Colonialism’s Impact and Spain in the 19th-20th Centuries
European Colonial Powers in Africa
Which parts of Africa did Spain, Belgium, and Portugal control?
- Portugal: Angola and Mozambique
- Spain: Spanish Sahara and parts of Morocco
- Belgium: Congo
Non-European Powers’ Expansion in the 20th Century
List two non-European powers that began their expansion in the twentieth century:
- United States: Acquired Cuba and Puerto Rico from Spain.
- Japan: Expanded into Korea and Manchuria.
Adverse Effects of Colonialism on Indigenous Societies
What were the adverse effects on indigenous
Read MoreSpanish Land Reform in the 19th Century
1. Was There Land Reform in 19th-Century Spain?
To bring about the modernization of the sector, two conditions had to be met:
- A change in the structure of land ownership. This involved the alienation of land through a law that separated ownership from large landowners (the Crown, Nobility, and Church, known as “dead hands”). The land would then be sold on the market.
- The new landowners had to introduce technological innovations in agriculture to make the land productive.
The Confiscation
The 19th-century
Read MoreEvolution of the British Parliament: Key Milestones
Evolution of the British Parliament
Born in 1265, the British Parliament summoned representatives from cities and counties to the Magnum Concilium. The tendency of the clergy and nobility to join in isolation led to bicameralism, formalized in 1343. The advent of the Tudor dynasty in 1485 with Henry VII marks the beginning of the New Monarchy, equipped with a modern state organization and strong centralized power.
The spirit of this stage is the rise of the middle class, which destroyed medieval institutions
Read MoreEurope in the 1920s: Post-War Recovery and the Great Depression
Europe in the 1920s
At the end of the First World War, democracy was the form of government in countries such as Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. However, democracies did not always protect all rights and freedoms equally. For example, workers’ rights, such as the right to strike, were not always respected, and they reacted by voting for left-wing parties (Socialists and Communists). These democracies were weak due to the post-war economic crisis, which led to
Read MoreLabor Movement History: Origins, Development, and Impact
The Labor Movement: A Historical Overview
Early Challenges for Workers
- Long Working Hours: Laborers often worked up to 16 hours a day under harsh conditions.
- Lack of Workplace Safety: Absence of safety measures led to chronic illnesses and accidents.
- Child Labor: Children worked in mines and factories under the same conditions as adults.
- Low Wages: Particularly affecting women and children, wages were suppressed due to abundant labor.
- Layoffs: Workers were laid off without compensation or unemployment
Scramble for Africa: Colonial Powers & Conflicts
The Scramble for Africa: Powers and Conflicts
The two key powers in Africa during the late 19th and early 20th centuries were Great Britain (GB) and France. GB, having long controlled Egypt and the Cape, aimed to create a continuous longitudinal empire. France, for its part, wanted to create an empire stretching from the Gulf of Guinea to the Red Sea through the Sahara.
The inevitable clash between these two powers occurred in 1898 with the Fashoda Crisis in Sudan. Great Britain prevailed, allowing
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