Imperialism and WW1
1. EUROPEAN ALLIANCE SYSTEMS:
Bismarck’s Alliance systems were military alliances between Germany & the main European powers (Russia, Austria, Italy & UK) to isolate France.
·European Balance broke after the Italian & German unifications.
·2 stages in European international relations: *1871 – 1890 bismarck’s alliance systems: Secret military alliances to isolate France (who wanted revenge due to the loss of Alsace & Lorraine).
*1891 – 1914 peace through strenght: Growing tensions due political & economic problems led to the formation of 2 military blocs: -triple alliance (Germany, Austria, Italy (will change side)) -triple entente(France, Russia, UK)
2. IMPERIALISM 1870 – 1914
Colonialism: goal: dominate the economic resources of the colonies ≠ Imperialism: goal: besides the economic control, it implied the military & political control of the European minority over the dominated territory.
CAUSES OF IMPERIALISM: ·International prestige: it was a way of increasing a country’s power at a time when European Balance had been broken.
·Allowed to control trade routes and strategic territories.
·Reduced problems related to the population growth: excess population emigrated from the metropolis to the colonies to relieve population pressure.
·Colonies supplied raw materials, markets to sell the metropolis industrial products, territories to invest capitals and cheap labour force.
·Spread of the idea of the superiority of the white race and that its mission was to “civilise” the rest of the world (social Darwinism: Ideology created by Herbert Spencer, that considers that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals. It justifies political conservatism, imperialism, and racism ).
FORMS OF COLONIAL RULE: UK, france & other imperialist powers (belgium, germany, italy, the netherlands, russia…) established diverse forms of colonial rule: ·CONCESSIONS in china: -UK, Germany, Russia, France & Japan distributed the areas of influence in China. -Agreement by which an independent country granted commercial advantages to imperial powers ·PROTECTORATE (india / egypt): -became protectorates of UK. -2 administrations coexisted: *Indigenous government: for internal affairs *Imperial power: controlled foreign policy, army and exploitation of certain resources. ·COLONY: It was under the direct sovereignty of the metropolis. Many territories in Africa were exploited as colonies: -Settler colonies (canada, australia, new zealand…): population mostly European. Self-governed. Used to relieve population pressure in the metropolis. -Exploitation colonies (belgian congo): population mostly indigenous. Governed by the metropolis. Used for economic benefit of the metropolis (it had exclusive rights to exploit the colony’s resouces).
THE SCRAMBLE OF AFRICA: ·Before 1870: European presence in Africa limited to the coasts. -Some coastal territories were controlled by European powers: *France (Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal…) *UK (Egypt, South Africa…) *Portugal (Angola, Mozambique…) ·In the 1870’s: European powers began to explore the African continent. -Livingstone (UK): explored the Zambezi and Nile rivers. Discovered the “Victoria Falls”. -Stanley (Belgium) & Brazza (France): explored the Congo basin. ·1884: to avoid clashes, the European powers met in the “Berlin conference” (1884) where they established the rules for the occupation of Africa: 1)Countries that had coastal possessions had the right to occupy the interior, provided that they demonstrated the effective occupation and control of the territory. 2)Free navigation on the Niger and Congo rivers. 3)Free trade in Central Africa. ·From 1885 onwards: occupation of Africa accelerated: -UK tried to form a colonial strip N-S (Egypt – South Africa) -France tried to form a colonial strip W-E (starting from its colonies in Senegal, Algeria and Tunisia) -Belgium, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Spain completed the occupation of Africa
THE CONFERENCE OF BERLIN (1884): ·It regulated European colonization and trade in Africa ·It is considered the starting point of the “Scramble for Africa” ·Organized by Germany ·It eliminated most existing forms of African autonomy and self-governance.
IMPERIALISM IN ASIA: •China: system of concessions (maintained its sovereignty, but gave commercial rights to imperial powers). -UK (India, Burma, Malaysia) -France (Part of Indochina) -Netherlands (Most of Indonesia) -US (Philippines) -Russia (Siberia, Territories towards China & India
IMPERIALISM IN OCEANIA: -UK (Australia, New Zealand) -USA (Hawaii) -Netherlands, France, Germany (Some islands in the Pacific ocean)
CONSEQUENCES OF IMPERIALISM: ·For the colonizers (Metropolis): -Mostly positive: *Political power and self-esteem. *Wealth (raw materials, new markets). -However, colonial expansion caused new tensions among the powers. This rivalry would be one of the causes of WW1.
·For the dominated territories: -Mostly negative: *Economic exploitation: ⁕Export agriculture was imposed ⁕Industrialisation was prevented ⁕Unequal trade *Political domination *Aggravation of internal conflicts due to arbitrary drawing of borders *Foreigners became the dominant social class *Loss of own culture -To some extent there were also some positive consequences: *Improvement in health conditions *Access to education for the native elite *Construction or infrastructures
3. WW1: “The Great War” 1914 – 1918
CONTENDERS: -Allies(Triple Entente): UK, France, Russia, Others: Serbia, Italy, US, Japan… -Central powers(Triple Alliance): German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Others: Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria…
CAUSES OF WW1: ·The new international expansionist policy undertaken by the German emperor (William II) in 1890. It broke European balance. ·Tensions due to the annexation by Germany of the French regions of Alsace & Lorraine (Franco-Prussian War, 1870). France wanted to recover these regions. ·Economic rivalry due to the increasing economic & industrial power of Germany, that in the early 20th Century had outpaced UK. ·Confrontations between imperial powers in the colonies (e.g.:Moroccan crisis & Kruger Telegram) -Kruger telegram: William II sent a telegram to Paul Kruger to congratulate him for having defeated the British.It caused huge indignation in Great Britain -Moroccan Crisis: *1st in 1905, visit of the German emperor to Morocco (territory under French influence). The Kaiser declared he had come to support the sovereignty of the Sultan & the independence of Morocco. *2nd in 1911,during a revolt in Morocco, Germany sent a battleship to the port of Agadir, under the pretext of protecting German trade interests. ·Confrontations between Austria & Russia for the hegemony in the Balkans ·Tensions between Austria & Serbia due to Slav nationalism. ·The creation of a military alliance system & the arms race (“Peace Through Strength”), which could turn any incident into a war of enormous proportions.
THE SPARK OF THE WAR: ·The war finally broke out when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was murdered in Sarajevo on June 28th 1914 by a Serbian nationalist. ·Austria issued an ultimatum to Serbia to allow Austrian forces to go to Serbia to investigate the murder. ·Serbia rejected this demand so Austria declared the war on Serbia. ·The Alliance System created a domino effect pulling everyone into war.
Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia→Serbia refuses the ultimatum→Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia 28 July 1914→Russia mobilizes its troops to defend Sebia→Germany declares war on Russia→France declares war on Germany→Germany invades Belgium to attack France→Great Britain declares war on Germany
CHARACTERISTICS OF WW1: ·Vast territorial expansion: it was known as the “Great War” ·Society suffered many adversities(malnutrition, bombings, …) ·New defence system: trenches. ·Women joined the workforce to replace the men, who were fighting at the front ·New weapons: Machine guns(Very heavy, needed several people to operate them. Fired up to 600 bullets per minute.), Flamethrowers, Toxic gases, Mines, Airplanes, Submarines, Tanks, Hand grenades ·Phycological warfare as a new form of combat: Propaganda was used to influence people during the war (demoralize the enemy, strengthen the soldiers & their will to resist…)
MAIN FRONTS: ·WW1 was fought mainly in Europe: -Western front (frontier France – Germany) -Eastern front (frontier Germany – Russia) ·Other fronts: -Balkans -At Sea (next to UK) -In the colonies (Middle East, Asia, Africa, Oceania…)
PHASES
1914 WAR OF MOVEMENTS: Germany attempted a plan which was based on: 1) Rapid victory on France, attacking it through neutral Belgium. 2) After defeating France, turn east to defeat Russia 3) This plan failed because:- The Allies resisted the quick German attack at the Battle of the Marne. -Russia mobilized its troops quicker than it was expected by the Germans, and advanced rapidly through Prussia. 4)The absence of a decisive victory made the war turn into a long-term conflict. The Western & Easter fronts were settled. Lines of trenches were dug in the frontiers with Germany. It was the beginning of the “Trench Warfare”. 1915 – 1916 TRENCH WARFARE: the fronts were stabilised along an extensive lines of trenches protected by machine guns & barbed wire. During this period new weapons were used: Machine guns, Grenades, Toxic gases, Flamethrowers… The strategy consisted in wearing out the enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel & material. 1917 – 1918 END OF THE WAR: ·1917: Russia withdrew from WW1 (treaty of Brest-Litovsk) due to their
internal Communist Revolution. This allowed Germany to take more troops to the Western front. US joined the war on the side of the Allies. This marked a major turning point in the war. ·1918: the Allies launched a series of offensives on the Western Front, causing the surrender of the Central Powers.
PEACE TREATIES
1919 – 1920 PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE: ·The League of nations was created, international organization for promoting peace.
·Several treaties were signed: -The Central Powers had to: *Reduce their armies *Pay war reparations *Make territorial concessions, from which new states emerged (Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Czechoslovakia…) -Germany (Treaty of Versailles): *Was blamed for the war *Gave Alsace & Lorraine back to France *Lost all its colonies [Felt humiliated, wanted revenge]
CONSEQUENCES
·Terrible human losses: -9 million people died -Many injured & disabled -Widows & orphans ·Huge economic losses (industries, fields, buildings…) ·Favoured the work of women & female suffrage ·Increased German nationalism & its desire for revenge, it will lead to fascism & WW2 ·US became the leading power in the world. Europe was set aside.
DEFINICIONES
Imperialism: goal: besides the economic control, it implied the military & political control of the European minority over the dominated territory.
Social Darwinism: Ideology created by Herbert Spencer, that considers that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals. It justifies political conservatism, imperialism, and racism
Phycological warfare: use of propaganda to influence people during the war (demoralize the enemy, strengthen the soldiers & their will to resist…)
Bismarck’s Alliance systems were military alliances between Germany & the main European powers (Russia, Austria, Italy & UK) to isolate France.
Colonialism: goal: dominate the economic resources of the colonies
Machine guns: Very heavy, needed several people to operate them. Fired up to 600 bullets per minute.