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1. DEMOCRATIC LIBERALISM Liberalism changed over the course of the 19th century. Liberals were initially in favour of censitary suffrage, but democratic liberalism in favour of universal suffrage later developed. This change was the result of the liberal revolutions, higher literacy rates and the creation of new political parties. 1.1. EDUCATION, CULTURE AND RELIGION In the last third of the 19th century, as cities became larger and the middle class grew, the demand for cultural goods such as education and information increased. Liberals believed that public instruction was one of the state’s most important duties. By the end of the century, many countries had introduced compulsory primary education and levels of education increased. The written press also became very important. Higher levels of education and access to information meant that citizens became more politically involved. In some countries, this new culture acquired an important secular component, i.e., it was no longer influenced by religion. In Catholic countries, where the Church had more power, secularism often led to anti-clericalism. 1.2. POLITICS Liberal members of parliament began to represent the interests of the middle and wealthy middle classes, focusing on the social and economic wellbeing of these new social classes. Liberalism became even more conservative. Parliaments became more representative of the people and the electoral system changed. Some liberals became known as democrats because they supported universal manhood suffrage, i.e., one man, one vote. Towards the end of the 19th century, universal suffrage was approved by most parliaments, although women’s right to vote was not widely recognised until after the First World War. 2. THE PRESS IN THE 19TH CENTURY Although the entertainment press of the first half of the 19th century did not disappear, journalism evolved. Journalists were more aware of their responsibility and influence over the opinions and morality of citizens. Newspapers supporting different ideologies and political opinions were founded. The press was a powerful protest tool for the new labour movement. Karl Marx was above all a great writer of journalistic articles. Around 1880, some of the inventions of the Second Industrial Revolution also benefited the press. Telegraphy meant that information could be transmitted more quickly and news agencies were created.  3  3. THE UNITED STATES: A COUNTRY OF IMMIGRANTS In the second half of the 19th century, the United States was a growing country. After the American Civil War (1861-1865), the country’s rapid economic development meant that its citizens could prosper, both in cities in the East and around the Great Lakes and in the unexplored, uninhabited areas of the West. The universal suffrage system was used, and each State managed the voting system in its own way. Two large political parties – the Republican and Democratic parties– competed for power every four years in lively participatory elections. People had many individual freedoms, although there were still social inequalities. However, the Southern states, which had been forced to abolish slavery after the Civil War, restricted the black population’s right to vote. In some cases, black people were not allowed to vote at all. At the same time, these states introduced racial segregation, and acts of violence against the black population were very common. The USA’s economic prosperity attracted large numbers of European immigrants (Italians, Irish, Polish, etc.). Their arrival caused severe health and public order problems in cities, where new districts were created to group people together according to their nationality or ethnic origin. Over time, their living conditions improved thanks to their work ethic and the country’s great organisational capacity. 4. VICTORIAN ENGLAND For most of the 19th century, Britain’s monarch was Queen Victoria (1837-1901). The country’s constitutional monarchy was very stable, with power alternating between two political parties: the Conservative Party (Tories) and the Liberal Party (Whigs). Abroad, the British Empire gained large territories all over the world. Much of England’s political success was the result of legislative reforms that led to a higher level of democracy and representativeness. The Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, implemented a system of almost universal suffrage through the Reform Acts of 1867 and 1884. 5. THE FRENCH THIRD REPUBLIC The last 19th-century revolutionary uprising in France occurred in 1871: the Paris Commune. The Commune was supported by representatives of the First International and resulted in thousands of deaths. Once this crisis had been overcome, a republican democratic regime was introduced with an electoral system based on universal suffrage. The new governors made great efforts to improve French education and culture. Teaching plans were implemented throughout the country and civil power took its place alongside the power of the Church and army. This model of a democratic, civil, secular, enlightened republic would later provide the inspiration for Spain’s Second Republic (1931-1936). 6. COLONIAL EMPIRES During the last third of the 19th century, coinciding with the start of the Second Industrial Revolution, the most important European states expanded by colonising territories all over the wor ld. A large number of territories became controlled by European powers. Africa, until then the most unexplored continent, was the main focus of colonial expansion, also known as imperialism. The mother country was the imperialist state on which a colony de aspects of power: political, military, economic, social and cultural. 7. CAUSES OF IMPERIALISM pended. It held all Imperialism was the result of a diverse series of complex factors. Key factors included: Industrial development required new raw materials that were sometimes found in territories very far away from Europe. At the same time, the development of European industrial production demanded that new consumer markets be established all over the world. Intense population growth in Europe led to more overseas emigration. Between 1871 and 1911, 33 million Europeans left the continent and moved to other places around the world (United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, etc.). Ideological and cultural factors also played a role. Europe wanted to c ivilise the rest of the world, in some cases with a feeling of racial superiority. As well as colonial expansion, religious missions were organised to evangelise the colonised peoples, and scientific missions to explore the geography of the new territories . 8. COLONISATION OF AFRICA In 1885, Germany organised the Berlin Conference to decide how Africa would be divided amongst the European powers, all of which had different interests. Because of its late unification, Germany feared that it would miss its opport unity for colonial expansion. The British Empire wanted to establish a large belt of colonies from Egypt to the Cape, and the other powers wanted to prevent this. France already controlled the Sahara and its bordering countries, and Portugal controlled lar ge inland areas that it had reached from the ports of its old colonial empire. Both France and Portugal wanted to consolidate their territories. 9. COLONISATION OF ASIA The Indian subcontinent was completely colonised by the the ‘je British , who considered it wel in the crown’. France took control of Indochina and much of what is now Indonesia, while the Dutch took control of Portugal’s territories in the region. Although China institutions, it was still an independent country, ruled by its emperor and ancient also felt the effects of imperialist pressures from Europe and the USA. It had to cede control of its mines and allow areas of importance for foreign trade to be divided between the colonists. It also opened up ports in important coastal cities, such 45  as Canton and Shanghai, to international trade. The British took advantage of the Chinese authorities’ initial tolerance of opium consumption, and smuggled the drug to make large amounts of money, to the detriment of the population’s health. 9.1. THE BOXER REBELLION (1899-1901) This rebellion was the result of Chinese opposition to the policies imposed by foreign powers in China. The aim was to expel the colonists. 10. TYPES OF COLONIAL GOVERNMENT There were three types of colonial government: • Colonies: territories where weak local power allowed mother countries to control all aspects of the country: economic, political and cultural. This model was applied in many parts of Africa, such as the Congo, controlled by the Belgians. France also imposed this model of government in Indochina. • Protectorates: territories where the mother country decided not to intervene in matters of local politics, controlling only economic matters and foreign relations. This model was used primarily in Asia, e.g., the British protectorate in India. France and Spain had protectorates in Morocco. • Dominions: territories of the British Empire occupied almost entirely by a new population of European origin, with great autonomy and their own institutions. Australia and New Zealand are examples of this model.  11. CONSEQUENCES OF IMPERIALISM The consequences of colonial expansion for colonising countries were very different from those for the countries that were colonised. The way in which territories were divided, especially in Africa, was based on the interests of the occupying powers and not on local factors. As a result, artificial borders were created, dividing tribes and ethnic groups or joining them together. This would result in conflicts in the future. Colonial expansion consolidated inequalities in the global production of goods. The colonies specialised in producing cheap raw materials, while the mother countries manufactured and sold industrial products of higher added value. Colonisation severely altered the social structure of the indigenous populations. A new social order was imposed, based on racial discrimination against the indigenous peoples by the colonists. This resulted in the breakdown of the traditional tribal society. 11.1. FASHODA INCIDENT (1898) This was a diplomatic dispute between France and Great Britain. In their attempts to control Africa, the two powers both reached what is now South Sudan at the same 6  time. They both wanted to control the territory. Although the meeting of the two armies was friendly, it triggered fears of war in Europe. Eventually France was forced to withdraw and cede Egypt to Britain. 12. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN EUROPE The late 19th century–also known as the Belle Époque–was a period of prosperity and optimism, but also of great tension in international relations because of territorial expansionism. Between 1870 and 1890, relations between countries were determined by Germany. The German chancellor, Bismarck, designed a complex system of alliances (the Bismarckian System) in order to isolate France, which wanted revenge for the loss of Alsace and Lorraine after the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. 13. THE BISMARCKIAN SYSTEMS OF ALLIANCES (1872-1890) First system (1872). Known as the League of the Three Emperors, this was an alliance between the Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian empires. Second system (1879-1882). Bismarck made a bilateral agreement with Austria (Dual Alliance). Italy later joined the agreement, forming the Triple Alliance. Bismarck also revived the League of the Three Emperors. Third system (1887). The German chancellor reinforced the Triple Alliance and signed the Reinsurance Treaty with the Russian tsar. This treaty guaranteed Russian neutrality in the event of an attack by France. Bismarck also signed the Mediterranean Agreements with Great Britain, Italy, Austria and Spain. 14. ARMED PEACE (1890-1914) After Bismarck resigned in 1890, two opposing diplomatic blocs formed in Europe: the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austro-Hungary and Italy) and the Triple Entente (Russia, France and Great Britain). The Entente meant the end of British neutrality in Europe. Britain was worried because Germany’s navy had expanded into a battle fleet that could threaten the supremacy of the Royal Navy. In the Triple Alliance, each member promised mutual support in the event of an attack by any other great power, or, in the case of Germany and Italy, an attack by France alone. As diplomatic tension between the two blocs increased, each bloc invested in its military, taking advantage of the advances of industrialisation. This process was called the arms race or armed peace. Two sources of extreme tension inherited from the Bismarckian Systems made the situation worse: • Between 1905 and 1911, France and Germany were on the brink of war over control of Morocco, a territory that Germany wanted for its strategic value and because of the raw materials it could provide for German industry. • In 1912, two Balkan Wars began. In the first, an alliance of Balkan countries– Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Greece–declared war on the Turks, leading to the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from Europe. In the second, the former he Russians, allies fought each other. Serbia, which had the support of t benefited from this war. 15. CULTURE, SCIENCE AND ART IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY 15.1. SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT Many cultural and scientific advances were made in the 19th century. The great scientific revolution of the 17th century was followed by a second revolution scientific during this period. This was caused by the following factors, amongst others: The creation of schools, universities, scientific societies and research centres to support the industrialisation process. German universities, for example influence on the development of the country’s chemical industry. Academic prestige , had a great as a sign of social prestige. Many scientists became well known public figures or were hired by members of the upper class to give lectures or write articles. Experimentalism of the new society, always looking for new discoveries or technologies that would improve living conditions. 15.2. LITERARY MOVEMENTS Realism . Realist literature was developed by authors such as Honoré de Balzac (France), Charles Dickens (England ), Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Russia) and Benito Pérez Galdós (Spain). Naturalism. Naturalistic writers depicted everyday reality with extreme realism. In naturalistic works, people would change for the better if their living conditions changed. Émile Zola (Franc e) and Emilia Pardo Bazán (Spain) were important naturalistic writers. Writers in both movements wrote in an objective style, faithfully representing reality in the form of a social critique. 16. SUFFRAGISM AND FEMINISM At the end of the 19th century, there co ntinued to be great inequality between men and women. Although men had achieved the right to vote thanks to the successive liberal revolutions of 1820, 1830 and 1848, women had not. Women also earned less than half the wages that men did. They were not all obey their husbands, fathers or brothers. owed to go to university and had to Because of these injustices, women, especially in Great Britain, began to form groups calling for gender equality. Because their main demand at the time was the right to suffrage or to vote, they became known as suffragists, or suffragettes in Great Britain. Later they also began to demand changes to their economic situation, equal opportunities for education and equality before the law. 7Unti l the First World War, the suffragists achieved very little. Only four Nordic states (Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway) and New Zealand recognised women’s right to vote. The situation would change thanks to the Great War, when 20 million soldiers went to fight in Europe. The jobs previously done by men then had to be done by women. As huge numbers of women joined the workforce and proved that they could do the tasks required quite efficiently, women demonstrated to the world that they were just as capab le of helping their countries as men. At the end of the war, other nations began to recognise women’s right to vote, such as Germany, Canada, Spain, the United States, Great Britain, Holland, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden. However, complete legal and econ omic equality was not achieved until after the Second World War. Even today, equality is still an issue for many Western governments. 16.1. EMMELINE PANKHURST Emmeline Pankhurst (1858 her time. She was 1928) is considered the most important British feminist of an activist and leader of the suffragette movement, but was criticised by her contemporaries for the very aggressive methods windows and supporting arson — such as smashing that she used to make her views known. When she was arrested, she often fought wi th police and went on hunger strikes. She spent years touring, giving speeches and participating in marches. She suspended her activities during the First World War to support the war effort, and after women got the right to vote in Great Britain, she was active in politics and ran for Parliament. 16.2. SUFFRAGISM IN SPAIN The fight for women’s right to vote in Spain did not begin until well into the 20th century. This was because of Spain’s limited industrial and cultural development, and the power of the Cathol ic Church. Women’s initial demands were therefore related to motherhood, looking after family and certain civil rights. Novelist Emilia Pardo Bazán (18511921) criticised the political advances made by liberal men because they had actually increased inequa lity between men and women. Writer and activist Concepción Arenal (18201893) believed that women should not be restricted to the traditional roles of wife and mother. 8