Contents

1. The Renaissance 2
2. The Enlightenment 6
3. Industrial Revolution 8
4. Capitalism, Socialism, Communism 11
5. American Revolution 14
6. American Civil War 17
7. French Revolution (including Rise & Fall of Napoleon) 19
8. Vienna Congress & Significance of Metternich in European History 24
9. Italian & German Unification 25
10. Italian Unification 26
11. German Unification 29
12. France since 1870 to 1914 33
13. Italy after Union (1870-1914) 38
14. German Empire after Unification (1871-1914) 42
15. Russia (1881-1914) & Russian Revolution. 50
15. China resists outside influence 55
16. Japan: Transformation with Revolution 58
17. World War I 61
18. Treaty of Versailles 72
19. Russian Revolution 73
20. The League of Nations 75
21. Events Leading to World War II 77
22. World War II 80

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The Renaissance (Circa 15th Century)
The Renaissance
The Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth”
following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th
century, the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art. Some of
the greatest thinkers, authors, statesmen, scientists and artists in human history thrived during this era,
while global exploration opened up new lands and cultures to European commerce. The Renaissance is
credited with bridging the gap between the Middle Ages and modern day civilisation.
Renaissance brought about a transition from faith to reason, from dogma to science. Literally the term
‘Renaissance’ means ‘Rebirth’ and it signified the revival of the study of old classics.

From Darkness to Light: The Renaissance Begins

During the Middle Ages, a period that took place between the fall of ancient Rome in 476 A.D. and the
beginning of the 14th century, Europeans made few advances in science and [Link] known as the “Dark
Ages,” the era is often branded as a time of war, ignorance, famine and pandemics. In broad sense,
Renaissance stood for an all round development as well as a widening of horizons. The Renaissance also
gave rise to curiosity and the growth of spirit of inquiry, which resulted in great discontent with the
medieval spirit. Renaissance encouraged an intellectual revolt against the rigid rules and traditions of
the medieval period.

Humanism
During the 14th century, a cultural movement called humanism began to gain momentum in Italy.
Among its many principles, humanism promoted the idea that man was the center of his own universe,
and people should embrace human achievements in education, classical arts, literature and science.
The greatest service rendered by Renaissance was the release of the human mind and birth of original
thinking. This led to rapid progress in all spheres of activity like art, architecture, painting, science
among others. It also led to several movements, which took place simultaneously, such as the rise of
new political order, geographical discoveries and the reformation movement which ushered in the
modern times.
Renaissance spirit manifested itself during the medieval times. At this time, Europe was experiencing
the intellectual tyranny of the church. Owing to the dogmatic attitude of the church, there was mental
unrest, as well as the silent and patient development of original thinking. The seeds of independent
thinking that were sown in the Middle Ages grew into trees in modern times. The movement first
expanded to other Italian city-states, such as Venice, Milan, Bologna, Ferrara and Rome. Then, during
the 15th century, Renaissance ideas spread from Italy to France and then throughout western and
northern Europe. Italian language was the closest to the classical Latin language and hence Italy became
the origin place for the movement. Although other European countries experienced their Renaissance
later than Italy, the impacts were still revolutionary.

Causes of the Renaissance

Church’s faded morality: Ideas not based on reason can’t continue indefinitely. The clergy in the church
in those times acted contrary to the principles of true Christianity that they preached. Original thinkers
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managed to weaken the intellectual authority of the church. Peter Abelard felt that it was important to
apply reason to the principles given in the scriptures. They had to be tested in the light of reason and
investigation. Another revolutionary thinker was Roger Bacon, who accepted from the past whatever
was reasonable and worked for the cause of new spirit. However Church punished these two thinkers
and many others like them.

Fall of Constantinople: led to widespread and systematic study of Greek heritage. After Constantinople,
the great centre of civilisation fell into hands of Ottoman Turks, Greek scholars fled to various parts of
Europe, where they diffused great ideas of ancient Greece. Thus, an enthusiasm in the study of the
classics was injected in to the minds of Europeans.

Introduction of printing Press: In 1450, the invention of the Gutenberg printing press allowed for
improved communication throughout Europe and for ideas to spread more quickly. As a result of this
advance in communication, little-known texts from early humanist authors such as those by
Francesco Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio, which promoted the renewal of traditional Greek and
Roman culture and values, were printed and distributed to the masses. Thus a new outlook developed
in the realm of thought & action.

Crusades: brought new ideas to Europe. Voyages were conducted to new countries by adventurers. The
geographical explorers and travellers felt that it was essential to absorb the ideas of the East and also to
create new ideas.

Progressive Kings and Popes: A great role was played by them in fostering Renaissance. Some of the
nobles and rich merchants also patronized art and scholarship. For Example, artists like Michelangelo
and Leonardo da Vinci were patronized by the brilliant Medici family of Florence.
• Transition from ‘faith to reason’ and from ‘dogmas to science’. Rise of curiosity and growth of
spirit of inquiry.
• Revival of interest in reading old Latin & Greek classics with a new interest. Thus, a new outlook
was developed.
• An intellectual revolt against rigid rules and traditions of medieval period.
• Led to rise of many movements, rise of new political order, geographical discoveries and
reformation movement.
• Challenged the intellectual tyranny of the church. Seeds of independent thinking were sown
which grew into trees in modern times.
• The greatest service was release of human mind, and birth of original thinking.

Spread
• Newspapers & journals.
• Wrtitings and speeches of philosophers. Vernaculars were used instead of Latin, which was the
language of the church. Dante wrote The Divine Comedy in Italian rather than Latin. This great

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 Italian poet is regarded as the link between the medieval and modern world since his works dealt
with love among humans, patriotism and love of nature.
• Machieavelli wrote Prince as a guide for rulers. A great contribution was made to German
literature by Martin Luther who offered translation of Bible. Similarly, literature was written by
other European rulers. Shakespeare wrote his dramas during this time.
• Efforts by rulers – Joseph IInd of Austria, Catherine the great of Russia, Frederick the Great of
Prussia.

Features
• Spirit of Humanism, rationalism, new approach to life, art, architecture, literature, vernaculars,
scientific investigation. Renaissance stood for humanism, sympathetic and devoted study of
mankind instead of theological devotion of Middle Age. The movement could be regarded as the
turning away from medieval traditions of asceticism and theology towards an interest in man’s life
on this earth.
• There were developments in the field of architecture, sculpture, music, paintings, literature. The
spirit of revival was evident in all these fields. Gothic architecture developed during this phase.
Famous painters like Leonardo da Vinci (Mona Lisa) also lived during this period.
• A challenge to feudalism brought people closer to monarchy in expectation of better lives.
• Rise of rational thinking and scientific investigation gave rise to a new approach to life. The
approach through reason replaced absolute conformity & obedience of medieval times. It laid
emphasis on the importance of critical examination and evaluation of ideas.
• In the field of science, Roger Bacon laid foundations of modern science, by insisting on the
experimental method, and discovered the uses of gunpowder and the magnifying lens. Nicholas
Copernicus revolutionised the thought of mankind by proving that the earth moves around the
sun. this proved the theory of Ptolemy, the Greek astronomer of Egypt was incorrect, for he had
stated that the earth is the center round which the sun and other bodies move. The Copernican
theory was upheld by Italian astronomer Galileo. Galileo popularised Copernican theory, for which
he was punished by church.
• Sir Isaac Newton discovered the laws of gravitation, governing the movements of the planets
round the sun, as also that of moon around the earth. The invention of Mariner’s compass helped
in progress of foreign trade and geographical discoveries. Thus the foundation of modern science
were firmly laid in the age of Renaissance.

Consequences
• Transition from medieval to modern times and the end of old and reactionary medieval spirit.
Beginning of the new spirit of science, inquiry and investigation.
• Hands of monarchy were strengthened and church + feudalism weakened. Old institutions
weakened or collapsed and new ones like constitutional monarchy, parliament emerged. Secular
polity also emerged as a result of En. People looked up to monarchy to ensure peace and order,
political stability and economic prosperity.
• The Protestant Reformation Movement was strengthened besides development of art,
architecture etc. Christian culture got enriched. However the position of the Church got weakened
which could not occupy the position of unquestioned authority that it possessed during the
medieval period.

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 • Reformation movement started when people like Martin Luther and John Calvin started
questioning the evils that had entered the church. They were German &Genevan priests
respectively and Martin Luther is known for his famous 15 questions that he pasted on the gate of
the church. The supporters of reformation came to be known as Protestants. Church came up with
counter reformation movement. Europe got divided into two groups and this also led to the Thirty
Year War which ended in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia. The treaty empowered the kings to
decide their religious policies which led to reduced dominance of church giving space to
intellectual ideas which subsequently led to ENLIGHTENMENT.
• Scientific inventions, geographical discoveries also followed.
• Reforms by state, religion, society and revolutions and revolts where these institutions could not
appreciate the need for reforms.
• Birth of nationalism. Inspired the struggle for independence from colonial rule.
• Scientific and rational outlook developed which paved the way for Industrial revolution. Foot
Notes
• In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and
test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".
More formally, rationalism is defined as a methodology or a theory "in which the criterion of the
truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"
• Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human
beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence
(rationalism and empiricism) over acceptance of dogma or superstition.

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THE ENLIGHTENMENT (1650-1800)
An intellectual, cultural, social, philosophical movement that spread through France, England, Germany
and other parts of Europe during 1700s. Enabled by the Scientific Revolution which had begun as early
as 1500, Enlightenment represented a departure from the cruel, medieval ages of 5th to 15th centuries
to modern times.
These thousand years were marked by unwavering religious devotion and unfathomable cruelty against
heretics by the church. Science in this age was considered anti religion. No freedoms or personal rights
existed. Church believed to possess a divine right. Death to non conformists, feudalism, serfdom were
the common norms. Such harsh practices would eventually offend and scare Europeans into change.
Science was regarded as heresy and anti-religion.
Enlightenment and Scientific revolution (which led to Industrial revolution) opened path for rational and
scientific thinking and independent thought and the fields of mathematics, astronomy, physics, politics,
economics, philosophy and medicine were expanded and updated.
Intellectual salons popped up in France, literate people all over Europe read books and exchanged ideas
and moved towards more civilised lives. Though the illiterate could only benefit when scientific
revolution led to Industrial Revolution. The thoughts of Enlightenment permeated to European and
American lives and transformed the western world into an intelligent and self-aware civilisation, bringing
changes such as improvement in women’s lives, fairer judicial systems, steam engines, economic
theories, literature etc. moreover, it directly inspired the creation of world’s first great democracy, the
United States of America. However, the same ideas also led to violence and bloodshed as seen in French
Revolution and ideas of Enlightenment were blamed by some sections.
However, it took some time for people to appreciate the long-term positive impacts of Enlightenment.
Nearly every theory or fact that is held in modern science has a foundation in the Enlightenment. It
became indisputable that thought had the power to incite real change. Even the thought of Freedom of
Expression had firm roots in Enlightenment.

Causes
Thirty Years’ War (1618-48): The Thirty Years' War was a series of wars in Central Europe between
1618 and 1648. It was one of the longest, most destructive conflicts in European history. Initially a war
between Protestant and Catholic states in the fragmenting Holy Roman Empire, it gradually developed
into a more general conflict involving most of the great powers of Europe, becoming less about religion
and more a continuation of the France–Habsburg rivalry for European political pre-eminence. Greater
exploration of world exposed Europe to newer ideas and philosophies.
Years of exploitation at hands of Church and Monarchies brought average citizen to breaking point and
most vocal began to speak.
It took about two centuries of efforts by thinkers, philosophers and scientists to bring enlightenment.
Scientists such as Copernicus, Galileo and rational thinkers ignited the first spark.
So basically, Renaissance contributed to the emergence of Enlightenment. The Enlightenment came in a
snowball effect: small discoveries triggered larger ones, and before anyone knew it, almost two centuries
of philosophizing and innovation had ensued.
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Enlightenment in different nations: Major protagonists
England- the first major protagonist in England was Thomas Hobbes who wrote The Leviathan. Hobbes
felt that by nature, people were self-serving and pre occupied with the gathering of a limited number of
resources and hence it was essential to have a single intimidating ruler. A half century later, John Locke
came into picture, promoting the opposite type of government in his Two Treatises of Government-
representative form of government).
Major event: Glorious Revolution of 1688 when Catholic monarch James II was replaced by Protestants
William & Mary. Bill of Rights 1689 was issued that granted more personal freedoms. The Bill of Rights
is an Act of the Parliament of England that deals with constitutional matters and sets out certain basic
civil rights. Passed on 16 December 1689, it is a restatement in statutory form of The Declaration of
Rights presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in February 1689, inviting them to
become joint sovereigns of England. The Bill of Rights lays down limits on the powers of the monarch
and sets out the rights of Parliament, including the requirement for regular parliaments, free elections,
and freedom of speech in Parliament. It sets out certain rights of individuals including the prohibition of
cruel and unusual punishment and re-established the liberty of Protestants to have arms for their
defence within the rule of law.
France: revolution came a bit later than England in mid 1700s. The philosophers generally emphasized
the power of reason and sought to discover the natural laws governing human society. Baron de
Montesquieu (His Spirit of Laws elaborated on Locke’s work, he gave the concept of ‘Separation of
Power’); Voltaire (Novel Candide- he used satire and criticism to bring change); Denis Diderot was
merely interested in collecting as much knowledge as possible. (Encyclopedia); Romanticism of Jean
Jacques Rousseau (he Social Contract championed the idea of small direct government representing
the will of the people); Skepticism of those who questioned ideas of enlightenment and rational thinking
as a basis of stable society.
The End of Enlightenment: Ultimately Enlightenment fell victim to competing ideas from several
sources. Romanticism was more popular in lower classes and pulled them away from rational scientific
ideas, and scepticism further questioned Enlightenment thoughts.
The bloody French Revolution is believed to have killed the age of enlightenment. Many critics started
arguing that people can’t be trusted to govern themselves and that Enlightenment induced breakdown
of norms as the root cause of the instability, though ideas of enlightenment influenced the later times.

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INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The Industrial Revolution, which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries, was a period during which
predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban. Prior to the
Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 1700s, manufacturing was often done in people’s
homes, using hand tools or basic machines. Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose
machinery, factories and mass production. The iron and textile industries, along with the development
of the steam engine, played central roles in the Industrial Revolution, which also saw improved systems
of transportation, communication and banking. Before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, most
people resided in small, rural communities where their daily existences revolved around farming. Life
for the average person was difficult, as incomes were meagre, and malnourishment and disease were
common.
This transition also included the change from wood and other fuels to coal. The Industrial revolution
began in Britain and within a few decades spread to Western Europe and the United States.
By the mid-18th century Britain was the world's leading commercial nation, controlling a global trading
empire with colonies in North America and the Caribbean, and with some political influence on the
Indian subcontinent, through the activities of the East India Company.
A number of factors contributed to Britain’s role as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. For one,
it had great deposits of coal and iron ore, which proved essential for industrialization. Additionally,
Britain was a politically stable society, as well as the world’s leading colonial power, which meant its
colonies could serve as a source for raw materials, as well as a marketplace for manufactured goods. As
demand for British goods increased, merchants needed more cost-effective methods of production,
which led to the rise of mechanization and the factory system.
Although the structural change from agriculture to industry is widely associated with Industrial
Revolution, in United Kingdom it was already almost complete by [Link] precise start and end of the
Industrial Revolution is still debated among historians, as is the pace of economic and social changes.
The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was
influenced in some way. Most notably, average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented,
sustained growth. The Industrial Revolution began an era of per-capita economic growth in capitalist
economies. Economic historians are in agreement that the onset of the Industrial Revolution is the most
important event in the history of humanity since the domestication of animal and plants.
The First Industrial Revolution evolved into the Second Industrial Revolution in the transition years
between 1840 and 1870, when technological and economic progress gained momentum with the
increasing adoption of steam-powered boats, ships and railways, the large-scale manufacture of
machine tools and the increasing use of steam power factories.

Major technological developments

The commencement of the Industrial Revolution is closely linked to a small number of innovations,
beginning in the second half of the 18th century. By the 1830s the following gains had been made in
important technologies:

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 • Textiles: Textiles were the dominant industry of the Industrial Revolution in terms of employment,
value of output and capital invested. The textile industry was also the first to use modern
production methods. Around 1764, Englishman James Hargreaves (1722-1778) invented the
spinning jenny, a machine that enabled an individual to produce multiple spools of threads
simultaneously. By the time of Hargreaves’ death, there were over 20,000 spinning jennys in use
across Britain. Mechanized cotton spinning powered by steam or water increased the output of a
worker by a factor of about 1000.
• Steam power: The steam engine was also integral to industrialization. In 1712, Englishman
Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729) developed the first practical steam engine. By the 1770s, Scottish
inventor James Watt (1736-1819) had improved on Newcomen’s work, and the steam engine went
on to power machinery, locomotives and ships during the Industrial Revolution. The efficiency of
steam engines increased so that they used between one-fifth as much fuel. The adaption of
stationary steam engines to rotary motion made them suitable for industrial uses.
• Iron making: Developments in the iron industry also played a central role in the Industrial
Revolution. In the early 18th century, Englishman Abraham Darby (1678-1717) discovered a
cheaper, easier method to produce cast iron. The substitution of coke for charcoal greatly lowered
the fuel cost of pig iron and wrought iron production. Using coke also allowed larger blast furnaces,
resulting in economies of scale. Both iron and steel became essential materials, used to make
everything from appliances, tools and machines, to ships, buildings and infrastructure.
• Transportation: The transportation industry also underwent significant transformation during
the Industrial Revolution. Before the advent of the steam engine, raw materials and finished goods
were hauled and distributed via horse-drawn wagons, and by boats along canals and rivers. In the
early 1800s, American Robert Fulton (1765-1815) built the first commercially successful
steamboat, and by the mid-19th century, steamships were carrying freight across the Atlantic. As
steam-powered ships were making their debut, the steam locomotive was also coming into use.
• Communication: Communication became easier during the Industrial Revolution with such
inventions as the telegraph.
The Industrial Revolution also saw the rise of banks and industrial financiers, as well as a factory system
dependent on owners and managers. A stock exchange was established in London in the 1770s; the New
York Stock Exchange was founded in the early 1790s. In 1776, Scottish social philosopher Adam Smith
(1723-1790), who is regarded as the founder of modern economics, published “The Wealth of Nations.”
In it, Smith promoted an economic system based on free enterprise, the private ownership of means of
production, and lack of government interference.

Social effects
• Standard of living: During the period 1813-1913, there was a significant increase in worker
wages. The Industrial Revolution brought about a greater volume and variety of factoryproduced
goods and raised the standard of living for many people, particularly for the middle and upper
classes.
• Food and nutrition: Prior to the Industrial Revolution, advances in agriculture or technology soon
led to an increase in population, which again strained food and other resources, limiting increases
in per capita income. This condition is called the Malthusian trap, and it was finally overcome by
industrialization.

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 • Clothing and consumer goods: Consumers benefited from falling prices for clothing and
household articles, such as cast-iron cooking utensils, and in the following decades, stoves for
cooking and space heating.
• Social structure and working conditions: In terms of social structure, the Industrial Revolution
witnessed the triumph of a middle class of industrialists and businessmen over a landed class of
nobility and gentry. Ordinary working people found increased opportunities for employment in
the new mills and factories. However, life for the poor and working classes continued to be filled
with challenges. Wages for those who laboured in factories were low and working conditions could
be dangerous and monotonous. Unskilled workers had little job security and were easily
replaceable. Children were part of the labour force and often worked long hours and were used
for such highly hazardous tasks as cleaning the machinery.
• Factories and urbanization: Industrialization led to the creation of the factory. Arguably the first
was John Lombe’s water-powered silk mill at derby, operational by 1721. However, the rise of the
factory came somewhat later when cotton spinning was mechanized. The factory system was
largely responsible for the rise of the modern city, as large numbers of workers migrated into the
cities in search of employment in the factories. Nowhere was this better illustrated than the mills
and associated industries of Manchester, nicknamed “Cottonopolis”, and the world’s first
industrial city. Industrialization also meant that some craftspeople were replaced by machines.
Additionally, urban, industrialized areas were unable to keep pace with the flow of arriving
workers from the countryside, resulting in inadequate, overcrowded housing and polluted,
unsanitary living conditions in which disease was rampant. Conditions for Britain’s working-class
began to gradually improve by the later part of the 19th century, as the government instituted
various labor reforms and workers gained the right to form trade unions.
• Organization of labour: The Industrial Revolution concentrated labour into mills, factories and
mines, thus facilitating the organization of combinations or trade unions to help advance the
interests of working people

Second Industrial revolution

Steel is often cited as the first of several new areas for industrial mass-production, which are said to
characterize a “Second Industrial Revolution”, beginning around 1850, although a method for mass
manufacture of steel was not invented until the 1860s, when Sir Henry Bessemer invented a new furnace
which could convert wrought iron into steel in large quantities. However, it only became widely available
in the 1870s after the process was modified to produce more uniform quality.
This second Industrial Revolution gradually grew to include the chemical industries, petroleum, refining
and distribution, electrical industries and in the 20th century, the automotive industries, and was
marked by a transaction of technological leadership from Britain to the United States and Germany.
The introduction of hydroelectric power generation in the Alps enabled the rapid industrialization of
coal- deprived northern Italy, beginning in the 1890s. The increasing availability of economical
petroleum products also reduced the importance of coal and further widened the potential for
industrialization.
By the 1890s, industrialization in these areas had created the first giant industrial corporations with
burgeoning global interests, as companies like U.S., Steel, General Electric, Standard Oil and Bayer AG
joined the railroad companies on the world’s stock markets.

Task for aspirants: Read about Industrial Revolution 4.0

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Capitalism, Socialism, Communism
Capitalism
Capitalism is based on private ownership of the means of production and on individual economic
freedom with the goal of making profits. Most of the means of production, such as factories and
businesses, are owned by private individuals and not by the government. Private owners make decisions
about what and when to produce and how much products should cost. Free competition is the basic rule
of capitalism is that people should compete freely without interference from government or any other
outside force. Capitalism assumes that the most deserving person will usually win. In theory, prices will
be kept as low as possible because consumers will seek the best product for the least amount of money.
In capitalist system prices are determined by how many products there are and how many people want
them. When supplies increase, prices tend to drop. If prices drop, demand usually increases until
supplies run out. Then prices will rise once more, but only as long as demand is high. These laws of supply
and demand work in a cycle to control prices and keep them from getting too high or too low.
Other features include capital accumulation, inequality of wealth and among classes. Labour is
purchased for money wages, capital gains accrue to private owners and the price mechanism is utilized
to allocate capital goods among users. Markets have little to no regulation over the pricing mechanism.
(In interventionist and mixed economies, markets continue to play a dominant role but are regulated to
some extent by government in order to correct marker failures, promote social welfare, conserve natural
resources and fund defence and public safety.)
Many theorists and policy makers in predominantly capitalist countries have emphasized capitalism’s
ability to promote economic growth, as measured by GDP, capacity utilisation or standard of living.
More to Know: Mercantilism: It is a nationalist form of early capitalism that is characterized by the
intertwining of national business interests to state interest and imperialism and consequently, the state
apparatus is utilized to advance national business interests abroad. An example of this was the colonists
living in America who were only allowed to trade with and purchase goods from their respective mother
countries like Britain, France, etc.
Until the publication of their 1848 Communist Manifesto, much of the western world followed a course
where individuals owned private property, business enterprises, and the profits that resulted from wise
investments. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels pointed out the uneven distribution of wealth in the
capitalist world and predicted a worldwide popular uprising to distribute wealth evenly. Ever since,
nations have wrestled with which direction to turn their economies.

Communism
Karl Marx, the 19th century father of communism, was outraged by the growing gap between rich and
poor. He saw capitalism as an outmoded economic system that exploited workers, which would
eventually rise against the rich because the poor were so unfairly treated. Marx thought that the
economic system of communism would replace capitalism. Communism is based on principles meant to
correct the problems caused by capitalism.
The most important principle of communism is that no private ownership of property should be allowed.
Marx believed that private ownership encouraged greed and motivated people to knock out the
competition, no matter what the consequences. Property should be shared, and the people should
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ultimately control the economy. The government should exercise the control in the name of the people,
at least in the transition between capitalism and communism. The goals are to eliminate the gap
between the rich and poor and bring about economic equality.
While it is a different economic system, many people confuse socialism with communism. Under
communism, everything is owned communally, or by everyone. Ideally, there is no government or class
division, and no money; each person contributes to society as best as he or she is able, and takes from
that society only what he or she needs. The decisions made by that society are supposed to benefit the
people as a whole, not any individual.
Historically, countries that have been called “communist” actually practiced some form of socialism,
usually run by one political party. The state typically owned all forms of production and practiced very
strict central planning — meaning that the government decided how all resources were to be used. Many
critics argue that most governments that are called “communist” are really very different from the
word’s true meaning.

Socialism
Socialism relies on governmental planning, rather than the marketplace, to distribute resources.
Socialism, like communism, calls for putting the major means of production in the hands of the people,
either directly or through the government. Socialism also believes that wealth and income should be
shared more equally among people. Socialists differ from communists in that they do not believe that
the workers will overthrow capitalists suddenly and violently. Nor do they believe that all private
property should be eliminated. Their main goal is to narrow, not totally eliminate, the gap between the
rich and the poor. The government, they say, has a responsibility to redistribute wealth to make society
fairer and just.
There is not purely capitalist or communist economy in the world today. The capitalist United States has
a Social Security system and a government-owned postal service. Communist China now allows its
citizens to keep some of the profits they earn. These categories are models designed to shed greater
light on differing economic systems.
Public services are typically numerous and funded by taxpayer money. Citizens are expected to work,
but the government provides services such as education, healthcare, and public transportation for free
or at very low cost. Socialist countries also often have extensive social welfare systems to aid the
unemployed, disabled, and elderly.
In addition to paying higher taxes, business owners in socialist countries are often expected to comply
with very strict labor laws designed to protect workers against exploitation. These laws include
restrictions on work hours and mandate regular vacations, sick time, and leave for numerous reasons,
such as the birth or adoption of a baby.

Make it more clear: Difference between Socialism and Communism

Communism and socialism are umbrella terms referring to two left-wing schools of economic thought;
both oppose capitalism. These ideologies have inspired various social and political movements since the
19th century. Several countries have been or are currently governed by parties calling themselves
communist or socialist. As an ideology, communism is generally regarded as hard left, making fewer

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concessions to market capitalism and electoral democracy than do most forms of socialism. As a system
of government, communism tends to center on a one-party state that bans most forms of political
dissent. China's ruling Communist Party has an explicitly pro-market capitalist orientation and pays only
lip service to the Maoist ideology. Socialists can be pro- or anti-market. They may consider the ultimate
goal to be revolution and the abolition of social classes, or they may seek more pragmatic outcomes:
universal healthcare, for example, or a universal pension scheme. Social Security is a socialist policy that
has been adopted in the unabashedly capitalist U.S. (as are the eight-hour working day, free public
education).

Mixed Economy
Very few societies are purely capitalist or purely socialist, although most are more strongly one than the
other. The United States, for example, is considered to be a capitalist society, but the Social Security
system, which provides support for people who are unable to work, is socialistic. Sweden is considered
by some people to be a socialist country because of its high tax rate and large welfare system, but the
majority of industry in the nation is in private hands, which is capitalistic.

Critiques
The criticisms of both capitalism and socialism largely stem from different opinions about how economic
forces should shape governments and societies. Some critics believe that the human spirit needs
competition to fully develop, while others emphasize the need for people to cooperate with each other,
ensuring that the needs of all citizens are met.
Critics of capitalism note that the marketplace can be unstable, presenting real dangers to the wellbeing
of those who are not wealthy or who are otherwise vulnerable. Giving business owners free rein to set
the terms of employment and to keep most of the profits from their enterprises to themselves, can
establish a wealthy class which, in turn, can suppress the freedom of others. These critics also note that
a purely capitalist society does not address the needs of those who are truly unable to compete either
as business owners or as laborers. Without some social support systems, such as Social Security or
welfare, those who cannot work or earn enough money to survive must lead a precarious existence, and
may be forced to rely on family or private charity for support.
Those who criticize socialism observe that heavy taxation to provide equal social services for all citizens
can discourage business owners from innovation and excellence, given that the owner won’t personally
profit from his or her efforts. In addition, when the government plans the economy, some critics
question whether officials and their policy advisors really understand what is best for a country’s citizens;
such socialist governments may give their citizen’s no choice in deciding what kinds of services they
really want or need. In addition, capitalist critiques of generous socialist social welfare programs note
that these programs may discourage people from working, as people may be able to live reasonably well
on government benefits rather than having to hold a job. As a result, families may slip into generational
poverty, as the children may grow up feeling entitled to government support.

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American Revolution (1775 -1783)
Introduction
The Revolutionary War (1775-83), also known as the American Revolution or the US War of
Independence, arose from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain’s 13 North American
colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British crown.
Skirmishes between British troops and colonial militiamen in Lexington and Concord in April 1775 kicked
off the armed conflict, and by the following summer, the rebels were waging a full- scale war for their
independence. France entered the American Revolution on the side of the colonists in 1778, turning
what had essentially been a civil war into an international conflict. After French assistance helped the
Continental Army force the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, the Americans had
effectively won their independence, though fighting would not formally end until 1783, when Treat of
Paris was signed.

Causes
While no one event can be pointed to as the actual cause of the revolution, the war began as a
disagreement over the way in which Great Britain treated the colonies versus the way the colonies
felt they should be treated. The Americans felt they deserved all the rights of Englishmen. The British
on the other hand felt that the colonies were to be used in the way best suited to the crown and
parliament.
For more than a decade before the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, tensions had been
building between colonists and the British authorities.
At the end of 7 Year war (1756-63), France lost all their North American territories, ending the French
threat to British North American colonies. With the defeat of French, the colonies became less
dependent on Britain. Adopting the policy that the colonies should contribute more to maintain
territories as part of the empire, Britain imposed a series of direct taxes, partly to recover the
expenditure incurred by British during the 7 Year War which had left them in debt. Attempts by the
British government to raise revenue by taxing the colonies (notably the Stamp Act of 1765, the
Townshend Tariffs of 1767 and the Tea Act of 1773) met with heated protest among many colonists,
who resented their lack of representation in Parliament and demanded the same rights as other British
subjects. Americans protested vehemently at the idea that the Parliament in London could pass laws
upon them, such as levying taxes, without any of their own elected representatives in the government.
The slogan of No Taxation without Representation was raised.
Proclamation Act of 1763 prohibited settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains & many colonists
took offence at this order.
Sugar Act in 1764 imposed duties on sugar imported from West Indies. Through Currency Act in
1764American assemblies were banned from issuing paper bills or bills of credit.
When Stamp Act was passed in 1765 which required tax stamps on many items and documents including
playing cards, newspapers and marriage licences among others, Colonies were furious. British Prime
Minister stated that this ‘direct tax’ was intended for colonies to pay for defence. Previous taxes imposed
were indirect (or hidden). Consequently, Stamp Act Congress was organised in 1765 where 27 delegates

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from 9 colonies met to draw up statement of rights and listing grievances thereby bringing colonies
together in opposition to Britain. Colonists boycotted British goods and Stamp Act was repealed later.
Sons & Daughter of Liberty tried to do efforts as per their ideology. They were the ones who were not
afraid. They knew instinctively that talk and politics alone would not bring an end to British tyranny. They
were willing to resort to extra-legal means if necessary to end this series of injustices. Originally formed
in response to the Stamp Act, their activities were far more than ceremonial. It was the Sons of Liberty
who ransacked houses of British officials. Threats and intimidation were their weapons against tax
collectors, causing many to flee town. Images of unpopular figures might be hanged and burned in effigy
on the town's LIBERTY TREE. Offenders might be covered in warm tar and blanketed in a coat of feathers.
Townshend Acts of 1767 imposed taxes on goods like glass, paper, lead oil etc. to make colonial officials
independent of the colonists. This led to increased smuggling to avoid taxes and as a result troops were
increased by British in Boston. Again, British goods were boycotted, and these acts repealed.
In 1770, colonists protesting British troops in Boston clashed with each other in which British soldiers
opened fire in what is known as Boston Massacre. This event was used as an example of British cruelty
despite questions about how it actually occurred. The anger increased further and colonists started
attacking British property and loyalists.
In 1772, groups of colonists began to create Committees of Correspondence, which would lead to their
own Provincial Congresses in most of the colonies.

Tea Act was passed in 1773

Boston Tea Party: In 1773, Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as native Americans and threw tea
worth thousands of pounds in the sea from a ship carrying it, in front of thousands of spectators. The
British were disgusted and sent many troops to establish direct rule in the city. Intolerable Acts were
passed and restrictions were placed on town meetings and Boston Harbour was closed.
Other colonies saw what was happening and feared that they may be next and thus they called up First
Continental Congress in 1774 in Philadelphia. Many delegates from 12 out 13 American colonies
attended. A representation was sent to Britain under Benjamin Franklin which testified, “The colonies
raised, clothed, and paid during the last war, near twenty thousand men and spent many millions.” They
demanded direct representation as Englishmen, but British government felt that colonies enjoyed virtual
representation.
Consequently, the colonies mobilised their own militias. Fighting broke out in 1775 at Lexington and
Concord and British were forced to retreat at Concord with the loss of many men. The protest had now
turned in to a war. First ostensibly loyal to King George III and desiring to govern themselves while
remaining under the empire, repeated pleas by the First Continental Congress for royal intervention on
their behalf with Parliament resulted in the declaration by the king that the states were in rebellion and
the members of the Congress were traitors.
In the Second International Congress held in 1776 where 13 colonies were represented, Declaration
of Independence was adopted unanimously, British monarchy was rejected, and sovereignty was
established out of British empire. The declaration established United States of America.

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France entered on the side of American colonies in 1778 which led to British surrender in 1779, however
fighting continued till 1783. The Constitution was written in 1787 which became the first written
Constitution of the world.

Consequences
The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions
around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

Impact of Enlightenment on American Revolution

The Enlightenment was the root of many of the ideas of the American Revolution. It was a movement
that focused mostly on freedom of speech, equality, freedom of press, and religious tolerance. The
American colonists did not have these rights, in result, they rebelled against England for independence.
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote about American’s natural rights to “life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” John Locke believed that all people have natural rights from birth
such as life, liberty and property. These same ideas are reflected in the US Declaration of Independence.
Montesquieu wrote of separation of power between three branches of the government i.e. Legislature,
Executive & Judiciary. This concept was also followed by the Constitution of United States of America. e
wrote the book The Spirit of the Laws, which greatly covers the importance of separation of power in
balancing the control of the government. The Spirit of the Laws was translated into English, therefore,
the American Colonists could read and incorporate it’s Enlightenment ideals.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most influential thinkers during the time period of the
Enlightenment. In 1762 Rousseau published The Social Contract. his book is about how a government
could exist in a way that it protects society and citizens. Rousseau quoted in his book “Man was/is born
free; and everywhere he is in chains.” This philosopher was a great influence to America. These ideas
were essential for the American Revolution. He was a champion of democracy because he believed that
authority lies with the people and that controls by a freely formed government are good. Rousseau put
faith in the general will of the majority and said that majority should always work for the common good
of the people.
Thomas Hobbes rejects free will of determinism, in which freedom is treated as having the ability to do
what an individual desires (Oregon State). He believes that people should obey a group or person that
is in power, rather than a state of nature (Williams).
Enlightenment ideals had a huge impact on America. The Enlightenment ideals were the main influences
for American Colonies to become their own nation. Montesquieu, Locke, and Hobbes (philosophers)
ideas and thoughts on life were a big impact. Montesquieu mainly influenced the separation of powers,
Locke mainly influenced natural rights, Hobbes mainly influenced individuals obeying one in power, and
Rousseau influenced the social contract.
Enlightenment taught people to challenge old ways of thinking, question the divine right of rule and to
be able to gain material wellbeing, social justice and happiness in life.

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American Civil War (1861 -1865)
The Civil War in the United States began in 1861, after decades of simmering tensions between northern
and southern states (Confederate States of America) over slavery, states’ rights and westward
expansion. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede and form
the Confederate States of America; four more states soon joined them. The War Between the States, as
the Civil War was also known, ended in Confederate surrender in 1865. The conflict was the costliest
and deadliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions
more injured and much of the South left in ruin.

BACKGROUND
In the mid-19th century, while the United States was experiencing an era of tremendous growth, a
fundamental economic difference existed between the country’s northern and southern regions. In the
North, manufacturing and industry was well established, and agriculture was mostly limited to small-
scale farms, while the South’s economy was based on a system of large-scale farming that depended on
the labour of black slaves to grow certain crops, especially cotton and tobacco. Only 1% of slaves lived
in the North and ideas of Enlightenment were prevalent in Northern societies. However, in the Southern
states, having slaves was a symbol of pride.
Growing abolitionist sentiment in the North after the 1830s and northern opposition to slavery’s
extension into the new western territories led many southerners to fear that the existence of slavery in
America—and thus the backbone of their economy—was in danger.
In 1854, the U.S. Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which essentially opened all new territories
to slavery by asserting the rule of popular sovereignty over congressional edict. Pro- and anti-slavery
forces struggled violently in “Bleeding Kansas,” while opposition to the act in the North led to the
formation of the Republican Party, a new political entity based on the principle of opposing slavery’s
extension into the western territories. After the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dred Scott case (1857)
confirmed the legality of slavery in the territories, the abolitionist John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry in
1859 convinced more and more southerners that their northern neighbours were bent on the
destruction of the “peculiar institution” that sustained them. Lincoln’s election in November 1860 was
the final straw, and within three months seven southern states–South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida,
Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas– had seceded from the United States. Lincoln had got no support
at all from the Southern states in his election & these states were terrified that Lincoln might impose
emancipation on them.
American Constitution was silent on the issue of the right of a state to leave American Union. It didn’t
permit or bar secession by states. So both Southern and Northern states interpreted the Constitution as
per their will.

OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR (1861)

Even as Lincoln took office in March 1861, Confederate forces threatened the federal-held Fort Sumter
in Charleston, South Carolina. On April 12, after Lincoln ordered a fleet to resupply Sumter, Confederate
artillery fired the first shots of the Civil War. Sumter’s commander, Major Robert Anderson, surrendered
after less than two days of bombardment, leaving the fort in the hands of Confederate forces. Four more
southern states–Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee– joined the Confederacy after Fort
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Sumter. Border slave states like Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland did not secede, but there was much
Confederate sympathy among their citizens. (7+4 States left. 5 others where slavery was legal stayed.
20 States had no slavery.)
Though on the surface, the Civil War may have seemed a lopsided conflict, with the 23 states of the
Union enjoying an enormous advantage in population, manufacturing (including arms production) and
railroad construction, the Confederates had a strong military tradition, along with some of the best
soldiers and commanders in the nation. They also had a cause they believed in: preserving their longheld
traditions and institutions, chief among these being slavery.
In the First Battle of Bull Run (known in the South as First Manassas) on July 21, 1861, 35,000
Confederate soldiers under the command of Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson forced a greater
number of Union forces (or Federals) to retreat towards Washington, D.C., dashing any hopes of a quick
Union victory and leading Lincoln to call for 500,000 more recruits. In fact, both sides’ initial call for
troops had to be widened after it became clear that the war would not be a limited or short conflict.

AFTER THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION (1863-64)

Lincoln had used the occasion of the Union victory at Antietam to issue a preliminary Emancipation
Proclamation, which freed all slaves in the rebellious states after January 1, 1863. He justified his decision
as a wartime measure, and did not go so far as to free the slaves in the border states loyal to the Union.
Still, the Emancipation Proclamation deprived the Confederacy of the bulk of its labor forces and put
international public opinion strongly on the Union side. Some 186,000 black soldiers would join the
Union Army by the time the war ended in 1865, and 38,000 lost their lives.

TOWARDS A UNION VICTORY (1864-65)

In March 1864, Lincoln put Grant in supreme command of the Union armies. Despite heavy Union
casualties in the Battle of the Wilderness and at Spotsylvania (both May 1864), at Cold Harbor (early
June) and the key rail center of Petersburg (June), Grant pursued a strategy of attrition, putting
Petersburg under siege for the next nine months.
Slowly but surely, Union forces pursued and defeated Confederate armies. On the eve of victory, the
Union lost its great leader: The actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth assassinated
President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington on April 14.

Consequences
The Civil War paved the way for emancipation of slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation was given
constitutional status by 13th Amendment Act in 1865. After the end of Civil War, a phase of intense
reconstruction was started to strengthen the unity between Northern & Southern states. Roads,
industries were established in Southern states to fasten their economic progress.
The Civil War strengthened America militarily and politically as prior to Civil War, American government
had not paid much attention to armed forces but compulsions of war forced American Union to raise a
large army. Constitution was amended to create America an Indestructible union of indestructible states.
14th& 15th Amendments were done to empower the blacks. Federal legal protections were extended
to every citizen irrespective of race & discrimination on basis of race for voting was removed.
Such measures raised the international prestige of USA & it emerged as a truly modern democratic
nation.
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French Revolution (1789 -1790s)
The eighteenth century is often called the Age of Reason or The Enlightenment. During this time, France,
like many other European countries, was caught up in the ideas of such men as Voltaire, Rousseau,
Montesquieu and Diderot. In the popular coffee houses of Paris, people from all walks of life were
meeting to discuss these new philosophies.
The French Revolution was a watershed event in modern European history that began in 1789 and ended
in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens razed and
redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such as absolute
monarchy and the feudal system. The upheaval was caused by widespread discontent with the French
monarchy and the poor economic policies of King Louis XVI, who met his death by guillotine, as did his
wife Marie Antoinette. Although it failed to achieve all of its goals and at times degenerated into a
chaotic bloodbath, the French Revolution played a critical role in shaping modern nations by showing
the world the inherent power in the will of people.
In France, at this time there were numerous restrictions on personal liberty, freedoms of speech,
religion, trade etc. To the middle class thinkers, these restrictions seemed increasingly antiquated in an
age of intellectual expansion. However, it would be wrong to call those debating these new ideas
revolutionaries. They thought themselves as reformers, believing strongly that reason, not violence
would prevail to overcome the problems of France. Many of them still believed in monarchy and hoped
for rule by an Enlightened Despot i.e. a ruler who used reason and curbed the powers of aristocracy. The
concept of democracy was still a radical idea at this stage and it was other factors that led France to
violent revolution.

A Monarchy in Crisis
As the 18th century drew to a close, France’s costly involvement in the American Revolution, and
extravagant spending by King Louis XVI and his predecessor, had left the country on the brink of
bankruptcy.
Not only were the royal coffers depleted, but two decades of poor harvests, drought, cattle disease and
skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest among peasants and the urban poor. Many expressed their
desperation and resentment towards a regime that imposed heavy taxes – yet failed to provide any relief
– by rioting, looting and striking.
In the fall of 1786, Louis XVI’s controller general, Charles Alexandre de Calonne, proposed a financial
reform package that included a universal land tax from which the privileged classes would no longer be
exempt.
To garner support for these measures and forestall a growing aristocratic revolt, the king summoned the
Estates-General– an assembly representing France’s clergy, nobility and middle class – for the first time
since [Link] meeting was scheduled for May 5, 1789; in the meantime, delegates of the three estates
from each locality would compile lists of grievances to present to the king.

Rise of the Third Estate

The French populace had been traditionally divided into what were called the Three Estates. The First
Estate consisted of nobility while The Second Estate consisted of clergy &The Third Estate was the
largest, representing peasants, artisans, merchants and other professions.

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France’s population had changed considerably since 1614. The non-aristocratic members of the Third
Estate now represented 98 percent of the people but could still be outvoted by the other two bodies.
The Third Estate had the least power and were supposed to pay the most taxes while other two classes
were exempt from taxes. Third Estate paid taxes even during crop failure, disease or hard times. In cities
as well, middle class found it impossible to gain high political office.
In the lead-up to the May 5 meeting, the Third Estate began to mobilize support for equal representation
and the abolishment of the noble veto – in other words, they wanted voting by head and not by status.
While all of the orders shared a common desire for fiscal and judicial reform as well as a more
representative form of government, the nobles in particular were loath to give up the privileges they
enjoyed under the traditional system.

Tennis Court Oath

By the time the Estates-General convened at Versailles, the highly public debate over its voting process
had erupted into hostility between the three orders, eclipsing the original purpose of the meeting and
the authority of the man who had convened it. Had Louis XVI been a stronger monarch, ready to
introduce reform, history could have been different. He did attempt reform but when faced with
opposition from aristocracy, he invariably backed down. Finally, the extravagant expense of royal court
was a visible symbol of great gulf between noble and commoners.
On June 17, 1789 with talks over procedure stalled, the Third Estate met alone and formally adopted the
title of National Assembly; three days later, they met in a nearby indoor tennis court and took the so-
called Tennis Court Oath, vowing not to disperse until constitutional reform had been achieved. On June
27 Louis XVI grudgingly absorbed all three orders into the new assembly.

French Revolution Begins: The Bastille and the Great Fear

On June 12,1789, as the National continued to meet at Versailles, fear and violence consumed the
capital. Though enthusiastic about the recent breakdown of royal power, Parisians grew panicked as
rumours of an impending military coup began to circulate. A popular insurgency culminated on July 14
when rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in an attempt to secure gunpowder and weapons; many
consider this event, now commemorated in France as a national holiday, as the start of the French
Revolution.
The wave of revolutionary fervor and widespread hysteria quickly swept the countryside. Revolting
against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, landlords and
the elite. Known as the Great Fear, the agrarian insurrection hastened the growing exodus of nobles
from the country and inspired the National Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789,
signing what the historian Georges Lefebvre later called the “death certificate of the old order.”
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

On August 4, the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, a statement
of democratic principles grounded in the philosophical and political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers
like Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
The document proclaimed the Assembly’s commitment to replace the ancient régime with a system
based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty and representative government.

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Drafting a formal constitution proved much more of a challenge for the National Constituent Assembly,
which had the added burden of functioning as a legislature during harsh economic times.
For months, its members wrestled with fundamental questions about the shape and expanse of France’s
new political landscape. For instance, who would be responsible for electing delegates? Would the clergy
owe allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church or the French government?
Adopted on September 3, 1791, France’s first written constitution echoed the more moderate voices in
the Assembly, establishing a constitutional monarchy in which the king enjoyed royal veto power and
the ability to appoint ministers. This compromise did not sit well with influential radicals like Maximilien
de Robespierre, Camille Desmoulins and Georges Danton, who began drumming up popular support for
a more republican form of government and for the trial of Louis XVI. In 1791, King & the royal family
tried to unsuccessfully escape France & join counter revolutionaries. He was caught and now had little
credibility.

French Revolution Turns Radical

In April 1792, the newly elected Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria and Prussia, where it
believed that French émigrés were building counterrevolutionary alliances; it also hoped to spread its
revolutionary ideals across Europe through [Link] the domestic front, meanwhile, the political crisis
took a radical turn when a group of insurgents led by the extremist Jacobins attacked the royal residence
in Paris and arrested the king on August 10, 1792.
The following month, amid a wave of violence in which Parisian insurrectionists massacred hundreds of
accused counterrevolutionaries, the Legislative Assembly was replaced by the National Convention,
which proclaimed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the French republic. On
January 21, 1793, it sent King Louis XVI, condemned to death for high treason and crimes against the
state, to the guillotine; his wife Marie-Antoinette suffered the same fate nine months later.
Reign of Terror Following the king’s execution, war with various European powers and intense divisions
within the National Convention ushered the French Revolution into its most violent and turbulent
[Link] June 1793, the Jacobins seized control of the National Convention from the more moderate
Girondins and instituted a series of radical measures, including the establishment of a new calendar and
the eradication of Christianity.
They also unleashed the bloody Reign of Terror, a 10-month period in which suspected enemies of the
revolution were guillotined by the thousands. Many of the killings were carried out under orders from
Robespierre, who dominated the draconian Committee of Public Safety until his own execution on July
28, 1794.
His death marked the beginning of a moderate phase in which the French people revolted against the
Reign of Terror’s excesses. Over 17,000 people were officially tried and executed during the Reign of
Terror, and an unknown number of others died in prison or without trial.

French Revolution Ends: Napoleon’s Rise

French Revolution changed the shape of European history forever; no longer did the powers of privilege
rule. The ideas of equality, liberty, democracy and nationalism were firmly established and heralded the

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beginning of the modern era. These same ideas sparked off various revolutions throughout Europe that
did not end until 1850. The social structure of Europe was permanently changed.
On August 22, 1795, the National Convention, composed largely of Girondins who had survived the
Reign of Terror, approved a new constitution that created France’s first bicameral legislature.
Executive power would lie in the hands of a five-member Directory appointed by parliament. Royalists
and Jacobins protested the new regime but were swiftly silenced by the army, now led by a young and
successful general named Napoleon Bonaparte.
The Directory’s four years in power were riddled with financial crises, popular discontent, inefficiency
and, above all, political corruption. By the late 1790s, the directors relied almost entirely on the military
to maintain their authority and had ceded much of their power to the generals in the field.
On November 9, 1799, as frustration with their leadership reached a fever pitch, Bonaparte staged a
coup d’état , abolishing the Directory and appointing himself France’s “first consul.” The event marked
the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonic era, in which France would come
to dominate much of continental Europe.

CONSEQUENCES
The years of the French Revolution can be seen to have laid down the birth pangs of a new world order.
This new world order was quite distinct and contradictory to the trend that had been prevailing in France
before that time. The effects of the events spilled out of France and greatly effected global change.
Civil disorder became a common scene after the storming of Bastille in 1789. With Declaration of the
Rights of Man, leaders of French Revolution aimed at shifting the authority of issuing basic human rights
from Church or God to the state. All church lands were seized and an end was put to all kinds of religious
orders and monastic vows. The government took direct control over all religious proceedings and took
the authority of selecting all the pastors. Bishops took oath under the new government.
The middle class men and the land owning classes were now the most dominant social class in France in
the years to come. With the death of feudalism and the implementation of Code Napoleon, the country
had established a new social order. France now stood as a unified nation which gave it more power and
authority to influence world affairs. In the years of Napoleonic wars, the idea of nationalism was further
progressed as France began total warfare.

COMPARING FRENCH & AMERICAN REVOLUTIONS

The French Revolution was plotted by the person who helped the Americans in their own, Marquis de
Lafayette; therefore, both revolutions have many things in common. Nevertheless, they were different
countries, which mean that they had different cultures and were different in every aspect. The
Americans planned their revolution for many years and executed it with the help of the French
(economically and military). Once the revolution was over, they were a republic and signed the treaty of
Paris. When the French returned to France, they realized that they don’t have the freedom America does
and they helped them fight for. So, the French started planning their own revolution.
The American Revolution was about the independence of a country. The people who planned it were
the wealthy people among the Americans. They were the Capitalist Middle-Class. The high class were
the British and the lower classes the slaves and the workers. The Capitalist wanted a different

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government. They wanted a democracy. The capitalists are the founders of the United States. They
believed in working hard to make money and do what they wanted with it. On the other hand the French
Revolution was about human rights. In the French Revolution the bourgeoisie had almost the same
circumstances. They would work really hard and save money. Along the years they had almost more
money than the nobility. The more money they had the more taxes would be raised. The bourgeoisie
realized that they had no rights, they were more in quantity, they had more money than the higher
classes and they just helped the Americans get their freedom from another country when they didn’t
had freedom in their own country. then they started planning their revolution. The bourgeoisie were
not the founders of the country, but they were ones who executed the revolution. The capitalists led
the revolution but didn’t fight in it and the created a new environment.
Both countries fought a war in their own land. The Americans had the British established in their country
as well as the troops that came from across the ocean. The fact that British had to cross an ocean gave
the Americans some advantage in war, giving them time and warning. An advantage that the French
didn’t have because they were fighting their own government. Their war was local. Also, America didn’t
have any near neighbours, therefore they didn’t have the threat of being attacked by other countries
trying invade them taking advantage of their weakness after war. French had this problem when many
countries attacked them while they were in war.
Another advantage that America had was that they were fighting against the International enemy of the
time. Many countries were against Britain, especially the French. America received a lot of help from
other countries. The French not only sent troops to fight, but paid for almost the whole revolution.
France had no money when the revolution started, and the Americans didn’t pay them back because
they were building their own economy. The bourgeoisie started the revolution without help from the
Americans or other countries. Instead, countries attempted to attack them like mentioned before.
Religion always has a part in politics. This might be the most noticeable contrast between the two
revolutions. The American Revolution was not based, guided or caused by religion. America was
protestant and Protestantism was very capitalist in economics ideals. On the other hand, France was
catholic, and Catholicism favoured the monarchy and had very high position in the hierarchy. The
bourgeoisie was fighting the king as well the clergy (church) in the revolution. So the Catholic Church
compared to the protestant was very involved in the Revolution. Americans had plans to build a
democratic government once a republic was formed. They got idea of democracy from Protestantism
and the writings of John Locke. That is the reason why democracy worked in America. The French wanted
the same, but the bourgeoisie wasn’t educated and had no knowledge of democracy. They didn’t know
what voting was because a king all their lives had governed them. Since the French couldn’t establish a
democracy, they tried something else called Constitutional Monarchy where the king had to obey the
laws made by a parliament instead of the king making his own laws. It didn’t really work at the time, but
it was the start of a long-term process for the French to learn democracy and the voting system.
The American Revolution was successfully planned, organized and won. While the French Revolution
seemed to never end since it wasn’t really organized the way a revolution should be. The United States
of America kept the same type of government, when the French are in their fifth type of government
since the revolution.

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Vienna congress/ European Congress/ European Order of 1815
The winner countries in the 4th Coalition met at Vienna and created Vienna Order in 1815 after defeating
Napoleon under the leadership of Austrian Chancellor Metternich who was the most powerful man in
Europe after the defeat of Napoleon. This assembly was the meeting of the leaders of Old Regime who
were reactionary (one who opposes political progress or reform) in outlook and strongly against ideas of
French Revolution. They wanted to restore the semi divine monarchy based on the idea of Royal
Absolutism. The Order was based on 3 principles: -
Principle of Balance of Power- cutting France to size of 1789 and surrounding it with strong states to
balance power. Prussia & Russia were strengthened, Belgium was merged with Holland.
Principle of legitimacy- dynasties uprooted by Napoleon placed again in various states. Bourbon dynasty
was placed in France.
Principle of rewarding victors- at the cost of defeated parties. The territories were occupied by the
winning parties by capturing them from defeated areas.
It was a very reactionary, anti-democratic, pro monarchical and unsustainable peace deal.

Reaction against Vienna Order & Rise of Nationalism

1830 & 1848- Revolutions in Europe; artisans, industrial workers & peasants revolt against economic
hardships; middle classes demand constitutions and representative governments; Italians, Germans,
Magyars, Poles, Czechs etc. demand nation states.

• First upheaval in France in 1830 which led to creation of constitutional monarchy under Louis
Phillipe. “When France sneezes, the rest of Europe gets cold.” Uprising in other parts of Europe
also happened after France. It commenced when Louis XVIII’s successor Charles X tried to increase
control in France. As soon as news of his ordinances to increase control came out, revolution broke
in France & he fled. This is called July Revolution. A liberal Constitutional Monarchy was
established and Louis Phillipe of Orleans dynasty was made the king. The success of this revolution
inspired revolutions in German states, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Poland. Belgium declared
independence from Holland. Portugal & Spain established Constitutional Monarchies. Polish revolt
was ruthlessly suppressed by Russia. Matternich of Austria suppressed the revolts in Italian and
German states.
• European Revolution of 1830 or July Revolution was the first major attack against the Vienna Order
of 1815.
• In 1848, a huge peasant revolt led to abdication of throne by Louis Phillipe and France established
Second Republic. Supported by middle classes, King Louis Phillipe ignored the lower classes and
they, infected by socialist ideas, were demanding for universal adult suffrage for men which was
denied. Police fired upon a demonstration in Paris which led to outbreak of revolt and King
abdicated and France was declared republic. This again inspired other states in Europe.
• Similarly in German areas some liberal associations got together and voted for a National
Assembly. They drafted a constitution and offered Constitutional Monarch status to King Wilhelm
IV, King of Prussia. This was suppressed.
• Monarchs realised that it is necessary to provide concessions, and this was started.

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Italian & German Unification
Till mid-18th century, idea of nationhood was absent. Before that, territories were divided as empires,
duchies, kingdoms etc.& people were distinct from each other in ethnicity, dialects and only common
thing was their allegiance to a particular empire. It was difficult to find a sense of commonness. By 19th
century, nation-states emerge,& struggle to achieve them, gains strength. The end result was the
emergence of nation states in place of multinational dynastic empires.
In 1789, French Revolution and French war on European nations took idea of nation against despotism
abroad in [Link] was the first clear expression of nationalism. In 1797- Napoleon invades Italy and
Napoleonic wars begun. After 1804, Napoleon undertook reforms in conquered territories via Civil Code
of 1804 known as Napoleonic Code. He did away with feudal system, simplified administration, ended
serfdom, established equality before law, promoted guilds. People felt a new sense of freedom. When
Napoleonic regime turned despotic, the awakening triggered by the reforms and freedoms led to birth
of nationalism in Italy & Germany among others.
1814-15 saw fall of Napoleon and Vienna Peace settlement. He was defeated collectively by Russia,
Prussia, Britain and Austria. To reverse Napoleon’s efforts, autocratic regimes were set up &reforms
were undone. This drove many liberals underground and secret societies were set up across Europe.
While establishing the older regimes, Vienna Congress strengthened the state of Piedmont Sardinia
unconsciously, though intention was to weaken France by surrounding by powerful states. But in the
long run, it helped in political unification of Italy as this state was not only strong enough to lead
unification efforts, but also was the only Italian state ruled by a native king.
Similarly, hundreds of German states were amalgamated in 39 states during Napoleonic rule & this was
accepted by Vienna Settlement as well. So, all that was left to be done by Bismarck was to unify these
39 states into 1. In this way, role of Napoleon was very important in unification of Germany. That is why
it is also said that ‘the irony of history is that Napoleon was the creator of modern Germany.’
In 1830 & 1848 Revolutions took place in Europe; artisans, industrial workers & peasants revolt against
economic hardships; middle classes demand constitutions and representative governments; Italians,
Germans, Magyars, Poles, Czechs etc. demand nation states.
First upheaval took place in France in 1830 which led to creation of constitutional monarchy under
Louis Phillip. “When France sneezes, the rest of Europe gets cold” remarked Metternich. Uprisingswere
witnessed in other parts of [Link] 1848, a huge peasant revolt led to abdication of throne by Louis
Phillip and France became a republic.
Both Italian & German states were under the control of Metternich ruled Austria. His downfall was the
first step towards unification: Italian unification, under Sardinia-Piedmont and German unification,
under Prussian leadership.

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ITALIAN UNIFICATION (1859 -1870)
The three main people involved were- Giuseppe Mazzini- The Heart, Giuseppe Garibaldi – The Sword &
Count Camillo Benso de Cavour – The Head.
Early Efforts: Carbonari, an association of Italian nationalists, basically consisting of coal workers was
formed in 1812 in Naples. They had two objectives: to remove the foreigners from Italy & to provide
legal freedom to all Italians. It failed to have any major impact.
Young Italy, was a revolutionary organisation established by Italian nationalist Giuseppe Mazzini in 1831
to spread the ideas of nationalism, spirit of sacrifice, brotherhood & fraternity among Italians.
This organisation raised the level of nationalist awakening to new levels. The writing & speeches of
Mazzini brought about an intellectual revolution in Italy. A solid platform was prepared from which the
process of political unification could be launched successfully.
The downfall of Metternich in 1848 as a result of popular uprising in the streets of Vienna inspired
Italians to liberate themselves from Austrian rule. Northern Italian territories of Lombardy and Venetia
were under direct rule of Austria. The North Italian states of Parma, Modena, Tuscany were ruled by
princes associated with Austrian ruling family.
The Italian nationalists led by Giuseppe Mazzini persuaded King Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia to
lead their fight against Austria. Pope Pious IX & Ferdinand II of Naples Sicily were also forced to join
hands with Charles Albert but when the fight begun against Austria, Pope and Ferdinand withdrew. As a
result, Charles Albert got defeated and was forced to abdicate in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel 2nd
and with this, the efforts of Italians to create a unified nation failed.
This failure taught Italians a number of lessons. They realised that: Italian unification will only be possible
under Piedmont-Sardinia. The king of Naples-Sicily and Pope could not be trusted. Austria won’t allow
unification of Italy easily. These lessons played an important role in unification of Italy in the future.
Count Camillo de Cavour was appointed as PM in 1852 by Victor Emmanuel 2nd. He was a strong
nationalist and gave thought to challenges and opportunities standing in front of Italy. Italian Unification
faced challenges like foreign domination in Italian speaking regions, Vienna Order’s settlement that kept
these areas fragmented, presence of Pope in Central Italy who was respected by whole of catholic world
and who opposed unification, geographical division of Italy into North, Central and Southern Italy, weak
position of Sardinia-Piedmont was another important challenge as it was not strong enough to fight
against Austria and France. Italy was economically backward and there were sharp economic differences
between Northern and Southern states as southern Italy was completely agrarian as opposed to
industrialised North. Ideological differences among Italian nationalists were also posing difficulties like
Cavour was in favour of liberal constitutional monarchy & Mazzini was a republican, while Carbonari
wanted a federation under Pope.
Having analysed the challenges and opportunities, Cavour decided to develop Sardinia-Piedmont into a
model state so that all Italian territories could be naturally inclined to merge with Piedmont. As a result,
freedoms were granted, steps for advancement of commerce were taken, church’s privileges were
curtailed, federal system was wiped out, cooperative societies were established, transportation and
banking systems were improved. Boundaries of Piedmont were fortified and a large army of 90,000

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soldiers was raised. Having achieved success in his domestic policy, Cavour started creating a feasible
external environment for the unification of Italy. These diplomatic dealings of Cavour enabled him to
succeed in his designs.

Battle of Crimea (1853-56)

In these battles, Britain & France were fighting on one side (against Russia) and to win their support,
Cavour sent Piedmont’s army on the battlefield without their request. This was greatly appreciated by
both these states & Cavour was also invited when peace conference was held. Using this opportunity,
Cavour highlighted the suffering of Italians under Austrian rule and thus converted an internal issue of
Italy into European issue. Both Britain & France expressed sympathy for the cause of Italy and Austria
was asked to look into the aspirations of Italians. This created a positive environment for the unification
of Italy and that is why it is said that ‘Unified Italy emerged out of mud of Crimea.’

Plombieres Agreement (1858)

This pact was a secret verbal agreement between Cavour & French King Napoleon III of France. As per
this pact, France agreed to provide military assistance to Piedmont against Austria in return of Nice &
Savoy. The war was to be started by Austria.

Phase I of Unification – Integration of Lombardy

Having received the assurance of France for military assistance, Cavour triggered a revolt in Lombardy
& Venetia. At this, Austria attacked Piedmont. With French assistance, Lombardy was successfully
liberated. When Venetia was about to be liberated, French forces were withdrawn by Napoleon III
because a large number of French soldiers had died, and the French Catholics were apprehensive that a
powerful state of Piedmont could hurt the prestige of Pope. Also, Prussia had started mobilising its forces
in favour of Austria for which France was not prepared. Cavour wanted to continue the war against
Austria inspite of French withdrawal, but King Victor Emmanuel II was against it. At this, Cavour felt
disillusioned and resigned from the office of PM. As per Peace of Villafranca, Lombardy was merged with
Piedmont Sardinia.
Phase II of Unification – Integration of Parma, Modena, Tuscany, Romagna, Bologna
The political events of the North had triggered popular revolts in these areas. Their rulers ran away.
When Cavour got to know about these developments, he returned to the office of Piedmont’s PM &
commented, “They have stopped me from making Italy by diplomacy from the North, I will make it
through revolution from South. Austria & Prussia wanted to interfere to restore the old order but British
neutrality didn’t allow to do so. British PM Palmerston declared that, “Italians shall be left alone to
decide their future.” French neutrality was purchased by giving Nice & Savoy. A plebiscite was held in
March 1860 and all these territories were merged with Piedmont to form Italy.

Phase III of Unification – Naples, Sicily, Papal states

During this phase, the southern territories of Naples & Sicily as well as the papal states of Umbria and
Marche were merged with Northern Italy. Since Naples, Sicily were being ruled by a branch of French
Bourbon dynasty, Cavour himself was not in a position to interfere. He used Garibaldi as a proxy.
Garibaldi was a freelance soldier & Italian nationalist. He had strong band of troops within his group
which was known as ‘Red Shirts’. Supported by Cavour, Garibaldi captured Sicily (in May 1860) and

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Naples (in August 1860) but refused to merge these territories with the Northern Italy because he was
a republican. Using his diplomatic skills, Cavour won French neutrality with the condition that Rome
should not be touched but other territories could be merged with Northern Italy. In September 1860,
Umbria and Marche were conquered. A plebiscite was held in Umbria, Marche, Naples, Sicily in October
1860 and as per the result, all these territories were merged with Northern Italy.
In November 1860, King Victor Emmanuel II was coronated as the King of Northern Italy. Now, only
Venetia and Rome were left out. Venetia was integrated in 1860 and Rome was captured in 1870.

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Unification of Germany (1866 - 1871)
After defeating Austria in the battle of Austerlitz in December 1805, Peace of Pressburg was imposed by
Napoleon on Austria through which Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, more than 300 small German
states were amalgamated to create 39 states, Napoleon was proclaimed as a saviour of Rhine
Confederation. Napoleon propagated the ideas of French Revolution in Rhine Confederation & initiated
many reforms which paved the way for the emergence of German Nationalism.
Vienna Congress made every effort to restore pre-Napoleon position in Germany, but it had to accept
the existence of 39 states because even in 1815, nobody was aware about the exact number of states
and their precise boundaries. So, a German Confederation was created in 1815. All that was left to be
done by Bismarck was to unify these 39 states into 1. In this way, role of Napoleon was very important
in unification of Italy and Germany. Napoleon kindled nationalist sentiment in Germany & the process
of unification was later completed by Bismarck.
Early Efforts: Burschenschaft was a student organisation established in 1815 that raised voice against
despotic domination of Metternich. It organised large scale demonstrations in 1817 which were
ruthlessly suppressed.
Zollverein was a customs union established in 1819 by lesser German states under leadership of Prussia.
By 1834, all the lesser German states had joined it. Since it was under leadership of Prussia, Austria
refused to join it. The Austrian Government failed to understand the significance of customs union.
Zollverein was highly successful, and it brought the lesser German states closer to Prussia on one hand
and took them away from Austria on the other hand. The success of Zollverein integrated the economic
interests of lesser German states with Prussia. All of these gradually became interdependent.
Zollverein helped in the growth of means of communication & physical distance between Germans living
in different parts got reduced. This strengthened spirit of Nationalism significantly. This led to industrial
take off in German areas between 1850 to 1870 as rails, roads, industries were developed, and education
and health system got improved. After having lagged behind Western Europe for three hundred years,
Germany caught up economically within two decades.
Zollverein also helped in the emergence of a powerful class of German capitalists. These capitalists were
looking for an extensive colonial empire which could serve their business interests. A politically divided
Germany was not conducive for facing British competition and providing them colonies for trade. So this
class supported German unification and their support played an important role in success of German
nationalism.
The downfall of Metternich inspired German nationalists to carry out German Unification under the
leadership of Prussia. When Austria was busy in suppressing the revolution of 1848, German nationalists
summoned the session of Frankfurt Parliament and decided to draft a new Constitution. The crown of
unified Germany under the new constitution was to be offered to the King of Prussia. This Constitution
was successfully drafted but when the crown was offered to the King of Prussia, he refused to accept it.
This resulted in failure of the attempt to unify Germany. The King of Prussia was Frederic William IV and
he was apprehensive that the acceptance of the crown of unified Germany would antagonize Austria
and could result in war, for which Prussia was not prepared.

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King Frederic William IV had great respect for the Pope and didn’t want to hurt the prestige of the Pope
by destroying the holy Roman Empire. Austria was the head of Holy Roman Empire. The failure of
German nationalists to carry out unification by liberal methods resulted in disenchantment of
nationalists with liberalism. These German nationalists realised that only radical methods would
succeed. As a result of that, the militant nationalism emerged in Germany & the rise of Bismarck in
German politics was the outcome of the same.
Frederick William withdrew from state affairs due to poor health in 1856 and was succeeded by William
I, who looked after the affairs of the state till Frederick’s death in 1861. The new King was a strong
nationalist and wanted to unify Germany by pushing Austria out. He needed a large army for that, but
the liberal dominated provisional Parliament didn’t approve the budget for that. King William appointed
Otto Von Bismarck as Chancellor in 1862, who was known for being ruthless to get things done.
Bismarck was a firm believer of policy of ‘Blood & Iron’. Here, blood refers to violence & iron indicates
strength. This policy believed in ruthless suppression of enemies. He was of the view that important
questions of the day can’t be decided by speeches or votes of majority, but by blood and iron. Bismarck
bypassed the lower house of Parliament and got the budget approved only by the upper house & raised
a large army. He used government propaganda and electoral manipulation to generate sentiments
against the liberals & reduce their power. He adopted universal adult suffrage which was welcomed by
the liberal democrats but was meant to cut their power as liberal class included propertied sections &
power to vote was given to proletariat as well.

He wanted to expel Austria and unify lesser German states under the leadership of Prussia. He desired
Prussian prestige to be highest in Europe & he planned unification in a way that both Austria and France
got defeated in the process.

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The War against Denmark & Austro Prussian War
As in almost all parts of German Confederation, political order was complicated in the northernmost
German speaking lands. The duchies of Schleswig & Holstein had a predominantly German population,
except in the very north of Schleswig. Both duchies were affiliated with the Danish crown and had strong
historical ties to each other. Holstein, the southern province was a part of German Confederation, but
Schleswig was not. In 1863, the Danish Government, aiming to consolidate its lands, proceeded to make
Schleswig an integral part of Denmark. This violated international conventions & provoked the diet of
German Confederation to call for an all German war against Denmark.
Bismarck, though unwilling to wage war in the name of German Confederation, had the Prussian Army
fight side by side with the Austrians (which was also part of German Confederation) against Denmark.
He could have used the victory in war as a justification to increase military budget and could paint liberals
as a group against Prussian interests. After the war, Austria & Prussia kept Holstein and Shleswig
respectively but conflict between Austria & Prussia led to Austro-Prussian War in 1866. Bismarck ordered
Prussian troops to occupy Holstein in 1866 and in return Austria demanded German Confederation
expedition against Prussia & most German states joined Austria against Prussia. Prussia defeated all the
enemies in Seven Weeks’ War or Austro Prussian War and smashed German Confederation and
created North German Confederation in 1866 by merging 21 North German states with Prussia.
Bismarck drafted a Constitution that granted universal adult suffrage to all men in North German
Confederation. The Parliament got the right to vote the budget, but the government remained
responsible only to the Prussian King who headed the North German Confederation. The new
constitution bothered the liberal bourgeois and Prussian conservatives.
To win his enemies as future allies, Bismarck imposed mild peace treaties on Austria and the South
German states. The latter agreed to a defensive treaty with Prussia. Military victory also solved the
constitutional dispute in Prussia in the government’s interest. The liberals, having fought Bismarck’s
army increases and having insisted on their right to fund the army, now appeared as petty minded and
unpatriotic & began to split up.
Although passions soon calmed down, we should take note that the Prusso-Austrian war was nothing
less than a German civil war. Five years before unification (1871), German states had been at war against
each other.

The Franco-German War

The outcome of the Prussian war against Austria came as a bad surprise mainly to France. For centuries,
French policy makers had aimed to keep Germany divided and weak. Suddenly a strong German power
had been allowed to expand through much of Germany. Alarmed, France tried to renew its ties with
South German states but to no avail as these states had become too nationalistic & economically
involved with Prussia to ally with a foreign power against it.
Final Trigger: International tension heightened when a revolutionary Spanish government invited a
cousin of the Prussian King to become the King of Spain in 1870. In reaction to French pressure, the
Prussian candidate refused the offer – much to the disappointment of Bismarck. This was French success,
but the French government went further and demanded a guarantee that no Prussian prince will ever
accept the Spanish crown, an unnecessary and humiliating demand. Bismarck published the diplomatic

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communications in a provocative fashion. The hawks in Prussian and French government felt insulted
and demanded war.
Napoleon III, hoping for a military victory to stabilize his weakening regime, declared war on Prussia on
19th July 1870 – the biggest mistake of his life. France was isolated and its declaration of war compelled
the South German states to aid Prussia according to defence treaties. The well organised Prussian Army
with its allies destroyed the main French Army & took Napoleon prisoner. While the German troops
were beleaguering Paris, Bismarck won the consent of the other princes to unite Germany (excluding
Austria) with Prussian king as German Emperor. Many princes demanded retention of some autonomy
which was granted by Bismarck.
At Versailles on 18th January 1871, Bismarck had his King proclaim the German Empire. A national
parliament, Reichstag was elected, solely responsible to the Emperor. A second chamber, the Federal
Council or Bundesrat, consisting exclusively the representatives of the German princes, functioned as a
conservative check on the influence of the Reichstag. Armies remained under single states but were
supposed to coordinate when needed for collective defence. The War with France was concluded by the
Treaty of Frankfurt in May 1971. France had to cede its eastern provinces Alsace & Loraine to the new
empire and pay high reparations until 1875.

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France Since 1870
Condition of France after Sedan
The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War. It resulted in the capture of Emperor
Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and for all intents and purposes decided the war in favour
of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French government.
The condition of France after the disaster of Sedan was truly deplorable. She had received a shattering
blow which greatly undermined her prestige in Europe. Two provinces had been wrenched from her;
armed forces and economic life had been thoroughly disorganized and she had been saddled with the
liability of paying a huge war indemnity. The political future was equally dark. With the fall of the Second
Empire, the hopes of the older dynasties revived, and the country was through all these difficulties.
As soon as the news of Sedan reached Paris a provisional Republic was proclaimed and a Government
of National Defence set up to carry on the war. But this Government came to an end in 1871 and a
National Assembly was elected to ratify the terms of the treaty with Germany. The Assembly chose
Thiers as Chief of the Executive, pending the decision of the nation as to the definitive form of
government. Theirs made peace with Germany (Treaty of Frankfurt) on the basis of the cession of Alsace
and a large part of Lorraine, and payment of a large indemnity. Until the indemnity was paid in full, a
German army, fed and housed by the French Government, was to occupy the area Northeast of France.

The Commune, 1871

To add to the troubles of France a terrible civil war followed. Between the Government as represented
by the National Assembly and the people of Paris, serious disagreements arose which led quickly to the
war of the Commune. The National Assembly had a majority of crypto royalists notoriously hostile to the
Republic. The Parisians were, on the other hand, strongly republican and communistic in their views,
and they naturally feared that the Assembly would affect a monarchical restoration. Besides, the
Assembly gave offence to, and showed its distrust of Paris by removing from Bordeaux to Versailles and
not to Paris. The Parisians felt that the Capital had been insulted. They became furious at the idea that
Paris which, had recently borne the brunt of the war-suffering and had by its selfsacrifice held high the
honour of France, should be decapitalised and governed, like any provisional town, from outside by an
Assembly representing the provinces rather than the capital. This sense of grievance was aggravated by
the indifference of the Government to the financial troubles of the Parisians. Paris was then full of
explosive elements such as demobilized soldiers, unemployed workmen, socialists, anarchists. A spark
was needed to produce an explosion, and this was supplied by the Government when it sought to
remove the guns from the capital.
At the end of the war 400 obsolete muzzle-loading bronze cannons, partly paid for by the Paris public
via a subscription, remained in the city. The Communists wanted to keep the guns under their control to
defend the city against any attack by National Government. Thiers was equally determined to bring the
cannons under national-government control. The chief executive wanted to restore order and national
authority in Paris as quickly as possible, and the cannons became a symbol of that authority. The
Assembly also refused to prolong the moratorium on debt collections imposed during the war; and
suspended two radical newspapers.
Paris rose in revolt and the insurgents set up the Commune(The Paris Commune was a radical
socialist and revolutionary government that ruled Paris from 18 March to 28 May 1871.), demanding
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complete self-government for Paris and the establishment of similar communes in the provinces. The
whole of France was to be organized on a communistic basis. Thiers took up a strong line and proceeded
to the forcible reduction of the city. For six weeks, the amazing sight was seen of Frenchmen besieging
Frenchmen in their own capital under the eyes of victorious Germans who remained encamped on the
neighbouring hills. At last, the Government troops from Versailles forced their entrance into Paris, and
fought their way street by street until they gained control of the city. The Government took terrible
revenge on the communards. Many were shot on the spot, and many condemned to imprisonment or
sent to penal settlements. Paris was defeated and socialism was knocked on the head till the end of the
century.

Work of Reconstruction
Having suppressed the Commune, Thiers set himself to the work of national reconstruction. The most
imperative task was to pay off the huge indemnity and thereby to get the Germans out of the country.
This Thiers did with great energy and speed. To the surprise of all, he raised a large loan and paid off the
whole indemnity in two years. France was liberated from the German army of occupation much earlier
than the stipulated time, and for this service, Thiers was acclaimed as the “Liberator of the Territory”.
His next achievement was to reform the army by reorganizing it on the Prussian model. Alaw was passed
in 1872 instituting compulsory military service. The question of the form of constitution next occupied
his attention. The National Assembly had a monarchist majority, and monarchical feeling was strong in
the country. Thiers himself was also a monarchist, being a supporter of the Orleans dynasty. But the
monarchists were a party divided against itself. There were, as Thiers said three heads and only one
crown. Bourbon, Orleans dynasties and those from the line of Napoleon were in competition. Thus each
wing of the monarchists wanted a different monarch. In view of this dissension among the Monarchists,
Thiers boldly declared for a Republic on the practical ground that “it divides us least.” Thereupon the
monarchists combined and forced him to resign. They elected Marshal Mac Mohan President to prepare
the way for the restoration of monarchy.
To Thiers, France owes a deep debt of gratitude. It was he who did more than anybody else to put France
on her feet again after the disaster of Sedan. He suppressed the Commune, paid off the war indemnity,
reorganized the army and boldly declared for a republic at a time when monarchist feeling was strong
in the country. His public life thus ended in a blaze of patriotic service.

Victory of Republicanism
Marshal MacMahon who succeeded Thiers was a supporter of monarchy and so the Monarchists in the
Assembly made a determined effort to combine their forces to effect a royalist restoration. The
Bourbons and Orleanists came to a compromise and it was decided that Compte de Chambord who was
childless, should become king of France with the title of Henry V, and his rival claimant, the Count of
Paris, should be recognized as his successor. The restoration of monarchy thus seemed imminent but
was foiled by the uncompromising Bourbonism of Chambord as he refused to accept the tricolour of the
revolution as the national emblem and insisted upon the while flag of the Bourbons being restored. This
attitude sounded the death-knell of the monarchical cause, for France would never abandon the tricolor
which to her had become the symbol of imperishable memories and indisputable benefits. Thus the
obstinacy of Chambord wrecked the cause of monarchy not merely in Paris, but also in the country
where the fiery Gambetta was making tours to educate the rural population in the principles of

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republicanism. His efforts were successful and the result was that under a monarchist president and by
a monarchist Assembly a Republic was established in France in 1875 by a majority of one vote.
The formal constitution as drawn up in 1875 provided for a President of the Republic to be elected for a
term of seven years by the legislature. Thus was the republic established in France for the third time,
and this time to stay. The royalists sought to restore monarchy by a Coup d’etat. The attempt failed and
MacMahon resigned in 1879. He was succeeded by Gambetta’s nominee, Jules Grevy, with a thoroughly
republican ministry and legislature.
Gambetta is rightly regarded as the creator and the great hero of the Third Republic. It was he who by
his fiery eloquence ensured the triumph of the Republic at a time when the people were undecided and
were swaying between a choice of monarchy and republicanism.

Dangers to the Third Republic

The Republic was now an accomplished fact in France, but it had to weather many a crisis before it could
feel safe. Party passions were still high and there were many who hated republicanism and firmly
believed that the Third Republic would go the way of its predecessors. These disaffected elements found
a leader or a tool in General Boulanger, an able army officer who became Minister of war in 1886. He
ingratiated himself with the soldiers by increasing their comforts and caught the fancy of the people by
his jingoistic utterances about a war of revenge against Germany. The Monarchists, the Bonapartists,
and the clericals rallied round Boulanger and sought to utilize his influence and popularity to overthrow
the parliamentary regime and to establish a Boulagnist dictatorship. The danger of the situation was
increased by a political scandal connected with the sale of honours by President’s son-in-low, a scandal
which greatly damaged the prestige of the Republic. The movement however, ended in failure as
Boulanger was a mere swaggerer and failed to strike at the right moment. He was ordered to be arrested,
but he fled to Belgium where he committed suicide. The Boulangist episode strengthened the Republic
by discrediting its opponents, viz., the Monarchists and Clericals who had openly supported one who
turned out to be a worthless adventurer.

The Republic and the Church

One of the most important questions which the Third Republic had to deal with was the relation between
the Church and the state. The question was not a purely religious one; political considerations largely
entered into it, for the clericals were largely royalists. Hence Gambetta had declared in 1877 that
clericalism was the enemy of the Republic. The remark was not unfounded as subsequent events
showed. Besides there was another weighty consideration. The cause of education was very dear to the
Republicans and education was largely in the hands of the Church. The Republicans did not like that
youth should be brought up in an atmosphere where monarchist feeling was strong.
In 1901 the Ministry of Waldeck-Rousseau passed the Law of Associations which declared that all
associations, whether religious or political, must receive the authorization of the Government. As most
of the religious orders of France had not received such authorization, the effect of the law was to close
some three thousand religious houses. The members of an unauthorized order were forbidden to teach
in any school and so the result was that education was largely taken out of the hands of the Catholic
clergy. In 1904 came another law which secularized education by forbidding even members of
authorized orders to teach. Education was thus free from ecclesiastical control.

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Lastly, in 1905 came the decisive Act of Separation which separated the Church from the State. “The
Republic” ran the words of the law, “neither recognizes nor subsidises any religion.” Henceforth the
state was not to pay the salaries of the clergy nor to make any grant to any religion. The property of all
religious bodies was to be transferred to new “Associations of Worship” which were to be set up in each
district.

Colonial Expansion
Under the Third Republic France embarked upon a vigorous colonial policy. Jules Ferry who was Prime
Minister in 1881, and then from 1883 to 1885 was the chief exponent of this policy of overseas
expansion, and it was chiefly owing to his masterful influence that Republic built up a colonial empire
which was second only to that of Great Britain. France had already established herself in Algeria during
the reign of Louis Philippe, and desired to extend her influence over the neighbouring states of
NorthWestern Africa, In 1881 the Ministry of Ferry sent an expedition to Tunis and compelled its ruler
to accept a French protectorate over his state. But Italy also had her eyes upon Tunis, and she bitterly
resented the establishment of a French protectorate there. She showed her irritation by joining Austria
and Germany in the Triple Alliance. France had under Napoleon III carved out territories in Indo-china;
she had occupied Cambodia and annexed Cochinchina (A region of southern Indochina including the rich
delta area of the Mekong River). Under Ferry the process of absorbing Indo-china was completed by the
conquest of Tonkin and the establishment of a protectorate over Annam. Ferry founded the French
Congo and sent an expedition to Madagascar. The work begun by him was continued. Madagascar was
annexed in 1896 and Morocco became a sphere of French influence in 1904. In Western Africa, France
had made extensive annexations in the Senegal, Guinea, Dahomey, Ivory Coast and the region of the
Niger. Despite the opposition of Germany, Morocco was practically incorporated in the colonial empire
of France in 1912. Thus, at the opening of the twentieth century France was in possession of a big
colonial empire. But by far the greater portion of it comprised the region of NorthWest Africa. This
territory included some extremely unpromising stretches of country, such as part of the desert of Sahara,
which were ill adapted to the settlement of Europeans. Algeria and Tunis constitute the most valuable
French possessions. Algeria, however, was not considered a colony, but an integral part of France,
sending members to the Chambers of the French Parliament.

Foreign Relations: Franco-Russian Alliance

The position of France after 1870 was very critical. Bismarck’s policy had left her in a position of complete
isolation, and she had no friends in the world. On her long eastern land frontier was the powerful military
Empire of Germany, suspicious and almost openly antagonistic. At any moment, on the least sign of
reviving strength, French might be pounced upon and crushed. Besides, her relations with Great Britain
were far from cordial. In Egypt and West Africa, the interests of both often clashed.
Russia was the only great power likely to give France a secure alliance. France’s opportunity came in
1890 when, after Bismarck’s fall, the young Kaiser William II allowed the “Reinsurance” treaty between
Germany and Russia to lapse. Reinsurance Treaty was a secret agreement between Germany and Russia
arranged by the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The treaty provided that each party would
remain neutral if the other became involved in a war with a third great power. This left Russia’s hands
free. Russia, powerful as she was, could not stand alone. Her interests conflicted with those of Austria
in the Balkans, and the danger of the situation lay in the fact that Germany had, by the Triple Alliance,
committed herself to an unqualified support of Austria. Besides, Russia wanted to borrow money to

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develop her internal resources, and this money France was willing to lend whilst Germany was unwilling
to do so. Hence for reasons both political and financial French support was worth having. Thus, Russia
gravitated towards France, and CZAR Alexander III swallowed his dislike of French republicanism and
entered into friendly negotiations with France. These resulted in a definite alliance in 1894. By the terms
of the treaty, it was declared that if France was attacked by Germany, or by Italy supported by Germany,
Russia was to come to her aid with all available forces. France undertook a similar obligation to aid Russia
if the latter was attacked by Germany or by Austria supported by
Germany. Thus, was formed the famous Dual Alliance which was a replay to Bismarck’s Triple Alliance
and served as a counterweight to it. France was no longer isolated.

Anglo-French Convention
Having strengthened her position by the Dual Alliance, France sought to improve her relations with Great
Britain. There were many sources of irritation between these two powers. England had occupied Egypt
in 1882 and this France regarded with undisguised dislike. British and French interests likewise clashed
in Central Africa. Both countries, however, sought a reconciliation, as both of them had a common dread
of the aggressive imperialism of Germany. The result was the Entete Cordiale between England and
France (1904). By it a series of long-standing disputes were settled. France recognised Great Britain’s
paramount position in Egypt, while England recognised France’s paramount position in Morocco. This
entente was extended to Russia in 1907 when England made up all her differences with Russia and
signed conventions with regard to non-competition in Persia, Afghanistan and Tibet. Thus, was formed
a new diplomatic group known as the Triple Entente. It was not an alliance, still it was a potent force
with which the Triple Alliance (of Austria, Germany and Italy) had to reckon.

The Morocco Crisis, 1905

The special position which France had secured in Morocco by the Entente Cordiale of 1904 was
challenged by Germany. Kaiser William II visited Tangier, Morocco in 1905 and declared that he would
do all in his power to safeguard German commercial interests In Morocco. His peremptory attitude
precipitated an international crisis and led to the international Conference of Algeciras in 1906. An Act
was signed adjusting the interests of Germany and other Powers in Morocco and providing for its
policing by France and Spain. On the whole France maintained her position and proceeded to strengthen
it. So in 1911 Germany issued another challenge, by sending a gun boat to Agadir which was meant to
show that France was not the undisputed mistress of Morocco. But as England stood by the Entente,
Germany came to terms with France. She recognised the special position of France in Morocco while
France ceded to Germany a considerable portion of the French Congo. The crisis was averted.

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Italy After the Union (1870 -1914)
Introduction
The year 1870 brought to a close what may be called the heroic age of Italian history. It was an age marked by the
epic grandeur of the achievements of Mazzini, Garibaldi and Cavour. Italy had been freed from foreign
domination, united into one state, and provided with a parliamentary Constitution. But after 1879 problems of a
quite different nature confronted her. Some of these were common to all states of the day, while others were
peculiarly her own, being the outcome of the process just completed.

The first problem was that of consolidating the union. In other words, the outward unity which had been attained
must be supplemented by a real spiritual unity based upon community of political and social interests. Italian
unity had been achieved too suddenly by a people divided against one another for centuries. There existed wide
disparity between the North and the South in regard to political progress and economic development. Thus, in
the North, Piedmont, a prosperous state enjoying constitutional government, had very little in common with the
southern states of Naples and Sicily. These had suffered long under the paralysing despotism of the Bourbons,
and as a consequence, had no experience in self-government and no civic sense. Hence the task before the new
Government was to bring the different regions in the same level of political progress and economic wellbeing.

The Government devoted a good deal of attention to the introduction of uniform conditions throughout the
peninsula. It centralised the administrative and judicial systems and established local government units on the
French bureaucratic model. It nationalised the railways and reorganised the army and navy on the basis of
compulsory military service. Brigandage and secret societies, which were rife in the south, were suppressed, and
encouragement was given to the spread of the factory system in southern districts which were mainly agricultural.
By an Act of 1877 compulsory education was introduced but its operation was rendered somewhat ineffective
owing to inadequacy of funds.

Relation between the Papacy and the State Papacy: Office of the Pope
The relation between the Papacy and the State was one of the most perplexing problems which grew
out of the unification of Italy. The Italian kingdom had seized Rome by force and fixed it as its capital.
But over this city the Popes had ruled in unchallenged authority for a thousand years. Moreover, the
position of Rome was peculiar in that it was the capital of the Catholic world. Any interference with the
Papal authority might lead to foreign intervention for restoring the temporal power of the Pope. The
situation was unique and delicate—two sovereigns in one city, one temporal and the other spiritual. No
agreement could be agreed to as the Pope refused to recognise a Government which had despoiled him
of his lands and of his real freedom. So, the Government proceeded to solve the question by passing the
Law of Papal Guarantees embodying Cavour’s principle of a “free Church in a free state”. The Pope was
accorded sovereign rights on par with those of the king of Italy, viz., inviolability of his own person, the
right to send and receive ambassadors, and the honours due to a reigning sovereign. He was to receive
a large annual subsidy as compensation for the loss of his temporal possessions. Certain places were set
apart as entirely under his sovereignty and he was allowed the unfettered exercise of his spiritual
functions. The Pope, Pius IX, condemned this law, refused to accept the compensation allowance and
shut himself up as a “Prisoner”, in the Vatican. He issued a circular latter (the encyclical Non-expedit)
forbidding the Catholics to vote at parliamentary elections and to hold office under the Italian
Government. His successor Leo XIII (1878-1903) also maintained the attitude of hostility to the crown,
and considered himself a prisoner of the “Robber King”. This Papal attitude embarrassed the foreign and
domestic relations of the new kingdom. It weakened the solidarity of the state by drawing a sharp line
between loyal patriots and faithful Catholics and shut out from politics many an able and conscientious
citizen. Besides, the Government for a time had to fear an intervention of Catholic powers on behalf of
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the Pope. But from the beginning of the twentieth century the bitterness between the Papacy and the
king of Italy began to grow less. Socialism was menace to both Church and State and in combating the
danger, the Clericals ware permitted and even encouraged to make common cause with the
conservatives. Catholics began to return to politics and the ban forbidding them to take part in politics
or elections was lifted by Pius X in 1905. Slowly the two powers grew more accustomed to living side by
side, if they did not meet. In 1919, the encyclical Non-expedite was repealed by Pope Benedict XV and
the tendency was perceptible in the direction of a reconciliation.

Economic Problems
The most obvious difficulties of the new kingdom after 1870 were economic. It had inherited an
enormous National debt. The Government had to make large expenditures on the army, on public work
and on internal improvements, particularly on the building of railways which were essential to the
economic prosperity of the country and to the growth of a sense of common nationality. In a word, the
new kingdom proved very expensive to organise and run. Hence taxes steadily grew more and more
heavy, and soon rose to a greater height of per capita than in any other country of contemporary Europe.
The distress of the people was very acute as the country was poor, being backward in agriculture and
industrial life. This was specially the case with the southern half of the peninsula. Under these conditions
the Government was perpetually on the brink of bankruptcy, and it was with the greatest difficulty that
successive ministers could balance the budget and make both ends meet.
The economic problem was greatly intensified by the rapid growth of population, which surpassed the
annual increase in other European states. But the situation was somewhat eased by the large emigration
of the Italians to adjacent countries, but principally to North and South America.
In a country economically undeveloped, and with an expanding population it was inevitable that the
condition of the labouring classes was extremely wretched. Their misery was further intensified by the
high prices and crushing taxation occasioned by the ambitious colonial project of the Government. The
result was acute distress which manifested itself in dissatisfaction with the monarchy, and the growth
of republican and socialistic parties. In 1889 riots broke out in Turin, Milan and Rome while in 1893 a
serious labour revolt took place in Sicily. The crisis came to a head in 1898 when sanguinary riots broke
out in various parts of Italy. The movement was general but was extremely bloody in Milan. It took the
form of “bread riots” in southern and central Italy, but in the north, it was distinctly revolutionary. The
Government suppressed the riots with savage harshness. The general disaffection showed itself in 1900
in the assassination of King Humbert by an anarchist.

Italian Politics (1870-1914)

Italy had adopted a parliamentary government modelled after that of Great Britain. The franchise in
1870 was quite limited. Property and educational qualifications were required for voters. So rigid was
the restriction that only half a million out of 28 million of people possessed the right to vote. But such a
restricted franchise was at odds with the spirit and terms of the new unity and so its extension was
inevitable. In 1882, the franchise was enlarged so that the number of voters was nearly quadrupled. The
next great electoral reform took place in 1912 by which almost universal suffrage was established for
men. But it should be noted that these extensions of the franchise outran the progress of literacy so that
the electorate was not sufficiently enlightened to make parliamentary democracy a success.

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Up to 1876 the Government was controlled by the “Right”, a group whose chief electoral strength lay in
the north. Then for a decade the Left under Depretis (1876-1887) became supreme. Under him an Act
was passed to make elementary education compulsory. The railway system was completed, franchise
extended, colonial policy initiated, and the Triple Alliance concluded with Germany And Austria. All these
were, no doubt, satisfactory, but he disgraced Italian politics by practicing political corruption on an
extensive scale and inaugurating as system of government by faction and sectional interests. On his
death in 1887, Crispi, an old companion-in-arms of Garibaldi, became the head of the administration.
He was the most powerful minister of Italy since Cavour. He heartily threw himself into the colonial
enterprise begun by his predecessor and extended the claims of Italy in East Africa. An Italian
protectorate was established over Somaliland. But his ambitious projects entailed additional taxation
upon a people already over-burdened. This caused great discontent and in 1889 riot broke out all over
the country. Crispi adopted a policy of stern repression and restored quiet for the time being. He fell
from office in 1891 but was recalled to power in 1893 and thenceforth until 1896 he ruled practically as
a dictator. His policy was the same as before, the crushing of all opposition to the existing system. His
fall was occasioned by the disaster which befell his aggressive colonial policy in Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
where the Italians suffered an over-whelming defeat at Adowa at the hands of the Abyssinians (1896).
By this time the old parties of Right and Left had broken up, and it is difficult to trace party lines clearly.
Government became unstable, a matter of expedients and shifts between groups. The result was a
certain discrediting of parliamentary and democratic government as unsuited to Italy, and as alien to
her traditions. It was this view which after the war of 1914-18, helped the triumph of Fascism.

Summary
Thus, for about three decades after the completion of her unification, Italy was a disorganized and ill-
conditioned country politically, socially and economically. Politics was characterized by a regional spirit
and sectional interests, and this showed that only an outward unity had been attained and that the spirit
of nationality had not found an echo in the popular consciousness. The people were mostly illiterate and
sunk in abject poverty. The Catholics were hostile to the Government. Economically the South was
undeveloped. The rapid increase of population magnified the poverty of the people and intensified the
economic problem.
But with the accession of Victor Emmanuel III, who came to the throne in 1900 after the assassination
of his father Humbert, the fortunes of Italy began to improve steadily. The new king was a man of lofty
character and scholarly tastes. He was amiable, enlightened and democratically minded. Under him a
more liberal policy was adopted, and the working classes were treated with sympathy. Trade revived,
the merchant marine expanded, and the production of silk and other staple industries rapidly increased.
The national finances were economically managed so that one surplus followed another. Italy was
becoming an industrial state and the process was aided by the use of hydro-electric power as motive
force. Nature has denied her coal but has given her immense waterpower in the streams which flow
rapidly from the Alps to the Appenines.
In spite of this economic improvement the Socialists were active and labour troubles frequent. Under
the influence of France, socialism in Italy turned to Syndicalism rather than to Marxism. Strikes were
frequent and in 1904 there was a general strike accompanied by the destruction of property and cutting
of railways. Again in 1914 another general strike took place in which Benito Mussolini; the editor of the
Socialist paper Avanti (Forward) was one of the leading sprits.
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Foreign Policy
The role of Italy in international affairs was at the outset a difficult one, for although by unity she had
become one of the greater powers of Europe, she was not really very strong. She had no allies, and she
came into existence at a time when international affairs were dominated by the masterful diplomat,
Bismarck. At first the direction of her foreign policy was determined to a large extent by the hostile
attitude of the Pope. She feared that the cry of the “prisoner of the Vatican” might lead the Catholic
countries like France and Austria to intervene in Italian affairs on behalf of Rome. She was particularly
suspicious of France where in the early days of the Republic, Catholic sentiment was powerful and
sympathetic towards the Pope and hostile to Italy. To this suspicion was added annoyance caused by
the French occupation of Tunis to which she laid claim on grounds of proximity and colonisation. This
made relations with France difficult for years and drove Italy into the arms of Austria and Germany. Thus
was formed the famous Triple Alliance in 1882 and Italy obtained a promise from Bismarck that the
Roman question should not be raised. But as the Roman bogey began to fade the Italians began to
scrutinize the Triple Alliance and came to feel that its advantages were doubtful. On the contrary an
alliance with Austria was looked upon as a serious obstacle to the realization of the national idea of
Irredentism—the annexation of those territories north and north-east of Italy which were inhabited by
Italians but not included in the new kingdom at the time of its creation. This Italia irredenia or
‘unredeemed Italy” comprising Trent, Trieste, and the eastern coast of the Adriatic, still belonged to
Austria. Italian nationalism in the decade before the Great war became very active and the Irredentists
carried on an unceasing propaganda. But as long as Italy was allied with Austria she was kept from any
attempt to gain “Unredeemed Italy”, Her chance came when the Great War broke out. In 1915 she
denounced her alliance with Austria and joined the Entente Allies against Austria-Hungary in the hope
of realizing her national aspirations.

Ambitious Colonial Policy

Italy was unified in time to take part in the colonial expansion of Europe after 1870, especially in Africa.
She was obsessed with the idea of playing the role of a Great Power by reviving the glories and empire
of classical Rome. But the task was rendered difficult by the fact that she had very little money for foreign
enterprise. As a matter of fact, she overtaxed her strength in the attempt, and her colonial policy
received serious checks. In the first place she was forestalled by France in Tunis. Shut out from Tunis she
began to seek compensation elsewhere and seized positions on the Red Sea, and occupied the
Abyssinian port of Massowa in 1885. During the ministry of Crispi who pursued a vigorous colonial policy,
Italian protectorate was established over a region in eastern Africa called Somaliland. He gave the name
of Eritrea to the settlements on the Red Sea and tried to extend Italian power into Abyssinia. The result
was disastrous. An Italian expeditionary force under General Baratieri was overwhelmingly defeated in
1896 by the Abyssinians at Adowa. This ill-starred experiment in aggressive imperialism had to be
abandoned. Not until 1912 did Italy find recompense for her early failure in the acquisition of Tripoli and
Cyrenacia after her war with Turkey. These two conquests were formed into the Italian colony of Libya.

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German Empire (1871 -1914)
The Franco-Prussian War not only marked an epoch in the history of Germany but profoundly modified
the aspect of European politics. The defeat of France and the consolidation of German unity under the
headship of Prussia completely changed the balance of power which had been established in 1815 by
the Congress of Vienna. With Austria beaten at Sadowa and France at Sedan, Germany stood forth as
the strongest military power in Europe. As a matter of fact, from 1871 down to the Great War, Germany
was the dominant state of Europe. Bismarck’s policy became the pivot of the European system.
The constitution which Germany adopted in 1871 may be described as a Federal Empire. The King of
Prussia was always to be the Emperor. He was to be assisted by a Federal Chancellor appointed by him
and responsible to him alone, the Emperor and the Chancellor formed the executive government of the
new state. The legislative powers were vested in two houses, viz., the Bundesrat which represented the
different states, and the Reichstag which was a national assembly representing the people of the whole
Empire.

The constitution thus outlined was neither democratic nor responsible. The Bundesrat represented the
princes of Germany and not the people. As such it was a monarchical institution. Its delegates were
appointed by the rulers of the states and had to vote, not according to their will, but in accordance with
the instructions given to them by their respective home governments. Reichstag was indeed a
democratic body being elected by manhood suffrage. But of real power it had very little. It could neither
control the finances nor the ministers, and was overshadowed by the Bundesrat which by a simple
majority could overthrow any measure passed by it. Chancellor was responsible not to the Reichstag but
to the Emperor. There were indeed political parties in the Reichstag, but they could not bring about the
fall of Chancellor or put men in whom they had confidence into office.

Bismarck as Imperial Chancellor

In 1871 Bismarck was appointed the first Imperial chancellor. For the next twenty years, he remained,
as before, the central figure in German history. He held in his hands all the strings of government and
managed all the affairs of the state almost as a dictator. It is true that at time he had to yield to the
pressure of circumstances and to make concessions here and there (e.g., to the Catholics), but on the
whole he remained a masterful autocrat. He had one important circumstance in his favour, viz., the
unstinted support of the Emperor.

Domestic Policy
In domestic affairs the chief aim of Bismarck was to consolidate the Empire of which he was the chief
architect. The most pressing need of the Empire was for some further degree of union to bind the
component states more firmly together. To achieve this object Bismarck began to build Imperial
institutions so as to override the local separatism of the states, and to introduce uniform conditions in
some of the important aspects of national life throughout the Empire. The legal procedure was also
made uniform throughout Germany. An Imperial Bank was set up in 1876 and a new common (Imperial)
coinage was instituted. The railways were put under the supervision of an Imperial board, and their
relations to the military and postal organisation of the Empire were carefully regulated. The Prussian
military system was extended to all the states. Militarism had been the potent weapon increasing in the
German Empire and in Bismarck’s opinion, it was the only safe bulwark for preserving it: Hence he
wanted to fix the size of the army permanently. On this subject he met with a strong opposition from

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the Reichstag, and had to make a compromise. By it the size of the army and the financial grant necessary
to maintain it, were fixed not in perpetuity as he desired, but for seven, years
– the so-called “Septenante.” One of the obstacles in the way of consolidating the Empire was the
discontent of the non-German nationalities. On the fringes of the Empire were various conquered
peoples who disliked the German rule which made them feel in numerous ways the inferiority of their
position. There were the Danes of Schleswig, the poles of eastern Prussia and the people of
AlsaceLorraine. The policy of Bismarck and his successor was, in general, one of forced assimilation or
Germanisation. Bismarck sought to Germanise these people by enforcing the use of the German
language in public schools and by colonising these areas with German peasants. But the attempt failed.
Fight with the Catholic Church-Kulturkampf (Struggle for Civilization).
One of the most serious difficulties which Bismarck had to encounter was a protracted struggle with the
Roman Catholic Church. The Catholics had organised themselves as a strong political party and were
hostile to the new German Empire in which protestant Prussia was supreme. Besides, they were very
keen upon restoring the temporal power of the papacy. Bismarck came to look upon the Catholics as
enemies of the Empire and was determined to crush them.
Bismarck found that Catholicism was too strong for him and feared the junction of the ‘centre’ party of
Catholics with the Socialists whom he regarded as a more serious menace to the new Empire than
Catholicism. He needed the support of the Catholics to fight the growing menace of Socialism and so
had to climb down. The reconciliation with the Papacy was made easier by the death of Pope Pius IX in
1878. The new Pope, Leo-XIII was more diplomatic and moderate.

Struggle with socialism

Modern Socialism was largely of German origin, for it was a German exile, Karl Marx, who formulated its
doctrines and chalked out its procedure. Marx’s views found eager disciples in Germany. In 1875,
however, the followers of Marx and those of Lassale (another socialist ideologue) joined hands to form
the Social Democratic Party which in 1887 secured 12 seats in the Reichstag. This party advocated
political democracy, revolutionary social legislation, and anti-militarism. Thus, their principles were the
very antitheses of what Bismarck stood for. In the Chancellor’s opinion the socialist principles were
calculated to destroy the fabric of the Empire which he had built up and so he began a relentless war
against them. Bismarck forced through the Reichstag a number of exceptionally severe laws for the
suppression of any kind of socialist organisation. The meetings of the Socialists were prohibited, their
publications suppressed, their funds confiscated, and their leaders arrested. These laws were vigorously
enforced but repression could not kill Socialism but merely drove it underground. The Socialists worked
in secret, carried on propaganda from the neighouring countries. In 1890- the Socialists nearly trebled
their membership in the Reichstag and after Bismarck’s fall the laws against them were not renewed.
In combating Socialism Bismarck never intended to rest content with merely repressive legislation. He
wanted to convince the working classes that the Government was not unmindful of their grievances. He
sought to wean them away from the Socialist Party by enacting laws calculated to improve their
condition, thereby showing that the State was interested in their welfare.

Beginning of Colonial Empire

It was in the time of Bismarck that the foundation was laid of Germany’s colonial empire. But it should
be noted that Bismarck did not at first believe in colonies. In 1871 he dismissed with a sneer the French

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offer to cede colonies in lieu of Alsace-Lorraine. He held that Germany should devote all her efforts to
consolidating her position, and feared that colonial enterprises would involve the risk of hostility with
other nations, and would especially wound Great Britain’s susceptibilities. But he had to revise his views.
The need of colonies was felt for securing raw material for her expanding industries, and as outlets for
her growing population. To these economic causes, was added the patriotic desire to see Germany a
great world power, and so there was an irresistible national demand for overseas expansion. Merchants
and missionaries led the way. Trading companies were formed, which secured concessions and
established stations on the coasts of Africa- Togoland, Cameroons, etc., and in the South Seas. Bismarck
had to swallow his earlier prejudices and had to follow the current of national opinion. He joined in the
European scramble for the partition of Africa, in 1884 and established protectorates over Togoland,
Kamerun, and considerable portions of south-West Africa and East Africa.

Foreign Policy of Bismarck

Bismarck had won for his country national unity and hegemony of Europe by a policy of “blood and iron”.
But to him militarism was only a means to the attainment of a definite end. When that end had been
attained his policy was directed towards the maintenance of peace and status quo. Germany, he
declared, was a “satisfied” country. She had acquired a commanding position and should be satisfied
with it. She should do nothing which might endanger it or threaten the internal consolidation of the
German Empire, which was necessary to the development of her political unity. Knowing full well that
he had mortally offended France and made her an irreconcilable enemy, he devoted his whole
diplomatic skill towards providing safeguards against a possible renewal of French hostility. He realized
France would never be reconciled to the loss of Alsace-Lorraine and would embrace the earliest
opportunity to avenge national humiliation and to recover territorial loss. Hence Bismarck sought to
make any war of vengeance on the part of France impossible by completely isolating her. To isolate
France diplomatically it was necessary for Germany to form a comprehensive system of alliances and
conversely, to prevent the formation of counter alliances against her. In pursuit of this object, he showed
the same subtlety and audacity that had characterised his previous diplomatic career.
The keystone of his foreign policy was a close alliance with Austria, and so immediately after Sedan he
proceeded to court her friendship. This was a difficult as well as a delicate task, for Austria was a
defeated enemy of recent standing. But Bismarck had already prepared way for rapprochement by the
lenient treatment of Austria after Sadowa. The friendship of Austria alone was, however, not sufficient
for Bismarck’s plan; other powers had to be included in the diplomatic combination which he had in
view. He fixed upon Russia with whom he had cultivated good relations in the past and sought to
maintain them in future. As a matter of fact, a friendly understanding with Russia, if not an alliance, was
a cardinal principle of Bismarck’s policy. Russia was not difficult to manage as her interests did not
conflict with those of Germany. Out of these factors Bismarck succeeded in forming a Three
Emperor’s League or Dreikaiserbund, comprising the Emperors of Russia, Germany and AustriaHungary.
It was not a treaty or alliance but an announcement of the intimate and cordial relations between the
three Powers. Ostensibly it was meant to emphasise the common interests of the three Emperors in
strengthening the monarchical principle and arresting the progress of Socialism. But its political
significance was important. It meant that Austria had forgiven Sadowa and accepted her exclusion from
Germany and that she no longer meditated revenge.

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The league of the three Emperors was no doubt a great diplomatic achievement of Bismarck, but it
proved difficult to maintain the pleasant harmony. It was ruffled in 1875 by the scare of war between
Germany and France, in which the Czar intervened to prevent Germany from attacking France.
Perceiving that Russia was an uncertain ally, Bismarck turned to a closer union with Austria. His
opportunity came when troubles arose in the Balkans as the result of the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish
War. The interests of Austria and Russia in the Balkan affairs clashed too decisively to permit of any
satisfactory agreement between them, and at the Congress of Berlin (1878) Bismarck was compelled to
choose between his two imperial neighours. He accepted the Austrian view. This pro-Austrian attitude
alienated the Czar who in bitterness of spirit withdrew from the Driekaiserbund. It however,
strengthened the friendship with Austria with the result that a strong Austro-German alliance was
concluded in 1879. It provided for mutual military assistance in case either Power should be attacked by
Russia or by another power, e.g., France aided by Russia. Thus the alliance was aimed directly against
Russia, but to a lesser degree against France. Bismarck next drew Italy into the Austro-Prussian alliance.
The Italians feared that France, where the influence of the clerical party was strong, might seek to
restore the temporal power of the Papacy. Bismarck worked upon this fear and at the same time
fomented Franco-Italian rivalry over Tunis in North Africa. He encouraged France to seize Tunis upon
which Italy also had her wishful eyes. His object was to make one more enemy for France and to lure
that enemy into the Austro-German alliance. His plan succeeded to a nicety. In 1881 France seized Tunis
and thereby mortally wounded Italian sentiment. Italy at once showed her irritation by joining the dual
alliance of Austria and Germany and thus was formed the famous Triple Alliance of 1882. It was perhaps,
the master stroke of Bismarck diplomacy. It was no mean achievement to wipe out bitter historical
memories and to bring into the same fold two Powers who had been traditional enemies in the past.
Having thus provided safeguards for Germany Bismarck wanted to ‘re-insure’ her safety by striving to
arrest the alienation of Russia and to restore friendly relations with her. For, an antagonised Russia might
drift towards a French alliance. By humouring the susceptibilities of Russia he was successful in reviving
the old League of the Three Emperors. In 1884 a secret treaty was signed by which each of the three
Emperors promised benevolent neutrality in case one of them should become involved in war with a
fourth power. But good relations between Russia and Austria became impossible owing to the outbreak
of troubles in the Balkans. Bismarck, not to be put off, concluded a separate treaty with Russia known
as the Reinsurance Treaty of 1887. Thus did Bismarck isolate France and made Germany the arbiter of
the international relations of Europe. The peace of Europe rested on the Bismarckian system.

Criticism of Bismarck’s Foreign Policy

Bismarck once said: “The idea of coalitions gives me nightmares.” But it was he who laid the foundation
of such coalitions and thereby encouraged the very thing he wished to avoid. His system of alliances
provoked counter-alliances and thus divided Europe into armed camps. Hence the peace, which it was
his policy to maintain was an armed peace founded upon sabre-rattling. This peace, as also the
protection of Germany, he sought to ensure by a dexterous juggling of alliances. But his system was so
delicate, so intricate, that to work it required master juggler like him. In unskilled hands it might lead to
disaster. All went well so long as he himself piloted the ship of the state. But when William II dropped
the pilot he found it difficult to keep clear of shoals and rocks and eventually the ship floundered. Russia
soon realised that the great diplomatic artist had tricked her.
The fact is that Bismarck’s system had obvious defects which a little bungling would upset. He had chosen
Austria and Italy as Germany’s yokefellows but this arrangement was fraught with risk. It not only
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alienated Russia but involved the risk of a war with her for Austria’s sake. Austria and Russia were keen
rivals in the Balkans and any hostility that might break out there would entangle Germany in it. Italy’s
alliance could never be solid. She had bitter memories of her old feud with Austria and had besides,
existing causes of rivalry with her. She could not look with satisfaction upon an alliance which robbed
her for all prospect of acquiring “unredeemed” Italy from Austria, and subordinated her interests in the
Adriatic to those of Austria. Another flaw in Bismarck’s system was that he failed to mitigate the enmity
of France. The result was that France remained unplacated. This coupled with the Balkan ambitions of
Austria-Hungary led to the Great War of 1914 when the Triple Alliance reared by Bismarck fell to pieces.

Bismarck-His Work and Statesmanship

In the list of those who changed the political arrangement of Europe in the nineteenth century Bismarck
easily takes the first place. He has been described as “the greatest man the age produced, greatest in
the political manifestation of his powers and in the influence which his achievements have exercised in
the history of the world.” In nine years he brought about the political unity of a country which for
centuries had presented the spectacle of division and discord. Not only that, in unifying Germany he
raised her(Prussia) to a dominating position in Europe. When he assumed office he found Prussia an
insignificant factor in European politics. To the Prussian state Bismarck gave an empire, and to the
Germans national unity and solidarity of interests. As long as he held the reins of office, he maintained
the international supremacy of Germany and made Berlin the political capital of Europe. In creating it,
Bismarck showed himself at his best both as a statesman and a diplomat. He displayed consummate skill
in making friends and disarming enemies. He, no doubt, relied upon a policy of “blood and iron” in
achieving his object, but he never used force blindly. He used war as an instrument of policy and he was
endowed with that higher quality of statesmanship which can translate military victories into wise and
lasting political achievement. It was, however, in diplomacy that Bismarck excelled. In seizing
opportunities he displayed rare skill, infinite resourcefulness and “that combination of
unscrupulousness, opportunism and foresight which constituted his policy.” The daring and adroitness
with which he exploited the Schleswig-Holstein question to bring about a war with Austria and the
unscrupulous use he made of the Ems telegram to provoke France into war clearly marked him out as
the master diplomat of his age. In both cases he managed to make it appear that he was on the defensive
and his enemy was aggressor. In both cases he managed the business with such consummate skill that
he had the goodwill of Europe while the enemy stood isolated both morally and diplomatically. He has
rightly been described as an “artist in politics”, who selected and moulded his material to his designs
with a nice calculation.

Death of William I
In 1888 William I died. His son and successor Frederick III was a man of liberal Principles. Had he lived,
he might have mitigated the rigour of the autocratic system of Germany and introduced a parliamentary
government like that of England of whose constitution he was an admirer. But he was fatally ill at the
time of his accession, and died after a reign of three months. He was succeeded by his son William II.

William II (1888-1918)
With the accession of Kaiser William II “Germany received a new master, and opened a new page of her
history.” The new monarch had many fine qualities which go far to make a great ruler. But he was self-
willed, impressionable and impulsive, convinced of his divine right and swayed by militarism. Egoism and
self-conceit clouded his judgment of men and peoples.

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Dropping the Pilot
It was not surprising that the young Emperor, so imperious and full of ideas of personal government,
should fall out with the dictatorial old chancellor. Bismarck had preserved and strengthened the royal
prerogative, and the weapon he had forged, was now turned against him. Sharp differences between
the young Emperor and the old minister quickly showed themselves. William II refused to sanction
Bismarck’s proposals to renew the repressive legislation against the Socialists and held different views
about Germany’s future policy in regard to foreign and colonial affairs. He would be the master of his
own; he would govern, and not simply reign. The Emperor not willing to be overshadowed by the
imposing personality of his great chancellor, demanded his resignation and the great minister was most
unceremoniously hustled out of the palace.

Internal Politics
William II, having dropped the old pilot, enjoyed doing more of the guiding of the ship of state himself.
How far was he equal to the task of steering clear of the shoals and rocks upon which the ship might
flounder, the subsequent course of German history would show. Down to the outbreak of the Great War
four chancellors succeeded in turn to Bismarck’s office but none of these ministers had such influence
and independence of initiative as Bismarck. All took their cues from, and were dominated by the will and
personality of the Emperor. William II was his own chancellor. One reason why he could act as he chose,
was that the constitution of the German Empire had been so fashioned as to invest the Emperor with
vast power.

Economic Development
The most remarkable feature of the reign of William II was the phenomenal expansion of German
industry and commerce. Germany had been a poor country, mainly agricultural, but was now
transformed into an industrial state. The economic development was greatly promoted by Bismarck’s
policy of protection, but it was under William II that it attained its most significant triumphs. Modern
industrialism is based mostly upon coal and iron, and Germany is fortunate in possessing an abundant
supply of these two things. By developing the coal mines of Ruhr, Silesia and the Saar she became one
of the great coal-producing countries of the world. The newly conquered territory of Lorraine placed at
her disposal one of the richest iron deposits of the world and Germany utilized her advantages to the
full. Her output of iron and steel increased so fast that by 1914, it was second only to that of the United
States, the greatest iron-producing country in the world. As her manufactures grew, so did her foreign
trade and merchant shipping so that Hamburg became one of the great ports of the world. The economic
progress of Germany led to an increase in the population.
Foreign policy William II discarded Bismarck’s idea of Germany as a satiated country. He held that
Germany was capable of infinite expansion. The successful issue of the Franco-Prussian War of 1871,
followed by the founding of the Empire in 1871, gave her a new life and invested it with all the ardour
and audacity of youth. She made astonishing strides in developing her trade and industries and began
to look farther afield for expansion and dominion. William II identified himself with this new national
temper and became its most impetuous spokesman. She must emphasise her role as a World Power and
take a leading part in world politics (Weltpolitik). This attitude was symbolized in the Kaiser’s remark
that “nothing must go on anywhere in the world in which Germany does not play a part.” To play this
role Germany must have a navy and must acquire new colonies and spheres of influence. Thus “world
politics, expansion, and the navy became the three dominant notes of the Kaiser’s foreign policy.”

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Such an ambitious policy involved the complete breakdown of Bismarck’s system of alliances and led to
diplomatic developments highly prejudicial to Germany. As noticed before, the keynote of Bismarck’s
policy, had been to isolate France and to keep Russia in good humour. But the Kaiser wanted to
strengthen the alliance with Austria at the cost of Russian friendship. Heedless of the fact that Russia
had a predominant interest in the Balkans, he committed Germany to the policy of furthering Austrian
interest in the Near East, and himself entered into competition with the Czar for influence in turkey. He
allowed Bismarck’s “reinsurance treaties” with Russia to lapse on the supposed ground that they
contained a threat against Austria. He thereby drove Russia into the arms of France. The result of this
blundering policy was the conclusion of the famous Dual Alliance between France and Russia (1891-93).
France was no longer isolated and Russia had been alienated. Another momentous departure from
Bismarck’s policy was the zeal with which the Emperor embarked upon a policy of naval and colonial
expansion. Although Germany had begun to acquire colonies under Bismarck, that great statesman was
primarily a continentalist. But the Kaiser was a zealous imperialist and his famous words “our future lies
on the water,” touched Great Britain at her most tender point. But in spite of this naval policy Great
Britain was disposed to be friendly to Germany as she had many outstanding causes of friction with
France and Russia and so was suspicious of the Dual Alliance. Hence she began to cultivate good relations
with Germany. She agreed to the Kaiser’s proposal of ceding Heligoland to Germany in exchange for
Zanzibar, encouraged German colonial enterprise in Central Africa and even proposed at Anglo-German
alliance. But the Emperor sacrificed repeated opportunities of an alliance with Great Britain, and in the
end definitely antagonised her. Italy also showed symptoms of a considerable weakening in her
adherence to the Triple Alliance. Thus as the result of his mishandling of foreign affairs William II began
to lose the safeguards which Bismarck had provided for the safety of the German Empire.

Vigorous Colonial Policy

Having discarded Bismarck’s policy of cautious continentalism, William II adopted a policy of aggressive
imperialism. He began to assert Germany’s position as a world-power. Such an attitude evoked lively
feelings of apprehensions in Russia, France and Great Britain and led to the formation of diplomatic
groups (Triple Entente, and the Anglo-Russian Convention) which greatly neutralised the importance of
the Triple Alliance on which Bismarck had relied for German security.
Although it was under Bismarck that Germany began to acquire colonies, Bismarck was primarily a
continentalist. He had only a limited enthusiasm for colonial enterprises. But William II with his ideas of
world politics, embarked upon a vigorous colonial policy. He began to develop the colonial empire built
by Bismarck. One of his first acquisitions was Heligoland in the North Sea which was secured from
England in exchange for Zanzibar. In the Far East Kia-Chao was acquired from China in 1897 as
compensation for the murder of two German missionaries. In 1899 the Caroline Islands(in the Western
Pacific) were purchased from Spain when that country badly wanted money during Spanish-American
War. In 1900 by an agreement with Great Britain and the United States, Germany acquired the two
largest of the Samoan Islands-Upolu and Savai. A somewhat menacing feature of German expansion was
that Germany cast covetous eyes upon her neighour’s possessions. In 1911 she acquired a large slice of
the Congo rubber region from France under thinly veiled compulsion viz., as the price of recognizing
French interests in Morocco.
It should be noticed that the colonial enterprise of Germany proved disappointing. The German Colonies
in Africa were mostly enormous in size, much bigger than Germany herself. They were valuable for the

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raw materials they supplied for German industries and commerce, but were not inviting as fields for
emigration. Besides, the arrogance and incompetence of the German officials and the greed of the
German merchants made good relations with native tribes impossible. There were repeated risings on
the part of the natives in East Africa and the Cameroons which had to be suppressed at a heavy cost in
men and money. The state of affairs made the Germans pessimistic about the values of colonies.

Ambitious Naval Policy

When the German Empire was established in 1871 there was no Imperial Navy at all. But side by side
with the growth of colonies and with the vast extension of German trade it was felt that a powerful navy
was essential for the protection of large foreign commerce and investment. William II was very keen
upon the navy and immediately after his accession emphasised its importance by issuing a proclamation
to the naval staff. With the utterance of the famous words, “our future lies on the water,” a new chapter
of German history began. Not content with the greatest army in the world, the Kaiser aspired to rival
even Great Britain in the size and strength of armament on sea. The increase of the navy was, no doubt,
justified by the rapid development of commerce and the growth of mercantile marine; but its main
purpose was to enable Germany to play a leading part in world politics. But it was not until 1897 when
admiral von Tirpitz was appointed Secretary for Imperial Navy that development became rapid. By the
year 1906 the German navy had reached a size and strength second only to those of Great Britain. This
striking increase was very disquieting to England as, besides threatening her maritime pre-eminence, it
involved her in endless cost. For it was the rule with Britain to maintain her navy as large as the combined
navies of Germany & France. Hence every warship built by Germany compelled England to build about
twice as much. The British Government repeatedly pointed out the enormous cost on both sides but
Germany refused to call a halt. This ambitious policy antagonised Great Britain and drove her to compose
her quarrels with her traditional enemy, France. The result was the famous Anglo-French Entente of
1904 which proved to be an event of the greatest significance.

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RUSSIA (1881-1914)
Alexander III (1881-1894)
Alexander II, deservedly known as the “Czar Liberator” fell a victim to an assassin’s bomb. With his death
the cause of reform in Russia received a stout blow and the country was given over to unmitigated
reaction. This in turn provoked revolutionary movements with the result that the domestic history of
Russia became a tale of struggle between the Czarist government and the liberal and revolutionary
forces. It was marked on the one side by bombings and assassinations and on the other by hundreds of
executions, and by proscriptions and exiles. It was to end in the complete destruction of the Czardom in
Russia.
After the tragic death of Alexander II, his son ascended the throne as Alexander III. The new Czar had
none of the generous impulses of his father. His outlook was narrow; his ideas were medieval. Hence he
proved himself an unbending reactionary, distrustful of the new forces of the time. He held that the
regeneration of Russia was to be brought about not by the parliamentary institutions and liberalism of
the West but by the great principles indigenous to Russia. These were autocracy, orthodoxy and Slavic
nationalism. The ideal of Russia should be “one Czar, One Church, One Russia”. As the great mass of the
Russian people was essentially conservative, the Czar’s policy succeeded for a time.
Alexander III first turned his attention to the unruly elements in the country. His father’s assassins were
ferreted out and executed or banished to Siberia. Other nihilists and terrorists were hunted down with
a vigour so terrible that the reign was marked by a seeming lull in revolutionary propaganda. The Press
was gagged, the students and professors were strictly watched. Towards the subject races of the Empire
the Czar pursued a policy of “Russification”. In other words, he wanted to introduce uniform conditions
by taking away the privileges that had been enjoyed by non-Russian peoples, (such as the Finns and
Poles) in the empire. All parts of his domains must have one language, one religion and one law.
Homogeneity must be enforced at all costs and dissident faiths and less important languages were to be
stamped out. Dissent of every kind was persecuted. The Poles, the Germans of the Baltic provinces, and
the Finns, all felt the weight of this policy of Russification. But no class or race suffered so much as the
Jews. They were confined to certain towns of the west, excluded from local government, partly debarred
from education and forbidden to engage in agriculture or to hold property outside the towns to which
they were limited. They were subjected to organized attacks (called pogroms) attended with the plunder
of their property and burning of their homes. In most cases these outrages were connived at by the
government.
The reign of Alexander III, though one of terror and reaction, saw the beginning of industrial and
economic development. The railway system was extended and the great Trans-Siberian railroad begun.
Mines’ were opened, industries sprang up and the banks multiplied. It should be noted that this material
development was largely aided by loans mostly obtained from France. For this, Alexander III swallowed
his dislike of French republicanism and agreed to the famous Dual Alliance between France and Russia.

Nicholas II (1894-1917)
On the death of Alexander III his son Nicholas II, the last of the Czars, ascended the throne. His reign was
a continuation of that of his father, for he was a thorough believer in absolutism and was determined to
maintain it undiminished. Weak and irresolute, subject to irresponsible influences like those of the
Czarina who in her turn was guided by a vile monk named Rasputin, Nicholas was singularly unfit to play
the role which fate had assigned to him. The result was that under a weak monarch the Government

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became exceptionally oppressive. Any sign of liberalism was promptly suppressed. The legislation
against the Jews was enforced, and the number of pogroms increased. The intellectuals, from whom the
revolutionaries were largely recruited were cruelly persecuted. The constitution enjoyed by Finland was
abrogated and that country was subjected to a thorough process of “Russification”. An army of spies
was employed to give information, and no one was secure against arrest, imprisonment and exile. In one
direction alone, that of trade and industry, remarkable progress was made.
But inspite of this repressive regime one could hear the first rumblings of the earthquake that was
eventually to destroy of Czarist government. On the accession of Nicholas, the Zemstvos (A zemstvo was
an institution of local government set up during the great emancipation reform of 1861 carried out in
Imperial Russia by Emperor Alexander II of Russia) began to co-operate with one another and ventured
to advance a plea for greater freedom. They brought such pressure to bear upon the Government that
it had to set up several agricultural committees to make recommendations as to necessary reforms.
These committees demanded representative government, freedom of the press and guarantees of
individual liberties.

The Revolutionary Movement of 1905

For a time, the people remained in sullen silence, awaiting the time of explosion. That time came when
in 1904 the Russo-Japanese War broke out. The war was badly conducted and the country was stirred
by storms of official corruption and incompetence. When the news poured in of a succession of Russian
defeats, there burst a strong feeling of national indignation. The system of autocracy stood discredited.
The Zemstvos put forward demands for liberal reforms and to these demands were now added the
agitations of the workmen in the towns. Strikes occurred in Moscow and other industrial centres. The
Czar however continued along the path of repression. In 1905 a huge procession of strikes, headed by a
priest named Father Gapon, was fired upon by troops on its way to present petition to the Czar. There
were hundreds of casualties which earned for the day the appellation of “Bloody Sunday”. This incident
sent a thrill of horror throughout the country and there was general unrest all over Russia. The peasants
began to pillage the houses of the landlords and to murder police officers. The Czar’s uncle, the Grand
Duke serge, was assassinated in Moscow and there were even mutinies in the army and the navy. The
very foundation of Czarism seemed to be crumbling.
Frightened by the growing disorders the Czar attempted conciliation. He announced the summoning of
a Duma or national assembly which was to be consulted in the matter of reforms. He dismissed
reactionary ministers and issued the famous October Manifesto (1905) containing guarantees of
freedom of conscience, speech and association. The Duma was to be elected on a very broad franchise
and was to be invested with legislative power.
The first Duma met in May 1906 amidst great excitement but the experiment for the establishment of a
constitutional government was a sad failure. This was largely due to the confusion of the parties and
aims both in the country and the Duma. The revolutionaries did not form a united party and were divided
on the constitutional question. These different groups began to waste their energies in factional quarrels
and the Government took advantage of the divisions in the ranks of its critics. It set up a second chamber
of the proposed parliament so constituted as to make it essentially conservative, and issued Organic
Laws which vested in the Czar an absolute power to veto all legislation. No real power was left to the
Duma and when it tried to control the ministers (the executive), it was accused of exceeding its limits
and was dissolved. In bitter disappointment some revolutionaries withdrew to Viborg in Finland and
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issued a Viborg Manifesto calling upon the Russian people to refuse to pay taxes and to render military
service to a Government which had violated its pledges.
But the revolution had by this time spent itself and so the Manifesto produced but feeble response. Its
only result was to stiffen the Government which severely punished the signatories and many other
revolutionaries.
In March 1907 a second Duma met, but there was the same impasse between it and the ministry. As a
consequence, it was dissolved before it had been set for four months. The third Duma met in November
1907. It was summoned on a fundamentally altered electoral law and reduced franchise. The result was
that it came to be composed mostly of conservative elements amenable to the policy of the
Government. The Duma became a docile, consultative body rather than a legislative assembly. It lasted
till 1912 and was followed by a fourth Duma which had much the same political complexion as its
predecessor and proved even more docile. Although the Duma was helpless to achieve anything, it at
least could speak for the nation and thus contained within itself the germs of political democracy. This
was the fruit of the Russian Revolution of 1905.
Thus, ended in failure the struggle for liberty in Russia. From 1907 reaction had set in and autocracy was
in the saddle. The policy of the Government was directed by Stolypin, “The Russian Bismarck” who was
appointed prime minister in 1906. He laboured to combine firm government with measures of reform.
In other words, he wanted to maintain the autocratic system as well as the Duma as an auxiliary of the
Government and not as a nucleus for revolution. He put down lawlessness with a heavy hand and at the
same time sought to conciliate the working class and peasantry. He allowed the peasants to detach
themselves from the Mir or village community and to become owners of the lands they tilled.
He legalised trade unions and introduced a general scheme of workingmen’s insurance. Stolypin was,
however, murdered in 1911. The domestic history of Russia returned to its usual humdrum routine and
the ministers took little thought of the morrow. And the morrow brought another terrible war which
destroyed autocracy.

Russian Revolution 1917

(To be read along with Chapter 16 of Mastering Modern World History)
By mid-19th century, socialism as an idea attracted widespread attention in Europe. In 1855, Tsar
Alexander II or the Czar Liberator came to the throne.
1864- International Working Men’s Association alias First International was formed.
Karl Marx – 1818-1883: He was German Jew who laid out his philosophy in Communist Manifesto &
Das Capital. He believed that economic factors were the real causes of change and that workers were
everywhere exploited by the middle-class capitalists. On industrialisation, workers will inevitably rise up
against their exploiters and take up the control in their hands and this he called as ‘dictatorship of the
proletariat.’ When this point is reached, there would be no further need of the state which would
consequently wither away.
By 1870s, workers in England, Germany among others started forming associations demanding better
living & working conditions. In 1871, Paris Commune was established, a popular uprising against French
state which was seen as a prelude to revolution by Socialist’s world over. The Town Council or Commune
of Paris was taken over by People’s Government consisting of workers, ordinary people, professionals,
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political activists and others. The red flags were used here and later became popular. In 1881, Tsar
Alexander II was assassinated& Tsar Alexander III took over. 1883- Russian Socialist Democratic Party
formed by George Plekhanov.
1889- Second International was created.
1 May 1890: Massive demonstrations by workers. Celebrated as International Working Class Day.
1890s: Many factories come up in predominantly agriculturalist Russian Empire(85% of Russian
population depended on agriculture). Tensions between peasants and nobility/landlords and between
workers and managements persist after factories are established. Conditions of workers was abysmal &
women workers worse. Peasants cultivated most lands which were mostly owned by landlords & church.
Peasants wanted the land to be given to them & non payment of rent and revolts were common
occurrence which occurred on a large scale in 1905. Making political parties was illegal in Russia till 1914.
1894: Tsar Nicholas II ascends throne (Romanov Dynasty)
1898: Russian Socialist Democratic Workers Party (by uniting various older parties). This party later got
divided into Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin and Mensheviks in 1900.
1900: Socialist Revolutionary Party formed that fought for peasant rights and land to the peasants.

1904-05: Russo Japanese War saw Russia being defeated by Japan.

By 1905: Labour party formed in Britain, Socialist Party in France, Social Democratic Republic (SPD) in
Germany.
1905: Social Democrats, Socialist Revolutionaries, nationalists among other groups demanded reform,
constitution and Parliament. Thousands of workers went on strike for their demands.
Bloody Sunday: Protesting workers in a procession led by Father Gapon were shot at and 1905
Revolution broke out. Students, Lawyers, Doctors apart from workers and peasants demanded reform
now. Tsar allowed creation of DUMA. Weak and powerless dummy, it was dissolved within months & a
new one with reduced powers was created. Tsar kept dissolving & re-electing Duma.
1914: WW 1 started. Initially Russians supported Tsar & war effort but he refused to consult parties in
Duma. Tsarina’s German origins and poor advisers like Rasputin made autocracy unpopular. Russian
Army lost many battles from Germany & Austria. Russians had to flee homes as the battles were being
fought in their region. Populace as well as Army became against such a war. Shortage of essential
supplies added to the woes and riots broke out in 1916.
1917: February Revolution, when Russian soldiers, peasants and population went on [Link] to
various problems, factory workers led the strike. Tsar suspended the Duma angering the leaders further.
When army units were called to control the protestors, they refused to fire and joined the striking
workers instead. Soldiers & striking workers formed a Soviet or Council called Petrograd Soviet. Many
more Soviets were set up later.
Tsar abdicates. A Provisional Govt was formed which could not fulfil the aspirations as it was dominated
by parties representing landlords and capitalists. Workers-peasants continued revolution.

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Vladimir Lenin returns from exile and gives his ‘April Thesis’ which demanded end of war, land transfer
to peasants & nationalisation of banks. He gave call, “no support to Provisional Government, All power
to Soviets.” Trade Unions & Soldiers’ Committees grew in number. Provisional Government’s attempt to
suppress Bolsheviks led to increased public support behind them.
October Bolshevik Revolution. Peace! Bread! Land! Democracy! Was the slogan. Bolsheviks controlled
the Moscow-Petrograd area after heavy fighting with Provisional Government. They started land
redistribution & other reforms drawing support from peasants and soldiers. But Bolsheviks fail to gain
majority in elections for the Constituent Assembly.
1918: January – CA rejects Bolsheviks and Lenin rejects Constituent Assembly Bolsheviks make peace
with Germany to end War. Russia became a One party state.
1918-1920: Civil War between Reds (Bolsheviks), vs Greens (Socialist Revolutionaries) and whites (Pro
Tsarists) & foreign intervention to draw Russia back to war. Greens & Whites controlled most of the
Russian Empire till 1919. They supported private property and took harsh steps against peasants losing
their support further. By January 1920, Bolsheviks controlled most of the Russian Empire. 1919:
formation of Comintern, an international organisation that advocated global communism. 1921- New
Economic Policy replaced War Communism which failed by now.
1924: USSR formed on 30 December
1929: collectivisation of farms started after realisation that farms distributed to peasant were very small
and modernisation was not possible. So state controlled collective farms. Resistance by peasants was
answered with repression, exile and deportation. It all happened under Stalin.

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China Resists Outside Influence
Setting the Stage
Out of pride in their ancient culture, the Chinese looked down on all foreigners. In 1793, however, the
Qing emperor agreed to receive an ambassador from England. The Englishman brought gifts of the
West’s most advanced technology—clocks, globes, musical instruments etc. The emperor was not
impressed. In a letter to England’s King George III, he stated that the Chinese already had everything
they needed. They were not interested in the “strange objects” and gadgets that the West was offering
them.

China and the west

China was able to reject these offers from the West because it was largely self-sufficient. The basis of
this self-sufficiency was China’s healthy agricultural economy. Around 17th and 18th centuries, Spanish
and Portuguese traders bought maize, sweet potatoes, and peanuts from the Americas. These crops
helped China increase the productivity of its land and more effectively feed its huge population. China
also had extensive mining and manufacturing industries. The Chinese also produced beautiful silks, high
quality cottons, and fine porcelain.

The tea-opium connection

Because of their self-sufficiency, the Chinese had little interest in trading with the West. For decades,
the only place they would allow foreigners to do business was at the southern port of Guangzhou. and
the balance of trade at Guangzhou was clearly in China’s favour. This means that China earned much
more for its exports than it spent on imports.
European merchants were determined to find a product the Chinese would buy in large quantities.
Eventually they found one-opium. Opium is a habit-forming narcotic made from the poppy plant.
Chinese doctors had been using it to relieve pain for hundreds of years. In the late 18th century,
however, British merchants smuggled opium into China for non-medical use. It took a few decades for
opium smoking to catch on, but by 1835, as many as 12 million Chinese people were addicted to the
drug.

War breaks out

This growing supply of opium caused problems for China. The Qing emperor was angry about the
situation. In 1839, one of his highest advisers wrote a letter to England’s Queen Victoria. The pleas went
unanswered, and Britain refused to stop trading opium. The result was an open clash between the British
and the Chinese—the OPIUM WAR OF 1839.
The battles took place mostly at sea. China’s outdated ships were no match for Britain’s steam-powered
gunboats. As a result, the Chinese suffered a humiliating defeat. In 1842, they signed a peace treaty, the
TREATY OF NANJING. This treaty gave Britain the island of Hong Kong. After signing another treaty
in 1844, U.S. and other foreign citizens also gained extraterritorial rights. Under these rights, the
foreigners were not subject to Chinese law at Guangzhou and four other Chinese ports. Many Chinese
greatly resented the foreigners and the bustling trade in opium they conducted.

Growing internal problems

Foreigners were not the greatest of China’s problems in the mid-19th century, however. The country’s
own population provided an overwhelming challenge. The number of Chinese grew to 430 million by
1850, a 30 percent gain in only 60 years. Yet in the same period of time, food production barely

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increased. As a result, hunger was widespread, even in good years. Many people became discouraged,
and opium addiction rose steadily. As their problems mounted, the Chinese began to rebel against the
Qing dynasty.

THE TAIPING REBELLION DURING THE LATE 1830s

HONG XIUQUAN, a young man from Guangdong province in southern China, began recruiting
followers to help him build a “HEAVENLY KINGDOM OF GREAT PEACE”. In this kingdom, all
Chinese people would share China’s vast wealth, and no one would live in poverty. Hong’s movement
was called the Taiping Rebellion, from the Chinese word Taiping, meaning “great peace”. By the 1850s,
Hong had organized a massive peasant army of some one million people. Over time, the Taiping army
took control of large areas of south-eastern China. Then, in 1853, Hong captured the city of Nanjing and
declared it his capital. Hong soon withdrew from everyday life and left family members and his trusted
lieutenants in charge of the government of his kingdom.
The leaders of the Taiping government, however, constantly feuded among themselves. Also, Qing
imperial troops and British and French forces all launched attacks against the Taiping. By 1864, this
combination of internal fighting and outside assaults had brought down the Taiping government. But
China paid a terrible price. At least 20 million people died in the rebellion.

Foreign influence grows

The Taiping Rebellion and several other smaller uprisings put tremendous internal pressure on the
Chinese government. And, despite the Treaty of Nanjing, external pressure from foreign powers was
increasing. At the Qing court, stormy debates raged about how best to deal with these issues. Some
government leaders called for reforms patterned on Western ways. Others, however, clung to traditional
ways and accepted change very reluctantly.

Resistance to Change
During the last half of the 19th century, one person was in command at the Qing imperial palace. The
DOWAGER EMPRESS CIXI held the reins of power in China from 1862 until 1908 with only one brief gap.
Although she was committed to traditional values, the Dowager Empress did support certain reforms. In
the 1860s, for example, she backed the Self-Strengthening Movement. This program aimed to update
China’s educational system, diplomatic service, and military. Under this program, China set up factories
to manufacture steam-powered gunboats, rifles, and ammunition. The self-strengthening movement
had mixed results, however.

Other nations step in

Other countries were well aware of China’s continuing problems. Throughout the late 19th century,
many foreign nations took advantage of the situation and attacked China. Treaty negotiations after each
conflict gave these nations increasing control over China’s economy. Many of Europe’s major powers
and Japan gained a strong foothold in China. This foothold, or sphere of influence, was an area in which
the foreign nation-controlled trade and investment.
The United States was a long-time trading partner with China. Americans worried that other nations
would soon divide China into formal colonies and shut out American traders. To prevent this occurrence,
in 1899 the United States declared the OPEN-DOOR POLICY. This proposed that
China’s “doors” be open to merchants of all nations. Britain and the other European nations agreed.

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The policy thus protected both U.S. trading rights in China, and China’s freedom from colonization. But
the country was still at the mercy of foreign powers.

An upsurge in Chinese nationalism

Humiliated by their loss of power, many Chinese pressed for strong reforms. Among those demanding
change was China’s young emperor, Guangxu. In June 1898, Guangxu introduced measures to modernize
China. These measures called for reorganizing China’s educational system, strengthening the economy,
modernizing the military, and streamlining the government. Most Qing officials saw these innovations
as threat to their powers. They reacted with alarm, calling the Dowager Empress back to the imperial
court. On her return, she acted with great speed. She placed Guangxu under arrest and took control of
the government. She then reversed his reforms. The Chinese people’s frustration with their situation
continued to grow.

The boxer rebellion’

This widespread frustration finally erupted into violence. Poor peasants and workers resented the
special privileges granted to foreigners. They also resented Chinese Christians, who had adopted a
foreign faith.
To demonstrate their discontent, they formed a secret organization called the SOCIETY OF
RIGHTEOUS AND HARMONIOUS FISTS. They soon came to be known as the boxers. Their
campaign against the Dowager Empress’s rule and foreigner privilege was called the Boxer Rebellion. In
the spring of 1900, the Boxers descended on Beijing. Shouting “Death to the foreign devils,” the boxers
surrounded the European section of the city. They kept it under siege for several months. The Dowager
Empress expressed support for the Boxers but did not back her words with military aid.
In August, a multinational force of 19000 troops marched on Beijing and quickly defeated the Boxers.
Despite the failure of the Boxer Rebellion, a strong sense of nationalism had emerged in China. The
Chinese people realized that their country must resist more foreign intervention. Even more important,
they felt that the government must become responsive to their needs.

The beginnings of reforms

At this point, even the Qing court realized that China needed to make profound changes to survive. In
1905, the Dowager Empress sent a select group of Chinese officials on a world tour to study the
operation of different governments. The group travelled to Japan, the United States, Britain, France,
Germany, Russia, and Italy. On their return in the spring of 1906, the officials recommended that China
restructure its government. They based their suggestions on the constitutional monarchy of Japan.
The empress accepted this recommendation and began making reforms. Although she convened a
national assembly within a year, change was slow. In 1908, the court announced that it would establish
a full constitutional government by 1917. However, the turmoil in China did not end with these
progressive steps. China experienced unrest for the next four decades as it continued to face internal
and external threats. China’s neighbour Japan also faced pressure from the West during this time. But it
responded to this influence in a much different way.

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Japan: Transformation without Revolution
Japan’s response to outside pressure was more direct and successful than that of China. The Japanese
adapted to the challenge of industrial change and internal market reform. Many institutions had to be
altered and much societal change resulted.

The final decades of the Shogunate

During the first half of the 19th century the Shogunate continued to combine a central bureaucracy with
semi feudal alliances between regional daimyos and samurai. The government encountered financial
problems because taxation was based on agriculture while the economy was becoming more
commercialized. Reform spurts met revenue gaps until the 1840s when an unsuccessful effort weakened
the government and hampered responses to Western pressure.
Japanese intellectual and cultural life continued to expand under the Tokugawa Shogunate. Neo-
Confucianism kept its hold among the elite at the expense of Buddhism. Education expanded beyond
the upper classes and led to the highest literacy rate outside of the west. Even though Confucianism was
dominant, there were many intellectual rivals.
The Japanese economy continued to develop as internal commerce expanded and manufacturing spread
into the countryside. By the 1850s economic growth was slowing as technological limitations hindered
agricultural growth and population increase. Rural riots reflected peasant distress and helped to weaken
the Shogunate.

The challenge to isolation

In 1853 an American naval squadron commanded by Matthew Perry forced the opening of Japan to the
West. Later negotiations won the right to station a consul and open ports for commerce. European
nations quickly secured equal rights.
The Shogunate bureaucrats had yielded to Western naval superiority; other Japanese favored the ending
of isolation. They were opposed by conservative daimyos. All sides appealed to the emperor.
The Shogunate had depended on the policy of isolation and proved unable to withstand the stresses
caused by foreign intervention. Internal disorder resulted in 1860s that ended in 1868 with the defeat
of the Shogunate and the proclamation of rule by Emperor Mutsuhito, called Meiji.

In depth: the separate paths of Japan and China

Japan and China, despite both being part of the same civilization orbit, responded very differently to
Western pressures. Both nations had chosen isolation from outside influences from about 1600 to the
mid-19th century, and thus fell behind the West.
China had the capability to react to the challenge, but did not act. Japan, with knowledge of the benefits
of imitation, acted differently. Japan’s limited population pressure, in contrast to Chinese population
growth, also assisted its response. In political affairs China, by the mid-19th century, was suffering a
dynastic crisis; Japan maintained political and economic vigor. In the late 19th century the East Asian
world split apart. Japan became the stronger of the two nations.
Shogunate: System of Government of feudal military dictatorship Shogun: Hereditary Military
Commander of Japan

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Daimyos: Powerful lords, vassals of Shoguns
Samurai: Military nobility (Meiji converted them into Army) Confucianism: A system of ethical and social
philosophy.

Industrial and political change in the Meiji state

The Meiji government abolished feudalism: the daimyos were replaced by nationally appointed prefects
in 1871. The new centralized administration expanded state power to carry out economic and social
change. Samurai officials were sent to Europe and the United States to study their economies,
technologies, and political systems.
Between 1873 and 1876 the government abolished the samurai class and its state stipends. Most
samurai became impoverished and revolt resulted in 1877. The reformed army, based on national
conscription, quickly triumphed. Samurai continued to exist; many sought opportunities in commerce
and politics.
By 1889 the political reconstruction was complete. Political parties had formed on regional levels. The
Meiji created new conservative nobility from former nobles and Meiji leaders; they sat in a British style
House of Peers. The bureaucracy was reorganized, expanded, and opened to those taking civil service
examinations. The constitution of 1889 gave major authority to the emperor and lesser power to the
lower house of the Diet. High property qualifications limited the right to vote to about 5% of the male
population. The system gave power to an oligarchy of wealthy businessman and former nobles that
controlled political currents into the 20th century. Japan had imitated the West, but had retained its
own identity.

Japan’s Industrial Revolution

Japan’s reorganization went beyond political life. A Western-style army and navy were created. New
banks were established to fund trade and provide investment capital. Railways and steam vessels
improved national communications.
Many old restrictions on commerce, such as guilds and internal tariffs, were removed. Land reform
cleared the way for individual ownership and stimulated production. Government initiative dominated
manufacturing because of lack of capital and unfamiliar technology. A ministry of Industry was created
in 1870 to establish overall economic policy and operate certain industries. Model factories were created
to provide industrial experience, and an expanded education system offered technical training.
Private enterprise was involved in the growing economy, especially in textiles. Entrepreneurs came from
all social ranks. By the 1890s huge industrial combines (zaibatsu) had been formed. Thus by 1900 Japan
was fully engaged in an industrial revolution. Its success in managing foreign influences was a major
accomplishment, but Japan before World War I was still behind the West.

Social and cultural effects of industrialization

The industrial and other changes went along with a massive population increase that supplied cheap
labor but strained resources and stability. In the cultural sphere the government introduced a universal
education system stressing science, technology, and loyalty to the nation. The scientific approach
enhanced the earlier secular bent of elite culture. Western fashions in dress and personal care were
adopted along with the calendar and metric system. Christianity, however, gained few converts.

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The changes in Japan’s economic power influenced foreign policy. By the 1890s they joined the
imperialist nations. The change gave displaced samurai a role and provided nationalist stimulation for
the populace.
Japan’s need for raw materials helped pressure expansion. China and Japan fought over Korea in
1894- 1895; Japan’s quick victory demonstrated the presence of a new Asian power. A 1902 alliance with
Britain made it an equal partner in the great power diplomatic system. Rivalry with Russia brought war
in 1904 and another Japanese victory. Korea was annexed in 1910.

The strain of modernization

Japanese success had its costs, among them poor living standards in crowded cities and arguments
between generations over Westernization. The emergence of political parties caused disputes with the
emperor and his ministers, leading to frequent elections and political assassinations.
Many intellectuals worried about the loss of identity in a changing world; others were concerned at lack
of economic opportunities for the enlarged educated class. To encounter the malaise, officials urged
loyalty to the emperor as a center of national identity.
Japanese nationalism built on traditions of superiority and cohesion, deference to rulers, and the
tensions from change. Its strength was a main factor in other industrializing nations. No other nation
outside the West matched Japan’s achievements.

CONCLUSION
Growing International Rivalries, the entry of Japan and Russia, plus the United States, changed the world
diplomatic picture by the early 20th century. Japan was not yet a major world power, but Westerners
thought about a “yellow peril” as they watched its new strength.

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World War I
WORLD IN 1914
Germany was the leading power in Europe, having overtaken Britain in many aspects. France, Belgium,
Italy, Austria-Hungary (Habsburg Empire) were well behind. The most spectacular industrial progress had
been made in USA which produced more coal, pig iron & steel than either Germany or Britain. Japan had
emerged as an Asian power. So much so that Japan defeated Russia in 1904-05. There was a colonial
rivalry going on between all the European powers since 1880s. Scramble for Africa – Berlin Conference
1884. Intervention in China. They all tried to outperform each other in building new weapon systems.
USA, Britain & France had democratic governments. Germany had an elected lower house of Parliament,
but the power was in the hands of the Chancellor & the Emperor. Italy was a monarchy. Russia & Austria
Hungary had autocratic rulers.

The Alliances in Europe

Europe got divided into different alliances.
The Triple Alliance: The Triple Entente:
Germany Britain
Austria-Hungary France
Italy Russia

CAUSES OF FRICTION

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There were many causes of friction in Europe:
• Naval rivalry between Britain & Germany.
• Loss of Alsace-Loraine by France to Germany.
• Germany accused Britain, France & Russia of encircling her.
• Germany could not get success in its Imperial expansion.
• Their empire was very small & not very rewarding.
• Russians were suspicious of Austrian ambitions in Balkans & they feared the growing military &
economic strength of Germany.
• Serbian Nationalism.

SERBIAN NATIONALISM
Probably the most dangerous cause of friction. Serbs were close to Russians and wanted to create a South
Slav Kingdom (Yugoslavia) by uniting all the Serbs & Croats. But many Serbs & Croats lived inside the
Habsburg Empire. So Yugoslavia would have meant breaking up of the Habsburg Empire. Other
nationalities in the Habsburg Empire would have demanded their own nation too. So, Austrians wanted a
‘preventive war’ to destroy Serbia before it became strong enough to provoke the breakup of their
empire.

IMPORTANT EVENTS LEADING TO THE WAR

• Time chart of main events
• Europe divided into two armed camps:

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 1882 Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria – Hungary and Italy
1894 France and Russia sign alliance
1904 Britain and France sign ‘Entente Cordiale’ (friendly ‘getting-
together’)
1907 Britain and Russia sign agreement

• Other important events:

1897 Admiral Tirpitz’s Navy Law – Germany intends to build up fleet

1902 Britain and Japan sign alliance
1904-5 Russo-Japanese War, won by Japan
1905-6 Moroccan crisis
1906 Britain builds first ‘Dreadnought’ battleship
1908 Bosnia crisis
1911 Agadir crisis
1912 First Balkan war

1913 Second Balkan war

1914 28 June Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo
28 July Austria – Hungary declares war on Serbia
29 July Russia orders general mobilization of troops
1 August Germany declares war on Russia
3 August Germany declares war on France
4 August Britain enters war
6 August Austria – Hungary declares war on Russia

MOROCCAN CRISIS (1905-06)

Germans wanted to expand their empire & test the recently signed Entente Cordiale between Britain &
France. Britain & France had arrived at an understanding that France would recognize Britain’s position in
Egypt & in return Britain will approve a possible French takeover of Morocco. Germans announced that
they will assist Sultan of Morocco to stay independent.
Germany demanded an international conference where Germany faced a diplomatic defeat when Britain,
Russian, Italy & Spain supported French demand to control the Moroccan bank & police. Germany had
not taken the Entente seriously till now.

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BRITISH AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA (1907)
• In 1894, Russia had signed an alliance with France.
• In 1907, Britain signed an agreement with Russia.
• Germans saw this as a confirmation of their fears of encirclement.

BOSNIA CRISIS (1908)

Bosnia was a province of Turkey. In 1878, Congress of Berlin decided that Bosnia should officially remain
a part of Turkey but Austria Hungary should administer it. In 1908, a new Turkish Government wanted to
get rid of the Austrians. Before that Austria annexed Bosnia completely. Serbia was hoping to get Bosnia
too as it had many Slavs, Croats & Muslims living in it. Serbia was unhappy and appealed fellow Slavs, i.e.
Russians to intervene. Russians could not support as they were still recovering from the Japanese defeat.
Russians started preparing for any future incident when they might have to step in.
Russia began modernizing their army, railway system etc. Serbians hated the Austria-Hungary Empire
even more.

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AGADIR CRISIS (1911)
• When French troops occupied Fez, the Moroccan capital to suppress a rebellion against Sultan, it
looked like France will annex Morocco.
• The Germans sent a gunboat, the Panther, to the Moroccan port of Agadir.
• Britain was worried in case Germans acquire Agadir.
• It was too close to Britain.
• Britain warned the Germans & France stood firm.
• German gunboat was removed.
• This was a victory for the Entente powers.
• In Germany, the anti Britain sentiments strengthened.
• Britain was racing ahead in naval race as well.
• Germany felt frustrated, encircled and threatened.

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FIRST BALKAN WAR (1912)
• Serbia, Greece, Montenegro & Bulgaria attacked
Turkey.
• They were earlier part of the Ottoman Turk
Empire which was now the ‘Sick Man Of Europe’
• They divided the territories won in the war.
• Serbia was not happy with their gains & they
wanted Albania which was made an independent
country – a deliberate Austrian move.

SECOND BALKAN WAR (1913)

• Bulgarians were unhappy too and they blamed
Serbia & hence Bulgaria attacked Serbia.
• Greece, Romania & Turkey entered on the Serbian side.
• Bulgaria was defeated.
• Britain & Germany prevented Austria from entering and avoided escalation.
• Serbia became more powerful now & was determined to create disturbance in Habsburg Empire.
• Austria was also determined to put an end to Serbia’s ambitions.

“Balkan Wars – Dress rehearsal of World War”

THE WAR STARTS

• On 28th June 1914, a Serbian terrorist Gavrilo Princep shot dead the Austrian Archduke Franzz Josef
in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.
• Austria served a harsh ultimatum to Serbia as they blamed Serbia for the killing.
• Serbia accepted most of the demands. But Austrians, with German support, wanted to use the
incident as an excuse for the war.
• On 28th July, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
• 29th July – Russians ordered a general mobilization,
• 1st August – Germany declared war on Russia.
• 3rd August – Germany declared war on France
• When German troops entered Belgium to invade France, Britain entered the war too.

The two opposing sides in the war were:

The Allies or Entente Britain and her empire (including troops from Australia,
Powers: Canada, India and New Zealand)
France
Russia (left December 1917)
Italy (entered May 1915)
Serbia
Belgium
Romania (entered August 1916)

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 USA (entered April 1917)
Japan

The central powers: Germany

Austria – Hungary
Turkey (entered November 1914)
Bulgaria (entered October 1915)

WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WAR?

• Was it Austria, Russia, Germany, British?
• The outbreak can be explained by the Austro-Serb rivalry.
• Reasons were more deep rooted.

CAUSES OF THE WAR

• The Alliance System. (As per American historian, “Once the 1894 alliance has been signed between
France & Russia, the fate of Europe was sealed.”
• Colonial Rivalry
• Naval Rivalry
• Militarization of Germany & Austria-Hungary
• Economic rivalry – Marxist interpretation
• Russian support for Serbia
• German support for Austria-Hungary
• Narrow nationalism
• Mobilization plans of the great powers – The German Schlieffen Plan
• These plans left no time for negotiations.

THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN

It assumed that France would automatically join Russia. Bulk of German forces were to be sent by trains
to France through Belgian frontier. France was to be defeated in 6 weeks & then German forces will be
transferred to Russia, whose mobilization was expected to be slow. German fears of encirclement made
it – Schlieffen Plan or nothing!

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CAUSES OF THE WAR
• A tragedy of miscalculations:
Austria – Russia will not support Serbia
Germany – Support to Austria will prevent escalation
Russia – General mobilization doesn’t mean war
• Newspapers spread propaganda and poisoned public opinion

THE WAR 1914

WESTERN FRONT
• Germany attacked Belgium & it took two weeks to capture Brussels, the Belgian capital.
• Germans were attacked by the French under Joffre in the Battle of Marne.
• The Schlieffen Plan was ruined.
• Germans were pushed back to the river Aisne, where trenches were dug by them.
• All hopes of a short war got destroyed.
• Germans will now have to face a two front war.
• Britain got time to prepare for the war.

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EASTERN FRONT
• Russia attacked both Austria & Germany.
• With Austria, they were successful.
• Germany defeated Russia twice at Tannenburg & Masurian Lakes.
• Russians never recovered from this setback, while German confidence got boosted.
• Serbs drove out Austrians at the end of 1914 & Austrian confidence was at rock bottom.

THE WAR 1915

WESTERN FRONT
• The trench warfare continued.
• During the attack on Ypres, Germans used poison gas, but the wind changed direction.

EASTERN FRONT
• Russia faced success against Austria but failed to challenge Germany.
• Turkish blockade of Dardanelles was creating
problems for the Russians.
• Gallipoli Campaign was launched to support
Russians and break the deadlock in the West
by defeating Turkey.
• The campaign was a total failure.
• This was the last attempt to help Russia.
• Bulgaria probably decided to join the Central
Powers after this.
• Serbia was quickly overrun by Germans and
Bulgarians
• 1915 was a bad year for the Allies.
• Hoping to capture Austria-Hungary’s Italian
speaking regions, Italy declared war.
• Allies promised lands to Italy.
• However, Italy couldn’t prove to be of much help.

THE WAR 1916

• Battle Of Verdun: Germans attacked the French. Lakhs of soldiers died on both sides.
• Battle of Somme: A series of attacks by the British against Germans.
• The stalemate continued.
• British PM Asquith resigned & David Lloyd George became the PM. He was very decisive &
dynamic.

WAR AT THE SEA

• Allies used their navies to blockade Central Powers, keep their own trade routes open & transport
British troops to the continent and keep them supplied.
• Battle of Falkland Islands: Britain destroyed one of the main German squadrons.

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 • To counter the blockade, Germans used mines & submarine attacks.
• On 7th May 1915, British liner Lusitania was sunk by a torpedo attack.
• Out of almost 2000 dead, 128 were Americans.
• USA felt that they will have to take sides to protect their trading interests.
• Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between Germany & Britain. It was indecisive.
• Germany launched unrestricted submarine warfare even when it knew that this might bring USA
in the war.
• Germany hoped to exhaust Britain & France before USA entered the war.
• Britain adopted the convoy system.

THE WAR 1917

WESTERN FRONT
• Battle of Cambrai showed that use of tanks can break the deadlock.
• This became the model of war for the Allies in 1918.
• Russia withdrew from the war in 1917 after the Bolshevik Revolution.
• Now Germans could have focused entirely on the Western Frontier.
• Without USA’s entry, it was very difficult for the Allies to win.
• USA entered the war due to Germany’s submarine campaign and also from the discovery by USA
that Germany was persuading Mexico to enter the war on their side.

THE WAR 1918

• The Central Powers were defeated.
• An armistice was signed on 11 November 1918

EFFECTS OF THE WAR

• TOTAL WAR – It involved not just the armies & navies but the entire populations.
• First big conflict of modernized nations.
• Women had to take place of men in factories.
• It was the beginning of the end of European domination of the world.
• Millions were killed.
• Germany faced a revolution & it became a republic.
• The Habsburg Empire collapsed & many nationalities declared independence.
• Austria & Hungary became two nations.
• Russian Revolution 1917
• Italy was in heavy debt. Mussolini came to power.
• Some countries outside the Europe like Japan, China, USA expanded their trade at Europe’s
expense.
• Americans experienced a boom followed by The Great Economic Depression of 1929
• President Woodrow Wilson produced a plan to create the League of Nations for collective security.

CHALLENGES MAKING A PEACE SETTLEMENT

• War aims of the participating countries were not clear at the beginning.

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 • Germany & Austria wanted to preserve Habsburg Empire and they had to destroy Serbia for this.
• As the war progressed, some of the governments announced some war objectives.
• Defence of democracy, righting the injustice done to France in 1871 were some of the war aims of
Britain.
• American President Woodrow Wilson stated US War aims in his 14 Points
14 POINTS OF WOODROW WILSON
1. Abolition of secret diplomacy
2. Free navigation at sea for all nations in war & peace.
3. Removal of economic barriers between states
4. All round reduction of armaments
5. Impartial adjustment of colonial aims in the interests of the population concerned.
6. Evacuation of Russian territory
7. Restoration of Belgium
8. Liberation of France & restoration of Alsace & Lorraine
9. Readjustment of Italian frontiers along the lines of nationality
10. Self Government for the peoples of Austria-Hungary
11. Romania, Serbia & Montenegro to be evacuated and Serbia given access to the sea.
12. Self Government for the non Turkish peoples of Turkish Empire & permanent opening of
the Dardanelles.
13. An independent Poland with secure access to the sea.
14. A general association of nations to preserve peace.
• Allied countries had difference on how to treat the defeated powers.
• France, for instance, wanted a harsh treatment of Germany in order to ruin it militarily &
economically so that she could never again threaten French frontiers.
• Britain wanted a less severe settlement, so that German economy recovers and start consuming
British goods again.
• An economic recovery was important for reparations as well but British people expected a harsh
peace.
• USA wanted a lenient peace. However, they were disappointed when Germany had ignored 14
Points and imposed a harsh treaty of Brest Litovsk on Russia.
• USA had to bow to the British & French demands for a harsh peace.
• Woodrow Wilson also favoured self-determination & democratic government of the choice of
people.
• Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany.

PEACE TREATIES
• TREATY OF VERSAILLES – Germany
• TREATY OF ST GERMAIN – Austria
• TREATY OF TRIANON – Hungary
• TREATY OF SEVRES – Turkey
• TREATY OF NEUILLY – Bulgaria

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TREATY OF VERSAILLES
• Germany had to lose territories in Europe like Alsace-Lorraine to France.
• Saar area was to be administered by the League of Nations for 15 years, when the population
would vote to decide whether to join France or Germany. In the meantime, France was to use its
coal mines.
• Anschluss (Union) between Germany & Austria
was forbidden.
• Germany’s African colonies were taken away and
became mandates under League of Nations
supervision.
• German armaments were strictly limited & no
conscription, tanks, armoured cars, military
aircraft or submarines were allowed.
• Rhineland was to be permanently demilitarized.
• War guilt clause fixed blame of Germany.
• Germany was to pay reparations for damage to the Allies. The amount was later decided to be
£6600 million.
• A League of Nations was to be formed.
• The Germans had little choice but to sign the treaty, though they objected strongly.
• The signing ceremony took place in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, where the German Empire
had been proclaimed less than 50 years ago.

VERDICT OF THE PEACE SETTLEMENT

• The Treaty of Versailles was so harsh that it was criticized by the Allies too.
• It was so harsh on the Germans who were bound to object and another war was inevitable.
• Many of the terms like reparations and disarmament were impossible to carry out.
• It was not based on 14 Points of Woodrow Wilson.
• Europe got divided into 2 parts – those countries who wanted to preserve the peace of Versailles
& those who wanted to revise it.
• USA failed to ratify the settlement and never joined the LON.
• Italy felt cheated as it did not get the promised lands.
• Russia was ignored because the powers did not want to negotiate with the Bolshevik government.
• Germany was only temporarily weakened.
• None of the battles were fought on German soil.
• German economy recovered very soon & it was the most powerful European power with a sense
of resentment & grievance.

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RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
• Communism had spread in Europe by 19th century.
• 1864- International Working Men’s Association alias First International

KARL MARX
Karl Marx – 1818-1883 : He was German Jew who laid out his philosophy in Communist Manifesto & Das
Capital. He believed that economic factors were the real causes of change and that workers were
everywhere exploited by the middle class capitalists. On industrialisation, workers will inevitably rise up
against their exploiters and take up the control in their hands and this he called as ‘dictatorship of the
proletariat.’ When this point is reached, there would be no further need of the state which would
consequently wither away.

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 1917

• 1871- Paris Commune- a popular uprising against French state which was seen as a prelude to
revolution by socialists world over. The red flags were used here and later became popular.
• 1883- Russian Socialist Democratic Party formed by George Plekhanov
• 1889- Second International (Paris)
• 1 May 1890 – Massive demonstrations by workers. Celebrated as International Working Class Day
• 1890s- many factories came up in predominantly agriculturalist Russian Empire. Tensions between
peasants and nobility/landlords and between workers and managements persist.
• 1894- Tsar Nicholas II ascends throne (Romanov Dynasty)
• 1898- Russian Socialist Democratic Workers Party (by uniting various older parties ).
• This party later got divided into Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin and Mensheviks in 1900
• 1904-05 – Russo Japanese War
• 1905- Bloody Sunday (protesting workers shot) and 1905 Revolution.
• Students, lawyers, doctors apart from workers & peasants demanded reform.
• Tsar allowed creation of DUMA. Weak and powerless dummy. Tsar kept dissolving & re-electing
Duma.
• 1914- WW 1 started.
• Tsarina’s German origin, poor advisers of the Tsar like Rasputin and lack of consultation with Duma
and constant debacles in the war made the autocratic government highly unpopular among
Russians.
• Riots broke out in Russia in 1916.
• 1917- February Revolution… when Russian soldiers, peasants and population striked.
• Tsar abdicates. A Provisional Govt which could not fulfil the aspirations as it was dominated by
parties representing landlords and capitalists. Workers-peasants continued revolution.
• Provisional Government’s attempt to suppress Bolsheviks led to increased public support behind
them.
• Vladimir Lenin returns from exile and gives his ‘April Thesis’ demanding end of war, land transfer
to peasants and nationalisation of banks.
• He gave call, “no support to Provisional Government, All power to Soviets”
• October Bolshevik Revolution. Peace! Bread! Land! Democracy! Was the slogan.

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 • Bolsheviks fail to gain majority in elections for the Constituent Assembly
• In 1918, Constituent Assembly rejects Bolsheviks and Bolsheviks reject Constituent Assembly.
• Bolsheviks made peace with Germany to end War & Russia became a one party state.
• Civil war continued in Russia between the Reds (Bolsheviks), Greens (Socialist Revolutionaries),
Whites (Pro Tsarists) to bring Russia back to the war.
• 1919- formation of Comintern
• By 1920s, Bolsheviks controlled Russia.
• 1921- New Economic Policy replaced War Communism which failed by now.
• 1924 - USSR formed on 30 December
• 1929- Collectivisation of farms started after realisation that farms distributed to peasant were very
small and modernisation was not possible.
• So state controlled collective farms.
• Resistance by peasants was answered with repression, exile and deportation.
• It all happened under Stalin.

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THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Came into existence in 1920 to settle international disputes, maintain peace through collective security,
encourage international co-operation to solve the problems. It had a General Assembly, a Council with 4
permanent members (Britain, France, Italy & Japan), Permanent Court of International Justice, The
Secretariat & Commissions and Committees.

ACHIEVEMENTS
• The League of Nations had some positive results.
• The International Labour Organisation, Refugee Organisation, Health Organisation, Mandates
Commission did some good work.
• Some minor political disputes were resolved in the 1920s.
• However, LON’s Disarmament Commission was a failure.
In 1930s, League could not do much when major powers like Japan invaded Manchuria (1931), Italy
attacked Abyssinia (1935). Both the powers refused to accept the League’s orders.
Respect for the League had declined when Hitler started exploiting the League’s weakness further.

WHY DID TE LEAGUE FAIL?

It was too closely linked to the Versailles Treaties. It looked like an organization created to benefit the
victorious powers. It was rejected by USA. Germany was not allowed till 1926 & USSR became a member
in 1934 when Germany left. League was deprived of 3 global powers in the initial years.

The Conference of Ambassadors was intended to function until the League machinery was up and running
but it lingered on and sometimes overruled League’s decisions. The League had no military force of its
own. It was very much a British/French affair. Global Economic crisis started in 1929. Japan invaded
Manchuria in 1931 & when League ordered Japan to withdraw its troops, Japan left the League itself.
Britain & France had economic problems, so no economic or military sanctions were imposed.
They were not ready to apply a trade boycott in order to avoid war with Japan.

At the Disarmament Conference in 1932-33, Germans asked for equality of armaments with France.
France refused and Hitler used this as an excuse to withdraw Germany from the League. In 1935, Italy
invaded Abyssinia. The League condemned Italy & introduced half hearted economic sanctions in order
to not annoy Mussolini.

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However, the sanctions were too weak to have any impact, while Mussolini was annoyed by the sanctions
anyway. Smaller states lost all faith in League. Hitler was encouraged to break the Versailles Treaty by
introducing conscription (1935), sending German troops to Rhineland (1936). Neither matter was raised
at the League Council. The League was never taken seriously again.

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SOME IMPORTANT EVENTS LEADING TO WORLD WAR II
1914-1919- WW I. Germany (&Austria) lost to Allies (UK, France, USA, Italy, USSR). Collapse of Imperial
Germany and establishment of Weimar Republic. Treaty of Versailles imposed harsh peace on Germany
which made the Weimar republic less popular among Germans. Huge land taken away, demilitarisation
of Rhineland, loss of all colonies, compensation of 6 billion Pounds. The German constitution had many
defects which made achieving majority near impossible and so, rule by coalitions. Instability was the rule
of day. This led to loss of confidence on democratic institutions Russian Revolution had a deep impact on
the German people and sense of nationalism strengthened, war propaganda was popular, Soviet style
governance was demanded in politically charged Germany. Spartacists League was in the forefront which
was formed into Communist Party of Germany. 1920- League of Nations formed. 1921-22- Washington
Conferences: To improve relations between US & Japan as America was suspicious about growing
Japanese power in far east. But in fact Japan was left supreme in Pacific where it could concentrate, with
its third largest navy. Japanese Navy was to be limited to three-fifths of US navy. 1922- Mussolini came to
power in Italy. 1922- Genoa Conference: Lloyd Geroge’s initiative to reduce Franco-German hostility.
FAILED. France insisted on full payments.

When the following year, Germans refused to pay the amount due, French troops occupied the Ruhr &
the deadlock quickly developed when the Germans responded with passive resistance. 1923 – CORFU
INCIDENT. Greece vs Albania. Italians working on Boundary Commission died. Mussolini blamed Greece.
Mussolini refused to accept League competence to decide about the issue. Conference of Ambassadors
ordered Greece to pay the amount demanded by Mussolini. 1924 – Dawes Plan: Liberal payments allowed
to Germany whenever it could pay and till then it can pay smaller amount & French withdrew troops from
Ruhr. German economy started recovering. Total amount was not reduced. Though international tensions
reduced. 1925- Locarno Treaties: a number of European nations signed pacts respecting frontiers etc.
Germany, France & Belgium signed an agreement respecting their joint frontiers. But Germany refused to
guarantee eastern frontiers with
Poland & Czeckosovakia. It didn’t
bother many at that time. This
gave an impression that other
nations won’t act if Germany
shows aggression on these
frontiers. Many nations
guaranteed help to other nations
in case the latter were attacked.
The reconciliation between
France-Germany was called
Locarno Honeymoon. 1926-
Germany was allowed to join
League with a seat on Permanent Council. In the same year France & Germany agreed that French troops
will leave Rhineland. 1928- Kellogg Briand pact: 65 nations renounced war as an instrument of national
policy. This was backed by no remedy in case any country breaches the pledge. (Briand was French Foreign
Minister & Kellog was American Secretary of State.) 1929- Young plan. Reparations from Germany
reduced from 6600 million pounds to 2000 million to be paid in 59 years.

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Nazi party was against it and wanted revision of peace settlement. Stressman, the German leader who
tried to reduce tensions died; Wall Street crisis. Support to Nazi party grew, World Economic Crisis, Death
of Stressman made French alarmed and aggressive. Financial Problems damaged Locarno spirit
1931- French insisted on taking the proposal for an Austro German customs union to ICJ for violation of
Versailles. ICJ ruled against it & relations worsened. This also alarmed USSR which till now was having
good relations with Germany. The growing Nazi party was strongly anti communist. 1931- Japan, the first
major aggressor annexed Manchuria Chiang Kai Shek’s rule was making China stronger, so Japan feared
being pushed out. Hitler & Mussolini noticed League’s failure 1932- Lausanne conference: Germany
released from most of payments but still opposed by Nazi party. 1933- Hitler came to power. Mass
unemployment was a factor. 1932-33: World disarmament conference. As per League of Nations, every
nation was supposed to reduce arms but only Germans did something. Other nations increased their arms
in fact. French attitude against disarmament gave Germany under Hitler an excuse to withdraw from
conference & a week later from the League. 1933- Germany left the league and USSR joined. Japan also
left when the League suggested faults on both sides in Japan’s Manchuria invasion.
1933- Japan invaded more territories of China to which they had no claim. This was nothing but
aggression. 1934- Hitler called off Germany’s special relationship with USSR by signing a 10 year non
aggression pact with Poland. 1934- When Austrian Nazis killed Chancellor Dollfuss, Mussolini who
supported Chancellor moved Italian troops. Germany had to back off and realise they were not strong
enough. Britain & France did nothing.
1935- (January) Saar returned to Germany after Plebiscite (March) Hitler introduces conscription. He gave
the excuse of increase in British air force & increase in conscription period in France (Versailles breached
for the first time.) (April) Alarmed by this, Stressa front including Britain, France & Italy emerges. No
action. Only condemnation. (May) French signed a treaty of Mutual assistance with USSR. In (June) Stressa
front collapses due to Anglo German naval agreement. Hitler detatched Britain from the front by offering
to limit German navy to 35% of British navy which Britain readily accepted. This allowed Germany to build
submarines (another breach of Versailles). Italy & France were angry at British move. The British move
also pushed Mussolini towards Hitler as he was confused till now. (October) Italy invades Abyssinia. Half
hearted sanctions from League, not on coal and oil which could have affected war effort. Britain & France
did not act again to avoid war. They hoped to revive Stressa Front against real threat in Europe – Germany.
League’s prestige was in shambles & Mussolini was annoyed anyway, drifting further towards Hitler.
Mussolini dropped his objections to Anschluss. 1936- (March) As Europe looked towards Abyssinia,
Rhineland remilitarised. Britain & France took no action though this was a breach of both Locarno &
Versailles. (October) Rome Berlin axis emerges. Mussolini & Hitler get together. (November) Hitler signed
Anti Comintern pact with Japan. (Now Germany has alliances with Italy & Japan). Both Japan & Germany
will start annexing territories.
Spanish civil war broke out. Franco supported by Hitler & Mussolini (hoping to create third Fascist state
in Europe & get naval bases in Spain). The republicans were supported by USSR while Britain & France
remain out. Franco won in 1939. 1937- Japan’s full scale invasion of China & Sino Japanese war that
became part of WWII. League was totally useless by now. Moreover, Japan was not a member.
League’s condemnation had no impact on it. (Britain & France busy with Hitler. USA still insisting on
isolation.) So, on the eve of World War, Japan held large areas of China.
1937- Mussolini joined the Anti Comintern Pact including Germany & Japan to fight against Bolshevism.
1938- (March) Hitler annexed Austria. (Anschluss) (Forcible Union). Austrian Nazis started
demonstrations. Chancellor Schuschnigg fearing it as a prelude to German invasion announced a
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referendum on Austrian independence. But before the vote German troops invaded. Britain & France
again only protested.
1937- Mussolini joined the Anti Comintern Pact including Germany & Japan to fight against Bolshevism.
1938- (March) Hitler annexed Austria. (Anschluss) (Forcible Union). Austrian Nazis started
demonstrations. Chancellor Schuschnigg fearing it as a prelude to German invasion announced a
referendum on Austrian independence. But before the vote German troops invaded. Britain & France
again only protested.
1938- (In September) Hitler demanded Sudetenland. Sudeten Germans started protests. Czech President
feared that Hitler is stirring up disturbances to invade. British & French thought that this would lead to
war as Czechoslovakia had strengthened their defences & were not in a mood to allow a German walk
over.
To avoid war a 4 power Munich conference was held by UK, France, Italy, Germany & Munich Agreement
was agreed. It was an agreement concluded at Munich on 29 September 1938. Most of the Europe
celebrated because it prevented the war threatened by Adolf Hitler by allowing Nazi
Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland, a region of western Czechoslovakia inhabited by more than 3
million German speakers. Hitler announced it was his last territorial claim in Europe, and the choice seemed
to be between war and appeasement. Russians & Czechs were not even invited to conference.
Czechs were told they will get no help if they resisted agreement.
By pressuring the Czech leaders & creating internal troubles, Hitler forced annexation of whole of
Czechoslovakia by March 1939. 1939- (April 1939) Hitler demanded Danzig from Poland. Poland rejected &
refused to attend any conference. British promised help.
(May) Mussolini signed Pact of Steel with Germany promising full support if war comes. 1939- after signing
Non aggression pact with USSR & a pact to divide Poland between themselves (August), Hitler attacks
Poland on September 1st and WWII breaks out. 1939- 1st September- Germany invaded Poland. War
started. Poles defeated quickly by German Blitzkrieg.
3rd September- British ultimatum to Germany for withdrawing troops from Poland got no reply & Britain
was at war with Germany. Soon after, France entered. Germany and Russia occupy Poland. Phoney war for
next 5 months on Western front. Russia meanwhile took over Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania & invaded Finland.
1940- Tripartite Pact between Germany, Japan, Italy. Formed Axis Power.

WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OUTBREAK OF WAR?

Versailles Treaties – Filled Germans with bitterness. League of Nations – Failed to ensure collective security
or disarmament. Global Economic Crisis. However, most of Germany’s grievances had been addressed by
1938.

SOME IMPORTANT EVENTS LEADING TO WORLD WAR II

Appeasement by Britain & France is also blamed for the outbreak of the war. It led to increased prestige of
Hitler in Germany. Appeasement was bound to fail with Hitler. USSR made war possible by signing non
aggression pact with Germany.
Hitler, His hatred for communism. His vision of Lebensraum (living space) for Germans. However, some
historians believe that Hitler never wanted a World War. His idea was that of a small war with Poland. All
he wanted was that Britain & France do not interfere. Hitler was lured into the war when Poland called his
bluff and refused to negotiate. So, most probably Hitler did not have a long term step by step plan to achieve
his goals of a greater Germany but he had a vision. So he was responsible for the war to a large extent.
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WORLD WAR II
WORLD WAR II 1939
By September end of 1939, Germans & Russians had occupied Poland. After 5 months of phoney war,
Germany captured Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium & France. Norwegian campaign was important as
Allied failure in it led to resignation of Chamberlain & Winston Churchill became British PM.

WORLD WAR II 1940

Paris was captured & France surrendered and an armistice was signed in the same railway coach that was
used in 1918 for armistice. Battle of Britain – Germany’s failed attempt to bomb Britain into submission.
This was fought in air. German Air force suffered more than Britain.
This was important as this proved Germans were not invincible. Hitler was about to launch attack on USSR
so Battle of Britain created it a two front battle for Germany.
Mussolini invades Egypt only to be pushed back even in Italian colony Libya & then defeated at Bedafomm.
Mussolini’s army invaded Greece as well & Greeks pushed them back & invaded Albania.

WORLD WAR II 1941

Soviet Union attacked by Hitler breaking the non aggression pact, in Operation Barbarossa as he was
confident of a quick victory. This was his historic blunder. Soviets not only gave major blows to Germany
but established their influence in whole Eastern Europe. He expected a quick war on an awesome Blitzkrieg
scale. USSR was not ready as Stalin trusted Hitler to keep promise of Non-Aggression pact.
But severe rains & winter led to failure of German campaign. Meanwhile Hitler had to help Mussolini in
Libya, Egypt & in Greece. December- Pearl Harbour naval base on Hawaiian Islands attacked by Japan and
USA, still bent on isolation, enters war.
Brilliantly organized by Admiral Yamanato, it killed 3700 men. Japan was running out of raw materials, so
they were seeking territories like Indo China, Burma, Malaya & wanted to avoid war with USA. But USA
assisted China & when Japan persuaded Vichy France to allow Japan to have French Indo China, President
Roosevelt objected and imposed oil sanctions on Japan. Americans demanded Japanese withdrawal from
Indo China & China itself.
It caused Hitler to declare war against America, which was his most serious mistake. American Congress
was of the view of going to war with Japan and was reluctant about Germany. Hitler made it easy for
Roosevelt to persuade Congress. Japan captured Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, Burma after Pearl Harbour
attack. They wanted to create a Greater East Asia Co Prosperity Sphere. With American, Soviet & British
Commonwealth’s resources, longer the war lasted, difficult it would be to win for Axis powers.
Mass Murder of Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Russians begin. Jews were to be exterminated and other were treated
like slaves of German master race. Similar was the treatment of Japan with people of occupied territories.
The people who could have turned allies were made enemies.

WORLD WAR II 1942

Axis offensive checked in 3 Major decisive battles: Japanese defeated at Midway Island by USA. Germans
halted in Egypt, North Africa at El Alamein & driven out of Africa. Russia inflicted major losses to Germans
at Stalingrad and they were forced to surrender. Battle of Atlantic which was German U boat campaign to
starve Britain of essentials also failed. This could have been a major loss for Allies.

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WORL WAR II 1943-45
• 1943-45 – USA, USSR, Britain’s resources and efforts wore down Axis power.
• 1943- Italy first to be defeated. Mussolini was dismissed by the Italian King and his successor signed
armistice and Italy was brought on Allied side
• 1944- Operation Overlord. Invasion of France at Normandy beaches on D Day i.e. 6th June. Also
known as Second Front as Russians were urging Allies to open this front since 1941.
• The operation began with the Invasion of Normandy by British American forces in 1944 which
liberated France, Belgium & then Holland.
• An armistice as happened in First World War was expected but President Roosevelt announced that
the Allies were fighting for Unconditional Surrender of Axis powers.
• British were surprised as British secret service was in talks with German intelligence and leaders of
Anti Nazi groups.
• The Nazi leaders were happy with the announcement as they could use this to continue fighting.
• Roosevelt’s stubbornness could have caused more death & destruction but he was adamant & his
successor Harry Truman continued the policy.
• No attempt was made to negotiate peace until Germany & Japan surrendered.
• “The policy of unconditional surrender was an ultimatum written in blood.”
• Germany was being invaded from both sides. Russians drove out Germans from Poland and reached
Berlin before Western nations.
• Berlin fell in Russian hands first.

WORLD WAR II 1945

• 1945 – Hitler committed suicide & Germany surrendered.
• 6th & 9th August, Little Boy & Fat Man, dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki respectively by President
Truman.
• One of the most controversial decisions.
• President Truman claimed that he wanted to save American lives by ending the war immediately,
which historians refuse to believe as Japan had sent peace feelers through Russia.
• One suggestion is that this was done to prevent Russia from taking Japanese territory as it had
promised to enter the war against Japan. It was also to show American power to USSR.

EFFECTS OF THE WAR

• Destruction – 40 Million people were killed.
• No all-inclusive peace settlement.
• Extensive urban development in the ruined cities.
• Nuclear weapons came into existence.
• Europe’s domination of the rest of the world ended.
• Emergence of superpowers & beginning of Cold War.
• Decolonisation.
• United Nations.

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