, the primary
motive was economic gain.
• Britain took control of India. (imported
cotton and tea from India.)
The Sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British
Army) rebelled against the British
because of British insensitivity to Indian
customs. (The Sepoy Rebellion in 1857)
• After the Sepoy Rebellion, Britain began
to rule India directly (Parliament ended
the rule of East India Company)
• The Indians took an important step
toward future independence by founding
the Indian National Congress party
(1880s). The party wanted eventual self
rule for India (which happened in 1947.)
• In the 1800s, Chinese society and
economy were in decline.
Peasant hardships led to the Taiping
rebellion in 1850. The Taiping rebellion
lasted until 1864 and almost toppled the
Qing dynasty. (~25 million Chinese died)
• In China, the British sold opium in
exchange for Chinese goods.
When Chinese officials burned opium in
British warehouses, the act set off the
Opium War. The British defeated the
Chinese and opened Chinese ports to
trade.
The Taiping rebellion
The Opium War
• In 1900, a group called the Righteous
Harmonious Fists (“Boxer Uprising”) rose
up against foreign intervention. In
response, the western powers and
Japan organized a multinational force. It
crushed the Boxers and rescued
foreigners besieged in Beijing.
• After 1900, Chinese reformers supported
westernization. (The Qing dynasty fell
and a new Republic was established)
ST. GEORGE AND THE CHINESE DRAGON
(St. George, England's Patron Saint, is also the saintly patron of Russian militarism.)
ST. GEORGE: "You take him on one side. I'll take him on the other."
ST. GEORGOVSKI: "Yes, yes, but I take him altogether when we have finished him."
Source: Punch (Melbourne), 5 July 1900, p. 15.
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Africa: Modern weapons used by Europeans
made African resistance to imperialism
ineffective.
Only Ethiopia was able to defeat an Italian
invasion because it had a modern and a welltrained army.
More typical was the Battle of Omdurman in
Sudan 1898: 11,000 Sudanese dead vs. 48
British dead.
In the Boer War, the British fought the
descendants of Dutch settlers. Britain gained
control of southern Africa in the 1800s after
defeating the Boers and the Zulu.( diamonds
& gold)
• France took a giant share of Africa. At its
height the French empire was as large
as the continental United States.
(Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco)
• The French also conquered Vietnam,
Laos and Cambodia.
The Ottoman Empire: The weakening of
the central government and nationalist
revolts weakened the multiethnic
empire.
The Greeks, Serbs, Bulgarians and
Romanians gained their independence.
Algeria was seized by France.
Egypt became a British protectorate.
The building of the Suez Canal !!!
• The United States played an important
role in the 19th century imperialism in two
ways:
1. The sending of warships to Japan-an
action that opened up Japan to U.S. and
European Trade. Open trade prompted
Japan to develop a Western style military
and industry.
2. The Spanish-American War in 1898:
The U.S. took control over Cuba, Puerto
Rico, and the Philippines.