Industrial Revolution to Cold War: A Historical Timeline
T3: The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution resulted from a series of economic and technological changes that occurred in Britain in the mid-eighteenth century. It gave rise to a profound transformation of the economy and society. The main changes were demographic and agricultural.
Characteristics of Class Society and Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic model born during the Industrial Revolution. This model is structured as a system where the means of production are private property, and a small group controls them. The rest of the population works in exchange for a salary. There are two main groups:
- The great middle class with economic power in industry.
- Factory workers, or the workers, who work in exchange for a wage and have low purchasing power.
T5: Textile Development in Catalonia and Obstacles to Industrialization in Spain
Catalonia, in the mid-eighteenth century, already had an important textile industry, but the prohibition of importing cotton yarn was a significant boost. Subsequently, mechanization and the use of steam power improved the industry. Development reached its highest point in the late 1800s with the creation of industrial colonies that replaced coal with hydraulic energy.
The main obstacles to Spanish industrialization were:
- Low purchasing power
- Lack of investment
- Transport problems
- The population being far from industrial centers
- Protectionism
Social Groups of the 19th Century
The most important social groups were the leading classes with great purchasing power and the high bourgeoisie, which emerged as a new social class. They shared hegemony with the nobility. The popular classes consisted of urban workers and peasants.
New Ideologies Linked to the Labor Movement
New ideologies emerged, such as anarchism and socialism.
T6: Main Factors Driving Imperialist Spread in the Last Third of the 19th Century
- Economic factors
- Demographic factors
- Political factors
- Ideological factors
What Provoked the Start of World War I?
- Rivalry between the colonial powers
- Nationalist exaltation
- France and Germany wanted to lead Continental European hegemony
- The Balkan conflicts: a conflict born between Austria and Russia to fight for Bosnian territory
The League of Nations: Main Objectives and Problems Faced
The League of Nations was an organization that aimed to ensure peace, based on cooperation, monitoring the performance of treaties, and avoiding conflicts. The main difficulties were the distribution of resources, widespread poverty, and the fact that neither the United States, Germany, nor Italy joined.
T8: The Roaring Twenties
This was a decade in which America experienced a very high standard of living. However, it led to a speculative bubble and a crisis of overproduction. The Great Depression was the result of years of stock market crisis. To improve the situation, the New Deal was invented, which defended state intervention to revive the economy.
Fascism
Fascism is an ideology that arose from Benito Mussolini. It is characterized by state control over social life and the pursuit of its adversaries. Mussolini came to power utilizing his army of Blackshirts, forcing the king to give him power.
T10: Cold War and Peaceful Coexistence
The Cold War was a model of international relations that developed after World War II. Peaceful coexistence was a new era dominated by détente between Khrushchev of the USSR and Kennedy of the U.S. This involved showing the world a more tolerant attitude. Direct relations were also established among the top leaders through the “red telephone.”