HI 112 Raffael Scheck Colby College A Survey of Modern Europe 4

The Consolidation of Other Nation States

France after 1871 n Modernization and consolidation after 1871 n Attack on local dialects n Compulsory education n Mass draft n Branch railroad building n Anti-clericalism in the wake of the Dreyfus Affair n Successful democracy despite instability of governments

Reform in Russia n Defeat also triggers modernization n Abolition of serfdom, 1861 n Local parliaments n Judicial system n National minorities n Anti-Semitism n Revolution of 1905

Democratization in Britain n Electoral reforms of 1832, 1867, and 1881: gradual extension of the suffrage to almost all adult males n Limitation of the power of the Upper House n Pride in powerful industrial revolution and global empire n But: nationalist tensions, above all in Ireland

Failed Consolidation in Austria- Hungary n Division of the Austrian Empire, 1867 n Democratization in Austria but not in Hungary n Separatist nationalisms; chaos for Austrian democracy n Slow industrialization in Austria n Huge free-trade area but politically unstable

Changes in Society

Overview n Industrial “take-off” on the Continent after 1850 n Population Explosion n Urbanization and rebuilding of cities n Effects on the countryside and on worldviews

European Population Growth (in millions)

Urban Growth in 1000s

Growth Rates

Urbanization n Growth in royal residences already before 1800, but explosion during industrial revolution n Huge challenges: feeding, housing, policing, hygiene, transportation n Demands large administration

The Tertiary (White-Collar) Sector n Huge cities and consolidated states require large state administrations n Banking, finance, insurance business, services thrive n Job opportunities for many men and women n Consumerism; department stores

The Growth of Organized Labor n Organization in huge industrial areas n Housing shortages n Mass strikes n Repressive states n But: Trade union movements and socialist parties begin integrating the workers into the state in Western and Central Europe n Still: fear of revolution

Changes in the Countryside n Markets expand, but foreign competition from the U.S. and Russia undercuts agriculture n Farmers demand protective tariffs and become a conservative counterweight to the labor movement n Strategic interests of nation states

Changes in Mentalities n Challenges to organized religion n Dechristianization? n Feminization of religion n Upsurge of individualism

Modernism and Modern Thought

What is Modernism? n Rational, scientific, individualistic, progressive, urbanized form of life in place around 1900 (in the advanced countries) n But it breeds its opposite: irrationalism, nihilism, cultural pessimism

The New Toughness of Mind, n Trend to scientific understanding of all things human (Marx) n Auguste Comte ( ): Positivism n Realism in paiting and literature (e. g. Flaubert) n Charles Darwin ( ) and Charles Spencer ( ) n Shock to romantic and religious minds

The Challenge to Rationality n World full of chaotic, destructive wills (Schopenhauer) n Friedrich Nietzsche ( ): call for a “transvaluation of all values” n Naturalism: critique of society and family (Ibsen, Strindberg. Zola) n Sigmund Freud ( ): exploring the unconscious

Conclusion n Massive outbreak of irrationalism at the end of the “rational” 19th century n But not a romantic irrationalism in the sense of the richness of feeling - rather: anguish, madness n Search for meaning

The Zenith of European Imperialism

The “New” Imperialism: Facts and Motivations n Scramble for colonies n Deeper penetration and higher investment; made possible by industrial revolution and new technology n Feeling of cultural superiority and civilizing mission (the “white man’s burden”) n Nationalism (mass press) n Demographic and social arguments n Neo-mercantilism n Domino effect?

The British Empire

The French Empire

Realities of the New Imperialism n Poor communication and organization n Failure of the settlement idea n Limited economic benefits n Anti-imperialism

Informal Empire n Trading with established but less powerful states; attempts to control their finances and exploit their economies n Examples: Ottoman Empire, China, Latin America, maybe Russia?

The Human and Cultural Cost n Destruction or disruption of cultures n Forced labor under abusive conditions n Divisions within “colonized peoples;” massacres in response to uprisings n Europeanization of the globe? n But also powerful foreign influence on Europe