A New World Order;
Towards the Turn of the
Century
Steam engines
By 1850, almost every industrializing country had
begun to build lines
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Gr. Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Russia, Japan
Required a lot of land and used a lot of timber
Caused cities to grow
Opened up new land to agriculture and mining
Improvements made steamships more cost
efficient
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1830 – initially too costly but developed steel and
iron for hulls, propellers instead of paddle wheels,
more powerful engines
shipping lines moved people, mail and goods on
scheduled liners
1869 – Suez Canal connected the Mediterranean to
the Red Sea
Steel becomes versatile and inexpensive
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By 1870 Steel cost 1/10th of what it did before
Steel production
1870-1/2 million tons; 1900- 28 million tons
Led to rails, ships, and “tin” cans
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Chemical industry
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late 1700s – chlorine bleach, soda and sulfuric acid were
manufactured on a large scale
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explosives
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nitroglycerine made into dynamite
used in mining and construction of railroads and canals
useful to militaries
Germany
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Steel mills
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used lots of raw materials, took up a lot of space, polluted
the air and ground
Railroad locomotives and other steam engines
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had the most advanced engineering and science institutes
government encouraged and funded research and
cooperation between institutes
by 1900 – the leading producer of dyes, drugs, synthetic
fertilizers, ammonia, and nitrates
railroads took up space and depleted forests, the engines
polluted the air
chemical plants – pollutants dumped into rivers
No government environmental regulations
World trade increased x10 from 1850-1913
Europe imported
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wheat from India and the U.S.
wool from Australia
beef from Argentina
Europe exported
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coal, railroad equipment, textiles, and machinery to
Asia and the Americas
Steamships were efficient and made freight
cheap
Capitalist economies were affected by each
other and depression/recessions were felt
globally
1870s-1880s – Germany, the U.S. and other
late-industrializing nations raised tariffs to
protect their industries from British
competition
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Great Britain’s unmatched power
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over half of the worlds’ shipping
Br. financed industrialization in other nations
1850-1914 European population grew from 265
million to 468 million
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faster than ever before or since
drop in death rate, fertilizers increased crop
production, refrigeration allowed people to store
foods
European migration
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to places like the U.S., New Zealand, Canada,
Australia and Argentina
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Irish Famine 1847-1848
Persecution of Jews in Russia
Poverty and population growth in Italy, Spain, Poland,
and Scandinavia
Steamships and railroads made it cheaper and faster
1850-1910, the population of the U.S. nearly
multiplied by four
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From 25 million to 98 million
Asian Migration
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Indians went to Africa, Southeast Asia and tropical
colonies of G. Britain
Chinese to S.E. Asia and the East Indies
Chinese and Japanese to California – encountered
hostility from European Americans
Urban populations by 1914
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Br. 80%
Gr. 60%
Fr. 45%
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Cities grew larger
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Population growth, railroads, and industry
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Railroads brought goods and allowed people to live farther
from the city
New government regulations made life
better for residents
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Pipe in clean water
Pipe out sewage
Electric lighting
Police and fire protection
Sanitation and garbage removal
Health inspection
Built schools and parks
Victorian Age
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1850-1901 in English speaking countries
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Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901)
Men=masculine, courageous and strong
Women=beautiful and kind
Home = a loving refuge from competitive capitalism
“separate spheres”
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Men and women had different responsibilities
Men went to work and relaxed at social clubs
For women, raising children was the most important,
running the household and spending the family money to
increase the family’s status
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Education
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Boys prepared for the business world
Girls were taught music, embroidery, and drawing
Middle class women at work?
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Only until they were married
Only certain jobs
Couldn’t get professional jobs until after colleges allowed
them to get degrees in the late 1800s
Women could become teachers
Some women became activists against alcohol,
prostitution and child labour
others were fighting for women’s rights
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Emmeline Pankhurst, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan
B. Anthony all demanded the right to vote.
U.S. 1914 (12 states)
Great Britain 1918
Majority of textile workers
Worked in factories and had to keep the house
and the children
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girls began working as domestics at 10
worked 16+ hours a day
usually worked 6 ½ days a week
Female factory workers earned 1/3 to 2/3 of
men’s wages
If she had children, she had to work from home
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many did piecework
children were forced to help
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
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German
wrote the Communist Manifesto
saw history as a long conflict between social classes
saw business getting bigger and workers getting
weaker
 felt this would lead to revolution and overthrow of the
bourgeoisie
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he wanted a communist society without classes
Socialism
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against private property
want to help workers
Labour unions formed to protect workers
Labour unions
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wanted better wages, improved work conditions,
insurance against illness, accidents, disability and
old age
governments encourage workers’ involvement in
govt.
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universal male suffrage in Europe and North
America
READ: William Morris – “Why I am a Socialist” (1894)
1875 Social Democratic Party of Germany
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became popular
by 1912, had more seats in the Reichstag than any
other party
took part in the electoral process rather than
revolution
Had the most powerful army
Bismarck wanted to focus on peace
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loose coalition with Russia and Austria-Hungary
he allowed all men to vote
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this put more socialists in the Reichstag
imposed high tariffs on goods
medical, unemployment, and disability insurance;
old age pensions
Wilhelm II inherits the throne
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kicks out Bismarck
wants colonies
France, not the top dog anymore
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population not growing much
slow growth of industry
people divided – hostilities post Franco-Prussian War
(1871), post- defeat of Paris Commune in 1871 and postDreyfus (1898)
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monarchist/Catholics vs.
republican/anticlerical
Great Britain
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successful Parliament with different parties
income gap was narrowing
Irish unhappy
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No feeling of nationalism because they were Catholic
Economy
Fell behind the U.S. and Germany
preoccupied with imperial empire
Nationalism weakened these nations
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mixed ethnic groups and languages
social differences
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both claim the Slavs
the Balkans become “the tinder box of Europe”
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Russia
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only 45% spoke the Russian language
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hard to encourage nationalism
hard to enforce laws
1905 – elected a Duma (parliament) and a constitution
following a loss to Japan in Russo- Japanese War (190405)
China
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resisted western influence
became weaker
Japan – from 1868 (Meiji Restoration)
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became an industrial and military power
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encouraged industrialization, modernization and
militarization
western education & dress
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Why the change?
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defensive… to protect Japan from western
countries
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Yamagata Aritomo
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Meiji leader
thought Japan needed a “sphere of influence” over
Korea, Manchuria, and part of China
big supporter of military industrialization
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battleships!
Sino-Japanese War 1894
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Japan forced China to give up territories
Western powers get nervous and help China
China has to grant the west trade concessions like 90
treaty ports
became a colonial power following the RussoJapanese war in 1905.
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Japan gained Korea
 As we enter the 20th century there are several new
tensions building:
 New Imperialism and economic competition
 Shifting alliances are upsetting the balance of power
 Japan becoming expansionist
 Russia becoming more “powerful”
 Tensions escalating in the Balkan states
 Improved industry leads to military expansion and
improved weaponry
 Domestically in pretty well all countries - social and
labour unrest – demands for reform