Download The Great Powers of Europe 1871-1900

The Great Powers of
Europe 1871-1900
Chapter 26e
Germany
 International relations revolved around a united Germany,
which, under Bismarck’s leadership, isolated France and
forged a loose coalition with Austria-Hungary and Russia. At
home, Bismarck used mass politics and social legislation to
gain popular support and to develop a strong sense of
national unity and pride amongst the German people.
 Wilhelm II (r. 1888–1918) dismissed Bismarck and initiated a
German foreign policy that placed emphasis on the acquisition
of colonies.
 Was catching up to Great Britain in shipbuilding and shipping
France
 Once a dominate nation but no more
 The France was now a second-rate power in Europe,
its population and army being smaller than those of
Germany, and its rate of industrial growth lower than
that of the Germans.
 French people were also deeply divided
 Some wanted monarchists and Catholic but a growing
number held republican and anticlerical views
 Participation in politics and a strong sense of
nationhood, reinforced with a good system for public
education, gave the French people a deep cohesion
The Dreyfus Affair:
Alfred Dreyfus was a Jewish officer in the French army from
Alsace (German-speaking France until 1871)
• Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted of treason and put in jail.
• Many liberals and socialists were on the side of Dreyfus,
saying he was innocent, while conservatives thought he was
guilty. The case needed to be reopened due to new evidence,
but doing so would have exposed the corruption in the French
army.
• Ultimately Dreyfus was released from prison but “the Affair”
caused anti-Semitism to increase in France.
• The rise of Zionism (nationalism for Jews who wanted a
Jewish state) can be traced to this event.
Conservative Powers:
Russia and Austria-Hungary
 The forces of nationalism weakened Russia and Austria-Hungary.
Austria had alienated its Slavic-speaking minorities by renaming itself
the “Austro-Hungarian Empire.”
 In 1861 Tsar Alexander II emancipated the peasants from serfdom,
but did so in such a way that it only turned them into communal
farmers with few skills and little capital.
 Russian industrialization was carried out by the state, and thus the
middle-class remained small and weak while the land-owning
aristocracy dominated the court and administration.
 Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) and the Revolution
of 1905 demonstrated Russia’s weakness and caused Tsar Nicholas
to introduce a constitution and a parliament (the Duma), but he soon
reverted to the traditional despotism of his forefathers.
Russia
 Ethnic diversity also contributed to instability in Russia.
 Had the largest Jewish population in Europe
 Harshness of its anti-Semitic laws and periodic pogroms
(massacres) prompted many Jews to flee to America
 In Russia only 45% of people spoke Russian
 Attempts to impose the Russian language on all backfired
 Failed to adapt its politics to the modernization of
societies
Austria-Hungarian Empire
 1867 the Austrian Empire rename itself
 Attempted to dominate the Balkans which made Russia
mad who thought as themselves as the protector of
Slavic people everywhere
 A conservative empire which also failed to adapt its
politics to the modernization of its societies
Great Britain
GB had many problems at this time:
• the Irish resented British rule—threat to nationalism
• the empire had grown expensive—Britain had fallen
behind the economies of U.S. and Germany in industrial
production of steel, chemicals, electricity and textiles
• the empire was expensive to maintain (recall the Sepoy
Rebellion in India—colonies were expensive)
• Britain maintained a policy of “splendid isolation” from the
rest of Europe for much of the 19th century. They only helped
during the Crimean War to fight Russia in 1854.
Great Britain
 A stable government and a narrowing in the disparity of
wealth were accompanied by a number of problems.
 Particularly notable were Irish resentment of English rule, an
economy that was lagging behind those of the United States
and Germany, and an enormous empire that was very
expensive to administer and to defend.
 Preoccupation with India led the British to exaggerate the
Russian threat to the Ottoman Empire and to the Central
Asian approaches to India while they ignored the rise of
Germany.
 This political cartoon (above) is about the Russo-Japanese
War of 1904-1905.
 The war was mainly fought by the navies of both countries.
 The big dog represents the big Russian battleships, and the
little dog represents the little Japanese torpedo boats.
 The Russian battleships are being scared away by the
Japanese navy.
 In the background the Japanese man who represents the
Japanese watches the Russian King lose control.
 From the West’s perspective the stronger Russian navy was
being scared away by the underdog Japanese navy