AT LEAST KNOW THIS- AP Euro Review for College Board Exam -- 09-10
Late Medieval World
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Dates- Ends as Renaissance Starts- no fixed date- probably starts in mid 14th century Black
Death in 1350  Petrarch mid 14th century  after 1st Hundred Years War- mid 14th to early 15th
centuries  great schism end of the 14th century  mid 13th c
Basic Theme(s)  The Middle Ages (Dark Ages) = the time period from the fall of Rome to the
rebirth of Classical culture in the Italian Renaissance. So called because the level of culture (art,
philosophy, science, technology) was relatively stagnant during this time period.
Early nationalism in England and France from 1st Hundred Years War  Demonstrated by rising
vernacular literature in the 14th century (Dante’ Divine Comedy, Chaucher’s Canterbury Tales,
etc.). English long-bows (at the battle of Crecy) signals the end of chivalric fighting. Joan of
Arc leads France to victory, pushing the British off of the Continent. British king is forced to limit
his power by signing the Magna Carta to get noble aid during 1st H.Y.W. Parliament is formed
in England. King are basically first among equals at the end of the war.
Scholasticism (the attempt to align classical and Christian teachings) is the intellectual legacy of
the Dark Ages
Church in turmoil  Great Schism (Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches in the 11th
century)  Babylonian Captivity in the 14th Century  early critics  Hus and Wycliffe- late
14th/early 15th centuries
European crusade sacks Constantinople, giving it to Italians and priming the pump for the
Renaissance, as Italians will become key trading middlemen between Asia and Europe
Black Death is low point. Will split the futures of western and eastern Europe (an end to serfdom
in the west) and will give surviving peasants relative bargaining power.
Renaissance
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Dates - Starts in full swing in 15th century  fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman in 1453 (key
date… also date of printing press) will start a shift of the Renaissance out of Italy and to the
Northern states (Northern Renaissance) ;  at the same time period (early 15th c), Henry the
Navigator was priming the pump for the Age of Exploration early 15th century is High
Renaissance focused in Rome (this was ended by Charles V’s sacking of Rome as part of
Habsburg Valois Wars in 1525AD)
Theme(s)- The Renaissance saw the revival of Classical themes in Europe: natural law, reason,
humanism, secularism, individualism, etc.)
Many of the classical works of Aristotle, Ptolemy, etc. reenter Europe through the Middle East on
account of The Crusades.
Gutenburg’s Printing Press allows Renaissance ideas to spread quickly and is also crucial in the
later spread of Protestant ideas in the Reformation
Italian city states are free from feudal domination, and go through a series of governments
Republics/communes to signori oligarchies (Florence and Medicis most famously); division of
city states is a blessing (culture/creativity) and a curse (weakness to French and Habsburgs-----Habsburg-Valois War)
Art- portraits (Mona Lisa by DaVinci), single-point perspective (the Last Supper by Da Vinci),
shading of light and dark (chiaroscuro) , classical influence, individualism (David by
Michelangelo), status of artists (Michelangelo is divine and signs his work), classical architecture
with a focus on columns and symmetry over gothic, medieval art
Education for women, but no access to power  Laura Cereta
Wealthy families and the church are patrons of the arts
Northern Renaissance (Netherlands and England, primarily) less secular  Erasmus wants
to write a better translation of the bible (and in vernacular) and to improve education and literacy
so that people can access and understand,biblical teachings (challenges church corruptionremember Erasmus’ mockery of the Pope trying to force his way into heaven- Borgia popes were
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so corrupt that Borgia became synonymous with corruption)  paves the way for Luther-->>
Thomas More’s Utopia is a subtle critique of feudal styles and the church. These are examples of
Christian Humanists. The Northern Renaissance would lead to a culture flowering that would
lead to artists such as Shakespeare.
Renaissance Princes start to assert power  War of the Roses in England results in Tudor
dynasty, Ferdinand and Isabella unify Spain and continue to marry into Habsburg clan (don’t
forget the Reconquista and Ferdinand and Isabella’s patronage of Columbus’ voyages), uniting
Spain and the HRE. These princes are partially able to rise out of ‘first among equals’ status
because increasing secularism and falling church prestige frees the monarchs from one part of the
Great Chain of Being.
A few of the more famous works: School of Athens by Raphael clearly demonstrates classical
roots of the Renaissance. Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity of Man is a humanist
anthem. Lorenzo Valla uses textual criticism to reject an ancient document as a phony.
Castiglione writes The Courtier which explains the ideal of a Renaissance Man and explicitly
rejects a key role for women. Machiavelli’s The Prince explains the need of a prince to do what
is necessary to maintain power for the good of the people, even when the prince is required to do
things considered bad morally if done by an individual. His name becomes synonymous with the
ruthless leadership (similar to Bismarck’s later Realpolitik). Machiavelli wrote The Prince both
to seek a government post and to give a way to strengthen Italian city-states to withstand foreign
invaders (Habsburg-Valois’, for instance)
Age of Exploration
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Dates  set in motion by Henry the Navigator in early 15th century  followed by Dias, Da
Gama, and Columbus in 2nd half of 15th  and then an explosion in 16th century (Magellan,
Cortez, Pizzaro, etc.)
Theme(s)- European curiosity about the world in the Renaissance spurs exploratory interest (also
a desire to find a way to Asia without paying Italian middlemen).
New technologies- Astrolabe, Caravel.
Treaty of Tordesillas- Pope divides land to be conquered between Spain and Portugal
Economic motivation  conquering of the Inca and Aztecs- leads to Spanish Golden 16th
Century
Slavery plantation economy  sugar  de las Casas  start of transatlantic slave trade
(asiento)
Impact on European philosophers  land outside of Christian teachings (will eventually spur
Enlightenment philosophers to consider new forms of government)  Montaigne and On
Cannibals  Locke and Tabula Rasa  Montesquieu’s Persian Letters.
Columbian Exchange  Price Revolution (actually, caused in large part to growing population,
too) and Spain’s Golden Century  money to fight Reformation
Reformation
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Dates  Luther 1517, Council of Trent starts in 1540s, English Reformation  1530s
Theme(s) – a challenge to the increasingly corrupt ‘universal’ Catholic Church and the Pope
Luther’s beliefs  95 Theses, priesthood of believers, sola scriptura, sola fide, no celibacy,
attacks certain sacraments. Specifically, Luther challenges Tetzel’s sale of indulgences, as well as
absenteeism, simony, pluralism, and clerical immorality and ignorance.
Luther can get away with challenging the Pope because he is in the HRE, which is divided into
many small areas with disobedient nobles, is far from the Pope’s control, and has the Ottoman
Empire on its eastern border to contend with (Turks got all the way to Vienna in 1529). Many
princes in the HRE support Luther for political reasons (no more money going to Rome!) Luther
refused to recant to Charles V at the Diet of Worms.
Luther rejected the German Peasants Revolt , rejecting political rebellion (Against the
Murderous, Thieving Hordes of the Peasants).
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Calvin , Institutes of the Christian Religion, predestination  work ethic  most
influential  Scottish Presbyterians  Huguenot  Puritans
More radical sects: Anabaptists (adult baptism, women are equal)
English Reformation- Henry VIII (truly a Renaissance Prince) wanted an annulment to have a
son to avoid the chaos of the Wars of Religion. The Pope was too beholden to Henry’s wife
(Catherine of Aragon) who was related to Charles V to agree. Also, the Pope couldn’t afford to
admit fault in originally marrying the two, because he was under pressure from the Reformation.
Henry VIII, founded a church of England (Anglicanism) and even beheaded one of his top aides
Thomas Cromwell for refusing to leave the Pope. Parliament aids the king by passing the Act in
Restraint of Appeals, which nullified the Pope’s spiritual authority in England and the Act of
Supremacy which made Henry VIII the head of the Anglican Church. This would result in a long
struggle in England over religion Edward VI, Bloody Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I (and Mary
Stuart, Queen of the Scots), James I, Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Charles II, James II.
Protestant faiths spread to Scandinavia and Scotland.
Counterreformation  Council of Trent, Jesuits (Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises) ,
Ursuline Order  reaffirm papal authority  reform gross abuses  Index of Forbidden
Books, Inquisition  Baroque Art
Wars of Religion -1st Half
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Dates  starts in France in the 1530s , ends in 1609  last major event is the Spanish Armada in
1588
Theme(s) – Medieval view says that only subjects with the religion of the king can be loyal;
Europe must not have multiple religions according to many (France, and especially
Spain/Habsburgs) desire Catholicism only. Wars fought to crush Protestant faith. Inevitably
become wars about Balance of Power, too.
Spain represses iconoclastic (icon destroying) Protestants in the Netherlands (who have more
trouble getting on with Spanish Habsburg Philip II than they had with Flemish Charles V) take
Belgian part but don’t take United Provinces of the Netherlands (flooding, inquisition and taxes
unite the Dutch)
England is forced in to decide whether to help the Dutch- if they do they have to deal with mighty
Spanish… if they don’t, they may later have to deal with Spain alone. England’s Elizabeth I
eventually decides to help the Netherlands after assassination of William the Silent of Orange.
This causes Spain to launch an Armada at England which is defeated by British fire ships and the
Protestant Wind. The Spanish Armada was also prompted by Elizabeth I’s decision to kill Mary
Queen of Scots who was implicated in a Spanish plot to turn England Catholic. The Elizabethan
Compromise refers to Elizabeth I’s attempts to walk a narrow line between English Catholics and
Puritans by sticking to the Anglican church.
War of Three Henry’s is touched off in France by the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre 
Catholics murder a prominent Huguenots at a wedding  politiques eventually win out under
Henry of Navarre aka King Henry IV, a Huguenot who declares that Paris is Worth a Mass
and who passes the Edict of Nantes to keep Huguenot happy. Henry IV and his minister the Duke
de Sully begin to build absolutism in France.
Concordat of Bologna keeps France Catholic by allowing the French monarchy more local
control of the Catholic Church.
Religious fighting between princes in the HRE had been temporarily settled in the Peace of
Augsburg which allowed princes to choose their religion (although only Lutheran or Catholic)Cuius regio, eius religio.
Wars of Religion- Thirty Years War- 2nd Half
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Key dates starts 1618 and ends in 1648
Theme(s)- Last gasp of attempts to wipe out Protestant faith. Will ultimately lay waste to the
HRE, setting the long term stage for the rise of Absolutism in Prussia and Austria. Permanent
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failure to roll back Protestant Tide will eventually allow Enlightenment as tolerance is more
widely accepted
Starts up on account of bickering in HRE, which is supposed to be open to Lutheranism and
Catholicism decided by Princes, but Catholic and Protestant leagues are not truly obeying this
Defenestration of Prague in Bohemia (remember Jan Hus) sets it off, Bohemian and Dutch
phases go to Catholics, who even roll back Protestant rights (Edict of Restitution) in the HRE
temporarily, but under Balance of Power concerns, others join to keep Habsburgs weak  Danish
king (Christian), Swedish King (Gustavus Adolphus), and even Catholic Louis XIII (under
Richelieu) despite the obvious contradiction for France religiously
Peace of Westphalia includes Calvinism and locks in earlier Augsburg treaty
Witch hunting has resulted from religious tension
Absolutism- Western Europe
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Dates- Continuation of the rise of Renaissance Princes, in France particularly starts with Henry IV
(late 16th century) and continues through Louis XIII (think Thirty Years War), and Louis XIV
(who is a kid during the Fronde in 1848- notice this is the last year of the Thirty Years War- and
he dies soon after the 2nd Hundred Years War starts near the end of his life – remember the start of
the 2nd Hundred Years War relates to Louis XIV’s attempt to unite the French and Spanish
thrones– War of the Spanish Succession in approx. 1700)
Theme(s)- European monarchs rise to great powers by attacking the power of the nobilities,
building standing armies, building powerful bureaucracies (nobles of the Robe and bourgeois
over nobles of the Sword, intendants), running the economies (Mercantilism- government run
trading companies), one religion (divine right, destruction of La Rochelle), secret police,
complete sovereignty
Economic ministers and Monarchs – De Sully- Henry IV, Richelieu- Louis XIII, and ColbertLouis XIV
Symbols of absolutism- Versailles, sun king, etc. , l’etat c’est moi
Importance of the Fronde to Louis XIV’s attacks on the nobility
Balance of Power responses to Louis XIV’s wars of expansion/ conquest
French Classicism and the French lingua Franca, the French Academy
Spain becomes Quixotic (Cervantes) because of stagnation due to New World wealth. Spanish
Golden Century ends.
Absolutism- Eastern Europe
Absolutism in Eastern Europe
• Different pattern of development in the East. The Black Death reinforced serfdom rather than
ending it. Local lords had great power between the Black Death and the 17th c. There was almost
no middle class and town were kept weak. In the 17th c, kings start to rise above nobles. Eastern
Europeans grew food for expanding Western Europeans in 17th & 18th c.
• Austria- Habsburgs had little power after the Thirty Years’ War. They turned eastwards hoping for
land and power. Habsburgs dominated Bohemia (crushed in the first part of the Thirty Years’
War) and Hungary (which was fiercely Protestant and independent, but unable to keep the
Austrians out). This brought the Austrian Habsburgs face to face with the Ottomans. The
Ottomans pushed into Europe and managed, at their high point to siege, but not take, Vienna
(capital of Austria) in 1683 (second time they’ve gotten there). To consolidate land after victory of
Ottomans, Habsburg Charles VI sought the Pragmatic Sanction, which would keep Habsburg
land under one heir.
• Prussia- Hohenzollern family was basically 1st among equals of nobility in Prussia until the
Thirty Years War weakened Brandenburg-Prussia’s Estates and prepared the way for
Hohenzollern ‘Great Elector’ Frederick William to start to assert absolutist power. The Great
Elector used the constant war that was going on and his willingness to leave the Junker nobility in
charge over their serfs and tax-exempt, to rise in power. Later, Frederick William, the Soldier
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King, greatly enhanced Prussian power by building a large standing army, literally of giants, and
by forcing the Junkers into the military (trading them prestige for power). In Prussia, the military
built the state
Russia- Tsars had to throw of the Mongol Khans to rule. Russians saw themselves as the
Orthodox Christian inheritors of the Roman Empire. In the 16th c, Tsars like Ivan IV (the
Terrible) reduced the power of the Russian nobility (known as Boyars) to service nobility. Ivan IV
founded the Romanov line, which would rule Russia until the Russian Revolution of 1917. These
tsars used secret police and violence to keep their people down and expanded Russia and the
power of the tsar (Cossacks formed as peasants fled from the oppression of the tsars; they
periodically rose in revolt). Peter the Great tried to modernize Russia in a primarily military
fashion after he learned how far behind it was during his grand tour of Europe as a young man. He
built up a strong standing army and defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War to gain access
to the Baltic. There were few years of peace during Peter’s reign. He built St. Peterburg as a
modern city and a ‘Window on the West’ and forced nobles to go live in it.
Constitutionalism
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Dates- Arises in the 17th Century
Theme(s)- Absolutism was successfully challenged in the Netherlands and England.
Trouble for English absolutists came after the reign of Elizabeth I (the Virgin Queen), in the
reign of King James I (originally a Scotsman) of England. King James tried to be absolutist, but
Parliament, and especially the House of Commons was starting to feel confident enough to
challenge the monarch (they’d been gaining wealth from trade, ownership of church lands sold by
Henry VIII …in short, economic power). However, James I was amiable, and so things never
came to blows. Religion was complicated for the British at the time because the official Anglican
Church was squeezed between Catholics on the one hand and Puritans on the other. Charles I,
James’ successor, was headstrong and imperious and angered Parliament much more. Charles I
was also a religious zealot and many feared he was pushing England back towards Christianity.
Charles also angered the Scots by trying to enforce Anglicanism. When he tried to get Parliament
to raise him an army, it refused. Instead it raised an army against him and he raised his own army
and the ensuing clash was the English Civil War. This Parliament was known as the Long
Parliament, because it wouldn’t let Charles disband it. Roundheads- aka New Model Army
(against the king) versus Cavaliers (for the king).
The English Civil War was horribly destructive (prompting philosophers like Thomas Hobbes in
Leviathan to declare that absolutism was the best form of gov’t). A Puritan military dictatorship
took over England under Oliver Cromwell. Its rule is known as the interregnum. The people
didn’t like this either, as it was too stifling and the chaos was seen as punishment by god for
breaking the Great Chain of Being/Divine Right. Incidentally, Cromwell started the fierce
mercantilist policies to seize Atlantic trade from the Dutch (Navigation Acts).
The English people eventually invited Charles I’s sons Charles II and James II to return from
exile in the court of Versailles to restore the Chain of Being. Charles II knew to be easygoing and
he hid his Catholicism and worked with the CABAL representatives of Parliament to keep the
peace and raised his daughters Protestant (although he was secretly taking $ from Louis XIV).
James II was not diplomatic and pushed his absolutism and his Catholicism. The English might
have been content to wait for Charles IIs daughters to take over, but James II had a Catholic son.
This sparks Parliament to invite Dutch William and Mary of Orange (Mary was one of James
II’s daughters but had been raised Protestant) to invade England and take the throne (pulls the
wool over the eyes of God and his darned chain). The revolution was a Glorious Revolution
because there was little bloodshed after James II fled. The English Bill of Rights was written
immediately after the Revolution and outlined a constitutional monarchy with Parliament over
the king, a judiciary independent of the king, Habeas Corpus, regular meetings of Parliament, etc.
John Locke wrote a philosophical defense of the new gov’t. (Two Treatise on Government)
English gov’t was not a full democracy.
The Dutch were an alternate model as a Constitutional Republic with weak central authority
(confederation with stadholder). The Dutch were famed as religiously tolerant, mostly work
oriented Protestants), agriculturally advanced, and The Dutch Golden Age existed as the result of
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a great Dutch trading empire (Dutch East India Company) (Amsterdam), taken largely from the
Spanish, and an advanced banking system (Bank of Amsterdam) with low interest rates. The
Golden Age began to come to an end with competition in trade from England (Navigation Acts)
and draining wars against Louis XIV.
Dutch, English and others formed an alliance against Louis XIV’s French juggernaut to maintain
balance of power- Roots of the Second Hundred Years’ War
Scientific Revolution
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Dates  in 1540s Copernicus (heliocentrism) starts it but the 17th century is the heart of the
revolution (makes sense as it is the century before the Enlightenment, which was spawned by the
Scientific Revolution), Newton syntheses classical mathematics in Principia in about 1690
Themes- The Reformation allows Scientists some freedom to do their work. The Renaissance has
aided the sense that contemporary scholars can equal and improve on classical ideas.
Copernicus- break with Aristotle and Ptolemy, Brahe --data  Kepler – early mathematical
success describing elliptical orbits  Galileo –big on empirical experimentation – work with
telescopes and gravity (although doesn’t successfully describe gravity)  Newton –synthesizer
(Principia)
Scientific Method – Bacon and empiricism combined with Descartes’ deductive reasoning
Need often to use satire or secrecy to publish works that challenged the Church (think Galileo’s
Dialogues on the Two Chief Systems of the World  Protestants were often, surprisingly more
anti-science since they relied more heavily on a literal interpretation of the bible.
18th Century Enlightenment
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Dates – Late 17th and 18th Centuries
Theme(s) - Apply successful methods of science (reason) to society (social science): faith in
human progress. The Enlightenment rose out of skepticism of absolute truth caused by the Wars
of Religion and its inconclusive settlement and the increasing realization that European cultural
values were relative (the result of increasing contact with non-Europeans (see Baron de
Montesqueiu’s Persian Letters or Locke’s argument that morals were not inherent, but instead
built by culture- mind was tabula rasa).
By the end of the 18th c, most educated elites were adherents to the ideas of the Enlightenment.
France, post Louis XIV, was ground zero for the Enlightenment, although many philosophe had
to use sneaky means (satire, discussion in salons rather than writing, foreign publication,
dialogues, etc.,) to get around the censors. Many were inspired by English Constitutionalism.
Popularizers of science like Fontenelle (Conversation on the Plurality of Worlds) brought
science to the public.
Montesquieu is most famous for his Spirit of the Laws, which argued for a separation of powers,
in particular, that the nobility and bourgeoisie could provide a check on kings.
Voltaire believed in Enlightening monarchs (Frederick the Great for example), freedom of
expression, and Deism . Voltaire’s most famous work (Candide) mocks the contradictions of
society and religion.
Diderot and the Encyclopedia (the public deserves access to knowledge)
Madame du Chatelet serves as a reminder that women were not fully accepted into the
Enlightenment (she translated works and helped Voltaire, but wasn’t accepted to Royal Academy).
Women could find a way to participate as salonieres (Madame Geoffrin).
The Enlightenment was progressive, more moderate, and more unified before 1770. Afterwards, it
became more radical (for example, some became athiests, others, like David Hume, argued that
our understanding of the world was limited by our reliance on our senses; Hume was famous for
his skepticism; Rousseau argued that spontaneous emotion was as important as reason and logic
and argued that the General Will should guide society, even though the majority was not always
clear on what the general will was, he also argued that sovereignty ought to come from the
people). Many of the radicals in the French Revolution were inspired by Rousseau.
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Enlightenment ideas: Hobbes and Locke’s Social Contract, Locke’s individual natural rights
and right to rebellion, natural law, checks and balances, the general will
widening gap in the tastes and goals of the elites (or ‘the public’) and the mob; the salon
Adam Smith applies reason to the economy and comes up with Capitalist framework (On the
Wealth of Nations, the invisible hand, the three basic roles of gov’t). a repudiation of
mercantilism.
I forgot to teach Cesare Baccaria, but he was an Italian philosophe who argued for a reform of
prisons and criminal law in On Crimes and Punishment.. If you stop to think about this, it is a
very Enlightenment subject.
Enlightened Absolutism
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Dates- Mid to late 18th century (in the wake of the Enlightenment
Theme(s)- Some absolutists believed in some parts of the Enlightenment canon. They believed in
making their bureaucracies more efficient and rational and believed in giving some natural rights
to their people. However, their main motivation was to increase their own power relative to other
monarchs, not to truly liberate their people. They shied away from steps that would weaken
themselves. Many of the philosophes believed that Enlightened Absolutism was the only way to
improve society as democracy would give power to the mob- reform had to come from above.
Frederick the Great was a fascinating Prussia leader. As a young man, he was something of an
Enlightenment wussy: pro-peace and art, a dabbler in atheism, he tried to run away from his
domineering father as a young man. Yet when he took over, he immediately seized Silesia from
Austria (War of the Austrian Succession). This greatly increased the power of Prussia. European
powers aligned against Prussia in the later Seven Years War, and Prussia was only saved by
Russian Peter III (who admired Frederick the Great and so decided not to crush him). Frederick
pursued Enlightened policies (religious toleration except for the Jews, free press, reformed and
efficient bureaucracy, he himself lived simply (1st Servant of the State as opposed to ‘l’etat c’est
moi’). Voltaire was an admirer and the two wrote each other letters often.
Catherine the Great was an HRE noble with Romanov blood. She was married to Tsar Peter
III, but was complicit in his downfall in a coup with her lover (Peter Orlav) who was an officer
in the military. Catherine became leader of Russia and was an Enlightened leader who modernized
Russian society (whereas Peter the Great had mainly modernized the military). She had to stop
short of extreme liberal reform because of Cossack Rebellion that caused her to ally with the
Boyar nobility. She also completed Peter the Great’s goal of winning a port on the Black Sea
from the Ottoman.
Maria Theresa of Austria (Habsburg) was an Enlightened monarch, although she was much more
religious (Catholic) than most Enlightened monarchs. Her son, Joseph II, tried to push reason too
far… freed the serfs, tried religious toleration for Jews, all of which caused chaos and didn’t
help much… eventually his more radical reforms were repealed by the next ruler (Leopold II)
France’s absolutism began to slip after Louis XIV’s death. The Duke d’Orleans restored power of
remonstration to Parlement of Paris in return for stewardship of throne while Louis XV grew
up. Louis XV managed to restore absolutism by abolishing the Parlement, but Louis XVI
reinstated it, hoping to be loved and perhaps helping to bring about the French Revolution.
Agricultural Revolution – Rise of the Atlantic
Economy --- 18th Century Social Changes
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Dates- 18th century
Themes- The 2nd Agricultural Revolution led to a population boom, urbanization, and the Cottage
Industry. This changed system of life in turn caused changes in Europe’s social structure. In the
same century, international trade rose in importance, resulting in rivalry (2nd Hundred Years War)
and ultimately English dominance and the Industrial Revolution.
Although I didn’t say it in class, the rise of the Cottage Industry and the boom in the Atlantic
Economy in 18th century Europe are often called the Commercial Revolution
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The Dutch led the Agricultural Revolution and the British followed: know, Charles “Turnip”
Townsend as a champion of nitrogen-restoring plants, the end of the fallow, enclosure, loss of
the commons and its social safety net properties, crop rotation, and selective breeding (linked to
scientific farming). The 17th Century was a Dutch Golden Age.
Population boomed in the 18th c was the result of more food, end of Black Death (wander rat),
ability to defeat famine with better transportation of food, hardier New World crops
Enclosure reduces the land available for small farmers, who in turn form a fairly new class (a
proletariat).
These landless farmers helped to start the Putting Out System/Cottage Industry first in the wool
industry in England; link between urban merchants and rural cottage workers.
Atlantic Economy is lead by Atlantic European states, especially England. African Slaves in the
New World create sugar, tobacco, and cotton. Navigation Acts protect mercantilist British trade.
Navigation Acts contain some privileges for the colonies, so they help America develop, too.
Mercantilist policies add to tension that will lead to 2nd Hundred Years’ War.
rising number of kids born out of wedlock (foundling homes)
Growing treatment of young kids as unique and valuable rather than as little adults to be
disciplined harshly (based partly on Rousseau’s ideas in Emile)
Second Hundred Years’ War
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Dates- 1702 (War of the Spanish Succession) to 1814 (Waterloo)
Theme(s) The British seized trading control from the Dutch as well, starting with the Navigation
Acts under Cromwell. With the Dutch weakened, France and Britain competed for naval and trade
dominance. The S.H.Y.W. was born out of the Grand Alliance and other groups that unified to
contain Louis XIV’s growing French military power and morphed into a battle between France
and Britain for control of the Atlantic Economy and European dominance that lasted until the fall
of Napoleon. Many historians believe that England won because of their transition to a Capitalist
economy (think British East India Company) which allowed wealth to be spread to the people of
the country and encouraged the British to apply themselves to the growth of the British economy,
as opposed to the French mercantilism, which denied growing wealth to all but the king’s chosen
elite.
In the War of the Spanish Succession, Louis XIV, who had agreed after disastrous fighting with
the League of Augsburg (Dutch, Habsburgs, Spain, and Sweden) to leave the Spanish Empire
alone, was handed the Spanish throne (or his nephew Phillip of Anjou was) in the will of Carlos
II (El Hechizado). Louis XIV accepted and was attacked by The Grand Alliance. The Grand
Alliance defeated the French and the Treaty of Utrecht gave New World land from France to
England and the Asiento from Spain to England. The Asiento provide a significant part of the
capital that sparked the Industrial Revolution.
The War of the Austrian Succession had a Central/Eastern European part (struggle between
Austria and Prussia over land sparked by Frederick the Great’s seizure of Silesia) and a
Western/Colonial Part (inconclusive battle in the New World). In the Eastern part, Prussia greatly
expanded its power, but allied many against Prussia from a Balance of Power perspective. These
powers would attack Prussia in the next phase.
Finally, the Seven Years War (aka French-Indian War) proved conclusive in the New World.
The British defeated the French forces by siege at Quebec. France lost all New World colonies
(although the Spanish got Louisiana, not the British) in the 1st Treaty of Paris. The Seven Year’s
War also had an Eastern/Central European component as Russia, Austria, and France tried to
smash Prussia. Peter III of Russia backed out of the fighting, narrowly allowing Prussia to
survive. The anger of the Russian army at Peter III’s decision helped his wife, Catherine the Great,
launch her coup against him. Don’t forget, one reason that France lost in the New World is that
they had to focus on European continental conflict as well, whereas the British could focus only
on the New World, with their English Channel protection.
Second Hundred Years War continues as part of the American Revolution and the French
Revolution. (see next two sections)
American Revolution
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Dates- 1776- 1783
Theme(s) – Enlightenment ideas of popular sovereignty and limited government were put into
effect in the American Colonies, who were gaining great wealth from their privileged relationship
with Britain, but had not been given the political rights earned by British in England achieved in
the Glorious Revolution. This Revolution would be a great influence on the French Revolution
and on Liberalism everywhere. Themes of American and French Revolutions: LIBERTY AND
EQUALITY!!!
The importance of the Seven Year’s War- cost England a great deal of money. England demands
Americans pay taxes to pay for the cost and continued defense of the colonies. Americans are not
taxed highly, but are used to independence. Stamp Act, Boston Tea Party, Coercive Acts.
Colonists are declaring, “No taxation without Representation”.
Thomas Paine argues in Common Sense that it is illogical for American land to be ruled from
afar by the British.
The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson is a summary of
Enlightenment thought – particularly Locke’s natural rights, Montesquieu’s separation of powers,
and Voltaire’s freedoms of expression.
The Americans surprisingly won, based on the strength of their home court advantage and the aid
of the French (particularly the Marquis de Lafayette), who see an opportunity to get back at the
British. America is granted independence in the Second Treaty of Paris.
The irony of the higher taxes Americans paid after winning the revolution.
The American Constitution set up a federal republic with natural rights guaranteed in the Bill of
Rights.
French Revolution
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Date(s)- 1787 – Assembly of Notables, 1789 – Estates General, 1791 French Constitution, 1793Louis XVI is guillotined, 1793-1795- Reign of Terror, 1795- 1799 – Directory, 1799 Napoleon,
1814 Waterloo, 1815 Congress of Vienna.
Themes- Inspired by the American Revolution and the Enlightenment, an attempt to bring liberty
and equality to France. Unsuccessful in the short term but fundamental for European
modernization.
Phases of the French Revolution and their dates: Bourgeois/ Moderate (1789-1791), Radical
(1791-1795), The Directory (1795-1799), Napoleonic (1799-1814), the Congress of Vienna
(1814-1815)
Causes of unhappiness in France- Overwhelming debt caused by lavish nobility and wars (most
recently the French and Indian War and the American Revolution). Unwillingness of privileged
estates to give up their privileges.
Three Estates (ancient regime), their percentages (in terms of population) and privileges, and the
different sections of the third estate (bourgeoisie, urban workers, rural peasants) and their
unique attributes
Key Individuals/groups: Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, san-culottes, Jacobin, Girondin, the
Mountain,, Napoleon, the Assembly of Notables, Estates General, National Assembly, Abbe
Sieyes, Marquis de Lafayette, Olympe de Gouge and Mary Wollestonecraft, , Edmund
Burke (Reflections on the Revolutions in France), Robespierre, Napoleon, Horatio Nelson,
Metternich, Louis XVIII
Key Events in roughly Chronological Order- the failure of the Assembly of Notables to make
concessions, cahiers and the deadlock in the Estates General, the necessity of meeting on a Tennis
Court and the oath, the root of the fear leading up to the Storming of the Bastille, the Great
Fear in the countryside, the concessions of the first two estates on the night of August 4th 1789
(and how to argue that this wasn't entirely a selfless act of the first two estates), the formation of
the National Assembly and the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the radicalization caused by
the Women’s March on Versailles and the stance of European monarchs towards the French
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Revolution, why the women’s rights movement emerged at this time, the disagreements in the 3rd
Estate over what to do with the Church and what the National Assembly eventually did with
church land (assignats), farmers get land (long lasting gain of the Revolution) rationalization of
the French political bureaucracy (department, new calendar, etc.), Political Spectrum (right,
center, left, reactionary, conservative, moderate, liberal, radical), the Reign of Terror and the
Committee on Public Safety, early sparks of Socialism and its connections to Rousseau, the
Levee en Masse, the fall of the Reign of Terror and the moderate Directory, Napoleon’s coup, a
whiff of grapeshot’, the Battle of Trafalgar, Spain and guerrilla warfare, the Louisiana
Purchase, Napoleon's plebiscite's, Concordat with the Pope, and Napoleonic Code, Napoleon’s
rise to emperor and show of power over the Pope, family members placed on conquered thrones,
Continental System, Confederation of the Rhine, Invasion of Russia, Scorched Earth Policy,
the Hundred Days, the Battle of Waterloo, the Bourbon Restoration and the Congress of
Vienna (Balance of Power, Legitimacy, Contain France), the Battle of Waterloo, the Concert of
Europe.
Prussia received territory on the Rhine to keep France contained (Sentinel on the Rhine)
Industrial Revolution
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Dates- England – 1750; Continent 1815 (after Waterloo)
Themes- KEY development in European and World History, perhaps since 10,000 BC and the
Development of Farming. Departure from human, animal, wind, and water power- Coal/Steam
power- nearly unlimited. Ever since the Industrial Revolution the world has been attempting to
deal with the social consequences- Marxism, Socialism, Revisionist Marxism, etc.
Doesn’t trickle down to help the average person until 1850 and later
Britain leads for a number of reasons: great infrastructure for transportation (canals, ocean),
capital to invest built up from trade, especially with colonies, iron and coal, low tariffs and low
gov’t interference in economy (capitalism), agricultural success as one of the leaders of the 2nd
Agricultural Revolution (so average Joe has money to spend), stable banks and credit markets,
stable constitutional gov’t that isn’t interrupted by invasion from Napoleon, available
proletariat workforce, strong system of education (machinists, engineers), religious toleration
in England kept skilled peopled there
First industry- textiles
Cotton gin (Eli Whitney) spinning jenny (James Hargreaves) water frame (Richard
Arkwright)  power loom (Edmund Cartwright) . Understand how the creation of an
invention in one stage of production puts pressure for inventions in other stages.
Early factories  water, animal, or human power  used foundlings as work force
Energy revolution  steam power  Newcomen (first steam engine)  Watt (separate
condenser- improved efficiency of engine) used first to drain mines leads to almost unlimited
power and the ability to mass produce iron and eventually steel
Trains  the Rocket (George Stephenson) connected Liverpool and Manchester.
Manchester is a good example of the extreme explosion of the urban population (urbanization)
that occurred in the late 18th and 19th centuries
Skilled artisan jobs (weavers, say) replaced by machinery… possible social unrest
Crystal Palace Exhibition- demonstration of English Industrial might (1850)
Gains of Industrialization eaten up by pop. growth before 1850
Malthus (population grows exponentially, food grows geometrically)) and Ricardo’s (Iron Law
of Wages) = pessimistic economic theories
Advantages for Continental European industrialization versus England as trailblazer (the
Continent avoids some of the worst social unrest). England tried to prevent engineers from
emigrating to maintain its lead.
U.S. and German industrial explosion after 1850- they start to gain on England
Zollverein ideas (economic union of HRE states under Prussian leadership- Austria excluded)
(Friedrich List), tariffs
Limited Liability Partnerships (Credit Mobilier of Paris)
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Government helps Industrialization get going on the Continent (monarchs)
Roots of Capitalist Entrepreneurship (risking money on factories, technologies, new businesses)
are sown by Cottage Industry
In England the social impacts of Industrialization were especially harsh pollution, poor
conditions in factories. The Sadler Commission conducted research and hearings on the treatment
of British factory workers. Remember that the growing class conflict and separation will be a
major cause of the Age of Ideologies (Marxism- Engel’s The Condition of the Working Class in
England), Utopian Socialism, Utilitarianism, etc). Luddite’s smashed machines that were taking
their jobs.
Edwin Chadwick was a parliamentary member who championed laws to help the factory
workers. Robert Owen tried to set up model factory towns (utopias) Parliamentary reform,
notably the Factory Act of 1833 helped to ease the roughest burdens on the working class.
The Age of Ideologies and the Revolutions of 1848
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Dates(s) – 1815- 1848
Theme(s)- Attempts to integrate the new social structure of the Industrial Revolution with the
liberal ideas that were unleashed but then bottled back up in the French Revolution. These
ideologies came into conflict with the conservative governments reinstated by the Congress of
Vienna. The Revolutions of 1848 were the (mostly failed) attempts to challenge these liberal
governments.
Congress of Vienna headed by Metternich attempts to erase the French Revolution. Louis
XVIII and other hereditary rulers returned to thrones. Concert of Europe is set up- major powers
(Holy Alliance) will meet to avoid war and to crush liberalism anywhere. Will ultimately be
shattered during the Crimean War when Austria, France, and Britain team up on Russia.
Nationalism- grows out of the French Revolution. Old Nationalism was a reaction against the
French invaders, who supplied themselves at the expense of local populations. Many people now
wish for political boundaries decided by culture (language, ethnicity) so that their unique voices
can be heard. Conservatives hated Old Nationalism, especially Austria and Russia who had tons to
lose considering their multinational empires. Old Nationalism is connected to Romanticism.
Romanticism grew out of Rousseau’s emphasis on the importance of human emotion and
spontaneity and was boosted by anti- Industrial sentiment and anti-French nationalism. The
Romantics envisioned the pure voice of a people being heard among a symphony of nations.
Romanticism was especially important in the HRE (Prussia). The Sturm and Drang movement in
Prussia is one example. Artists like Goethe (The Sorrows of Young Werther- a young man
commits suicide when his love does not love him in return) focused on nature and emotion (hippylike). William Wordsworth was a famous Romantic poet. Eugene Delacroix (Liberty Leading
the People) and Beethoven (Ninth Symphony- Ode to Joy) are other famous examples.
Utilitarians- Jeremy Bentham founded this school and John Stuart Mill served as its greatest
popularizer- believed that the government should take the action that did the most good for the
greatest number of people. To some degree Utilitarianism was the beginning of Socialism.
Socialism grew out of some Europeans interest in the extreme equality of condition created during
the Reign of Terror. Utopian Socialists believed that history would eventually move mankind
towards a more perfect society. They experimented with labor reforms and social laws to help the
lower classes. The basic tenet of Socialism believes that the government should interfere in the
economy in order to help the unfortunate. Marxian Socialists (Communists), were much more
radical. They believed that the Capitalist system was a justification for class oppression and served
only the interests of the bourgeois. Inspired by Marx (Das Kapital, the Communist Manifesto)
and Engels, Marxists argued that history was a dialectical process of dominant model and
antithesis. The fundamentals of this model were economic. However, new models repeatedly
replaced the old- for example, capitalism had replaced feudalism. Marx believed a violent
revolution of the working class would overthrow the bourgeois. Then, Marx intended to stop the
historical dialectic process by abolishing private property so that the state would eventually
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wither away as all people worked happily for their common good. Don’t forget that these Marxists
were influenced by the early stages of the Industrial Revolution when working conditions were at
their worst. Marx believed the revolution would happen naturally as the urbanized proletariat
became class conscious and realized his power.
Realist artists felt that rather than ignoring or rejecting the pains of the Dual Revolutions (French
and Industrial), it was their job to bring it to the attention of the world through their art. Authors
like Charles Dickens explored the rough parts of life in the new Industrial cities. After the
development of the camera, many realists turned to Impressionism in an attempt to make
emotional images that were ‘more real’ than photographs.
England saw a swing towards Conservativism during the post Napoleonic War period, largely as a
response to the chaos of the French Revolution. Although issues were tense in G.B , they did not
break out into full revolution like many continental countires. The Corn Laws after the French
Revolution (high tariffs on imported grain) were an example of aristocratic power, especially
considering that Parliament used the British army to crush a peaceful protest of the Corn Laws in
St. Peter’s Field (Petersloo Massacre- called this in a mockery of Waterloo). Groups like the
Chartists sought reform through a widening of the franchise and the franchise in England did
expand over the 19th century. Parliament increasingly passed laws guaranteeing worker
protections- Factory Act, Poor Act, etc. . By the mid 19th century the Corn Laws were repealed,
partly in response to the harshness of the Irish Potato Famine. By the late 19th century, women,
inspired by some of the key early feminists in the French Revolution (Wollestonecraft and
DeGouges) begin to argue for women’s suffrage. The Whig (liberal) and Tory (conservative)
parties ushered in the age of party politics. The Whigs won a great victory in the Reform Bill of
1834, which got rid of Rotten Voting Districts and widened the franchise.
The Greek Revolution was, in some ways, a precursor of the Revolutions of 1848. Antimonarchical sentiment was rising in Europe from nationalists, liberals, and socialists. Kings in
Europe sought to avoid any revolutionary fervor, but gave in on Greece. Greek independence
became a romantic rallying cry as the Ottoman Empire weakened, largely because of their
historic role as the foundations of European culture. At first supported mainly by poets and
radicals (Lord Byron, a poet, fought and died there), eventually the monarchs of England, France,
and Russia put down the Turkish forces.
During and in the wake of the French Revolution, many New World colonies were freed from
European Imperialism.
France was a constitutional monarchy under Louis XVIII (Charter of 1814). Louis’ successor,
Charles X tried to swing France back to Absolutism. The Parisian mobs revolted, and the
bourgeois, terrified of a return to republican rule (which reminded them of the Reign of Terror)
chose Louis Phillipe. He took power in 1830. His rule became known as the Bourgeois
Monarchy since this was the social group he supported and counted on. He reinstated the Charter
of 1814.
The Revolutions of 1848 were sparked partially by the miserable economy of the 1840s (think
Irish Potato Blight) and partially by frustration with anti-democratic governments. In France,
Louis Philippe stepped down to be replaced by a Republic. However, the new Republic was
divided between liberals and radicals (wanting socialism). When the liberals started to seize power
in the new assembly, the Parisian mobs rioted. In the rioting of the June Days, the army, mainly
consisting of rural peasants who loathed the urban radicals, crushed the uprisings. Louis
Napoleon (later Napoleon III) was chosen by the liberals who now worried about chaos more
than ideology. Austria followed with its own revolution, which after initial successes, fell apart
because of the inability of the revolutionaries to agree. Metternich did flee to England, but
eventually an absolutist state was returned to power. Hungarian/Austrian tension was a major
factor in this revolution. Prussia also went through a revolution in 1848. It too failed in a similar
manner. Interestingly, in this revolution, Frederick William IV of Prussia refused a ‘crown from
the gutter’ when offered a unified Germany under his rule by the Frankfurt Assembly, but was
denied a crown from above when the other HRE princes, mainly Austria, refused to offer it to him.
New Nationalism and the Unification of Germany
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Dates- 1848- 1914
Themes- Reaction against French invaders and Romanticism led to a desire for national unity in
central and Eastern Europe (old nationalism). The traditional leaders find a way to use this and
manipulate it with widening franchises, social reforms, foreign wars, and New Imperialism, to win
support for their essentially conservative agenda. This is known as New Nationalism and its
intellectual model is France under Napoleon I. This new nationalism becomes especially important
in a Germany unified under Prussia- aided by the Zollverein and Bismarck’s talents. Germany will
unbalance the power in Europe, contributing to tensions that will lead ultimately to the First World
War. Italy is also unified. Italy’s unification is more important as a model for Germany than for
European geopolitics.
France, under Napoleon III pioneered the New Nationalist model. Napoleon III gained
popularity by pushing through reforms- beautifying Paris under Hausseman (while also widening
boulevards to thwart revolutionaries). He also widened the franchise and tried to help the poor. He
allowed labor unions and strikes, as well. However, Napoleon III wasn’t really interested in
giving the people power, as his ascension to emperor proves. He believed he would use the mob
to vote for him to strip power from nobles and bourgeois, and then he, Napoleon III, could run the
ship of state by himself (while never forgetting to carefully stay popular enough to win elections
and plebiscites. Napoleon’s empire would eventually be brought down in the Franco-Prussian
war of 1871.
Italian Unification- Italy hasn’t been unified since the Roman Empire. It doesn’t even share a
common language. Nonetheless, Romantics envision a new Roman Empire that will lead Italy to a
place of greatness. There is disagreement about how this unification can be accomplished. Some
push for unification under the Pope. Others seek a socialist, radical unification through popular
revolt and democracy (these people were led by Mazzini). Finally, a third group seeks a middle
path; a Constitutional Monarchy under Piedmont Sardinia’s Victor Emmanuel. This third route
makes sense since Piedmont-Sardinia was already fairly liberal and progressive, but safeguarded
by its monarchy against radicalism. Other impediments to Italian Unification were France’s
staunch support of Papal independence and Austrian control of lands desired by Italian
nationalists. Cavour was Victor Emmanuel’s skilled leading statesman. He aimed to unite
Northern Italy and allied with Napoleon III of France to do so without Austrian interference. He
did so, but then was betrayed by Napoleon III who was worried about an Italian force to reckon
with. Cavour eventually did manage to get his northern state after long debate with France. He had
also excited southern Italians who were led in a more radical revolt by Garibaldi. After unifying
the southern states, Garibaldi handed them over to Victor Emmanuel, avoiding a civil war in Italy
and allowing the unification to succeed.
German Nation Building- Led by the Zollverein and conservative junker chancellor Otto von
Bismarck (the real power during Kaiser William I’s rule) and inspired by Italian unification, the
German nation was formed. Bismarck, a master of realpolitik (the decisions of the day will be
decided by Blood and Iron) used the methods of New Nationalism (foreign wars, wider franchise,
social reforms) to gain control of Prussia. He then maneuvered the other states of the German
Confederation and Austria to his liking through a series of planned wars. He fought the DanishPrussian War in order to prove Prussia was a leader of Germanic nationalism (punishing
Denmark for attempting to fully annex Schleswig-Holstein). He then used Prussia and Austria’s
joint ownership of Schleswig-Holstein to engineer a war against Austria. A quick victory of
Austria in the Austro-Prussian 7 Weeks War allowed him to unify the Northern German states.
The defeated Austrians were treated well but kept out of a unified Germany. The Austrians were
so weakened that they were forced to allow an awkward dual monarchy with the Hungarians; thus,
the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Finally, Bismarck managed to start a war against France, which
he knew would unite the Southern German states to his cause. He edited the Ems Dispatch (a
letter sent by a Kaiser Wilhelm about offensive remarks made by the French diplomat) to make it
seem more inflammatory, succeeded in stoking French and German opinion for war. The
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industrial powerful Prussians beat the French in the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 very quickly.
The Prussians had a great network of railroads as well as the advanced Needle-gun that was
breech0loading. Napoleon III was actually taken prisoner and the French were forced to sign a
humiliating treaty, despite pleas that the treaty would embitter international relations for
generations. The French had to give up Alsace-Lorraine. International relations were indeed
poisoned as France sought revenge. Britain, Austria, and Russia were also freaked out by a
German juggernaut. William I was crowned Kaiser in the Palace of Versailles.
The Responsive National State is a term for something I’ve already described a bit in this
section. After the unification of Germany and Italy, European nationalism had progressed a long
way, and now national states faced each other. Conservative leaders realized that they could use
nationalism, along with a widening franchise and wars focused on other nations, to deal with
internal social problems and to maintain their own popularity with the people. The need for
foreign diversion is one reason that New Imperialism exploded in the 1880s and 1890s. Bismarck,
in particular, gave socialist reforms to Germans. The widening franchise for men encouraged a
resurgence in the women’s suffrage movement, led by people like Emmaline Pankhurst. After
women entered the factories in large numbers during World War I’s total warfare, women would
earn the vote in most western societies.
Party Politics in England- England had enjoyed Splendid Isolation for much of the 19th century.
They were pulled out of it briefly by the Crimean War, and then later by German Unification and
especially Germany’s naval buildup under Kaiser William II. England developed some of the
features of the Responsive National State as the conservative party, led by Benjamin Disraeli,
widened the franchise to essentially all males. Ireland remained a touchy subject in England up
through the first World War and beyond, as the poor majority Catholic Southern Irish demanded
home rule and the minority, wealthy Protestant Northern Irish (in the Northern Ulster county)
refused, fearing a loss of their wealth and violent vengeance if they lost England’s protection.
Russia’s loss in the Crimean War (1853-1856- an attack on Russia by England, France, and
Austria who feared growing Russian power and especially Russian influence in the Black Sea and
Mediterranean, and also in the Middle East/holy land) convinced Russian leaders that
modernization was necessary. Serfs were freed and the economy of Russia was modernized with
the help of western scientists and engineers. The trans-Siberian Railroad was built and Russian
production increased. An attempt was made to liberalize society- Zemstvos, local peasant
councils, were formed and censorship was relaxed. These reforms are often called the Great
Reforms. However, when Tsar Alexander II was assassinated by radicals, political reform
stopped. Thus, Russia was beginning to modernize economically, but not politically, all the way
up into WWI. In 1905, another military defeat, this time to the quickly modernizing Japanese,
brought reform to Russia. Russians marched on Nicholas II’s Winter Palace and were shot down
by his guards, in what became known as Bloody Sunday. In the national protests and rioting that
followed, Nicholas II agreed to liberalize Russia. He formed a Duma. However, he packed it with
conservative aristocrats, and it would basically be unimportant until the Russian Revolution of
1917.
Social Darwinism was a bastardization of Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, which
appeared in 1859 in Origins of the Species. Some social scientists like Herbert Spencer,
believed that survival of the fittest applied to race, and thus nature desired some races to thrive and
conquer others. This would lead to a feeling of European/Caucasian superiority and helps to
explain both rising anti-Semitism and the justification for the New Imperialism.
France in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War – France was left embittered by the loss to
Prussia. The Parisians had even set up the Paris Commune to attempt to continue to fight
Bismarck, but had been shelled into submission. A republic was formed in France and the country
started to get back on its feet, but then the Dreyfus Affair exposed social tensions. Dreyfus was a
Jewish army officer who was falsely accused of being a German spy. Eventually he was acquitted,
but not before serving a long prison sentence and polarizing French society. Liberals and radicals
in France demanded Dreyfus be freed from prison, most famously Emile Zola in J’Accuse).
Conservatives and the Christian Church disagreed. Anti-Semitism was on the rise in Europe in
general because of Social Darwinism, nationalism, and the perceived Jewish strangle-hold on
European finances.
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Revisionism versus Marxism- Some of the more radical socialists softened their stances in the
late 19th century. It appeared that legal reforms were helping the working class and that a violent
Marxist revolution might not be necessary. These revisionist socialists entered politics and in
some countries, especially Germany, won major shares in the government. These more moderate
socialists would support their nations over their political views in World War I. Marxists saw
these revisionists as traitors and hated them. The more radical Marxists held international
meetings (1st International, 2nd International, etc.) to connect Marxists internationally and to
prepare for a violent world-wide revolution. May 1st (May Day) was chosen as a day of
international strikes and worker solidarity by these more radical Internationals.
New Imperialism
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Dates- 1880s and 1890s
Themes- Europeans make a major u-turn after allowing South, Central and North America break
free from Old Imperialism (started with Columbus) over the previous hundred years. New
discoveries of mineral wealth, New Nationalism’s desire for an outlet for internal tension, growing
national pride and Social Darwinism, and innovations like quinine and the machine gun, combined
to result in Africa and Asia being gobbled up by Europeans in a mad ‘scramble’ for colonies.
England was the dominant imperialist (the sun never sets on the British Empire) and India was
their prized colony (the jewel in the British Crown). Germany was a decided loser, coming to
the colonial game late. Kaiser William II (aka Kaiser Wilhelm II) would claim that he would earn
Germany a place in the sun, demonstrating that New Imperialism would lead to European rivalry
and tension. Bismarck had managed to cool these tensions originally by calling the Berlin
Conference to decide how Africa and Asia would be divided up. The ultimate decision was
practical occupation. This helped cause the mad rush, even for lands that the Europeans knew
almost nothing about. French and British almost came to blows over territory at Fashoda, but the
French backed down because of problems at home with the Dreyfus Affair. Bismarck encouraged
the French to imperialize as it channeled their anger away from Germany. The English also fought
a violent war against the Dutch (the African Dutch were known as Boers) over control of
increasingly valuable land (diamonds, gold) in South Africa. The fighting was a foreshadowing of
the violence and carnage that would occur when modern weapons were turned on each other. The
local African natives (Zulu, Xhosa, etc.) were driven into the interior into less desirable land (the
Great Trek).
Quinine was an anti-malarial drug, so now Europeans could survive in tropical areas. The Maxim
Machine Gun brought the Europeans overwhelming firepower and the Steam powered iron-clad
ship allowed them to project this power inland. The battle of Omdurman demonstrated the ability
of modern European weapons to massacre African forces of vastly superior numbers with almost
no loss to the Europeans. Colonial uprisings in India (the Sepoy Mutiny) and in China (the Boxer
Rebellion) were brutally crushed.
The dominant motivation for Europeans was economic, although some did seek to spread
Christianity. White Man’s Burden written by Rudyard Kipling provided a justification for
Europeans, who believed they were aiding the people they conquered by spreading ‘superior’
European culture. Social Darwinism of course provided another justification.
Belgian King Leopold II became infamous for his cruel treatment of natives in the Belgian
Congo.
The United States managed to keep much of China independent under the Open Door Policy,
because they feared their own trade interests would be cut off if Europeans gobbled up China. The
British got trading concessions in China and Hong Kong as the result of the Opium War. The
U.S. entered the world stage by imperializing the Philippines. The Japanese joined the scramble
by taking Korea.
Many native people were educated in the west in order to provide a loyal bureaucracy for the
ruling Europeans. These people often led independence movements (think Gandhi)
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The Suez Canal became a vital artery connecting the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans. It was
built by the French in Egypt, and was later taken over and dominated by the British.
Ethiopia and Liberia were the only two areas of Africa not colonized by WW.I
Cecil Rhodes was a major British proponent of Imperialism who argued that a telegraph wire and
train line should be run from British controlled Egypt in the North of Africa all the way to British
controlled South Africa.
China stands as a model of a country that resisted Westernization because it threatened Chinese
culture. The result was an increasingly big gap between Chinese and European power. Egypt and
Japan stand as opposite models of countries that sought to westernize, at least technologically.
Egypt, however, borrowed a great deal of money from Europe to modernize and couldn’t pay the
money back, so they were effectively taken over by the British. In Japan, U.S. naval Commodore
Matthew Perry forced open (gunboat diplomacy) Japanese markets to foreign trade. The
Japanese originally tried to retreat from the West, but in the Meiji Restoration a group of
Japanese decided to accept many western ideas, studied abroad in the west, and began to catch
Japan up. One example of their success is their victory in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.
Many socialists criticized New Imperialism as simply an extension of bourgeois exploitation.
World War I
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Dates- 1914-1918
Themes- Caused by M.A.I.N. (militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism) and sparked
by the nationalist tensions in the Balkans, Europe enters a war that will destroy a generation of
youth and European self-confidence in human progress, reason, and democracy. The Treaty of
Versailles paves the way for World War II.
Bismarck had tried to stabilize Europe by isolating France and building alliances with the major
European powers (Russia and Austria). When Bismarck is ejected from office by the brash and
foolish Kaiser William II (for the former’s weakness towards Russia). William II allowed the
treaty with Russia to lapse, which allowed France to immediately court the Russians. William also
built up the German navy, which caused the British to abandon splendid isolation and join in an
alliance with France and Russia, in what would be called the Triple Entente (later the Allies).
Germany allied with Austria-Hungary, and finally Italy in the Triple Alliance (later the Central
Powers). These alliances deterred attack, but meant that any conflict might quickly escalate.
The British developed the Dreadnought in response to the Germany naval buildup. This was a
super battleship, but also meant that Germany was only one ship behind.
In the short term, the sparking events occurred in the Balkans, where the weakening Ottoman
Empire created a vacuum into which nationalist sentiment of the local populations and the
expansionist and balance-of-power desires of Austria-Hungary and Russia, created a powderkeg.
The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria by a Serbian ultranationalist group
known as the Black Hand (tubercular assassins) while the Archduke was coming to claim
Bosnia-Herzogovina for Austria set off a chain reaction of declarations of war, drawing in all of
the major powers of Europe. Italy stayed out at first, fearing they were on the weaker side. The
Ottoman Empire eventually joined the Central Powers. Britain joined when the Germans violated
Belgian neutrality as a part of their Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan was set up to allow
Germany to avoid a two-front war by attacking quickly and decisively into France and then
wheeling to deal with the Russians. Some historians, notably amateur historian Barbara
Tuchman, argue that political leaders were goaded into war by military leaders who worried that
to mobilize too late or partially spelled sure defeat. Some have also argued that the conservative
leadership feared inevitable revolutions and saw a major (and hopefully, quick) war as the only
way to maintain their social standing.
The Schlieffen Plan was derailed by the British-French victory at the 1st Battle of the Marne.
Trenches were frantically built in a race to the sea. Ultimately, trench warfare would produce
stalemate, a war of attrition, and total war. On the Eastern Front, the Russians were badly
mauled by the German armies at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes. On the Western Front,
defensive power was dominant as evident in the fruitless over the top attacks through no man’s
land in battles such as Verdun, the Somme, and Passchendaele.
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Total War led to almost total government control of the economy, propaganda, censorship,
rationing, and the seeds of the Totalitarian governments that would follow World War I. Germany
was hurt badly by an allied blockade (they were forced to find a new way to create or ‘fix’
nitrogen to make explosives. Germany also passed the Auxiliary Service Act, which declared
that all men would be employed in military capacities. Women entered the workforce. New
military technologies like the tank, airplane, poison gas, and zeppelin were attempts to break the
stalemate. All countries began to crack under the strain. Russia went first (this story will be picked
up in the next section). The allies might have been doomed had not the United States joined the
allies with a vast economy and fresh troops. European powers often brought colonial soldiers to
Europe to aid in trench warfare.
I didn’t teach much about the famously failed Gallopoli Campaign, which occurred in the
Dardenelles Straights, which connect the Black Sea to the Mediterranean (and separate Europe and
Asia). This attack is connected to Winston Churchill of England, who felt that the stalemate of
Trench Warfare might be broken by opening a new allied front in the Balkans, at the same time
creating a trade route between Britain and France with Russia, and finally, cutting the Germans off
from their Turkish/Ottoman ally.
The U.S. had been pulled in partially by the Germans practice of unrestricted submarine
warfare. Most notably, the sinking of the Lusitania killed over a hundred Americans and enraged
the U.S. population.. After the Germans sent the Zimmerman Note to Mexico asking for their aid
against the U.S., America joined the war. The Germans tried a last effort to break the FrenchBritish lines before the U.S. overwhelmed them, but they were stopped again at the 2nd Battle of
the Marne. The Germans were pushed back and eventually surrendered, although their country
was only occupied as far as the Rhine River, allowing later Germans to develop the Stab-in-theBack Theory.
At the Paris Peace Conference meant to decide how to deal with war torn Europe, the three
primary allied leaders disagreed greatly. The American President Woodrow Wilson had
published his Fourteen Points, an attempt to remove the points of tension that had led to World
War I in the first place. Included in these points were: self-determination of political boundaries
by ethnic groups (although not meant to include non-whites in the colonies, a League of Nations
to prevent future war, and relative leniency towards Germany. The British, under David Lloyd
George wanted a harsher punishment of Germany (Squeeze the Germans until the pips
squeak). However, the British wanted to regain the German foreign market and so they were not
as vengeful as the French. The French, led by Clemenceau, wanted to ensure that Germany
couldn’t rise again and demanded a harsh treaty. They wanted a buffer state and massive
reparations. In an eventual compromise in the Treaty of Versailles, the allies made a solution that
was perhaps the worst of all worlds. Germany was humiliated (reparations, war-blame clause,
loss of land and colonies, and massive military reduction, but was not broken apart entirely.
The United States did not even join the League of Nations because the Republican congress
though that doing so would draw the U.S. into future European conflicts. The United States
returned to its policy of isolation from the pre-war days.
European New Imperialism was not ended and Europe reasserted its control over Africa and Asia
as part of the Mandate System, which promised eventual freedom to these nations at the time and
choosing of the European powers (in other words- never.)
Italy was not given land it felt it had been promised for joining the allies midway through the war
(because this interfered with self-determination) leaving Italy embittered. Japan was not granted
the Racial Equality Clause they desired, turning Japan towards militancy. Russia, engaged in a
civil war, was not even invited to the conference.
Russian Revolution
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Dates- 1917
Themes- Cracking under the strain of Total War, Lenin manages to pull off a surprising
communist/Bolshevik revolution to replace an earlier, more moderate, revolutionary government.
Despite a Civil War and foreign attempts to crush Bolshevism in its infancy (naked baby?) Lenin
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will start a transformation of Russian society soon to be hijacked by Stalin and ultimately to set
the stage for the Cold War.
Russia was still behind technologically (two soldiers for every gun). At first the Russians greeted
WWI as a blessed opportunity to regain face after the loss to Japan in 1905. However, they
quickly regretted their entry into a long war of attrition. Nicholas II eventually went to the front to
rally his troops. He left the Tsarina Alexandra in charge. She was taken in by a magician named
Rasputin who may or may not have cured her son of hemophilia. Rasputin began to exercise a
great deal of political influence and was eventually killed by jealous and angry Russian nobles.
Germany returned Lenin, a Marxist Radical, to Germany from exile in Switzerland because of
their shared goal of toppling the Russian government. Lenin had altered Marx to argue that a
Communist revolution could happen in an agrarian society like Russia as long as their was a
dedicated vanguard (elite) of revolutionaries. At first Lenin and his Bolshevik party had few
supporters and an early revolution failed. Instead, the government fell to the moderate Duma and
its leader Alexander Karensky. This was the March Revolution. Unfortunately for this
provisional government, it stayed in the World War which drained it of support and protection.
Also, the provisional government’s Army Order #1 shook army discipline and contributed to
chaos in the army. When parts of the Russian army marched on St. Petersburg (renamed Petrograd
at this point), Karensky, in desperation gave weapons to the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks, working
within the Petrograd Soviet and pretending a moderation of their politics, seized power in an
almost bloodless coup known as the October Revolution.
Lenin faced an immediate with conservative forces in Russia. He immediately got out of the war
with Germany, ceding tremendous amounts of land to the Germans in the Treaty of BrestLitovsk. (Yes, I checked my spelling twice.) A civil war between Tsarist conservatives (the
White Army) and the Bolsheviks (the Red Army) ensued. The U.S. even sent troops to help the
Whites, but eventually the Reds won, partially because of dedicated leadership by Lenin and his
followers like Trotsky (who ran the Red Army) and Stalin. The Romanovs were executed to
avoid a rallying point for the Whites. Lenin used terror, even rebuilding the Tsars secret police, the
Cheka, to root out political dissension.
After winning the Civil War, Lenin instituted the N.E.P. (New Economic Policy) allowing some
capitalism to rebuild the pulverized Russian economy.
The Interwar Years
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Dates- 1918 to 1939
Themes- After the shocking realization that technological progress does not necessarily equal
progress for people in general (see- World War I and trench warfare), the Age of Anxiety begins,
with people unsure where to turn for security and comfort. In the Soviet Union, Germany, Italy,
most of Eastern Europe, and Spain, people turn towards dictators and totalitarian governments,
especially after the start of the Great Depression in 1929. The western democracies, seemingly on
the road to recovery and peace in the 1920s, lack the political will to stand up to these totalitarians
as the League of Nations becomes increasingly irrelevant. America rejects a role as world
policeman and Britain, France, and Germany have lost the strength to hold this position. New
Imperialism continues under the Mandate System.
The worldwide Influenza epidemic of 1918 contributed to the sense of insecurity in the post WWI
period. Other contributors to the Age of Anxiety: Freud’s Psychoanalysis and his idea of the
unconscious mind (Id-unconscious animalistic natural desires, Ego- conscious rationalizing selfwhat can I get away with, and Superego- higher morality- what should I do?); Einstein’s theory
of relativity which challenged the Newtonian stabilities of the natural world- this theory was
based on the early work on radiation done by Marie Curie and others like Max Planck who
discovered that energy is released in discreet amounts known as quanta. . In addition,
existentialists were inspired by pre-war German philosopher Nietzsche. He argued that humanity
had been mistaken in its focus on reason and democracy, for these were weaker aspects of
humanity, giving the voice and power to the weakest. Instead, he argued that emotion and
inspiration were superior, and he believed that only a few exceptional supermen would be able to
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break free of mental constraints and see clearly enough to advance humanity. These supermen
deserved to rule over their fellow man. Some would blame Nietzsche for Hitler. This inspired post
war existentialists who believed that there was no external meaning to life (Nietzche’s God is
Dead) and that humans instead created a meaning themselves. Sartre and Camus were famous
existentialists. Artistic styles like stream of consciousness and Surrealism demonstrated the
themes of the Age of Anxiety.
Totalitarian states formed in the Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy. In the Soviet Union, Stalin
planned to catch up with the west, funding his Five Year Plans rapid industrialization on the
backs of the seizure of peasants’ crops as a part of Collectivization. Stalin was ruthless and
liquidated the Kulaks, set up political prisons known as gulags, censored the media, and even
starved millions of Ukranians who tried to resist Collectivization. Stalin was massively successful
in the field of heavy industry but less so in consumer goods. His paranoia caused him to purge
any army officials and millions of others he felt were disloyal. The Totalitarian Soviet Union
rejected religion (atheism) and sought to end class.
The Totalitarian states in Germany and Italy were similar to that in Russia in regards to their total
control over all aspects of society, utilizing technology to have even more power than earlier
absolutists. However, the fascist Italians (Mussolini) and the Nazi Germans (Hitler) were less
hostile to capitalism and were not fully atheistic, accepting religion as a vehicle for their
Totalitarianism. The Fascists were obsessed with racial purity. Hitler hoped to create a 3rd Reich
that would control Europe for a thousands years, utilizing living space gained from weaker races,
especially the Slavs in Russia and Eastern Europe. Fascists won support by promising to protect
people from Communism, thus winning support from wealthy industrialists.
The Western Democracies were weak in the face of these Totalitarians. France had tried to be
strong, invading the Ruhr Valley in the early 1920 when Germany defaulted on war reparations.
However, without the support of the U.S. and Britain, France could do little. The Dawes Plan
started to put Germany back on its feet, despite Germany’s weak and hated Weimar Republic
government. Hopeful signs like the Locarno Treaty and the Kellogg-Briand Pact, rejecting
warfare as a political tool, were signed. However, the Great Depression destroyed such hopes. It
made the western democracies less willing to build up militaries and radicalized the populations of
Germany and Italy to follow dictators. The western democracies did little as Mussolini seized
power in Italy and as Hitler became famous for attempting to seize the government of Bavaria by
force. Hitler was given only a slap on the wrist and, in his book written from prison Mein
Kampf,, set forth many of the ideas he would later put into practice. The Totalitarians challenged
the west and the League of Nations by invading Ethiopia, remilitarizing the Rhineland, building
up the German military. Germany and Italy eventually joined Japan, who had begun to feel that
militarism was the only way to gain respect from the west and had begun to take Manchuria and
other parts of China. Japan’s ruthlessness was evident in the Rape of Nanking. The League sent
angry letters, but could do little else.
The Scandinavian countries found some success in dealing with the Great Depression using
socialist policies. British economist Keynes argued that governments should spend more money in
depressions to spur the economy. Keynes had also criticized the Versailles Treaty in the
Economic Consequences of the Peace
World War II
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Dates- 1939 to 1945
Themes- Appeasement proves to be foolhardy as Hitler attacks with dreams of a 1000 year
German Reich. Britain and later the U.S. and Soviet Union, stand against the Axis powers. The
Jews and others are massacred behind Nazi borders. Finally, the combined might of the Allies,
especially the economic might of the U.S. and the manpower of the Soviet Union, crushes the
Axis. The atom bomb ushers in a new era of world history as the uneasy Allies posture for the
Cold War. New Imperialism ends as the old European Imperialists are exhausted.
Unwilling to face the dreadful possibility of another total war, American re-embraces isolationism
with the Neutrality Act, Britain turns to appeasement, and France builds the Maginot Line.
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The Japanese, Germans, and Italians, emboldened by the lack of resolve to stop their aggressive
actions, move on to greater challenges of the western democracies and the League of Nations.
They form an alliance group known as the Axis to work towards their common purpose of a new
world centered on their Totalitarian dominance. Germany remilitarizes the Rhineland, invades
Austria as part of the Anschluss, gets hold of the Sudetenland as part of the Munich
Conference, and ultimately takes the rest o f Czechoslovakia. The Japanese take greater and
greater portions of China. The League of Nations does next to nothing, despite clear evidence (in
hindsight) that Hitler could have been easily beaten at this early stage.
Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, urged on by worried Brits, meets with Hitler in
Munich. There, Hitler promises that if he is given the Sudetenland, behind the Czech’s fortified
border, Germany will be a sated power. Chamberlain agrees and is greeted as a hero at home,
promising: “peace for our time.” Winston Churchill criticizes what he sees (correctly) as a show
of weakness before a bully who only understands force. Hitler soon invades the rest of
Czechoslovakia, bursting the illusion that he can be handled by negotiations.
France and Britain vow to defend Poland, Hitler’s most likely next target. However, the Nazis and
Soviets sign a non-aggression pact in 1939, and jointly invade Poland. France and Britain declare
war, but are powerless to interfere in the Blitzkrieg into Poland.
Hitler at this point is embarking upon his grand plan, originally outlined in Mein Kampf, to win
the Germans lebensraum by destroying the ‘weaker’ races of Eastern Europe (slavs, Jews, etc.).
He plans to build a 3rd German Reich. However, with a non-aggression pact with Stalin
protecting his eastern front, he turns to crush the Western allies.
Hitler’s Blitzkrieg gets him past the Maginot Line via the Ardennes Forest, and France collapses
in a mere 5 weeks. Vichy France under Marshall Petain is theoretically free, but is in reality a
puppet state. In the Miracle at Dunkirk, the British army (stationed in France) is narrowly saved.
FDR begins to swing American support towards the allies as part of the Lend-Lease Program
(U.S. = Arsenal of Democracy).. Hitler attempts to crush England as part of the Battle of
Britain, ultimately foolishly abandoning his plan to destroy the British Royal Air Force and to
instead focus on the London Blitz. England, under Churchill’s inspirational guidance, holds out.
Hitler is forced to abandon his plans to invade Britain and instead tries to weaken England
economically via his Battle of the Atlantic, using U-boats to siege Britain.
Hitler, whose ambitions are unlimited, turns to an invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation
Barbarossa). The German army invades in three prongs, aimed at Leningrad, Moscow, and
Stalingrad. The Soviets once again employ the scorched earth policy and retreat deep into the
interior. Eventually all three of the central German targets hold out, despite brutal sieges.
Stalingrad becomes the crucial battle of the war, ultimately won by the Soviets.
Pearl Harbor, at roughly the same time as Stalingrad, is another turning point, because, despite
destroying much of the Pacific Fleet, brings the preponderance of American economic might into
the war.
Eventually the tide turns against the Axis on all fronts (Midway in the Pacific, Stalingrad in the
East, El Alamein in the south, and D-Day in the West). The allies avoid discussing the political
situation while the war is going on, to prevent a rift between the Soviets and western allies.
Militarily, the nations do agree on a Europe First policy. The Soviets lead the charge towards
Germany, leaving the western allies in a weak negotiating position about the future of Eastern
Europe.
During the high point of the axis victories, Hitler has the freedom to begin his planned
extermination of the Jews of Europe, known as his Final Solution, and to later history as the
Holocaust. Well over half of Europe’s Jews (6 million) are victims.
The Soviets arrive in Berlin, Hitler commits suicide, the Americans enter Germany from the west,
and V-E day is realized. The culmination of the island hopping campaign in the Pacific is the use
of the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, eliminating the need for an invasion of Japan.
The post war political settlement is no longer avoidable. Eastern Europe is essentially ceded to
Stalin, despite vague promises to allow elections there. The United Nations is established to
replace the League of Nations. It has a military and a special body (the Security Council) with a
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veto power. The security council nations are the U.S., U.S.S.R., France, China, and Britain. FDR
dies and his successor Truman takes a harder line towards Communism, setting the stage for the
Cold War. The Nuremberg Tribunal is designed to hold Nazis responsible for their actions,
utilizing the new crimes against humanity argument. Jewish Zionism is the beneficiary of an
outpouring of guilt and sympathy as the full measure of the Holocaust becomes clear.
The fall from power of Europeans brings an end to the era of New Imperialism in Asia and Africa.
The Cold War
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Dates- 1945- 1991
Themes- The world polarizes into Soviet Communism and American (and Western European)
Democratic Capitalism. The newly independent colonies of Asia, Africa, and South America, as
well as Eastern Europe become prizes, fought over by the two superpowers who seek ‘spheres of
influence’. The war remains mostly cold as both sides have devastating weapons. Proxy wars
break out and several tense moments occur as each side uses brinksmanship to intimidate their
opponent. In the end, the Soviet system collapses because of its weakening economy and the
general displeasure of the population living behind the Iron Curtain. The Soviet Union
disintegrates.
Soviets and Americans meet at the Elbe River in Germany, ending the Third Reich. Eastern
Europe is already obviously a source of tension. Germany is divided between the allied powers.
West Berlin, a democratic island in a sea of communism, will cause problems throughout the Cold
War.
The Soviet Union begins a restalinization, as Stalin turns the country back to the 1930s of purges
and gulags and censorship.
The United States sets its policy through the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine. The
Marshall Plan offers billions to crushed European nations. It has a multi-faceted purpose: prevent
the rise of another Hitler by rebuilding European economies and avoiding the Treaty of Versailles
mistakes; to restart the global economy; and, finally, to lure countries into the U.S. sphere by
proving how wealthy and generous the United States is. The Truman Doctrine acknowledges that
communism can’t be rolled back, but that if the Soviet Union is ringed by U.S. military forces,
then communism can at least be contained. The Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine clearly
indicate the U.S.’ acceptance as international participants: isolationism is over
Containment is especially vexing to Stalin and is immediately challenged by: the Berlin
Blockade, which is eventually defeated by the Berlin Airlift,; Soviet efforts to gain support in
Iran and Greece, and Turkey; the fall of China to Communism in 1949, and the Korean War, in
which the Soviets and Chinese aid the North Koreans in their bid to unify Korea under communist
government. The Korean War ends with an uneasy armistice with a divided Korea (north=
communist, south= capitalist).
The name Cold War makes sense because the U.S. and the Soviet Union don’t dare to attack each
other directly on account of their nuclear arsenals (the Soviet Union goes nuclear in 1949) aided
by pro-communist spies in the U.S. (the Rosenbergs), leading to a Red Scare in the U.S.
Gradually, the Soviets and U.S. develop increasingly lethal weapons (hydrogen bomb) and
delivery systems (ICBMs). The space race becomes another cold war battlefield, as a craft that
can go into space could easily be converted into a missile delivery system. The Soviets take an
early lead with Sputnik, while the U.S. eventually responds with a moon landing.
The east and west divide into competing groups. The western capitalist democratic nations form
NATO aka the western bloc, while the eastern communist nations form the Warsaw Pact/ aka
eastern bloc. Because of the lack of information flowing out of the eastern bloc, Churchill coins
the term iron curtain to describe the intellectual as well as physical separation between the
NATO and Warsaw Pact nations.
When Stalin dies, Khrushchev, his successor, attempts to turn away from the most egregious
excesses of the Stalinist period. In his secret speech he denounces Stalin’s methods. However,
Khrushchev is eventually booted out of office both for his foreign policy disasters (failed attempt
to scare NATO allies to abandon west Berlin, the Cuban Missile Crisis) and because his
liberalization threatens the old guard who run the communist party. Khrushchev is eventually
replaced by Brezhnev, who pushes the Soviet Union back towards Stalinist policies.
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The period 1945 – 1968 are relatively good years for the west. Economies boom, partially on
account of the Marshall Plan, and steps are taken to develop an economic union in Europe, in the
hopes that this will lesson the chance of future war. Keynsian Economics offer a new government
model (countercyclical government economic policies) and Coal and Steel Community/ aka the
Common Market created by the Treaty of Rome eliminates tariffs among many of the major
European nations. Later, when Europeans will settle on a common currency and more nations will
be added, the name of the organization is changed to the European Union (EU) Nationalist
France and especially England are hesitant to give up economic and political power to a Europeanwide governing body for both nationalistic and economic reasons.
Brinksmanship is the practice of trying to move so close to a military posture that your enemy
backs down. It is a dangerous game, as both players have nukes and there is always the danger that
no one will blink, leading to World War III. The Korean War, the Berlin Airlift, the Cuban Missile
Crisis, the Vietnam War, and the Afghanistan Wars all fall under this basic category. In addition,
the wars listed previously are sometimes referred to as Proxy Wars, since many of the soldiers
fighting were merely filling in for the conflict that could not be waged directly through the
superpowers on account of the devastating power of atomic weapons.
Decolonization occurs after WWII, ranging from peaceful independence (India) to armed
rebellions (Vietnam, Algeria). Some of the Europeans, notably the British and French, realize that
they can return back to a form of economic imperialism rather than political imperialism, and thus
set up the newer neocolonial model. Thus, strangely, in many cases bonds are strengthened
between third world and European nations.
Communism was largely unpopular as it was a repressive form of government, dominated peoples
who wanted independence from the Russians, and was clearly not functioning as well
economically as capitalism. After the fall of moderate Khrushchev, many of the Soviet satellite
states (Poland, Czech., Hungary, etc.) rose up against a re-radicalization of the Soviet system.
Brezhnev crushed these revolutions (most famously that of the Czechs in the 1968 Prague Spring
uprising led by Dubcek who hoped to create ‘socialism with a face’). This showed the world that
the Soviets would still use force to maintain their empire and that there would be no immediate
end to the Cold War. This willingness to use force became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine. The
same year, the U.S. suffered a setback when the Tet Offensive (launched by the communist
guerrilla forces known as the Vietcong) demonstrated that the U.S .would not be able to win a
quick victory against Communist forces in Vietnam. The U.S. had become involved in Vietnam
after the French abandoned it (French were beaten in Vietnam at the battle of Dien Bien Phu).
The U.S. saw the Vietnam War as an extension of the Truman Doctrine, wince they were trying to
prevent communism from spreading into Southeast Asia. The Americans justified their position by
worrying aloud about a Domino Theory, in which the fall of even a small nation to the
communist sphere of influence threatened to bring other nations towards communism. 1968 is
often considered a turning point in the Cold War.
After 1968, the western economies stalled, largely because of OPEC’s decision to raise the price
of fuel to punish the west for supporting the state of Israel against the Muslim (mostly) Arabs who
surrounding them. The U.S. suffered other blows when they were forced to abandon Vietnam and
when Nixon had to resign in the wake of the Watergate incident. The Civil Rights Movement
and the generational friction between the Greatest and Boomer generations furthered American
problems.
The 1970s saw an attempt to calm Cold War tensions (détente), but by the 80s, more
conservative, hard-line policies were in place, under leaders like Ronald Reagan in the U.S., and
Margaret Thatcher in the UK. Reagan massively built up American weapons, most famously
with his Star Wars program, eventually bankrupting the eastern bloc economies who struggled to
keep pace.
The Soviet Union had seemed stable to outsiders through the 70s and 80, but problems existed.
One example of these problems is the brain drain as the more educated people fled westward to
take advantage of capitalist economics. The Berlin Wall was built around the perimeter of West
Berlin with the express purpose of keeping eastern bloc people from fleeing to the western bloc.
Resistance to the Soviet Union continued. The Polish Solidarity movement, led by Lech Walesa
sought to be a self-limiting revolution, pushing for reform, but avoiding violence against the
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Soviet Union. Even after being outlawed, the Solidarity Movement went underground and
continued to be a leading light for reform.
When Gorbachev took over he believed that serious reform was need to save communism. The
isolation of Soviet scientists and intellectuals in the world was harming the Soviet economy. His
policies allowed for greater openness and freedoms (Glasnost) and greater economic freedom
(Perestroika). Economically, these plans were not highly successful, but they did provide
freedom of speech, which would be a major part in the (unintended) collapse of the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev (and Soviet leaders before him) had been forced to contend with repeated anticommunist uprisings, notably the Polish Solidarity movement. Gorbachev ultimately rejected the
Brezhnev Doctrines’ promise to use force on dissidents, and the Soviet Union quickly dissolved,
losing its Warsaw Pact partners in the Revolutions of 1989 and the Soviet Republics themselves
in 1991. The Soviet Union was no more, the Cold War had ended, and Boris Yeltsin rose to
power in the Soviet Union.
Most Eastern European nations, notably Poland, immediately dismantled command economies
and shifted drastically (shock therapy) to capitalism. Hungary torn down its portion of the iron
curtain (barbed-wire) and Czechoslovakia went through a largely peaceful Velvet Revolution
(immediately instituting a national holiday celebrating Jan Hus- interesting connection… think
about it). Romania was one of the few former Warsaw Pact nations to experience a violent
transition.
East Germany, despite briefly advocating a ‘third way’ (socialism, but not based on a radical
Marxist model), was swallowed up by West Germany under the leadership of West German
chancellor Helmut Kohl. Germany became once again a dominant European power, although it
promised to loan the Soviet Union a bunch of money and to foreswear forever chemical,
biological, or nuclear weapons in order to calm Soviets who remembered previous German
invasions. Kohl allowed East Germans to exchange their money for West German money, making
them all immediately richer and happy about the transition.
Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the U.S. stood as the lone superpower. Their victory in the
1st Gulf War was impressive, but ten year’s later, 9-11 would remind the U.S. and the world of
the continued vulnerability of all countries.
Then, Emily Lucente and Justin Doyle wers born, and the $#@! really hit the fan.