Revolutions That Rocked Europe
U.S. Colonies 1776
French1796
Austria1848
Germany 1848
Italy1848
The idea of the people of a nation taking the control of their country into their own hands gained a lot of power as Western Europe watched the great Powerhouse of England lose the colonies in the United States…this inspired many others over the next 100 years to take stands against their governments.
Imperialism The New Measure of Power in Europe
Imperialism: The extension of a nation’s power over other lands
This can happen in two ways…
1. Indirect Rule: Local authorities allowed to keep their jobs, but government ultimately answers to imperial power.
2. Direct Rule: Imperial “cleans house” and replaces local authorities with ones from imperial country. 1. Direct rule tends to cause more conflicts
King George V of England
Kaiser William II of Germany
Czar Nicholas of Russia
Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria
Premier George Clemenceau of France
Victor Emmanuel IIIKing of Italy
Leaders of the AlliancesTriple Entente
Triple Alliance
Area/Nation overtaken by the British
Motivation for taking the land Conflicts that arose
West Africa Resources: Lumber, animal hides, palm oil, gold
Nothing substantial
North Africa Muhammad Ali (Ottoman leader) brought Egypt up to date. French built Suez Canal 1869, British want the area now to have access to India
- 1875 British bought part of canal- 1881 Egyptians revolted for control- 1914 Egypt became a British
protector
South Africa Access for trade, gold, diamonds, land for the wealthy
- Boers frustrated with British rule moved north and took lands of the Zulu- Gold and diamonds discovered in
new Boer lands evoked a war between the British and Boer
- 1902 peace agreement was signed
British Imperial Rule and Resulting Conflicts
Area/Nation overtaken by the British
Motivation for taking the land Conflicts that arose
East Africa - Power struggle with Germany
- Control of access in and out of the Red Sea
Germany, Great Britain and Portugal made land claims in E. Africa, Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 determined that Germany and Great Britain had rightful claims.
India - Trade with the Orient- Food/spices- Precious Gems
- Constant revolts- Massacre at Kanpur, 200
women and children were killed (British)
British Imperial Rule and Resulting Conflicts
Key Players of Western Europe Late 1800’s and Prewar
Leader Nation Political Role and Position Archduke Francis Ferdinand
Austria-Hungary
- Heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary- Assassinated on June 28, 1914 by a group of
Serbian terrorists - Allied with Germany- Part of the Triple Alliance- Declared war on Serbia July 28, 1914
Emperor William II
Germany - Supported Austria- Hungary 100% against Russia- Declared war on Russia/Serbia August 1, 1914
Czar Nicholas II Russia - Supported Serbia- July 28, 1914 partial mobilization of Russian
army - Full mobilization against Austria-Hungary July 29,
1914- Germany considered this an act of war
Leader Nation Political Role and Position General Alfred von Schlieffen
Germany Drafted the plan “Schlieffen Plan” - Two fronted war with Russia and France- Most of the efforts would go to overtaking France
while using a limited amount to hold off the Russians. - Invasion of France would be through Belgium- After France was defeated then they would move to
invade Russia- Declared war on France on August 3, 1914
Grigory Rasputin
Russia - Personal advisor to the Czar’s wife (Alexandra)- Was believed to have mystical powers- Influenced the decisions of Alexandra when Nicholas
was away.- Poor decisions lead to economic and military blunders- Russian people wanted monarchy/Rasputin out, lead
to revolution- Russian’s rallied together, assassinated Rasputin in
December of 1916
Leader Nation Political Role and Position Aleksandr Kerensky
Russia - Temporary leader of Russia after the fall of Czar Nicholas II- Decided to stay in WWI and honor alliance- Not a good decision for the people of Russia economically
or morale wise
V.I. Lenin Russia - A leader of one of the soviets, groups that represented the workers and soldiers
- He lead the Bolshevik Soviet group- Believed only a violent revolution could restore things in
Russia- Lead the Bolshevik Revolution with the message that he
would return the power of Russia to the workers and peasants, to end the war and return the land to the peasants
- November 6, 1917 they overthrew the government and renamed themselves the Communists.
- Ending the war meant giving up land to Germany=Poland, the Ukraine and Finland.
Leader Nation Political Role and Position Woodrow Wilson
United States
- Initial position was neutral- The issue that caused problem was “unrestricted
submarine warfare” by Germany- May 7, 1915 Lusitania sunk- Germans backed off until spring 1917- U.S. “forced” to enter the war in April 1917- Increased the psychological drive of the Allied Powers to
succeed against Central Powers.
King George V Great Britain
- King of Great Britain works in conjunction with the Prime Minster David Lloyd George- Willing to go to war because of alliance obligation and confidence in naval power and presence
Raymond Poincare
France - Foreign Minster of France, worked directly with the Premier, George Clemenceau- Assisted in the drafting of the Treaty at Versailles