AP European History Test
Review Part Four
Congress of Vienna
through Imperialism
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
A Time of change, the Nineteenth century
saw the transformation from the
Napoleonic period to the modern world.
It began with the defeat of Napoleon and
ended with an industrialized Europe with
new political alliances & great influence in
most parts of the world.
The Congress of Vienna
Purposes included:
division of the spoils of war
production of a settlement to return Europe,
as closely as possible to the way it was
before the French revolution
promotion of conservatism & suppression of
liberalism & divisive nationalism
Big 4 = England (Castlereagh), Russia
(Alexander I), Prussia (Fred. Will. II), &
Austria (Metternich).
Concerns of the Congress
Balance of Power (checks & balances):
Wanted to make sure no single power could
dominate Europe as France had done.
Legitimacy: wanted the restoration of
monarchies & the return of all original lands
(baseline = 1792)
Indemnity: France paid 700 million Francs to
support an army of occupation until 1820.
Alliance Systems
The Concert of Europe consisted of
several alliances with the purpose of
maintaining the conservative settlement
designed by the COV.
These included:
The Holy Alliance
The Quadruple Alliance (Eng, Austria,
Prussia, and Russia)
The Quintuple Alliance (Quadruple alliance
joined by France in 1818)
Results of the Congress of
Vienna
Concert of Europe put down revolts in
Italy & Spain in the early 1820’s, but broke
down by 1825 due to the fact that England
was not as conservative as the rest of the
members & pulled out.
Enforced conservatism was challenged by
the forces of liberalism, & nationalism.
Conservative settlements later led to the
revolutions of 1848.
The Revolutions of 1830
Spain: 1814--restoration of King
Ferdinand VII: revived the old regime &
the inquisition.
1820: Ferdinand ordered his army to
attack & recapture former Sp. Colonies in
Latin Am., & the army mutinied.
Ferdinand had to restore the Napoleonic
constitution of 1812.
1823: Louis VIII sent troops to restore
Ferd VII after another revolt.
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
(Naples)
1815: Restoration of Bourbon King
Ferdinand I: very corrupt & conservative.
1820: Carbonari revolted against king &
forced him to accept a more liberal
constitution.
Austria sent an army to Italy to restore the
king’s power
Greece
Greece revolted against Turkish control in
1821, causing a civil war.
1828, Russia, Britain, and France joined
the war on the side of the Greeks.
1829: Treaty of Adrianople: Greek
independence & Russia gets part of
modern-day Romania.
Decembrist Uprising
2 secret revolutionary groups were operating
in Russia by the early 1800’s.
Northern Society: wanted a constitutional
monarchy
Southern Society: wanted a democratic republic
When Alex I died, liberals wanted his brother
Constantine to rule, but he abdicated in favor
of his younger brother, Nicholas.
1825: revolutionaries rioted & were crushed.
Alex set up a very repressive police state.
France (1830)
Louis XVIII died in 1824, bringing Charles X
to the throne.
Charles was extremely conservative, and
had been the leader of the “ultras” before
he became king.
Under his leadership, the Catholic church
was given control of Catholic schools & a
premier was appointed without legislative
approval.
Opposition in France
In 1830, the Chamber of Deputies cast a
vote of “no confidence” in the king, and
the king disbanded the legislature and
called for new elections.
New elections brought a more liberal
Chamber, and the king passed the July
Ordinances (4 ordinances) in response.
Revolution
The July Ordinances dissolved the Chamber,
censored the press, restricted voting to only a
few rich nobles, and censored freedom of
speech & assembly.
In response, rioters filled Paris streets and
revolution broke out.
Louis Philippe became the new king of France
& ruled until 1848.
He extended the right to vote to the upper middleclass.
More Revolutions
Revolutions also occurred in 1830 in Belgium,
Poland, parts of Italy, and parts of Germany.
Belgium broke away from the Dutch Republic & set
up a Constitutional monarchy.
Poland lost its constitution & Polish cities were
occupied by Russian troops
Revolutions in Parma, Modena, and the Papal
States were all put down.
Several small German states got constitutions in
1830, but Austria & Prussia made no reforms
The Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions occurred in almost every country
on the European continent, but few were
successful in gaining liberalization.
Aims of most 1848 revolutions were:
constitutionalism
liberalism
republicanism
greater democracy
nationalism
France: The February
Revolution
1846-1848: bad harvests & depression led
to unemployment & high food prices which
hurt the lower classes badly.
With the introduction of machinery into
French factories, more jobs were lost, and
industrial profits began to fall.
As a result, the working class and the
middle class were unhappy with Louis
Philippe.
Utopian Socialism
Utopian socialists called attention to the
plight of the poor in France and the
necessity of government action to bring
relief.
Louis Blanc planned to end
unemployment by creating “National
workshops” (social workshops).
Opposition from many sources supported
an end to the monarchy.
Revolution
Opposition groups all agreed that they
wanted the resignation of Louis’ chief
advisor, Guizot.
Feb. 21st, a revolutionary banquet was
held without approval, and when the
government tried to stop it, the rioters took
to the streets and Guizot was forced to
flee.
The king then abdicated.
France in Chaos
Disputes over who would rule France came to a
head, with the middle class wanting protection
of property, the workers wanting economic
relief, and the nobility wanting a monarchy.
The workshops created by Louis Blanc were a
failure, and unemployment continued to rise.
After riots in June, General Cavaignac made
France a temporary dictatorship.
Constitution of the 2nd
Republic
Nov. 1848: The new constitution did the
following:
Universal manhood suffrage
Bill of Rights (speech, press, religion, assembly,
property)
rejected socialism
Unicameral legislature with three-year terms
Presidency with a four year term.
Louis Napoleon was elected President of
France in Dec. 1848, and became emperor in
1851 (Napoleon III).
Germany in 1848
Intellectuals and professionals in many
German states revolted in 1848 in an attempt
to gain the liberal concessions that were
previously promised by Prussian King
Frederick William IV.
Prior to 1848, he had created the Zollverein
(German Customs Union) to remove internal tariffs
and tolls and to stimulate German commerce.
The Zollverein united many German states,
economically.
Revolution in Berlin
German liberals revolted and forced Fred Will
to accept their demands.
The king called a constitutional assembly, the
Frankfurt Assembly, to strengthen the German
confederation. They couldn’t agree on which
German states to include or whether to have
a republic or a monarchy.
Austria opposed any sort of constitution for
the confederacy.
The Frankfurt Assembly
The assembly finally wrote a constitution which
called for a liberal constitutional monarchy.
When they offered the crown of Germany to
Frederick, he refused to take it, saying he
“wouldn’t accept the imperial crown from the
gutter.”
This ended the assembly and any hopes of
liberal reform.
Only lasting result: more states joined the
Zollverein.
Italy in 1848
Italy was divided into several small states,
most of whom were occupied by foreign
powers.
Italian nationalists wanted unification and
formed secret societies such as the
carbonari and Mazzini’s Young Italy.
The “risorgimento” (revival of nationalist
pride ) drove the revolution of 1848.
Italy in 1848
Spring 1848: revolts broke out in the Papal
states, Tuscany, Naples, and Sardinia, and
these rulers granted liberal constitutions.
Lombardy-Venetia revolted against Austria and
Naples, Sardinia, and the Pope sent troops to
help them. In the process, Sardinia annexed LV, Parma, and Modena.
Other Italian states then withdrew their support
of LV and Austria regained control.
The Roman Republic
When it appeared that Austria was going to
defeat any chance at Italian unification and
independence, radical revolution broke out in
Rome & Sardinia.
Garibaldi & Mazzini ousted the Pope &
proclaimed a democratic republic in Rome. In
Sardinia, the king was forced to continue
fighting the Austrians.
The Austrians defeated Sardinia, and Napoleon
III sent troops to reinstate the Pope.
Austria in 1848
The Austrian empire included a large
number of ethnic minorities within its
borders. Their individual nationality was
suppressed by the empire.
In the “March Days,” revolts occurred in
Italy, Hungary, Bohemia, & Austria itself.
Austria in 1848
The revolutions were led by a minority of
intellectuals, students, and labor leaders
and were not widely supported by the
majority of the people.
The only lasting result was the abdication
of Metternich.
Hungary
In Hungary, Louis Kossuth led a revolt in the
Hungarian Diet which made Hungary
autonomous while accepting the emperor as
the king of Hungary. He outlawed serfdom,
forced the nobility to pay taxes, and required
public officials to speak Hungarian.
Since Kossuth continued to oppress Slavic
minorities in Hungary, Russia helped Austria put
down the Hungarian revolt.
THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION
The industrial revolution began in England in
the mid 18th century, but many of its effects
were not felt on the continent until the 19th
century.
It was the widespread use of machinery that
characterized the industrial revolution, because
the output of products accelerated so
enormously by the substitution of machines for
human labor in manufacturing.
Causes of Industrialism
Availability of capital due to growth of
capitalism & trade.
Puritan work ethic and new attitudes toward
change caused by the Enlightenment.
Population growth caused an increased need
for goods.
Enclosure acts provided cheap labor &
urbanization.
Industrial Rev. in England
Began in England because:
Markets for manufactured goods due to
wealth of the upper and middle classes
plentiful supply of natural resources
plentiful supply of workers (Eng. Population
doubled between 1700 & 1800).
Raw materials from its colonies
capitalists with investment money
liberal government ready to further the
interests of the capitalists
More Reasons
English intellectuals urged a free trade
policy.
Few guild restrictions
Colonies for markets
Naval supremacy
Encouragement of inventions (patents,
copyrights, etc).
Sound banking systems
Advances in Production
Textile industry 1st to industrialize
New methods of iron, coal, and steel
production
New sources of power (steam engine)
Expansion of communication &
transportation (Railroads & canals &
telegraph)
Agricultural revolution
Factory system
Textiles
Large market for cotton cloth. Therefore, great
efforts were made to increase the amount of
cotton cloth produced in England.
Inventions:
flying shuttle: increased speed of weaving
Spinning Jenny: spun cotton fiber faster
Water frame: spun cotton fiber quickly & produced
a finer thread.
Spinning mule: combined frame & jenny
power loom: wove automatically
cotton gin: separated cotton fiber from seeds
Advances
Iron smelted with coal, not charcoal
Steam Engine (James Watt) powered
factories
Improved roads, canals, & steam
locomotives
telegraph & telephone
expansion of banking & credit systems
Only the bank of England could issue
bank notes
French and German
Industrialization
In the early 19th century, industrialization
spread to France.
France experienced its greatest period of
industrial growth from 1850 - 1870.
Germany was hampered by guild
restrictions, poor transportation, & lack of
unification.
Industrialization began by mid century, but
was greatest after 1871.
Social Changes
Population growth: British population tripled
between 1800 & 1900.
Urbanization led to more influence by the
middle class & eventually the working class.
Breakdown of the family as cottage industries
are replaced by the factory system.
Landed aristocracy threatened by the growing
wealth & power of the industrialists.
Labor
Workers received low, often subsistence,
wages & worked in often unsafe
conditions.
Men, women, and children often worked
16-18 hour days.
Wages rose on the average of about 2%
per year in the 1800’s in industrial jobs in
England.
Labor Conditions
Urban workers followed three methods to
improve their conditions:
Violence: some sabotaged machines & killed
bosses, but this was not successful in changing
conditions.
Unions: Unions were initially outlawed in England &
France, but were finally successful by the late
1800’s
Political Agitation: Chartism & general agitation led
to reforms, such as the factory act, the mines act,
and the 10 hours bill.
The Classical Economists
Adam Smith: 1776: The Wealth of Nations:
believed that individuals working for their own
self-interest would benefit the economy better
than mercantilist policies.
“Invisible hand” of supply & demand should
dictate prices & production.
Laissez-faire economics (early capitalism)
Economists
Thomas Malthus: Essay on Population
Believed that the population grew
geometrically, while the food supply grew
arithmetically, thus eventually leading to
famine &/or war which would check
population growth.
Believed that the poor should limit their
offspring if they wanted to improve their
standard of living.
Economists
David Ricardo: The Principles of Political
Economy:
“Iron law of wages:” there is a point where the
market wage will constantly tend to approach the
natural wage. If you pay a market wage below the
natural wage (what workers need to survive), they
will die off & a smaller labor pool can demand
higher wages. If you pay a market wage
significantly more than the natural wage, they will
have more kids & their standard of living will drop.
Believed in laissez-faire capitalism.
Economists
Jeremy Bentham: Utilitarianism:
Believed in laissez-faire economics but
wanted policies which would effect the
“greatest good for the greatest number.”
Believed that if an individual harmed the
common good by acting in his own selfinterest, then the government should step in.
Also believed that government could step in
to pay for research & development &
education.
Liberalism
John Stuart Mill: On Liberty; Principles of
Political Economy.
Mill’s Principle: Persons should have
complete freedom of action, speech, etc. as
long as their actions do not harm others. If
they cause harm, then the gov’t should stop
them.
Concerned about the tyranny of the majority.
Mill, continued
Mill served in Parliament for a time and
championed the following causes:
women’s suffrage
the right of workers to organize into unions
labor legislation to improve working conditions
universal suffrage (for all men & women over
21)
universal education
equal political/economic rights for women
proportional representation.
Early Socialists
Socialism can be defined as an economic
system in which the means of production,
exchange, and distribution are owned by
the state rather than private individuals.
Designed to abolish the abuses of
capitalism by promoting collectivization.
Socialism ranged from strictly economic
reform in the context of a democratic
government to the extreme of Marxism.
Utopian Socialists
Utopian socialists offered no practical plan
for achieving the ideal societies they
envisioned and thought industrialists
would support their ideas as soon as they
saw their merit.
Socialism developed independently in
France and England in the 19th century.
Utopian Socialists
Saint-Simon: (1760-1825): French:
Advocated the abolition of private property
and the development of an industrial state
under the direction of a board of directors
made up of scientists & skilled businessmen
who would work for the betterment of all
people, including the working class.
Had little practical impact
Pierre Proudhon: French: “Property is
Theft.” Influenced Karl Marx.
Utopian Socialists
Charles Fourier (1772-1837): French:
Called for a society made up of small
cooperative communities called phalanxes in
which economic competition would be
eliminated & all work done voluntarily.
People in his society would live in communal
dwellings.
Too idealistic & failed in his attempts.
Utopian Socialists
Robert Owen: (1771-1858): successful English
industrialist
Believed that environmental factors influenced
people and thought factories and communities
needed to be clean, and provide decent wages.
Wanted to outlaw child labor & provide mandatory
education.
Created a model cotton mill in Scotland, but failed
in his attempts in Indiana.
Did a lot to popularize the need for social reform in
England.
Utopian Socialists
Louis Blanc: French: (1811 - 1882) organized a
socialist political party to achieve socialist
measures in France.
Believed that governments have the duty of
providing workers with farms and shops to replace
privately owned ones. He called these national
workshops.
These would be run by the workers for their own
good.
Wanted democratic government.
Undermined by the provisional gov’t in 1848.
Christian Socialists
These people wanted to apply the
principles of the Christian religion to the
quest for social & economic reform.
Pope Leo XIII: wrote Rerum Novarum in
1891
urged fair treatment of workers & the need
for social reform.
urged the foundation of Christian labor
unions.
Christian Socialists
Charles Kingsley: (1819 - 1875) Novelist
Wanted to end sweatshops
Stressed the importance of boycotts in
obtaining relief from capitalists abuses
Stressed the need for brotherly love as the
basis of all reform
Urged the British Parliament to pass social
legislation to help the working class.
Marxism
Founded by Marx & Engels, it was a militant
form of socialism which is often called
Communism.
Marx and Engels asserted their ideas in The
Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Kapital
(1867).
Differed from other forms of socialism because
it called for a revolutionary overthrow of the
existing system. No accommodation.
Marxist Ideas
History must be interpreted economically.
Economic factors shape the institutions of
civilization, such as religion & politics.
Surplus Value: the value of all commodities is a
result of the labor put into them.
If a worker gets paid less than the labor he put into
a product, he is being exploited.
“History is a constant series of class struggles”
between the exploited & the exploiters.
More Marxist Ideas
Dialectic: Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis.
Believed this process would continue inevitably
until Communism was established. Then there
would be no more opposition to the new system.
Materialism:
Believed in no God or divine presence and
believed that all things happened mechanically with
no divine guiding principle.
Marxism is also called Dialectical Materialism.
More Marxist Ideas
Capitalism is a necessary step in the
eventual development of Communism.
Revolution in which the proletariat
overthrows the bourgeoisie is inevitable
but must be led by Marxist intellectuals
called the “vanguard of the revolution.”
A temporary “dictatorship of the proletariat
must be established after the revolution to
reorder society.
More Marxist Ideas
Marx envisioned a situation in which workers all
over the world would eventually overthrow their
existing conditions and create Communist
societies.
When this had occurred, he believed there
would be no need for governments and
predicted the “withering of the state.”
Believed in the principle “From each acc. to his
ability, to each acc. to his need.”
Socialist Parties Pre-WWI
First International: founded in 1864 in
London: followed Marxist ideas, but finally
disbanded.
German Social Democratic Party:
advocated many Marxist ideas & gained a
large number of seats in the Reichstag.
Fabian Society: Britain: formed to spread
socialist ideas. Its members later formed
the modern Labor party.
Anarchism
Aimed at destroying governments ASAP
usually by the use of force because
governments always restricted human
liberty.
Peter Kropotkin: Russian: wanted to abolish
private property & gov’t non-violently. Wanted
a loose communistic social organization to
replace the government.
Anarchism
Mikhail Bakunin: Russian:
organized groups all over Europe to stage an
international revolution to destroy the gov’ts
of Europe.
Advocated terrorist acts until the time was
right for a general strike/revolution.
Responsible for the assassinations of a
number of world leaders.
Wanted a socialist economy established.
19th Century British
Problems
The Landed Aristocracy still monopolized
political power due to voting restrictions
(10% of adult males could vote in England
in 1848).
Rotten Boroughs kept industrial centers
from being fairly represented (Manchester
had no representatives at all in 1800)
No secret ballot
More Problems
No secret ballots
Property & religious qualifications
restricted the right to hold political office.
No salaries for the members of the House
of Commons
The House of Lords could block all
legislation passed by the House of
Commons except for revenue bills.
British Reforms
1820’s: Combination Code (that
suppressed unions) was repealed & the
Criminal Code was reformed.
1829: Catholic Emancipation Act:
permitted Catholics to hold an elected
public office.
1833: Slavery abolished in the British
Empire
The Great Reform Bill of 1832
Sponsored by the Whigs, this bill yielded to the
demands of the middle class.
It did the following:
Extended suffrage to most of the middle class and
small land owners, but still denied it to most urban
workers & peasants.
Provided for redistricting to eliminate rotten
boroughs
Gave more power to the House of Commons
After being threatened with the creation of new
Whig peers, the House of Lords passed the bill.
Chartism
Organized in the 1830’s by city workers to
achieve political reforms and improve their
living conditions.
The charter demanded:
Universal manhood suffrage
No more property qualifications for Parliament
Equal electoral districts
Secret ballot
Annual Parliamentary elections
Salaries for Parliament
Chartism
Chartists pushed their demands
throughout the 1840’s and the movement
culminated with a march of 50,000
protesters in 1848.
Although Parliament refused to give in to
Chartist demands (as a whole package),
most of their demands were met through
reform legislation, and the movement died
out.
More Reforms
Great Reform Bill of 1867: reduced property
qualifications so that most urban workers could
vote
Sponsored by Benjamin Disraeli, the Conservative
Party leader who wanted to take credit for the
reform.
Ballot Act of 1872: secret ballot introduced
Reform Bill of 1884: extended suffrage to most
peasants.
Sponsored by the Liberal Leader, Gladstone.
More Reforms
The Parliament Act of 1911: Weakened the
House of Lords by giving it only a temporary
veto over bills passed in the House of
Commons.
Revenue bills could be delayed only 30 days.
All other bills could be delayed up to two years.
Reform Bill of 1918: Extended Suffrage to
British women over 30 years of age.
Reform Bill of 1928: Women over 21 could
vote.
British Economic/Social
Reforms
New Poor Law of 1834: created poor
houses & put able-bodied paupers to
work. (hated by the poor)
1846: Corn Laws repealed
Factory Act of 1819: banned employment
of children under 9 in cotton mills & limited
older kids to 12 hours per day.
More Reforms
Factory Act of 1833: Applied to all textile mills.
Banned employment of kids under 9
Established a 9 hour day for kids 9-13 and a 12
hour day for kids 13-18.
Provided inspection to enforce the law.
Mines Act of 1842: banned women and children
under 10 from working in mines.
Ten Hour Law of 1847: established a ten hour
day for women and children in textile mills.
More Reforms
1870: Education Act: Free public
elementary education was provided for all
children, and England’s educational
standards were upgraded.
National Insurance Act of 1911: required
employers to provide health and
unemployment insurance to all workers.
The Irish Problem
The Irish people were bitter toward the British
for the following reasons:
They were forced to support the Anglican church
English absentee landlords controlled most Irish
land and charged high rents. They evicted
peasants who couldn’t pay.
The English did little to relieve the misery created
by the crop failures of the 1840’s (the potato
famines)
The Irish wanted home rule but didn’t get it in
the 19th century.
France
1852: Napoleon III declares the
establishment of the 2nd French Empire.
His domestic policies included:
Vast public works projects (canals, roads, RR)
Removed legal barriers to trade unions
Encouraged industrialization and promoted
economic prosperity, gaining the support of the
middle class.
French Foreign Policy
Napoleon III followed these policies:
Stopped Russian aggression in the Crimean War.
Annexed Algiers
Helped Piedmont gain independence from Austria,
but stationed troops in Rome to protect the Pope
Invaded Mexico in 1862 and set up the Austrian
archduke Maximilian as King. After the US Civil
War ended, the US forced French withdrawal.
Problems in the French Empire
Nationalists protested after the humiliation
of France in the Maximilian affair.
Catholics were mad because Napoleon
had helped Piedmont
Republicans were made that they didn’t
have a democratic form of government.
Workers were striking due to poor wages
& working conditions.
French Revolution of 1870
1870: Napoleon plunged France into war
with Prussia in hopes of restoring the glory
of France (remember the Ems Dispatch)
After the defeat of France in the FrancoPrussian war, revolts broke out &
Napoleon III abdicated.
A provisional gov’t was formed, but it was
unsuccessful because it chose to stay in
the war.
The Third French Republic
Delegates in the new National Assembly
ranged from various monarchists to radical
republicans.
Because of the dissension between different
factions of monarchists, the Republicans
passed a series of laws which collectively
became the Constitution of the Third French
Republic.
The republic began in 1871 and ended in 1940.
Problems of the Third
French Republic
Boulanger Affair: a monarchist general
(Boul) who wanted to become dictator, he
was discredited by the government.
Dreyfus Affair: a Jewish Republican army
captain was framed by monarchist army
officers for treason. His unfair trial
discredited the monarchist faction of the
government.
Zola wrote “J’accuse” in his defense
Italian Unification
After 1815, Italy was disunited and
consisted of the following parts:
Kingdom of the 2 Sicilies (Naples) controlled
by Austria in Southern Italy
Papal States and Austrian-controlled Parma,
Tuscany, and Modena in North-central Italy
Austrian-controlled provinces of Lombardy +
Venetia and the free Kingdom of SardiniaPiedmont in North Italy.
Italian Unification
Nationalist movements to unite Italy in
1848 were a failure but nationalists did not
give up.
Several methods to unite Italy existed:
Mazzini: Romantic Republicanism “Young
Italy”
Garibaldi: Red Shirts
Cavour: Moderate Liberalism: wanted a
constitutional monarchy under the king of
Sardinia-Piedmont.
The Process of Unification
Cavour was the mastermind of the
successful unification of Italy.
He did the following things:
Strengthened the army and economy of
Sardinia-Piedmont (he was its Prime Minister)
Created an alliance with Napoleon III at the
Plombiers conference.
Provoked war with Austria and forced Austria
to ceded Lombardy to Sardinia-Piedmont.
More Steps in the
Unification Process
The Duchies of Parma, Tuscany, and Modena
successfully revolted against Austria and united
with Sardinia-Piedmont.
Garibaldi did the following:
Invaded Naples in 1861, after securing Sicily.
He won many battles in S. Italy and then turned the
region over to King Victor Emmanuel II of SardiniaPiedmont.
Cavour invaded the Papal States, taking over
everything except Rome.
Italian Unification
1861: Victor Emmanuel II becomes King
of Italy.
Transformismo policy followed
1871: Rome & Venetia annexed by Italy
Government consisted of a limited
monarchy with a bicameral legislature
consisting of a senate (appointed for life
by the king) and a chamber of deputies
(elected by the middle & upper classes).
Problems in Italy
Italy was poor with a large illiterate population.
Most people were ignorant of democratic ideas
& did not participate in government.
The Pope condemned the new gov’t and
decreed that Catholics should not participate in
it.
The north was more developed than the south
and the 2 regions had little in common,
economically and socially.
Solving Italy’s Problems
Industry and trade were fostered by the
government.
Improved agricultural methods were
developed
The Italian gov’t encouraged emigration to
the US to ease over-population due to
such a high birthrate.
Italians paid high taxes to support a
growing army & navy.
German Unification
Unification was supported by the growing
middle class & city-workers. (Their influence
was growing due to industrialization).
Competition between Austria & Prussia
further complicated the unification process.
A turning point in Germany occurred when
King William I became the king of Prussia in
1861.
German Unification
William began to strengthen the Prussian
army , but liberals in Parliament opposed
the spending of so much money.
William appointed Otto von Bismarck as
chancellor in 1862.
Bismarck was a typical conservative junker
who opposed liberalism
He raised money for the army by
disregarding the constitution and invoking
medieval laws.
Bismarck
Known as the “iron chancellor,” Bismarck
accomplished the following:
Created a powerful & efficient army
1864: Danish war: ended Danish control of
Schlesswig & Holstein
1866: Austro-Prussian war (7 weeks war):
established Prussian control of the German
states
Annexed the N. German Confederation
The Franco-Prussian War
Realizing that only a war with France would
allow the annexation of the S. German states,
Bismarck engineered a war with Napoleon III in
1870 through the editing of the Ems Dispatch.
(“Realpolitik”)
German armies overwhelmed French armies in
several months, and in the Treaty of Frankfurt,
France ceded Alsace & Lorraine to Germany
and paid reparations to Germany.
Unification
Following the Franco-Prussian War, the 4
Southern Catholic German provinces
joined the Prussian dominated Germany.
In 1871, the German Empire was declared
with King William I as its Kaiser (emperor).
This made Germany the most powerful
nation on the continent, and its military
power began to rival that of England.
German Government
25 states handled local matters
The federal government handled national
matters, such as defense and banking.
Constitution: bicameral legislature
Bundesrat: 58 reps from member states
Reichstag: 397 members elected by
universal manhood suffrage.
Bundesrat could only introduce legislation,
and Reichstag could only reject it.
German Government
The executive power rested in the hand of
the emperor who commanded the army &
navy, & appointed gov’t ministers.
Chancellor: as chief minister, the
chancellor was the prime advisor to the
emperor and held a huge amount of
governing power.
Accomplishments of
Bismarck
Consolidation of the German Empire:
created a uniform currency, and legal code.
Tried to suppress the Catholics in the South
Catholics organized the Center Party to oppose
certain policies of the central gov’t, & Bismarck
resented them because of their ties to the Catholic
Church
 Bismarck passed a series of laws to restrict the
church (restricting education & clergy) and the
KULTURKAMPF resulted.
Eventually, Bismarck backed down.
Other Actions of Bismarck
Tried to suppress the socialists:
Socialists appealed to urban workers who resented
low pay and bad working conditions.
Bismarck tried to suppress them forcibly in 1878
with anti-socialist laws, but this failed.
By the 1880’s, Bismarck began to undermine them
by supporting social legislation to gain the support
of the workers.
These programs included unemployment insurance
& workers’ comp., and social security payments for
retired Germans.
German Policies
1888: William II (defender of divine right)
became king and Bismarck remained the
chancellor, until he was dismissed by
William.
William II did the following:
Built up a strong army & navy
Encouraged industry & commerce
Encouraged imperialism and annexation
Austria-Hungary
Although Emperor Francis-Joseph tried to
solve the problems of the empire, they
were too great for any one ruler to solve.
Problems faced by the empire included:
The great number of national minorities
which were living in the empire
Over-extension of the empire into areas,
such as Italy
Failure to compete with the growing power of
Prussia.
Developments Before 1867
1850: Suspended the Constitution and
attempted to develop a more centralized
administration of the empire (Bach
System)
1855: Concordat with the Catholic Church
1859: Austria fared badly in the Crimean
war and the war with France & Piedmont.
1861: October Diploma/February Patent:
attempted to rule Hungary dictatorially.
Dual Monarchy
Revolts occurred in the Hungarian part of the
empire between 1861 & 1867.
1867: Ausgleich:
Created a Dual Monarchy (Austro-Hungarian
empire)
Made the Hungarians (Magyars) dominant over
other nationalities in their region
Hungarians recognized the emperor and accepted
common policies for finances & foreign policy.
Hungary could make its own local laws.
Austria faced many revolts between 1860 &
1914
Russia in the 19th Century
Russian society remained semi-feudal and
backward, with much popular discontent.
Russia remained isolated from Western culture
and did not modernize.
Oppression & censorship increased and the
government was inefficient.
Czars were anti-liberal
Russia was weak internationally & began to
lose foreign wars (Crimean, Russo-Japanese)
Nicholas I (1825-55)
Dictatorial ruler who stood for strong
nationalism, autocracy, and religious orthodoxy.
He did the following:
Expanded the royal bureaucracy
Published a new legal code
Fostered industry and Railroads
Enforced strict censorship with secret police
Had strong control over the military
Lost the Crimean War
Put down a Polish revolt
Alexander II (1855-81)
A conservative reformer, who abolished
serfdom in 1861.
Zemstvo Laws: created local assemblies
to solve local problems in 1864.
As reform led to radical demands, many
groups began to plot and carry out
terrorist acts.
1881: Alexander was assassinated.
Nicholas II (1881-1917)
Industrial progress occurred during his
reign, but urban & rural conditions remained
miserable and the population was on the
verge of revolution. (Witte
1905: Russia lost the Russo-Japanese war.
1905: Revolution occurred which included
the Bloody Sunday massacre.
The czar was forced to accept the October
Manifesto which created the Duma.
Nicolas, continued
Nicholas failed to uphold his promises made in
the Oct. Manifesto and instead promoted more
conservative policies under his chief agricultural
advisor, Stolypin.
Stolypin was assassinated by rebels
Three major groups of revolutionaries existed in
Russia at the turn of the century: Social
Democrats (Marxists), Cadets, and Social
Revolutionaries
The 19th Century
Intellectual Revolution
The liberal nature of society, during the
Victorian era, encouraged scientific and
intellectual experimentation and discovery.
Advances in Astronomy progressed when
better telescopes were perfected.
By the late 19th century, Lavoisier, Priestly, and
Dalton all made advances in chemistry and new
elements were being discovered.
Intellectual Developments
Advances in physics included the
following:
discovery of the law of conservation of
energy
discovery of how to analyze the spectrum
Faraday developed the generator to produce
electricity continuously (Electro-magnetism)
Edison invented the incandescent lamp
Motors were developed, thus providing a
source of power from electricity.
Medical Developments
Advances in medicine included the following:
1796: Jenner discovered how to immunize
people against smallpox
Lister introduced antiseptics
Anesthetics (ether) were introduced
Pasteur promoted the germ theory &
bacteriology
Koch also promoted the germ theory and
isolated the germ that causes tuberculosis
More Medical Developments
Roentgen discovered the use of x-rays.
New medical instruments were created in
factories
Vitamins were discovered & used to
combat scurvy
Antibiotics were discovered & in 1928,
Fleming discovered penicillin.
Scientific Developments
Atomic Developments included:
1905: Albert Einstein advanced the theory of
relativity which modified Newton’s laws.
Marie & Pierre Curie, Ernest Rutherford, Sir
James Chadwick, and Enrico Fermi all made
discoveries about the structure of atoms and
radiation.
The Theory of Evolution
Charles Darwin and Sir Alfred Wallace
simultaneously developed the theory of
evolution, but Darwin is famous, because he
was the first to publish the idea.
In his works, The Origin of the Species (1859)
and The Descent of Man (1871), Darwin held
that the existing animals and plants (including
man) have evolved during millions of years from
simpler forms of life.
Darwin, continued
Darwin also held that forms of life are
constantly changing, and that new forms of
life are coming into existence all of the time.
He claimed that life was a constant struggle
for existence, with only the strongest, most
adaptable species surviving.
He called this process Natural Selection or the
Survival of the Fittest.
Effects of Darwinism
Darwin’s ideas were met with a storm of
protest, especially from religious circles.
Social Darwinism: other people, such as
Herbert Spencer, tried to apply Darwin’s
evolutionary ideas to man and society.
Spencer stated that only the strongest, most fit,
humans should survive, and thus, he attacked
social welfare measures, such as shielding the
poorer (and inferior) people from starvation, etc.
This justified the attitudes of many industrialists.
Other Effects of Darwinism
Eugenics: (selective breeding of humans)
Imperialism: colonizers were inherently better
and had the right to exploit others.
Elitism: some Social Darwinists saw superior
people in all races & nationalities and urged the
to band together so as to prevent their being
submerged by the ignorant and inferior masses.
Nietzsche: superman
Extreme racial elitism later applied by the Nazi
party during the holocaust.
Literature
The Victorian Era saw an explosion in
literature which included the following:
Dickens & Balzac: Realism
Many poets, incl. Tennyson, Arnold, the
Brownings, and Dickenson
Flaubert: French realist with romantic
tendencies
Zola: political statements (‘J’accuse”)
Playwrights: Ibsen, Shaw, Chekhov, etc.
Art
New styles of art included the following:
Impressionism: Manet, Monet, etc.
Cubism, Abstraction, and Surrealism were
practiced by Picasso, Bralve, etc.
Naturalism in sculpture: Rodin (the Thinker), and
bartholdi (Statue of Liberty)
With the advent of structural steel, skyscrapers
were built
Music: Composers tried to make music
emotionally appealing. (Wagner, Debussy,etc)
Imperialism
Imperialism is the building up of an empire
by a country.
“New Imperialism” (stimulated by the
industrial revolution) began to occur after
1870 when Africa and Asia were
consumed by the European powers.
Imperialism, continued
Reasons for imperialism included:
The need for cheap raw materials (cotton, rubber,
oil, etc.) to meet the demands of industrialization.
The need for markets for the sale of manufactured
goods
The provision of an outlet for surplus capital to be
invested
The concern for underdeveloped areas of the world
The desire to convert natives to Christianity
Geography
Imperialist nations included: Britain,
France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Japan,
and the US.
Exploited areas included the Near East,
Africa, & the Far East.
Near East: Previously dominated by Turkey
& Persia, imperialist rivalries in this area
(Balkans, etc.) were a catalyst in the outbreak
of WWI and the Crimean War.
Geography, continued
Africa: Rivalries here were very pronounced.
Early 19th century: the interior was basically
unknown.
Pre 1850: France had claimed Algeria, and the
Cape Colony was occupied.
Post 1850: Stories from missionaries and
explorers, such as Stanley and Livingstone,
stimulated interest in the wealth of the region
and led to settlement and more exploration.
By the end of the century, practically all of Africa
was settled.
Africa
Important developments in Africa included:
1882: British took over Egypt
1884: Belgium’s claim over the Congo was
recognized
1890’s: France extended its control over most
of NW Africa
1890’s: Britain claimed the Sudan and most of
S. Africa
Germany and Italy were desperately trying to
gain control of any African territories.
Independent Nations in
Africa
Only two independent nations remained in
Africa at the turn of the century.
Liberia: a small republic founded by
American anti-slavery groups for
emancipated slaves
Abbysinia (Ethiopia): defeated the Italians at
the battle of Adowa in 1896. This Italian
defeat was a great humiliation and was later
avenged by Mussolini.
The Far East
The following things happened in the far
east:
European powers took over Burma, Malaya,
Indo-china, and the islands of the East Indies.
Britain consolidated its control over India
China was penetrated but not partitioned by
imperialist forces who set up “spheres of
influence.”
The British Empire
South Africa:
originally settled by Boers (Dutch)
1814: Britain takes over Cape Colony and
trouble breaks out between the British & the
Boers who fled NW to escape British rule.
The Boers founded the Orange Free State
and Transvaal and soon discovered gold in
both of them.
British settlers tried to move in and take over
the gold.
The British Empire, cont.
South Africa, continued:
The Boers tried to restrict the political rights of
the British & led to friction
Eventually, Cecil Rhodes hatched a plan to take
over both states, and when it failed, Britain
declared war on the 2 states.
The British won the “Boer war,” and eventually
the 2 states were granted dominion status, after
the other S. African states combined in to the
Union of South Africa.
The British Empire
Egypt: The British wanted to control the
Suez canal.
The British took Egypt from the French after
the canal was done (1870’s)
1876: Disraeli purchased 60% of the shares
in the canal from Egypt
1877: Egypt became a British Protectorate,
but a minority of French investors (who had
built the canal) still held stock in the canal
(until 1956).
The British Empire
By 1900, Britain controlled 1/3 of Africa’s
land area and over 1/2 of the African
population.
Britain also controlled many islands in the
Caribbean and had some colonies in Latin
America.
One of Britain’s most important colonies
was India.
India
After the Sepoy rebellion (1857), Britain
transferred control of India from the Eng. East
India Company to the Eng. Government.
The English introduced many reforms:
roads, bridges, canals, and railroads
sanitation
humane laws
telegraph
postal service
India
British rule was resented and many
natives wished to expel English rule.
Many organizations were created to rebel
against the British.
In response, the British granted a limited selfrule in 1909, but this didn’t satisfy those who
wanted complete independence.
India gained dominion status in 1947
under the leadership of Ghandi & Nehru.
Other British Territories
Afraid that they would revolt and be lost
forever, Britain gradually granted selfgovernment to other colonies, as well.
Canada: British N. American Act of 1867
granted dominion status to Canada
Australia: received dominion status in 1900
New Zealand: received dominion status in
1907