European Power

1. European Power

2. Economics of Growth • Major factors of the Second Industrial Revolution: • New technologies introduced. • Production in large factories • Increased consumer spending • Greater availability of capital • Spread of industrial production • Increase in population growth

3. New Technologies • The Bessemer Process of steel making developed in 1856 made steel production easier and more cost effective. • The development of electrical power (begun by Michael Faraday in 1831) to operate machinery and electrical power grids in cities made power more accessible. • The light bulb, developed by Thomas Edison in the 1870s gave impetus for electrical development.

4. New Technologies • The development of oil and the internal combustion engine made shipping more viable and led to the development of the automobile by Rudolph Diesel, Gottlieb Daimler, and Karl Benz. • The development of the telegraph in the 1840s and 1850s and the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 made communications faster than ever before. Rudolph Diesel

5. Business Practices • Industrial organizations reached as greater scale than ever before. • Cartels (large firms that dominated an industry) became commonplace • Krupp in Germany • Vickers Armstrong in England • Schneider-Creusot in France • Modern banking structures provided capital for new business ventures.

6. Consumer Economy • With the development of mass culture, the consumer economy grew dramatically. • The introduction of sophisticated advertising, department stores, inexpensive luxuries, and personal credit allowed the middle classes to buy more than ever before. • Mass circulation of newspapers and magazines added to this trend for communication and marketing.

7. Spread of Industrialization • In the middle to late 19th century, industrialization spread and increased pace in France, Germany, Italy, the Low Countries, the United States, and Russia. • Continental Europe and the United States had advantages in development due to the fact they were “new” industrial powers, their technology was new, were the British technology was older and business owners were weary to replace it.

9. The Long Depression • Despite the introduction of new technologies, the growth of consumer culture, and the gospel of free trade, Europe and much of the world faced economic depression from the 1870s to 1896. • Prices, profits, and interest rates fell. • Growth in one sector led to decline in several others. • Governments reverted to protectionist policies and imperialism to help stimulate their economies.

10. Agriculture • Despite higher demand for food, agricultural populations across the continent continued to decline. • The introduction of chemical fertilizers, machinery, and easier transportation led to increased competition and specialization (Danish cheese, French wine, etc.) • Global agricultural trade led to greater interdependence, cheaper prices, and greater selection of goods.

11. Demographic Changes • The population of Europe nearly doubled in the period from 1865 to 1914. • This occurred during a major demographic transition (falling birth and death rates). • This led to smaller families (fewer children born if more are going to survive) and an older population. • This was largely due to improved sanitation and medical care (eliminating diseases such as typhus and cholera), and increased nutrition.

12. The Cult of Science • The Middle 19th century saw the development and reliance on the ideas of science like no time before it. • Connected to it were the fundamental belief in progress (connected to liberal ideas of the time). • These ideas of progress were applied both to nature and society in the hopes of discovering fundamental laws and processes that govern both.

13. The Sciences - Physics • Mid-century developments in physics centered around thermodynamics, culminating in the laws as follows: • Conservation of energy • Any closed system tends toward equilibrium • The work of Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell developed theories of magnetism and how they work in the greater universe.

14. The Sciences – Chemistry and Biology • Atomic theory became accepted by mid-century. • John Dalton (1766-1844), a British scientist, first proposed the concept of atomic weight. • Dimitri Mendeleyev (1834-1907), a Russian chemist, developed the periodic table. • Developments in biology brought health benefits to the public • Louis Pasteur techniques for killing bacteria in foods. • Joseph Lister’s work showing that germs could be killed by carbolic acid made surgery safer.

15. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) • First studied medicine then theology. • Served as a naturalist on HMS Beagle from 1831-1836. • From the variety of wildlife and fossils he found on the voyage (especially in the remote Galapagos Islands) he developed his theory of natural selection.

16. Darwinian Evolution • In On The Origin of Species (1859), Darwin stated that all existing forms of life developed from earlier forms. • Life was a constant struggle for existence, from which, the most adaptable survive. • Organisms survive due to favorable characteristics which are passed on to future generations, creating new species. • In 1871s The Descent of Man, Darwin applied these theories to humans.

17. The Social Sciences - Sociology • Cult of science was reflected in the doctrine of positivism and the work of French thinker Auguste Comte. • Comte believed that humanity had progress from religious and metaphysical phases to one of scientific or positive stage. • Humanity would not be concerned with God, but with collecting scientific knowledge. • He believed that methods of science should be applied to the study of society, which he called sociology.

18. Karl Marx (1818-1883) • Son of an attorney in western Germany • Received his doctorate in philosophy in 1842. • His radical views denied him a place at the conservative universities in Prussia. • In 1844, he moved to Paris and began working with Friedrich Engels.

19. Marxism • In The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital Marx and Engels developed the concepts of scientific socialism. • Ideas on the development of history based on dialectic of Hegel as well as materialism and determinism. • Dialectical materialism states that: • Economic conditions provide basis for social order (structure) • Economic conditions determine the nature of everything else (superstructure) • This expresses itself in different forms throughout history

20. Marxism • Class struggle was the basis of change throughout history. • This was repeated throughout history in the dialectical model (thesis in conflict with antithesis = synthesis) • Aristocracy in conflict with bourgeoisie (18th and 19th century revolutions) led to new capitalist order. • In the future, bourgeoisie would be challenged by proletariat (working class) and be overthrown in a new communist society (final phase of history).

21. Social Darwinism • Some who wished to apply scientific principles to society looked to the ideas of Charles Darwin. • They used arguments loosely based on Darwin’s ideas of evolution to explain differences in the advancement of human society. • These ideas would be used to justify policies of racial differences and European imperialism over foreign populations.

22. Thomas Huxley • British biologist, became a fervent support of evolution • Won him the nickname “Darwin’s Bulldog.” • Huxley’s ideas brought him into conflict with clergy, but he saw it as fitting with most religious philosophy. • His ideas would pave the way for Social Darwinism.

23. Herbert Spencer • British philosopher and writer. • In Synthetic Philosophy, he attempted to apply Darwin’s ideas to every are of society. • Development of human societies involve survival of the fittest.

24. The Old Imperialism (to 1870) • During the first three quarters of the 19th century, European powers showed little interest in overseas expansion. • In fact, it appeared that imperialism was on the way out. • Economic and political liberalism was largely against imperial ventures of political oppression and mercantilist trade.

25. The British Empire • The British Empire was the largest overseas empire in the early 19th century, but there was little interest in further expansion. • The American War of Independence still loomed over British colonial policy. • In the Western Hemisphere, British control in Canada expanded westward, but discontent was growing. • The British North America Act of 1867 established the Dominion of Canada (extensive autonomy in domestic policy. • British continued to control much of the Caribbean.

26. The British Empire • Africa • The British had captured the Cape Colony during the Napoleonic Wars and trading stations along the coast. • In the 1820s, British settlers moved in, causing friction with the Boers (descendants of Dutch colonists who settled there in the 17th century.) • In the Great Trek of 1835-1837, Boers moved north and established the state of Transvaal and the Orange Free State.

27. The British Empire • India • In India, most of the British administration was controlled by the East India Company. • In 1857, Indian troops rebelled against British rule in the Great Mutiny (aka the Sepoy Rebellion). • This occurred as a result of BEIC abuses, cultural frictions, and rumors of pig and cow fat used in powder charges (insult to Hindus and Muslims) • As a result, the British government took direct rule of India in 1858 (British Raj)

28. The British Empire • China • The British established a trade system of importing opium from India to China in return for tea during the 19th century. • When the Chinese government attempted to stop this, Britain went to war with China in 1842 (the Opium War). • China was quickly defeated, resuming the import of opium and Britain annexed Hong Kong in 1842. • As a result of further conflict, namely the Taiping Rebellion, China gave away more of its sovereignty.

29. The British Empire • The British also continued to control several key outposts. • Gibraltar and Malta in the Mediterranean • Aden in the Red Sea • Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the Indian Ocean. • Singapore in the Pacific Ocean. • Australia and New Zealand were growing colonies for British and Irish settlers. Gibraltar

30. The British Empire

31. The Latin American Colonies • The Independence movements between 1804 and 1824 in Latin America proved for the rest of Europe what the American Revolution proved for the British. • Nationalism and liberalism assured that Portugal would lose control of its vast territory in Brazil, France would lose Haiti, and Spain would lose the rest of Latin America, save Cuba and Puerto Rico (Spain also retained the Philippines in the Pacific).

32. The French Empire • Through the Seven Years War, and the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, France had lost most of its overseas territories. • All of French North America was lost to the British, Spanish and Americans. • French influence in India was lost after the Seven Years War.

33. The French Empire • The French continued to have island colonies in the Caribbean on Guadeloupe and Martinique, as well as French Guiana in South America. • In Africa, the French operated several coastal trading stations and exerted some influence in Egypt and the Middle East. • In 1830, the French slowly began acquiring territorial rights in Algeria and in Indochina.

34. The Dutch Colonies • The Dutch, now a second rate power due to its small size and domination by surrounding powers protected what it had. • They continued to exploit what they could through trade and their island empire in the East Indies. • A revolt on Java between 1825 and 1830 was crushed, bring harsher rule by the Dutch.

35. Russian Expansion • Russia was the only European power to aggressively continue its expansionist policies throughout the 19th century. • In contrast, however, Russian expansion was over land and contiguous with its territory. • Russian expansion came at the cost of the crumbling Ottoman Empire along the Black Sea, a power vacuum in Central Asia, and Chinese weakness along the North Pacific Coast.

36. The Russian Empire

37. Austria, Prussia, and Italy • During the first half of the 19th century, overseas imperial expansion was not an option for Prussia, Austria, and the states of Italy. • Prussia and the Italian states were primarily concerned with domestic affairs (Rev. of 1848) and their unification movements. • Austria as well was concerned with internal affairs and any expansion came at the price of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans.

38. The New Imperialism • In the late 1860s and 1870s, European powers began to reverse their disdain for obtaining formal colonies. • In the period from 1870 to 1914, European nations (as well as the U.S. and Japan) would go on a colonization drive like never before. • In just a couple of decades, nearly all of Africa and large areas of Asia and the Middle East would come under European domination.

39. Motivations for New Imperialism • Nationalism and competition among states for additional territory was a major political and psychological factor. • The influence of Social Darwinism pushed the “strongest to survive” and to dominate the weak. • Humanitarian and religious considerations led to military interventions, missionary zeal, and the “civilizing” mission. • European industrial development caused the need for natural resources and new markets to sell in and invest.

40. Imperialism and European Society • Policies in colonial possessions were often used as test beds for social policy at home; hospitals, schools, law enforcement, and infrastructure was often tested in colonies. • Imperialistic ventures were used as nationalistic propaganda at home and was a way of forming national unity in the face of class tensions. • Liberals often opposed imperial ventures where conservatives favored them.

41. The British Empire • Asia • Consolidation of the British Raj continued as the British government expanded its formal rule over greater territories in northern and western India. • In 1877, Queen Victoria was declared Empress of India. • British control expanded eastward into Burma, and Malaya and northward to the border with Afghanistan (created as a buffer against the Russians)

43. The British Empire • Egypt • In 1875, the British bought a 44 percent share in the previously French controlled Suez Canal (1869). • The British took a greater role in Egyptian affairs until it was made a British Protectorate in 1882. • East and West Africa • In East and West Africa, Britain expanded its old trading posts into full colonies, leading to conflict with the natives (example: Anglo-Zulu War of 1879) • These included Gambia, Sierra Leone, The Gold Coast, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia. Battle of Rouke’s Drift in the Anglo-Zulu War.

44. The British Empire • South Africa • Led by the efforts of imperialist and capitalist Cecil Rhodes. • Rhodes made fortune in diamonds, discovered in Cape Colony in 1869. • He pressed for British expansion in Southern Africa. • Tensions mounted in the 1880s with the discovery of gold in Transvaal, British prospectors moved in with the blessing of Rhodes, the PM of Cape Colony.

45. The Boer War (1899-1902) • President Paul Kruger of Transvaal was convinced the British were going to annex their state, Kruger then tried to ally with Germany. • Tensions led to war in 1899. The Boers led a determined guerilla war that lasted four years (first post-modern war?). The Boers were often placed in concentration camps. • With the end of the war in 1902 and the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the Boers were integrated into the British Dominion and came to dominate it.

46. The British Empire

47. The British Empire, 1914

48. The French Empire • In the 1870s, the French extended their colonial control over North and Western Africa. • Algeria was made a full colony, with large numbers of French settlers moving in to farm. • Control was then extended to Tunisia and Morocco and large amounts of territory in French West Africa, Senegal, Guinea and the Ivory Coast, as well as Madagascar • In Asia, French Indochina was colonized.

49. Anglo-French Conflict in Sudan • An uprising in the Sudan under the leadership of the infamous Mahdi threatened British interests. • General Charles Gordon reached Khartoum in 1884 to evacuate the garrison but was besieged by the Madhi, the British troops were massacred. • In 1897, Lord Kitchener retook Khartoum. He then set off down the Nile with a flotilla of gunboats to confront French General Marchand at Fashoda. This precipitated the Fashoda Crisis when, ultimately unable to face a naval war with Britain, the French backed down.

50. Scramble for Africa – Leopold II • In the 1870s, King Leopold II of Belgium began the process of creating a personal colony in the Congo Basin, the Berlin Conference made his acquisitions legal. Leopold used forced labor in the production of rubber, ivory and minerals. • As international protests intensified, the Belgian government took control of the Belgian Congo in 1908.