Rise of Nationalism in the 1800s

The Evolution of Nationalism

• In the 1800s, romantic idealism emerged, emphasizing a glorified past and national pride in songs, poetry, and writings.
• Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm collected German fairy tales and folk stories like Snow White and Cinderella.
• Richard Wagner composed nationalistic operas, such as Ride of the Valkyries.
• Victor Hugo wrote about individuals against cruel governments in works like Les Misérables.

National Aggrandizement

• Countries began exalting their culture as superior, fueling racialism, the belief in some races being better than others.
• Pan-Slavic and Pan-German movements promoted the idea that certain areas should only be inhabited by specific groups, advocating for liberation of those areas.
• Antisemitism grew, with racialist beliefs and actions against Jewish people, only “pure” people were considered acceptable.
• In Russia, pogroms, violent attacks against Jewish communities, were condoned by the government, which used Jews as scapegoats.

Popular Nationalism Strengthens the State

• Leaders in France, Italy, and Prussia recognized nationalism's potential to reinforce state power.
• Louis-Napoleon in France became president and later Emperor Napoleon III, implementing liberal reforms and increasing political participation.
  • He focused on infrastructure, international trade, new banks, shipbuilding and supported the Suez Canal's construction.
  • He lowered prices and enabled universal male suffrage.
• Giuseppe Mazzini sought a unified Italy but faced obstacles such as Austrian control, opposition from Russia, Prussia, the Pope, and cultural divisions between the industrialized north and agrarian south.
• Camillo di Cavour, prime minister of Piedmont, gained middle class support for Italian unification.
• Otto von Bismarck spearheaded German unification, incorporating some liberal reforms while maintaining a conservative approach.
  • Prussia gained control over German states previously held by France, Hungary, and Austria.
• Nationalism threatened to destabilize Austria's multicultural empire.
  • Austria-Hungary was created in 1867 as a dual monarchy with shared foreign policy, finance, and defense, while each country maintained its own capital and language.

Jews and Antisemitism in Europe

• The German and Austrian Christian Social Parties, led by Karl Lueger, were conservative, nationalistic, and antisemitic.
• The Dreyfus Affair in France involved the conviction of a Jewish officer for selling secrets to the Germans, dividing the nation.
  • Dreyfus was eventually released.
• Theodore Herzl, a Hungarian-born Jew, advocated for Zionism following the Dreyfus Affair.
  • Herzl's Der Judenstaat (1895) promoted the idea of a Jewish nation-state for self-determination and freedom from persecution.
  • Palestine was identified as the Jewish homeland, leading to increased Jewish migration to the British-controlled area from the 1900s to the 1930s.

National Unification Movements

• The Crimean War revealed the Ottoman Empire's weakness and Russia's backwardness, national unification movements grew.
• In Italy Cavour used diplomacy and military maneuvers to unite the northern Italian states by pushing Austria out.
• Guiseppe Garibaldi united the Italian peninsula with the Red Shirts.
• In 1861, the Italian peninsula was unified, Rome was made the capital ten years later.
• Otto von Bismarck used diplomacy and war to unify Germany without Austria.
  • He created a legal code and constitution while fostering economic innovation and growth like the internal combustion engine and electric train.
  • Pressure from Catholics and workers limited von Bismarck's power.
  • von Bismarck created a secret alliance with Russia and Austria against France.

A New Diplomatic Order

• Alliances increased tensions as nationalism played out; some countries strengthened while others weakened.
• From 1882 to 1915, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed the Triple Alliance.
• During the Congress of Berlin (1878), von Bismarck attempted to stabilize the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War.
• After von Bismarck, new alliances emerged:
  • Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
  • Triple Entente: Great Britain, France, and Russia.
• The alliances heightened tensions across the continent.
• Nationalist Conflicts in the Balkans
• The Balkans became tense due to its multi ethnic population and the rise of nationalism.
• Slavs sought statehood through the Pan-Slavic movement to unite all Slavs.
• Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, increasing aggression.
• The 19th century saw independence movements in Serbia (1839) and Greece.
• The Black Hand terrorist group sought to unite Serbs outside of Serbia.
• The Balkan Wars (1912 and 1913) aimed for greater independence but increased tensions.

New Imperialism: Motivations and Methods

• Industrialization drove Europeans to seek raw materials, like oil, diamonds, rubber, and manganese and markets in Africa and Asia.
• England sold Indian opium in China, leading to addiction and death.
• China's protests led to the Opium War, resulting in the Treaty of Nanking (1842), which granted favorable trade terms and control of Hong Kong to England.
  • Anti-government sentiment grew, triggering the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.
• By 1914, only Ethiopia and Liberia remained uncolonized in Africa.
• Imperialists justified their actions by claiming cultural and racial superiority.

Technological and Industrial Development

• Military Technologies: Breech-loading rifles and machine guns increased the speed and volume of fire.
• Medical Technologies:
  • Louis Pasteur developed germ theory, leading to pasteurization.
  • Joseph Lister advocated antiseptic surgery based on germ theory.
  • Anesthesia emerged, reducing surgical deaths.
  • Vaccinations and quinine (for malaria) dramatically reduced deaths.

Imperialism’s Global Effects

• Seeking advantages, Europe seized lands for workers, resources, and strategic locations.
• The Berlin Conference (1884-85) set territories for each country in Africa.
• European State Colonies:
  • Great Britain: Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa
  • France: Algeria, Morocco, Niger, Mali
  • Germany: Namibia, Tanzania
  • Portugal: Angola, Mozambique
  • Belgium: Congo
  • Italy: Somalia
• France took most of West Africa, Germany kept the British from connecting railroads.
• The Pan-German League aimed to unite all German states.

Diplomatic Tensions Increase

• Britain and France nearly fought over railroad rights in Fashoda, Sudan (1898) but France sought an alliance with the British, the Entente Cordiale (1904).
• Germany and France conflicted over Morocco, France backed off.

Colonial Challenges to Imperialism

• Africa:
  • Zulu Resistance (1879): The Zulus initially defeated the British but were eventually subdued.
  • Ethiopia (1890s): The Ethiopians defeated the Italians at the battle of Adwa in 1896.
• Asia:
  • Sepoy Rebellion in India (1857): Sepoys mutinied due to rumors of beef and pork fat on bullets which resulted in the increase of British military presence.
  • The Indian National Congress was created.
  • Boxer Rebellion in China (1899-1900): The Boxers targeted Westerners but European powers put it down.
  • Japanese modernization:
    • American Commodore Matthew Perry opened Japan to trade in 1853 and that led to modernization.
    • The Meiji Restoration modernized the military and education system.

World War One

• The war stemmed from militarism, nationalism, secret alliances, and imperialism.
• Pan-Slavic and Germanic movements fueled tensions between countries.
• Disputes over territory in Africa and Asia intensified rivalries.

World War One Begins

• Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination triggered the war:
  • Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
  • Russia mobilized against Austria.
  • Germany declared war on Russia.
  • France mobilized against Germany.
  • Germany attacked France through Belgium, prompting Britain to declare war on Germany.
• The Triple Entente became the Allies: Great Britain, France, Russia and Italy and the US later in 1917.
• The Triple Alliance became the Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.
• There were two major fronts:
  • Eastern Front: Russia vs. Germany/Austria, Russia withdrew after the Communist takeover in 1917 due to the treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
  • Western Front: Germany vs. France/Britain with trench warfare and stalemate.
• The US entered in 1917 and helped the Allies.
• Germany signed an armistice on November 11, 1918, ending the war.

New Technologies in Weapons

• New weapons caused high casualties.
  • Machine guns: Trench warfare made sense before machine guns, but after, the tactic was obsolete.
  • Poison gas: Mustard gas blinded and suffocated soldiers.
  • Airplanes: First for surveillance, became new fighting grounds.
  • Tanks: Moved to firing shells.
  • Submarines: German U-boats greatly improved.

Protest and Insurrection

• Soldiers rebelled and refused to fight.
• The Easter Rebellion in Ireland broke out in Dublin on April 23, 1916, for a week of street fighting, it ended with Ireland gaining independence in 1922.

Russian Revolution

• The Russia endured a high death rate with a total of 2.5m deaths.
• Strikes and riots broke out in Russia while Czar Nicholas II abdicated in March 1917.
• Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party took power and negotiated the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1917.

Global Conflict

• The war extended beyond Europe.
• Armenian Genocide:
  • Ottoman Turks systematically killed over a million Armenians from 1915-16.
• Arab Revolt Against the Ottomans:
  • Arabs revolted against the Ottoman Empire and the British funded their revolt.
  • The Arabs drove the Turks from Medina, Mecca, Syria, and Lebanon.
• Japanese Aggression in the Pacific:
  • Japan seized German territories in the South Pacific and China but was denied control after the war, leading to imperial ambitions.

The Russian Revolution and its Effects

• Central governments became powerful during the war but Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire collapsed.
• New democratic governments were unstable, leading to economic and cultural issues.
• Responses to Industrialization:
  • Communism: Proletariat with a classless society.
  • Fascism: Dictator's control over the economy and people's lives.
  • Liberal democracy: Government leaders are elected and capitalist economy is in place.

The Russian Revolution and Lenin

• Vladimir Lenin sought to overthrow the czarist government, he merged Marx’ ideas with his own to create Marxist-Leninist theory.
• Lenin led the Bolshevik party with violent change for most of the 20th century.

War Spurs Revolutionary Change

• Uprisings led to the creation of the Duma, World War I worsened economic and social problems.
• The Czar sent troops to put down strikes and ended up abdicating his throne.
• The provisional government wanted to continue the war but Lenin used propaganda to gain support.

The Bolshevik Revolution

• Bolsheviks took over the provisional government in November 1917 and Lenin set up a new government with Leon Trotsky.
• Lenin finalized Brest-Litovsk treaty in March 1918 and moved the capital to Moscow, then ordered the execution of Czar Nicholas II.
• Civil war started between the communists, Reds, and the bourgeoisie/aristocracy/socialists, Whites.
• The communists won because they were better trained and disciplined and they appealed to Russian patriotism.

Lenin’s New Economic Policy

• Lenin initiated the New Economic Policy (NEP) in March 1921.
• Capitalist ideas were used to let small farmers profit and private ownership in small shops was allowed.
• The NEP stabilized the country.

Versailles Conference and Peace Settlement

• The U.S., Great Britain, France, and Italy met to end the war but struggled to establish lasting peace.
• Woodrow Wilson introduced the 14 points which would provide self-rule and honorable way out of conflict.
• David Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau wanted to severely punish Germany, as they were seen as the cause of the war.
  • Germany had to surrender the Rhineland and all of its colonies and they had to abolish its military.
  • The conditions meant the Weimar Republic could not pay.

Effects on the Weimar Republic

• Versailles Treaty devastated Germany and the Weimar government printed more money, causing hyperinflation.
• Radical voices grew to solve the issue.
• The League of Nations was created to give the countries a place to talk out their issues.
  • The League of Nations were not successful because no one trusted one another to give up weapons.
  • The U.S. never joined.
  • Germany and Russia were not allowed to participate.

New States Emerge in Europe

• The collapse of the Austria-Hungary Empire led to the state of various independent states.
• These states were: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Turkey.

Mandate System Changes the Balance of Power

• The League of Nations distributed territories of the war's losers to the victors, in the form of mandates.
• Great Britain and France took Iraq and Palestine from the Ottomans.
• France took control over Syria and Lebanon and the Allies took control of natural resources like oil.