Unsettled Questions

Challenges to imperialism

Progress in question

Women

1890-1914

Resistance to colonialism

• Not surprisingly, the shift to direct rule of colonies by the mother countries led to resistance by Africans

• Colonial overlords answered this resistance with determined military effort

• For example, an uprising by Muslims in Nigeria in 1906 was brutally suppressed by British forces

Between 1904 and 1906, German colonial overlords led a campaign of genocide against the Herero people, killing over 90 per cent of the population

During 1905-06 the German colonial overlords in East Africa brutally suppressed the Maji-Maji revolt

Revolt in South Africa• Dutch farmers had settled on the Cape in

the 17th and 18th centuries but its strategic importance meant that the British increased their presence there in the 19th century

• Fleeing control of the English the Boers migrated further inland to the Transvaal and Orange Free State

• Both the British and the Boers clashed with native Zulu tribes in the area

Boer Wars: 1880-81, 1899-1902

• The wars are precipitated by the discovery of diamonds and gold in the Transvaal

• Britain is worried about having a rich independent nation so close by – who could ally with the Germans in South West Africa and threaten British control of the Cape

• For the Boers it was a way to challenge the dominance of the British over them

Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901)• The suppression of the Tai Ping rebellion

used up much of the Qing’s resources and they would also require foreign aid to put down the a rebellion of the “Righteous and Harmonious Fists”

• Boxers were martial artists who lashed out against foreign influences in China – in trade, politics, and especially against Christians – who they blamed for foreign incursions in their territories

The Boxers attracted young men who were disaffected with Chinese society under the Qing and gave them an outlet for their resentment against foreign intrusion on their soil

• Military forces from Italy, United States, France, Austria-Hungary, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom and Russia were used to suppress the Boxer Rebellion

Fall of the Qing• The incursion of foreign powers in China

weakened the Qing• To make matters worse in 1908 the

Empress Dowager Cixi, who had ruled (indirectly) for almost half a century, died leaving a two-year-old to take the throne

• While the Boxers had fought against Western influence, many Chinese intellectuals embraced western political ideas as models to modernize China

Tensions in Europe

• As nation states consolidated they inevitably clashed with their neighbouring countires

• The mechanisms for dealing with international disputes that had been formed in the early nineteenth century no longer worked in an industrialized and imperial world

The Congress of Vienna, 1815• Called to restore order to Europe after

Napoleon’s defeat it implemented a diplomatic system—balance of power—that would prevail until WWI

• The general idea was to not let one strong state (like Napolean’s France) threaten weaker ones

• Set up a system of alliances where opposing sides were roughly equal in strength to deter the possibility of war

Diplomatic tensions• The development of the industrial

revolution, and the growth of strong nation states (like Italy and Germany) put pressure on the balance of power system

• Diplomats tried to bend this system to suit the new circumstances, and redrew alliances many times in the 19th century

• The diplomatic system that had been created to prevent war could also be the mechanism that drove Europe to war

Issues leading to War• Britain and France fear Germany’s

growing economic power • The Austro-Hungarian Empire faces

uprisings from nationalist-inspired groups, especially Bosnian Serbs

• Russia is allied to Serbia – promoting itself as the head of a Pan-Slavic movement

• An ‘arms race’ – which had been used as a deterrent to war – results in the great powers having lots of military goods at their disposal

Alliances: Eve of World War I

Allied Powers• Britain• France• Russia• Serbia

• Romania

Central Powers• Germany

• Austria-Hungary• Turkey

• Bulgaria

Corporations and Banking

• By 1900, the economies of the United States and Europe were supported by a few corporations and individual financiers

• They were subject to boom and bust cycles, creating an air of economic instability that threatened to collapse without some sort of government regulation

John Pierpont Morgan and John Rockefeller were dubbed by contemporaries as “Robber Barons” – reflecting the belief that their fortunes were built on unethical and illegal practices and outright fraud. More sympathetic biographers dubbed them ‘Captains of Industry’

Both New York figures used their fortunes to endow foundations to patronize the arts and learning

Feminism and the "New Woman"

• by the last quarter of the 19thc.--expansion of employment for middle class women

• middle and upper class women--press for legal and educational reforms--eg. for access to university education, medical training, new forms of employment

• feminist activists often disagreed on the tactics that should be used and women suffragists did not all share the same political views

Women's Rights in the 19thc.

• benefited from other reform movements that attracted female activists--eg. anti-slavery, temperance, public education, rescue work for prostitutes

• women's groups exerted pressure for educational reforms and legal reforms, political reform also became an important issue--real and symbolic importance for women

• feminist activists often disagreed on the tactics that should be used and women suffragists did not share the same political views, eg. socialist feminists

• Britain:  1897-National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) women's suffrage groups throughout the country formed a national organization--moderates

• Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU): more militant activities

Emmeline Pankhurst formed the Womens’ Social and Political Union in Britain in 1905 to advocate for womens’ rights, particularly the right to vote. She advocated spectacles to draw the public’s attention to the cause. She was arrested many times.

Emily Davidson was killed in 1913 as she attempted to attach a WSPU banner to a horse belonging to King George V in a derby in 1913. This publicity stunt showed the growing militancy of the feminist movement

Anti-Suffrage in Britain

• women and men-- opposed the suffrage for women; organized anti-suffrage groups; lobbied the government; published propaganda that opposed suffrage--on the basis that women were upsetting the natural moral and social order of society

• "New Woman" : product of the higher education for girls--encouraged independence and a rejection of domestic responsibilities

• dangers presented by the "new woman":  exaggerated  by the media and anti-feminist writers, but symbolized the debates about the "woman question"

The Masses and politics

• By the 1870s most European countries had adopted representative institutions with universal male suffrage

• This opened up new opportunities for political organization to the newly-enfranchised masses

• Unions also provided and avenue for working class men to have a voice and to share their political ideals

The spread of Socialism • political radicals and working men's clubs

criticized industrial capitalism and agreed that change was necessary, but could not always agree on tactics and priorities

• For eg., The 1864 International Workingmen's Association founded by workers from Continental Europe and Britain brought together unions and associations that were critical of industrial capitalism

• They could not, however, agree on the way to move forward

Socialists in party politics• Socialist parties emerged in several

European countries after 1870

• Germany, for example, had a large urban working class was drawn to a Marxist message

• The Socialist Democratic Party (SDP), formed in 1875, became a political force in Germany and the model for other organized worker parties throughout the world

Great Britain and the Left

• Labour Party--formed in 1901-- brought together 3 different groups– Marxists who were members of the Social Democratic

Federation– moderate socialists who were members of the

International Labour Party and Fabian Socialists--did not want revolution, but effect change by working with the existing political system--social reform and legislation to even out the inequalities of capitalism

– Trade Union Congress:  trade unions--represented the interests of skilled workers