Capitalism
Increase in Towns, cities and trade between them due to the new sea routes found and due to the inventions and new ideas provided a stimulus for the manufactured goods.
New methods of production changed the existing economical classes.
New system of society called capitalism emerged in Europe in 15th century.
Goods produced are owned by individuals called capitalist and workers work for wage. The goods were produced in surplus and sold rather than for own consumption .so a profit driven market would go at a fast pace. Wealth plundered in the colonies was invested back as capital.
Industrial revolution
The desire to produce more goods at low cost led to innovations and resulted in a revolution.in 1750 it started in England. The inventions and innovations during this period came faster and brought rapid changes in the economies and lives of people.
Guild system was replaced by putting out system; domestic system was replaced by factory system.
Why it began in England?
Slave trade and enclosure movement provided cheap man power. Enclosure movement consolidated the land holdings of big land owners and deprived many farmers of land holdings, so there was an availability of unemployed people for cheap labour
Plundered wealth provided capital
New sea routes and colonies provided market and regular source of raw material.
New stable system of govt with merchants being the influential class emerged after the revolution in the 17th century and the market was free from govt interference.
The Essay on The Market Revolution, its impact, and its critics.
An integral part of the growth of the United States into the nation that exists today was the Market revolution in the early nineteenth century. With this new change, the United States took its first step in creating the world's strongest and most stable economy. This is of course the long term impact. There are also short term effects that were both positive and negative, such as the newly ...
Advantages over others
Presence of iron and coal side by side saved the transportation cost.
England had a large shipping industry which was able to accommodate the increasing transportation needs
Modern govt in England .many other European nations had backward political systems. Germany and Italy were not even united and suffered from many economic restrictions.
Areas of revolution
1. Textile industry-earlier cotton cloth was imported from India like Dacca muslin, Kashmiri shawls, calico cloth from Calicut. But later it started importing cotton instead of cloth. Inventors like Hargreaves, Crompton, Arkwright, and Cartwright (HCAC) made possible faster and finer production of thread using canal power. Eli Whitney an American invented cotton gin which made possible the separation of cotton from the seed 300 times faster than manual separation
2. Power source-James watts’ steam engine revolutionized the production rate .it made possible huge quantities of production in a shorter time. Inventions like blast furnace and developments like converting low grade iron into steel, helped them produce machines with steel at a cheaper rate.
3. Transportation-George Stephenson’s steam engine hauled coal from mines to ports by railways. Connecting rivers with canals reduced the inland transport cost. Penny post enabled fast growth of business.
4. Agriculture-cash crops were grown more. New methods like steel plough, harrow for breaking the ground, the mechanical drill for seeding the ground, horse drawn cultivator and machines for reaping and threshing. Crop rotation was practised.
France developed iron industries but nit had to import iron and coal. Germany after 1870 became the rival of England in steel production. Russia became industrially well-developed only after1917. America after 1870.among the ASIAN countries japan was the first nation to become industrialized.
Imperialism
England stood first in the race for economic domination. Soon other countries started to levy tariffs on imported goods to protect their indigenous industries. So there raised a competition to acquire more territories and markets. The industrially under developed nations were colonized and their economies subdued. They were forced to accept the harsh and unfavourable trade terms.
The Research paper on Toyota's Objectives In Global Automotive Industry
The automobile industry is America’s largest manufacturing industry with total auto industry and related employment numbering 13.3 million, a new Center for Automotive Research study shows. The majority of those jobs are in supplier and related industries. About 6.6 million jobs are connected to automotive manufacturing and new vehicle sales. This generates more than $240 billion in annual ...
Consequences of industrialization
Population shifted to towns from villages
Industries contributed to the growth of the economy than the agriculture sector
Social problems in the new emerging towns
Unemployment of the independent craftsmen
Govt increasingly influenced by the industrial capitalists. They came to influence the life of the employed and the society too. This resulted in stark social inequalities.
Workers had no choice other than to work for a low wage and had no job security. They were dismissed if protested and since there were an abundant number of unemployed people, they couldn’t secure themselves their rights and reasonable wage
Trade unions
The reformers who advocated labour rights initially consisted of landowners and businessman who was jealous of the success of the englismen.some industries had employed even children and women as they could be hired for a much cheaper rate. These industries made more profit than the others and were expanding in a fast pace.
1st factory act-12 hours for children
1819=law passed which forbade employing children below 9
Later in 1824 the laws against forming unions were repealed and a movement called chartist movement earned them right to vote and allowed strike as a means to enforce their demands.
The rights and allowances which the workers in industrialized countries enjoy today are the result of these labour unions and their efforts
Soon the laissez faire doctrine was put aside and they realised that state must interfere in economic development and regulate it to have comprehensive and holistic development.
Socialism
Revolutionary and nationalist movements
Establishment of democratic political system and of independent states based on nationalism
* Social division-division of society into classes under which a man’s entire life was determined at the time of his birth, depending on the class into which he was born.it also had its impact on political systems for the underprivileged had no political rights.
The Essay on Does the Class System Still Exist?
There was a time when we have upper classes,middle class and working class, these classes were created and then in effect created the insecurities and pressure of the people of today. Depending on how much money our families had that determined our livelihoods, our prospects,our social circle and our families future generations. So if you we’re rich and prestigious you had a good chance in ...
* Irrational boundaries-states were organised in an irrational manner, the territories were not necessarily contiguous, the people of these territories were not homogeneous and some were even under a foreign ruler or under church.
* Raise of new class-under the political systems a class could emerge powerful or rise in its position in the society only it has political representation but under the old system which was based on aristocracy there was no possibility of development or improvement in status. After the industrial revolution the middle class which became imp felt the urgent need to reform the political system and the new class which emerged after the industrial revolution also opposed the aristocracy.
* National consciousness-increasing nationality among the states to become united under common nationality and to overthrow the foreign imperial rule.
* Age of enlightenment-after renaissance there was awakening of rational ideas and reasonable thinking and questioning of beliefs as result the old established faith and order came under attack. There aroused an increased secular outlook.
* New ideas-new ideas like equality, fraternity, liberty resulted in freedom of thoughts, democracy. There arose ideas of nationalism which brought unity and a sense of oneness to the people with a desire to organise themselves into independent states with distinct nationality.
* Political movements-movements in north America and Europe to overthrow the existing political system and replace them with democratic political system with equality and fraternity
* Revolutions-revolutions have played an important role in development of human societies. A revolution involves a fundamental change in the entire political setup of a country, change in the nature of govt, in the class or classes that hold political power or the aims of govt.
The American Revolution
Englishmen established colonies in North America. They drove out French from eastern parts
There were totally 13 colonies in north America along the Atlantic coast.peopel seeking religious freedom, traders had settled there.wool,flax,leather,ship building, fishing industries have developed there.
Each colony had local assemblies of its own to look after the local matters.it was under the rule of mother country
The Essay on Economic Reasons For American Independence
Economic Reasons for American Independence The thirteen colonies that became the USA were originally colonies of Great Britain. By the time the American Revolution took place, the citizens of these colonies were beginning to get tired of the British rule. Rebellion and discontent were rampant. For those people who see the change in the American government and society a real Revolution, the ...
Causes of the American war of independence
* Colonial policy-colonial policy of Britain in economic matters was the primary cause for resentment.discouraragement of American economy, high tariff on imports in the colonies, forcing the import of certain goods like iron and textiles from England and certain products like tobacco,cotton,sugar cab be exported only to England and restriction in using non British ships in trade. Impeding the development of local industries in every possible way.
* Royal proclamation-the British aristocrats wanted the western lands for themselves and wanted to make those people to pay rents in order to do this they made a proclamation which restricted the colonists to move westwards into new lands
* Stamp act-to finance the war in Europe and to clear the debts the British enacted the stamp act which imp[posed taxes on business transaction in colonies.this act aroused violent resentment and boycott of British goods .they announced that since the British parliament has no representatives from the colonies they had no right to impose taxes on them
* Role of intellectual-intellectuals like locke,Harrington,Milton,Jefferson and pained were advocating need for fundamental rights which are inseparable from all human beings and asserted the colonies right to rebellion and independence
* The Massachusetts assembly-representatives of other colonies were gathered to discuss their common probs.they jointly decided no taxation without representation and threatened to stop imports from Britain. The British withdrew the stamp act but still asserted their right to impose taxes by levying it on consumer products like tea.glass,paint,paper.again the colonies resisted and cut down their imports. They removed all the taxes from these products but still tea was under taxation.
* The Boston tea party-In 1773 a group of Americans dressed as Indian boarded the ship docked at Boston and dumped the tea from England into sea .this came to be known as Boston tea party. Then in 1774 the representative so the 13 colonies met at Philadelphia and appealed to the British monarch not to levy taxes without their consent. But the Britain declared this as an act of mutiny and to suppress it sent troops to the colonies.in 1774 the colonies prepared for military resistance and the first battle was fought at Lexington.
The Term Paper on American Colonies And In England War Men Man
If we compare the present with the past, if we trace events at all epochs to their causes, if we examine the elements of human growth, we find that Nature has raised us to what we are, not by fixed laws, but by provisional expedients, and that the principle which in one age effected the advancement of a nation, in the next age retarded the mental movement, or even destroyed it altogether. War, ...
* Second continental congress-in 1776 second congress adopted declaration of independence.
* Declared all men are equal and are endowed with certain in alienable rights
* Life, liberty ,pursuit of happiness
* People are the source of authority
* Right of people to set up their own govt
* After the declaration they were fighting for an independent nation
War of independence
* George Washington was put in command
* First battle around Boston
* British troop from Canada which marched south trying to cut the American forces was defeated
* This gave much confidence and impetus to the American independence movement
* Help arrived from French, troops were sent to America
* In British parliament some opposed the war with colonists
* Threat of rebellion in Ireland
* The English commander Cornwallis surrendered
* Under the treaty of Paris English recognized the independence of its colonies
American Revolution its significance
* Declaration of independence, equality of all men, inalienable rights of man electrified the atmosphere in and around America
* Establishment of republic
* Right to vote
* Election laws favoured men of property for sometime
* Step towards democracy
* French were motivated from the American independence and wanted to revolutionize their nation also
* The French general who fought in American independence war became the hero of French revolution
* Many revolutionaries in Europe were later inspired by it
* Spain and Portugal colonies in south America also gained independence
The American constitution
* During the war the colonies were acting as separate state with armies and custom duties of its own
* In 1781 all states came together in Philadelphia to frame a new constitution
* Republic form of govt when states in other parts of countries were governed by monarchies
The Essay on State Of War Men Hobbes Man
Hobbes gives us his estimation of the nature of mankind by initially showing that all men are generally equal. The strongest man can be beaten by the weakest, if the weaker man uses some other force. When it comes to intelligence Hobbes claims men are even more equal, since all men are of equal experience, which is the only way to gain wisdom. Once Hobbes shows that all men are equals he goes on ...
* Federal form of govt with central and state govt sharing power
* Jefferson the author of the declaration of independent advocated bill of rights
* Under these freedom of speech,religion,press and justice under law were guaranteed
The French revolution
* French revolution was brewing while the American independence was fought
* It was more world shaking than American revolution, it rapidly spread throughout the world and no could remain with the upheaval
* The structure of the society was divided into three
* The first estate-roman catholic clergy
* The second estate-nobles 2% of population,20% of land
* The third estate-bourgeoise,city workers, peasants-little rights and paid half of income as taxes
* The first two estates were exempted from all kind of taxes they owned almost 40% of lands. They considered it beneath their dignity to work .it was characterized by luxury and extravagance everywhere.
* The third estate consisted of 80% of population. They were landless.
* They could hardly earn for susbsistence,peasants,share croppers, tenants had nothing left after paying taxes
* Forced labour was practised
* Bad harvest made their plight worse
* The bourgeoisie or the middle class consisted of intelligentsia, doctors, painters, lawyers, teachers, bankers etc.
* The middle class were the really working force in the modern Europe they had the money but no political power but the nobles were indebted to them.
* The condition of city workers was worse they couldn’t leave jobs without certificate of good conduct ,they had no rights, if they left without consent they could be arrested
* They formed secret groups and organised strikes and rebellions they were to play the main stay of the French revolution
* They waited for the right moment to strike at the old order
Causes for revolution
* Age of reason-Even hunger and humiliation and countless sufferings are not enough to spark a revolution. Someone must help the discontented to focus their energy in a coordinated manner and give them ideals to fight for and goals to reach. France had many successful revolutionary thinkers who gave them these ideals and goals through their free thinking and writing.it was the age of reason. Christianity had taught that man was born to suffer. The French philosophers asserted that man was born to be happy. Doctrine of nature was proposed instead of divine law. They believed in reason than in faith. They said man’s destiny lay in this world rather than in heaven. Without them the revolution would have simply resulted in bloodshed and massacre with no impact on the future.
* Scientific advances-the inventions and discoveries since renaissance helped the intellectual to attack on the faith and the clergy. This enabled the people to come out the old order where the church enabled the king and emperor to rule in the name of divine right, where people were made to suffer.
* New economic ideas-laissez faire theory, proposed by French economists called physiocrats,suggested that a man should be left free to manage and dispose of his poverty in the way he thinks best. And the consent of the people is needed to levy taxes on them. These ideas denied the privileges of the upper classes.
* Democratic ideas-philosophers like Montesquieu and jean Jacques Rousseau gave revolutionary ideas for democracy. Rousseau asserted the doctrine of sovereignty and democracy.
* Man is born free yet everywhere he is in chains
* He talked of the state of nature When man was born free and freedom was lost following the emergence of property
* He recognized property in modern societies as necessary evil
* What was needed was a new social contract to guarantee freedom,liberty,equality,happiness which man enjoyed in the state of nature
* No political system can maintain itself without the consent of the governed. This principle had been written into the American declaration of independence
Outbreak of the revolution
* Louis XVI was the monarch, head of the state, when the revolution broke out.
* He was a man of mediocre intelligence,obstinate,and indifferent to the work of the govt
* His beautiful but empty headed wife Marie Antoinette squandered money on festivities and inferred in state appointments to promote her favourites ,because of these the state administration was deteriorating and was always in financial troubles. The wars and maintenance of huge armies made matters worse and led to bankruptcy
* In order to raise money, he convened the meeting of the state’s general-the old feudal assembly, to get its consent. The assembly had representation from all the three estates but had separate meetings.
* The third estate which constituted 96% of population, declared them the national assembly.
* Louis made preparations to break the assembly but the rumour started spreading among the people that the guard will be storming the assembly soon and all the leading members are going to be arrested
* Enraged People stormed the state prison bastille and after four hours siege they broke open the prison and freed all prisoners. The fall of bastille symbolised the fall of aristocracy.
Declaration of the rights of man and citizen
The national assembly enacted laws following the fall of bastille.it adopted the famous declaration of rights of man and citizen.it specified
* Equality of all men before law
* Eligibility of all citizens for public offices
* Freedom from arrest or punishment without proven cause
* Freedom of speech and press
* Equitable distribution of the burden of taxes and rights of property
Every govt in Europe was based on privilege, so if these were to be followed the entire old order of Europe would be destroyed.
War and the end of monarchy
After the revolution, the people of France were involved in a war to defend the nation and the revolution. Nobles fled the country and encouraged foreign govt to intervene in France against revolution. The king and queen were captured.
The old national assembly was replaced by a legislative assembly. This assembly took over the property of those who fled .it sent word to the Austrian emperor, who was making preparation to wage war on France, to renounce the efforts. But it was in vain and the emperor refused.so the assembly declared war on Austria.
France was soon fighting Austria, Prussia, and savoy in Italy
France had destroyed feudalism and monarchy and founded new institutions based on liberty and equality. Whereas in these countries the old order still remained.
The aim of the Austrian-Prussian forces was to suppress the revolt and restore monarchy in France, whereas the revolutionaries offered fraternity and assistance in destroying the old order in their countries.
The king and queen were executed in 1793
War declared against Britain, Holland, Spain and Hungary
A radical group called Jacobeans, believing in direct democracy came to power. They crushed all those who had a different opinion about the revolution. This reign was marked by terror
Later a new constitution was drawn up
Army became more powerful and led to the rise of napoleon, who declared himself the emperor of the French republic.
Revolution and the Napoleonic wars
* 1792 to 1815 France was engaged in war almost continuously with other states which were still following the old order
* It was an international civil war between revolutionary France and old odder states
* France was alone in this war
* Napoleon pressed on to Malta, Egypt and Syria
* France recovered the territories it had lost to Austria in 1815,Prussia in 1806,Russia in 1807
* France couldn’t defeat the British navy
(Had to refer other source to complete this topic)
(After napoleon again monarchy was restored but again in 1830 another revolution took place and replaced it.but again in 1848 monarchy was restored. Finally in 1871 republic was proclaimed)
Consequences of the revolution
* All people were given political representation
* Right to vote and insurrection
* Provision in constitution that the govt must provide work or livelihood
* Abolition of slavery in French colonies
* Destruction of feudalism in France
* Old laws were annulled
* Lands held by the upper estate were distributed and now owned by the lower and middle classes
* The old social order was abolished
* Introduction of Napoleonic code
* New economic system called capitalism was build in place of old system and it was stable and even monarchy couldn’t replace it
* New term called nation which denotes not the territory but the people inhabiting it
* The entire nation supported the army which had revolutionary citizens which stood against the rest of the Europe
The Vienna settlement
* Napoleon had badly mutilated Europe, torn away territories and added them with other according to his wish.
* Now it was the left to the European statesmen to redraw the map
Background
* Different opinion about Poland and Saxony among victors
* Prussia wanted whole of Saxony as a compensation for surrendering polish territory to Russia
* Russia supported this Prussian ambition
* France,Austria,England allied themselves and opposed this
* So Russia compromised a little and only half of Saxony was given to Prussia
* During this time napoleon escapes from Elba and finally defeated at waterloo in 1815
*
Highlights
* Three principles restoration, compensation and legitimacy
* All the princes were restored to their possessions
* Holland was given territories in Austrian Netherlands to create a strong state on northern frontiers of France
* Prussia was given more territories and made a bulwark against France and with the surrender of polish lands it was now purely a German state.it got wealthy because of new resources from these areas
* Russia retained Finland
* Austria-Hungary got Lombardy and Venetia as a compensation for giving territory to Holland
Comments
* Tried to achieve balance of power between European states and states around France were strengthened so as to contain her in case of another revolution
* It was successful for it held Europe together in peace for nearly a century
* France was not punished severely instead given a fair treatment this made sure that there was no conflagration for
* Emphasis was given not to minor ambitions but towards the attempt of creating everlasting peace in Europe
* Even if it didn’t prevent war it is sure that it didn’t contain any seeds of future war
* The major powers alone decided peace and war the settlement didn’t give them any pretext for war
* It provided a platform for solving the future disputes
* Protecting Europe against revival of French imperialism
* Principle of a Balanced European society of five imperial powers
* Many changes were temporary and didn’t last longer
* It completely neglected the nationalist ideals of many nationals like germans,Spanish,Italians,polish etc.
* Liberals were not satisfied as old rule brought back reactionary and obsolete ideas and policies
* Principle of legitimacy was ignored and republics like Venice and genoa were extinguished without a murmur. They were more peaceful than many monarchs in Europe
* Smaller states were not respected nor were their ambitions considered and they were ruthlessly sacrificed for the welfare of bigger states.
* The eastern question, solution to Constantinople was not decided
The holy alliance
* Created by czar alexander-1
Objectives
* Get rid of the fear of wars
* Spiritualize politics
* Principles of Christianity among the rulers in solving disputes
* All citizens are to be treated as children
* All kings could live as brothers
* A general council consisting of members from all states ,to solve disputes
People confused themselves the holy alliance with quadruple alliance and since quadruple alliance was used by princes against people to suppress nationalism and liberalism, people considered it as a symbol reaction and tyranny. So it was opposed by the people.
Independence of Belgium
Background
* Netherlands had 17 provinces under the rule of Spain
* The northern provinces consisting of 7 provinces revolted and won their freedom and were called as united provinces of Holland
* The rest 10 provinces remained as part of Spain
* After the treaty of Utrecht of 1713 ,10 provinces were given to Austria
* Later napoleon conquered it and after his fall in order to have a strong state on the northern frontier of France the Vienna congress united it with Holland
Factors for the independence
* Religious differences such as protestants in Holland and Catholics in Belgium
* Different languages such as French in Belgium which was the language of the literature as well as spoken by upper classes but the official language in the union was Dutch language
* Belgium’s population was higher than that of Holland but still equal representation was given in the state’s general while framing the united constitution
* People of Belgium was excluded from official posts
* Severe oppression on journalist accused of seditious writings
* Unjust taxes
Revolt
* July revolution sparked the revolt
* The Frenchmen sympathized with the Belgians as it provided them an opportunity to weaken the union ,for the annexation of Holland
* The rebels were not ready to reconcile
* Provisional independent Belgian state was setup
* War became inevitable and it seemed that all Europeans powers could soon be engaged in another war
* Separation of Belgium was an violation of the Vienna agreement
* French govt negotiated for Belgium and soon the state of Belgium was recognized as independent
* Treaty of London solemnly recognized the independence of Belgium and its neutrality
* Later this was to be violated by Germany in 1914 which was cause of Britain’s entry into 1 world war
Unification of Italy
Background
The Vienna settlement failed to unify Italy and it divided it into numerous states under different rulers
Italy was called as a geographical expression
The independent rulers were reactionary and lacked a vision. They brought back the old system and it created resentment among the masses.
Napoleon’s conquests had already created a sense of nationalism among the states and the reactionary policies of these corrupt princes gave an opportunity for the spread of democratic ideas and nationalistic ideals among the people
Secret societies like carbonari fostered a determined political purpose which was the expulsion of the foreign rulers
Revolt in Naples
Ferdinand 1 violated his pledge to respect the liberal constitution and the people off Naples motivated by the Spanish revolution revolted and demanded a constitution on the model of Spain. He reconciled first but later sought the help of other states to retain absolutism .the Austrian army captured the rebel leaders and restored him in throne
Revolt in piedmont and Lombardy
They decided to attack the Austrian army from the rear which was marching towards Naples to suppress the rebellion but due to poor leadership it failed and the leaders were captured and hanged
1830 July revolution also affected the Papal States but the revolt was suppressed by the foreign forces and they were occupied by France and Austria and became the ground of confrontation for sometime
These revolts failed because
* the democratic efforts were disunited and not systematic
* the condition were not ripe
* the unity was the cry of only a few leaders and not the creed of the masses
Risorgimento
The previous revolts though were not successful but served one purpose they enabled the people to understand the weakness of the reactionary states in Italy.
* It was at bottom a moral movement
* For free and united Italy
* Drew inspiration from the romantic movement
* Politically the revival was patriotic and national
* It was liberal and democratic
* Aspirations of middle class of Italy to become economically developed
* Parliamentary form of govt, freedom of press, reduction of powers of church
Mazzini
* Influenced by the writers of romanticism
* Joined carbonari
* Founded young Italy which had its motto of free independent and republican Italy
* Supported the Indian cause
* He made the impossible dream of unity in the minds of people possible and inculcated faith in them
* He incited revolutionary spirit in the minds of Italians
* After the failure of moderates the extremists came to the front under Mazzini
* Republic was proclaimed in Rome under Mazzini but later they were discredited but the movement gave a national consciousness to the Italians
Failure of extremists
* Austrian position was too strong in Italy for Italians to fight them alone
* There was no collaboration for the princes of Italy for unification
* Pope conspired against the unity for he would lose his territories under republic
* The patriots diverted their energies in diff directions so their divided forces couldn’t achieve much
Cavour
* A keen student of western advanced methods in agriculture, industry and parliamentary politics
* He considered the western model to be the way for economic prosperity
* He eventually westernized piedmont and then all of Italy
* He borrowed money both internally and externally and modernized the railways in piedmont
* Through a series of war and diplomacy he made her both militarily and economically stronger with piedmont as its core
* His participation in Crimean wars on behalf of England ,France and turkey raised the political status of piedmont though it had nothing of interest in the eastern question
* He raised the sympathy of Europe for the unification of Italy particularly that of napolean3
* France had interest in acquiring nice and savoy
* He made sure that Britain and Prussia wouldn’t interfere and through diplomacy he obtained the support of Russia in the war
* In the war the Austrian army was defeated by the combined forces of France and national army
* Napoleon signed the armistice of villafranca without consulting piedmont, as he was not willing to risk a war with Prussia and also because of the massacre he witnessed in the battle
* Cavour adopted plebiscites in Italy and united Tuscany, Parma and Modena
Garibaldi
* He joined young Italy in his early years
* Garibaldi captured Naples and Sicily for Italy and provided Cavour an opportunity to integrate papal states with Italy
The unification of Italy was completed with the removal of French troops from Rome which was placed there for a long time
Unification of Germany
Background
* The Vienna settlement was disappointing, it made Germany a confederate of 39 states instead of a unified Germany
* Every state was a sovereign within its territory so the rulers opposed the unification, and moreover there were some foreign territories too within the confederate
* The federation had no power Austria held all the power
* The students protest made Austria to issue some restrictions called the Carlsbad decrees
* These decrees restricted the student movements freedom of press
* The customs system between the states of Prussia was reformed and tariff and trade barriers were removed so that they could compete with Britain in trade
* This customs union called zollverin made German states and Prussian state a consolidated fiscal unit
* This made them accustomed them to the exclusion of Austria from the German body and look to Prussia for leadership
* It prepared a way for political nationality by unifying them on commercial basis
July revolution
* The July revolution of France also had some of its effects on Germany for many states asked for liberal constitutions
Frankfurt parliament and aftermath
* A provisional govt for the whole of Germany was proposed
* An assembly of scholars and prominent persons met at Frankfurt and appointed a central executive and it was decided that Austria must be excluded from the confederation
* Throne of German confederation was offered to Prussian king but he refused for he believed in the divine rights of kings and was not willing to accept it from people
* Time was wasted in academic discussions and with fear of Austrian intervention and hesitation of Prussia the movement failed
* It made them realised that some other method has to be followed to unify Germany
* But the Prussian king tried to form a union of princes and unify Germany without Austria
* Austria forced Prussia to dissolve the union and the confederate states felt betrayed
* It was marked the lowest point of Prussia’s timidity and it was humiliated like never before
* They understood that German unification was not possible with a strong Prussian state
* And the need for a stronger army was felt
Bismarck
* He was a bully and absolutist and believed in autocracy
* He reformed the army
* He exploited the Schleswig Holstein problem and wanted the duchies to join Prussia
* He wanted a war and took sides with Austria so that after war there will be a trouble over the spoils of war
* He also wanted to test the new Prussian modern army
* He made a pact with Austria and both mutually declared war
* After war both got one territory and this was a great diplomatic victory for Bismarck
* But Austria got a territory which was hedged by Prussian territory on both sides and Austria felt her insecurity ,so she encouraged the duke to reclaim his territories and also went to the German diet, which was clear violation of the treaty made by Prussia and Austria
* Bismarck used this opportunity and declared war against Austria
* Before the war was declared Austria was isolated diplomatically from other European powers and Prussian military was prepared for this duel for a long time
* Russia was won over to the Prussian side using the old enmity between Russia and Austria after the Crimean war and Bismarck’s policies were pro-Russian during the polish revolt. He anticipated that an alliance with Russia was necessary to defeat Austria
* France was won over by offering southern Belgium, which was not in Bismarck’s hands but still France for its own interests agreed to maintain neutrality
* Italy the natural enemy of Austria was made an offensive ally in the war with Austria and she agreed on the condition of getting Venetia, which she could do only with foreign help
Austro Prussian war
* The war was very brief the superior Prussian army defeated Austria army
* Italy was defeated by Austria but at the end of the war Bismarck offered very lenient terms to Austria and gave Venetia to Italy
* Prussia was recognised in Europe as a great military power and Austria was excluded from Germany
* The loss of Venetia and German leadership subdued Austria and she came to terms with other powers
Franco Prussian war
* The southern states of Germany were yet to be integrated and there was every possibility of them being helped by France
* Bismarck tried to win over them by helping them in training their army and providing other help
* France was isolated diplomatically
* Russia had a grudge against France following the Crimean defeat
* Italy was angry with France for she betrayed her during Italian unification and she was occupying Rome .the forces from Rome would be pulled out only if France was engaged in major war.
* Austria was convinced that her days of dominance were over and she was able to maintain neutrality with Prussia ,for she was happy with the lenient terms imposed on her
* The spark for the war was provided by a minor incident between French ambassador and Prussian king and both the nations felt that they were humiliated deliberately by the other
* French forces were defeated and by the treaty of Frankfurt Alsace and Lorraine were given to Germany and all the southern states joined the German federation
* The king of Prussia was declared the emperor of Germany
* It was in this way Germany was united
1 world war
Economic and political conditions during the war
* Europe still dominated the rest of the world before the eve of war
* Germany was a leading economic and military power and had overtaken Britain in production of pig iron and steel and not in coal
* Outside Europe two other powers have already emerged .they are namely usa and japan.they were modernized rapidly both in terms of military and industrial development.japan was powerful enough to defeat Russia.usa had ranked first in production of steel and coal
* The political systems in these countries varied widely, with some having democratic form of govt while others had autocratic govt with king or emperor wielding the highest power.usa,frace and Britain had democracies while the authority was vested in the hands of chancellor and emperor in Germany,tasr in Russia,emperor in japan.italy had an elected parliament but franchise was limited to wealthy people only
* Imperial expansion after 1880 .most of African territories were seized as colonies by European powers for obtaining raw materials and new markets.there was also intervention in the Chinese markets which was forced to grant trading concessions and open up its markets
Causes of friction
* Serbian nationalism was the most important factor.serbians had amibitions of uniting all serbs croats,many of whom who lived inside the habsburg empire into a south slav kingdom.this would involve taking certain areas from Austria hungary,which would eventually lead to the collapse of it,since it contained people of different nationalities and all may ask for independence.
* Russians were suspicious of Austrian ambitions in Balkans
* French resentment at the loss of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany at the end of franco Prussian war,during the german unification
* Naval rivalry between Britain and Germany
* Accusation of germany against france britian and Russia of trying to encircle them
Events leading to war
Moroccan crisis(1905-1906)
Britain and france signed entente cordialle with terms of understanding such as the French acceptance of britains position in Egypt and English approval of a French takeover in morocco.germany didn’t take the entente seriously but at the same wanted to test it. So it said that it would support the sultan of morocco to protect his country’s independence.to everyones surprise Britain Russia Italy and spain supported the French takeover of morocco.it was a serious diplomatic defeat for germany . it showed the strength of the treaty
Triple entente cordialle
After the defeat of russia by japan ,it became weak and realized the need to have modernization of its structures for this it needed British assistance .so it held aside the differences and joined the entente with france and Britain.it had already signed treaty with france ..so now it became triple entenete .it was not necessarily an anti german move but germans thought that they were planning to encircle them
Bosnia crisis
Austrians making use of a revolution in turkey annexed bosnia.this angered serbis which itself had plans of annexing bosnia since it contained serbs,croats and muslims. The slavs appealed for help from Russia.russia expected British and French support but when it became clear that Germany would support Austria they hesitated.this left Russia alone and it didn’t want to risk and lose another war.no help for Serbia came.it marked an important landmark in causes of the war
* Serbia was fuming for revenge against the Austrians
* Russians were preparing their army in case Serbia asked for help in future
Agadir crisis
This is an another escalation of morrocan crisis.the germans sent their gunboat to force French to give them compensation but the French refused and British intervened and threatened that Britain would not let Germany threaten its sea routes.finally germans backed off.but the sentiments in Germany became anti British.
First Balkan war-1912
Serbia,Greece,Montenegro and Bulgaria calling themselves the Balkan league attacked turkey and captured most of her remaining territory in Europe. Germany tried to make peace and worked with Britain to avoid the spreading of conflict.the settlement didn’t go very well with the serbs who wanted Albania for themselves .since it would give them access to the Mediterranean .but Austria using german influence made sure that Albania becomes a separate state and serbian growth checked.
Second Balkan war-1913
Bulgarians dissatisfied with the serbia getting Macedonia after first Balkan war attacked serbia.but to its surprise Greece,Romania and turkey supported serbia and Bulgaria was defeated her gains in the first Balkan war were forfeited .anglo german influence prevented Austria from helping Bulgaria.this was another important event because
* It made serbia stronger and she was determined to carve out territories from Austria-hungary where serbs,croats were living in large numbers.
* Austria was equally determined to put down serbia’s ambitions
* Germans took British cooperation as a sign that Britain would detach herself from france and Russia
Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
Austrian crown prince and his wife were shot dead by a Serbian youth in Sarajevo,Bosnian capital.austrians sent a stiff ultimatum.serbia accepted most of it but the Austrian with the help of Germany wanted to use this as an opportunity to crush serbia.russia ordered a general mobilization of troops,germans wanted the Russians to pull back when they didn’t comply,germans declared war on Russia and on france.german troops entered Belgium on their way to france ,Britain who promised to mainatain Belgium neutrality asked germans to pull back when they didn’t she declared war on germans. Austria declared war on Russians after germans. Soon other nations joined.
Theories on cause for war
Alliance system made war inevitable
* When the French Russian alliance was signed the fate was sealed.
* Suspicion mounted between two groups and reached a point when both sides couldn’t get out without suffering humiliation or losing its pride
Counter view
* These were not military alliances
* In several occasions the allied didn’t respond to others call for help.
* france didn’t help Russia in Austrian annexation of bosnia
* Austria didn’t help Germany in morrocan crisis
* Germany restrained Austria from attacking serbia during 1 Balkan war
* Italy a member of triple alliance fought against germany
Colonial rivalry in Africa and east
Counter view
* Several disputes had been sorted out through talks
Naval rivalry
* Britain had an enormous lead in the naval race
* New dreadnought type battleship changed all because again both the nations have to produce more than the other in order to maintain supremacy
Economic rivalry
* German business men wanted their leaders to declare war on Britain in some pretext,which owned most of the merchant ships
Counter view
* Germany was already on the way to economic victory ,if it were not for the war, in less than four years Germany would have emerged the greater power
Russia made war more likely by backing Serbia
* Russian support made serbia more arrogant and ambitious in her pursuit of getting territories from Austria-hungary
* Russians felt that german and Austrian control of Bulgaria and turkey would lead to german influence over dardanelles strait,outlet from black sea,which would strangle Russian trade.so she felt threatened when Austria attacked serbia and considered that as an fight for survival
German backing of Austria was crucially important
* The Germany restrained Austria during the Balkan war but in 1914 it promised german help without any conditions attached.
* Germans wanted a preventive war to give a blow to Russian military expansion before it was too late as they felt they were being encircled by the allies.
The mobilization plans of the great power
* The mobilization powers of the greater powers made negotiation impossible
* The german schlieffan plan assumed France would join Russia automatically and made plans for invading france through Belgium.
* As soon as Russia ordered general mobilization Germans wanted the plan to put to work as soon as possible to make it effective
* But Russian mobilization does not necessarily mean declaration of war
* The schlieffan plan brought the war outside the Balkans and made Britain to enter the war as she had promised Belgium neutrality
Tragedy of miscalculation
* Russians thought mobilization wouldn’t look like declaration of war
* Austrians thought Russia wouldnot support serbia,as she couldn’t support her during the Bosnian annexation
* German support to Austria without any conditions
Progress of war
* Schlieffan plan failed to get a decisive victory against france and resulted in a stalemate
* A rapid victory against france was lost and Paris didn’t fall
* Germans captured Poland and forced Russia out of the war
* Britains merchant ships were destroyed by german submarines and france witnessed a mutiny in the army and both seemed to be on the verge of defeat.
* German u boat campaign and a possible german effort to persuade mexico to declare war on America and promising texas,new mexico,Arizona.
* America would have hesitated to join allies along with russia but after russia’s exit,it joined the allies
* The american support gave a moral boost to all the allied forces .the forces were reinforced through american resources and the war could have been carried for few more months
* But the german forces were already exhausted and they wanted to sign an armistice before germany was invaded
* Germany wanted to end the war before they loose a war and tried to maintain the spirit.
Peace settlement
Britains aims during war
* Defence of democracy
* Restoring Alsace Lorraine to france
* Restoring Belgium ,serbia, an independent Poland,self govt for Austria hungary
* Self determination for german colonies
* An international organization to prevent war
America’s war aims
* All round reduction of armaments
* Free navigation at sea during peace and war
* Removal of economic barriers
* Restoring French territories and Belgium
* Italian restoration along the lines of nationality
* Self govt for people of Austria hungary and turkey
* Independent Poland
* Serbia to be given access to sea
* International organisation to reserve peace
Treaty of Versailles
* The war guilt clause blamed Germany as the sole reason for war
* Germany was made to pay reparations for the war damage to the allies
* German armaments were reduced and Rhineland was made as a demilitarized zone
* Germany had to give back Alsace Lorraine to france
* Some portions of german territories were given to Belgium,Denmark,Lithuania
* Russian territories won by german in the war were made independent states
* African colonies of Germany were also placed under league of nations supervision
* German and Austrian alliance was forbidden
German objections and justifications
* It was a dictated peace .the germans were not allowed to present their cause or give their views. They were just made to sign.if the peace treaty had been little lenient it would not have been the cause and a moral justification for future wars made by Hitler.
* Wilsons fourteen points were not followed
* German objected to the loss of their territories but most of these can be neglected considering that they constituted of people having other nationality.
* Their African colonies were seized.germany was denied justice in these actions.the allies used the war clause to annex the german colonies.
* The disarmament clause was not followed …as the victors of the war were not ready to disarm their forces and the germans used this an excuse and showed their resentment
* The war clause blamed the german aggression as the sole reason for the war.
* The reparation were the final and most severe humiliation imposed on the germans .the sum was too high for them to pay and they exploited this and began to default from payments.
League of Nations
1919-1939
* Turkey and Italy were dissatisfied with their treatment and they defied the settlement
* Relations between france and Britain was strained due to the difference in issue of german reparations
* The usa was politically isolated during this period until the default europen war debts forced them to intervene in European issues
* Bolsheviks came to power in Russia and the western govt viewed tem with suspicion ,particularly france which was now left without an ally.
Significant events before war
League of nations
* Played an important role in settling some minor disputes
* But many states preferred to sign treaties of their own independently of the league, which suggests that they were not brimming with confidence of the league
Washington conference
* Japan seized german islands in the pacific making use of the first world war
* The growing Japanese power was viewed with suspicion by usa
* To improve the relation with japan this conference was held
* Japan agreed to withdraw from certain provinces of china and agreed to reducing her naval size
* Western powers promised not to build any more bases within striking distance of japan.
* This actually made japan stronger in the pacific and she could concentrate her forces in this zone
Genoa conference
* Britains efforts to solve franco german problems,European war debts to usa
* Failed and france sent forces to ruhr valley to sieze goods as compensation for german defaults in war indemnity
Dawes plan
* Under this Germany was to pay the same amount but only the amount she could afford annually
* Usa gave loan to Germany and german economy showed signs of improvement
Locarno treaties
* These were a number of treaties signed by Germany,Britain,frqaance,Italy,Belgium,Poland
* The german frontiers with france and Belgium was recognised by both sides and military intervention assured by Britain and Italy incase of any violations .
* But the german frontiers with Poland and Czechoslovakia were not recognized by Germany
* But france assured help in case Germany attacked czech
Kellogg Briand pact
A pact signed between usa and france for renouncing war and they felt that the whole world would follow them.it was partially successful . because they didn’t mention anything about the sanctions for violations
Young plan
French compromised ad were ready to redcue the war indemnity to a reasonable sum which would be paid in the next 50 years. But the wall street crash developed into a great depression and soon there were millions unemployed in Germany and hitler made use of this opportunity and became chancellor.
World disarmament conference
France was astonished and panicked by the rise of Nazism refused to reduce its forces and didn’t allow the germans to have equal strength of armaments. Hitler exploited the sympathy of britaina and Italy and pulled out from the conference and then out of the League of Nations.
French policy
France had suffered by two german invasions and after the war was over they wanted to make sure that Germany never recovers from the ruins and violates their soil again.they adopted a number of measures to defend themselves from future german aggression.
* Trying to keep Germany weak by insistence on a harsher treatment,forcing them to pay more than they could afford,seizing goods as compensation for their defaults.they wanted Rhineland to be demilitarized,saar to be French colony for 15 years,reduction of german army.but these failed after British and american assurances failed to materialize.
* Alliances and a stronger league of nations.a number of alliances with Poland,Czechoslovakia,Romania,Yugoslavia known as little entente to protect themselves from german threat.but all these never helped them much as these states were more of a burden for French than of an ally,as they were too weak.after communists came to power in Russia france was not willing to have relations with them.working towards a stronger league of nations but this also failed.
* Compromise and reconciliation with germans. This also failed as the national feelings in both the countries thwarted all the attempts for reconciliation.
* Tougher stance against Germany during the proposal of austro german customs union to boost their economic growth. France refused to allow this and the matter was referred to international court of justice and it was dropped.
Relations between ussr,usa,Germany,france,Britain
Ussr and Britain
* Anglo Russian trade treaty was initiated by Lenin to improve the foreign trade and capital
* The labour govt in England worked for a better relation with Russia while the conservatives viewed them with suspicion.
* Russian propaganda for indian independence worsened their relations
* After stalin came he tried to improve relations with Britain.
Ussr and Germany
* Ussr and Germany had a stable relationship.russians saw a good relation with atleast one capitalist power as a necessary means in their international policy
* Russia allowed germans to build warplanes and machinery in their territory so that the germans can do so without violating treaty of Versailles.and german officers trained in banned weapons in Russia.
* Both wanted to keep Poland weak which was in their interests
* Treaty of berlin made sure that both would neutral and stay away from economic sanctions against one another
* Nazi party was anti communist. This caused strain in their relationship.
* Hitler abruptly ended relation with Russia with the signing of non aggression treaty with Poland
Ussr and france
* Bolsheviks revolution caused a great strain the relationship of ussr and france
* French troops helped Poland in their war with Russia.
* After the rise of hitler both ussr and france tried to form a good relationship with each other
USA foreign policy
* Followed a policy of isolation after the war
* But the prevailing tension in the Europe threatened her investments and trade so it was inevitable for the usa to involve in the European affairs
* The European nations are yet to repay their war debts to usa
* Gave loan to Germany for reviving her economy and collecting the debts from france ,Britain
* Kellogg Briand pact was an useless venture for peace
* Usa didn’t oppose the Japanese invasion of Manchuria as they were not ready start a war with japan
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
* China was growing under chiang kai shek and japan felt that she could be expelled from china
* She had invested a lot of money in Manchuria
* China was witnessing a civil war between communists and chiank kai shek.
* Japan penetrated into rest of the area and captured peking
* The anticomintern pact with Germany was signed
* Then she exploited another incidence and captured shanghai and canton
German actions and outbreak of war
* After war new constitution was setup known as weimer constitution and a weimer republican govt was setup
* The victors of war didn’t show much wisdom as they forced Germany to accept the sole responsibility for starting the war and imposed harsher terms on them and this made the new govt to fail
* The actions of france were also not wise as they pushed Germany almost to the point of economic collapse when they seized german goods as compensation for war defaults.
* they marched troops into ruhr valley and germans gave a united passive resistance
* The coloured soldiers of france also ignited the german racist feelings
* German financial crisis and the harsh actions of French govt created sympathies in britaian and in usa
* Dawes plan and young plan were formulated to help germans to revive their economy
rise of Hitler
* Most of the german people were not democratic at heart.they cared more about pride and glory rather than peace and freedom
* Hitler was a politician with vast resourcefulness and a brilliant orator
* Hitler promised them that he would restore german pride and they flocked to him
* He promised a number things and it covered almost all the sections of german mass
* The german economic collapse made 6 lakhs unemployed and hitler used this opportunity to increase his support
* After the death of president Hindenburg Hitler made himself both the chancellor and president of Germany
Foreign policy
* He wanted living space for Germany’s bulging population
* He wanted to make use of the south eastern Europe its complementary nature to Germany.the states had one or two resources but lacked in another so he felt only by unification all these could be utilized effectively
* Locarno pact and French attitude in securing her safety and abandoning polands interest irritated her.so she made a pact when hitler extended his support.hitler actually wanted to remove suspicion for sometime
* Nazi agitators in autria tried to capture govt.after it failed hitler refused to acknowledge his involvement
Saar plebiscite
saar was initially given to france to be ruled for 15 years after which by a plebiscite it would be decided whether it would remain with france or with Germany
hitler’s propaganda was effective and people of saar chosed to join with Germany
german remilitarisation
hitler violated treaty of Versailles and raised german strength through military conscription
re militarisation of rhinelnd
Rhineland the area between german and french,Belgian frontier was made a demilitarized zone by the treaty so that the Belgian and French line were not exposed surprise german attack.hitler violated this and marched troops into rhine under the excuse that French military pact with Russia was directed against Germany . he proposed a number of compromise measures and pacts and kept the other busy and brought sometime for his next move.
Spain
Hitler and Mussolini helped general franco in their civil war in spain and they overthrew the republican govt
Berlin Rome Tokyo axis
Japan left the league after the invasion of Manchuria and signed a anti comintern pact with Germany and Italy had a changed attitude towards Germany when its actions in Abyssinia were condemned by others while Germany followed a friendly policy towards Italy. This developed into a pact known as berlin rome Tokyo axis
Annexation of Austria
Hitler forced the Austrian chancellor to let Nazis to propagate in Austria and to conduct a plebiscite to decide whether they would join Germany or be independent. Later he made him to appoint a nazi leader as his minister and asked him to postpone the plebiscite and forced him to resign .the new minister invited hitler to take over austria to protect her from chaos and internal collapse. Thus it was annexed by German forces.the western powers like sincere widows mourned and did nothing. This gave Germany direct contact with Italy and Czechoslovakia and boosted her revenue.
Munich crisis
(need to refer chapter 39 from modern European history)
Second World War