Europe Between 1871 and 1914 (I)

Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Britain were the major

powers in this period.
 Europe Between 1871 and 1914 (II)
• Germany. After the unification and the defeat of the French 2nd
Empire, became the major power in Europe. By means of a set of
alliances, Bismarck sought to keep France isolated to avoid revanchism.
• Britain. Defended by a powerful fleet, and with a prosperous
economy, she kept a “splendid isolationism” from the political affairs
of the continent, encouraging a balance of power subjected to her
influence. The main threat to British imperialist interests seemed to
come from Russia, because of her expansionist thrust into the
Mediterranean sea.
• France. After her defeat in 1871, a democratic republic was
established. A minority faction sought to recover Alsace-Lorraine from
Germany, but her main task in this period was imperialist expansion
overseas, and the overcome of political isolation.
 Europe Between 1871 and 1914 (III)
• Russia. Her main goal was to achieve access to the Mediterranean at
the expense of the Ottoman Empire. The Russian Tsar also proclaimed
himself as the defender of the Slavic peoples of the Balkans, which led
to tension with Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Britain.
Expansion allowed Russia to reach the Pacific ocean in East Asia.
• Austria-Hungary had interest in the Balkans, based on keeping her
multinational empire safe from Slavic nationalist claims.
The alliance system devised by Bismarck to isolate France began to
crumble when he was forced out of power in 1890. From this moment,
political alignments in Europe began to change, leading to the alliances
that were going to confront each other in the First World War.

Complete this chapter in http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/westn/powerbalance.html#Bismarck

 Political Systems

Political Systems

LIberal Authoritarian

Colonial Empires
UK II Ger man
Empire

III Fre nch Republic

Austria-Hungar y
Expansionism
Italy Russian Empire

Political Stagnation
Gradual Democratisation of
the Political System

32
 Alliance Systems
1879 1881
The Dual Alliance Austro-Serbian Alliance
Germany and Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary makes an alliance
make an alliance to protect with Serbia to prevent Russia
themselves from Russia. gaining control of Serbia.

1882 1894
The Triple Alliance Franco-Russian Alliance
Germany and Austria-Hungary Russia allied with France to protect
make an alliance with Italy to herself from Austria-Hungary and
stop Italy taking sides with Germany.
Russia.
1904
Entente Cordiale 1907
This was an agreement but not a The Anglo-Russian Entente
formal alliance between Britain Britain and Russia ended their
and France differences with this alliance.

1907
The Triple Entente
Represent in a
This alliance between Britain, France and blank map the
Russia was made because of worsening
relations between Germany and Russia and alliance systems
Germany and Britain
 The Industrial Revolution (I)
The Industrial Revolution is the change from the use of hand methods
of manufacturing to machine methods.

It began in Britain, at about 1750, and later spread to other countries.

It is called a revolution because it changed the ways of life of people.

The result was a industrialized society, where most of the people

worked for a wage instead of growing their own food, and bought
instead of making, the products they used.

Once it started, it can be said that the Industrial Revolution has not
stopped until nowadays, taking into account different aspects.
 The Industrial Revolution (II)
The Industrial Revolution was based on previous or simultaneous
changes:
• In demography: medical advances and improvement in nutrition
resulted in a population rise in Britain throughout the 18th century.
Cheap labour force was then available for farms and factories.
• In agriculture, changes in the structure of property (Enclosure Acts),
farming methods (Norfolk system) and technological advances
(Rotherham plough) allowed higher productivity.
• Steam machines (Watt, 1769), as well as new machines in the textile
industry and siderurgy were introduced. This led to the expansion of
the factory system at the expense of the older domestic system.
 The Industrial Revolution (III)
Transport also changed with the introduction of machines.
• Railways were used firstly in mines. But since 1829 (Stephenson’s
steam locomotive) they began to expand throughout Europe, so that
fifty years later there was a dense railway network. Goods and
passengers were cheaply transported, widening markets.

• Steam engines were applied to iron ships too. The result was an
increase of intercontinental trade and the end of sail ships after
thousands of years of being in use.
 The New Industrial Society (I)

A basic feature of the new society lies in how it was organized.

Instead of birth, it was wealth that made social differences apparent.
The social groups are no longer named estates, but classes. The main
ones were the bourgeoisie and proletariat.
The great bourgeoisie was composed of the owners of factories,
bankers, traders, etc. A middle group of bourgeois included doctors,
professors, engineers, small traders... Finally, employees and
shopkeepers were the main part of little bourgeoisie.
The upper bourgeoisie intermingled with the old nobility. The
former often exchanged money for social prestige. Anyway, his
customs, values and ways of life became the model to imitate.
 The New Industrial Society (II)
The word proletariat refers to the urban factory workers, who worked
for a salary. They were the most numerous social group amongst the
urban population, living and working in incredibly harsh conditions.
At first, there was no laws to establish working conditions. Hence,
timetables, salaries and holidays were arbitrarily set by the
employers.
As a consequence, living conditions were very hard. Working days
lasted from twelve to fourteen hours. Wages were insufficient to
support a family. This forced women and children to work for
extremely low salaries. On the other hand, workshops, pits and
factories lacked good hygienic conditions causing the spread of
disease among workers.
 Children Labour
Using your own words, write a two page long composition about
child labour in 19th century in Europe. Consider the following
questions:
• The age that children started working
• Industries that employed children and reasons for this
• Accidents and working hours
• Opponents to child labour and legislative measures adopted.
Help yourself with the following links:
http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/IndustrialRevolution/lifeduringindus
trialrevolution.htm
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRchild.htm
http://www.redruth.cornwall.sch.uk/curriculum/History/britain.htm
 The Workers’ Movement (I)
The workers’ movement arose in the first decades of 19th century
as a reaction to the introduction of new machines, which made
unemployment grow and salaries fall. This first reaction was called
luddism, and resulted in the destruction of machinery and arson
attacks on the factories that used them.
Growing class consciousness (the awareness of belonging to the
same social class and of common interests by the workers) led to the
set up of the first workers’ mutual aid societies to assist in case of
illness or unemployment.
The first Trade Unions were founded in Britain after repealing the
laws that forbade them in 1825. The Great Trade Union was founded
in 1834, gathering workers from different trades.
 The Workers’ Movement II
In Spain, the workers’ movement began with luddite outbreaks in
1825 in Alcoy and in 1835 in Barcelona (arson of textile mills and
steam machines). Workers’ associations were concentrated mainly
in Barcelona, the largest industrial region in Spain.
In 1840 the Weaver’s Association of Barcelona was founded,
taking advantage of the increased tolerance of the liberal
progressive governments. The first general strike in Spain took
place in 1855.

In 1870, during the democratic period, the Spanish Federation of

the International Workingmen’s Association was organized. With
it, Marxism and anarchism began to spread in Spain.
 The Workers’ Movement III
The aim of the Trade Unions was to
improve working conditions. Their first
claims were the defence of association
rights, the reduction of working hours,
improvement of salaries and regulation
of child labour.

National Trade Unions felt the necessity

to organize themselves at a wider level to
fight against capitalism. In 1864 the first
International Workers’ Association was
created. In it Marxists, anarchists and
trade-unionists gathered together until its
dissolution in 1876.
 Marxism
By mid-19th century Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels denounced
the exploitation of workers by the capitalist economic system. In
their economic and political writings they set out how capital gains
derived from the worker’s unpaid labour.
From this they drew the consequence that a workers’ revolution
was needed to overcome the unfair relationship between capital
and labour. Although this was their main source of wealth, the
workers were doomed to lead a life of abject poverty
The target of the revolution would be the building of a society
where class differences would disappear. To reach this goal, a
worker’s political party (the socialist party) would be organized to
promote the revolution, notwithstanding its participation in
parliamentary politics. In the long term, the goal of revolution
would be finally abandoned by the socialist parties.
 Anarchism
Anarchism is more diverse than Marxism, for it is based on the
philosophy of many thinkers. However its better known exponents
are Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Mijail Bakunin and Piotr Kropotkin.
Anarchism stresses individual freedom and social solidarity, while
criticising private property and the principle of authority and its
main exponent, the state.
Anarchists are in favour of revolutionary action of industrial
workers and peasants to destroy the state and build a collectivist
and egalitarian society. On the other hand, they are opposed to
taking part in parliamentary politics and to political parties.
The anarchists were frequently organized in revolutionary Trade
Unions (anarcho-syndicalism). In other cases some anarchists were
in favour of violent actions to overthrow the state and the capitalist
system, while others were staunch pacifists.
 Anarchism and Marxism: Differences
Capitalism
Predominance of the bourgeoisie
Private property
Marxism Workers misery
against aganist Anarchism

Collective property Individual freedom

Aim Social solidarity
Workers’ revolution
Collective property
Rejection of authority
Headed by Rejection of political parties
Workers’ parties Aim
Social revolution
1st stage: Dictatorship of the proletariat
Workers’ state
Nationalization of property Spontaneous By means of the
Trade Unions
To reach
2nd stage: Communism Society without classes
Extinction of the state End of the state
Society without classes Collective property