Lecture 6b
What is the Social Question of the 19th Century?
Three major ideologies whose political forms or expressions will shape a lot of the 19th and 20th centuries?
Liberalism, nationalism, socialism
Were the 1848 revolutions in Europe successful?
Not necessarily
quickly suppressed however:
significant lasting reforms included the abolition of serfdom in Austria and Hungary, the end of absolute monarchy in Denmark, and the introduction of representative democracy in the Netherlands
When is the first wave of Empire Building?
from c.1500, a first wave of overseas empire-building
has considerably slowed down by c.1700
these first empires are not all growing, but rather changing hands (as with 1756-1763 the Seven Years’ War)
still, in 1800 Europeans “own” around 29 percent of the world
since Europe itself is only around 7 percent of the world’s surface area, this means an extra 21-22 percent or so has passed into the hands of major European powers
but it is no longer expanding overall, because they have seized whatever they could seize with the existing tools of empire
and this is mostly coastlines but not (large chunks of) continental interiors
Is modern Imperialism the only Imperialism?
No,
a state that expands into and conquers adjacent realms (whether of other states or tribes), and comes to rule over such other “kingdoms,” sometimes under their own “kings,” chiefs, tribal leaders, rajas is an empire
this means that history is full of imperialisms and empires
What did the reading in lecture - Sadler Committee, 1832 discuss?
A primary account of a child worker
What is the prevailing ideology in Turkey in the 20th century?
Nationalist ideology: note the timeline
CUP 1908-1918
heavily nationalist-statist
National Struggle 1919-22
very nationalist-statist
the early Republic, 1923-1925
nationalist but with a dose of liberalism
the One Party era, 1925/27 - 1946/50
strongly nationalist-statist
center-right governments, 1950-2002
e.g. the Democrat Party, 1950-1960
e.g. the Justice Party, 1961-71, 1974-77, 1979-80
mixtures of: conservatism, nationalism, liberalism
virtually the only exception: Turgut Özal and the
Motherland Party in the mid-80s
more liberal than all others
What is a liberal (or liberal-democratic) revolution?
to overthrow monarchy and aristocracy
to set up a republic
to establish a democratic society
ex. August Decrees
When is the second wave of Empire Building?
now from c.1875, a second wave
especially the Scramble for Africa; also Southeast Asia and the Pacific; Russia across Siberia; the US to the West Coast
by 1900, the territorial division of the world is complete, i.e. there is no “empty” land without any (Western) owners
now more than 90 percent of the world belongs to Europeans – including “settler colony” elites of European origin (as in South America, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa)
non-Western but not (yet) colonized (semi-colonial): Ethiopia, Liberia, China, Iran, and the Ottoman Empire
[Japan is a special case: modernizes so quickly as to become a first Asian imperialist country]
What are the new tools of empire created by and after the Industrial Revolution?
Steam and Steel
breech-loading, rapid-firing gunpowder weapons (infantry rifles, machine guns, heavy artillery capable of throwing conical explosive shells over long and increasing distances)
huge steam-powered warships (generically referred to as dreadnoughts) armed with such big guns
naval bases and coaling stations built all around the world
infrastructure
modern engineering
colonial railways and highways
harbor facilities
cable-laying (on ocean floors)
telegraph lines
medicine and pharmaceutics
the germ-theory of disease
vaccines
new drugs against tropical diseases (e.g. quinine for malaria)
What can be some of the negative sides or "costs" of the Industrial Revolution? List at least 5.
the human cost
a huge new industrial working class
its living and working conditions
extremely long working hours (14-16)
low wages
physical brutality at the factory
constant threat of unemployment (firing at will)
no severance pay
child labor
women’s labor
no maternity leave
physical deformations
crammed, overcrowded housing
high rents (relative to wages)
no labor unions -- not for a long time
Define the central points to remember about nationalism, socialism, liberalism
Liberalism
Adam Smith (1723-1790)
the individual freedom
Nationalism
Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803)
the nation
unity (from brotherhood)
Socialism
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
class/es, the working class
equality (in the social and economic sense)
What are the 3 paths to a nation state?
a stable territory and demography (England, France)
unification (Germany, Italy)
separation, breakup (Russia, Austria, the Ottoman Empire)
What are the different time periods in history where empires existed?
Prehistory: non-state societies, no empires
Antiquity: fertile ground for empires
because easy to create “neighbors” are generally so weak
because even with short-range campaigns there is a lot to conquer
but at the same time, these are small and fragile
hence short-lived (sometimes less than a century)
but over time:
from small to bigger
from shorter to longer time-spans
Medieval societies: fewer but generally bigger and more solid empires
conquest more difficult; competition much harder to overcome
but when fulfilled, the necessary and sufficient conditions are such as to lead to greater extent and longevity
with very few exceptions (Minoan Crete or Athens), all these early empires are empires-by-land, or land empires
What could be done with the new working class formed during the Industrial Revolution? List at least 3.
adopt police measures against it (a law-and-order
approach)
charity
private, personal charity
institutionalized charity (charitable
organizations)
reforms
parliaments
committees
revolution
Marxist socialism
reactions to the prospect of socialism
the “social politics” of the 19th and 20th centuries
What is the Springtime of the Peoples/Nations?
the Revolutions of 1848 -- a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848; the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history to this day
essentially democratic and liberal in nature, with the aim of removing the old monarchical structures and creating independent nation-states, as envisioned by romantic nationalism
spread across Europe after an initial revolution began in Palermo in January and jumped to France in February; over 50 countries were affected, but with no significant coordination or cooperation among them
major contributing factors: widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership, demands for more participation in government and democracy, demands for freedom of the press, demands by the working class for economic rights, the upsurge of nationalism, the regrouping of established government forces
and the European Potato Failure, which triggered mass starvation, migration, and civil unrest
Which type of Empire becomes possible in early modernity?
empires by sea
empires-by-land vs empires-by-sea
contiguous vs jumping over space
provinces vs colonies
for the first time, long distance empires-by-sea become possible
control of the seas becomes crucial
consider Spain, and the Spanish Empire in Central and South America
consider England, and the British Empire in India, New Zealand, Australia
thus a first generation of European overseas empires
Refer to in-class discussion