Year 11 Modern History 2013
Summary: The World at the Beginning of the 20th Century
Overview
The world in 1900 was dominated by European powers, the industrial revolution had over the proceeding century given Europeans (specifically Western European nations such as France and Great Britain) a technological advantage over the rest of the world which these nations used to develop huge global empires under a system known as Imperialism. The late 19th and early 20th saw dramatic changes in many aspects of European life.
The Nature of European Society and the Effects of Industrialization
-Key features of this era included: * The unequal distribution of wealth and power * Imperialism and economic rivalries * Nationalism and
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* Britain and Germany were Europe’s industrial giants * the two nations competed for technological dominance and the economic and colonial power that could come from it * their industrial strength enabled them to impose their political, economic, social, cultural and religious influence throughout the world * Britain would eventually concede its dominance to Germany and the newly emerging industrial powers of the US and Japan * Stimulated technical innovation and encouraged the growth of advertisement * Countries that had no begun to industrialise or were making slow progress suffered from the changing balance of power that industrialisation created
Urbanisation and Demographic Change: * Urbanisation is the trend for people to leave their rural environments to live and work in cities and the growth and expansion of cities that occurred as a result * Industrialisation was a major catalyst for challenge and change ^ * The nineteenth century witnessed a massive growth in number, size and population densities od cities * Rapid growth of industrial cities and ports * Cities without industry stagnated or declined * European population grew 25% between 1870 and 1900
Urban growth is described as the increase in the number of people who live in towns and cities and suburbanisation can be defined as the outward growth of urban development.
Economics had a important role to the new imperialism. There were many economic factors that affected this period. An economic factor was having colonies which made it easier for countries to protect their merchant marine and their world trade. As american senator A.J beveridge (document 2) stated “ the trading of the world must and shall be ours… we will establish trading posts throughout the world as disturbing points for american products. We will cover the ocean with our merchant marines. We will build a navy to the measure of our greatness…”. America was creating colonies and was becoming imperialistic. Also introducing ruthlessness in the diplomacy of imperialism, william l. Langer (document 5) which states “but the economic side.. [survival of the fittest] was pherhaps most crucial”. The teaching of survival of the fittest helped the growth
from economy to culture, Great Britain thrived and controlled most of the world. But finally,the
Therefore, one must understand how throughout the times of Imperialism, and Industrial Revolution, aspects such as working conditions, population expansion and colonial enhancement prove why advancements were beneficial to the modern world in the long run.
The question about why did British have a head start of the Industrial Revolution is addressed by a very different view, by the author. The author views this by analyzing the two most advanced cultures; China and England. The reader sees that colonial resources and overcoming the biological old regime played in the favor of England. The Britons used their colonial resources against the Asians; which is from India, China, and even Japan, inclining the global economic standard, power balance towards the Britons.
Between 1870 and 1920, the European nations took the use of imperialism due to economic, political, and social forces to control the less-developed locations of the world. Economical forces used the need for raw materials for a reason to take locations. Social forces such as racism, thinking that themselves, the Europeans were better than whomever they were taking over. Political forces used militarism more often than not to take the less-developed locations of the world. The use of economical, political, and social forces were all important during the rise of imperialism during the 1870s through 1920s due to the humanitarianism (used in both political and social forces), racism, and the market through world trade with the need for militarism.
Prior to the 19th century imperialism of both Africa and Asia, revolutions and changes of territories led the Europeans to colonize these continents. The industrial revolution was a major impact to new imperialism. This revolution raised Europe’s economy and forced them to find new opportunities to sell the goods they have produced. Also, the change and loss of territories around the world meant a decline of power for Europe, and yet another reason to imperialize. The 19th century imperialism of Africa and Asia was caused by the industrial revolution because of goods, resources, and new markets in their countries. The industrial revolution also influenced imperialism based on the military and technological advances, such as the invention of
The non-Western societies responded to the West’s power differently, during the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s.When the industrialization train rolled into other societies, they greeted it with open arms. They would try to preserve the old ways, or sought out to modernize on their own. Some were too weak to adjust on their own terms.
WHG 6.1.5 Interpreting Europe’s Increasing Global Power – Describe Europe’s increasing global power between 1500 and 1900, and evaluate the merits of the argument that this rise was caused by factors internal to Europe
The Industrial Revolution affected farming, manufacturing, and legislatives and led to a increase in the wealth and prosperity of the countries in which it occurred..
Throughout the industrial revolution many factories and industries were created. Raw materials became very great in number so countries started looking for new resources. Because of this and more reasons there was a new beginning to imperialism. Though the countries of Western Europe military technology began to conquer lands throughout the contingent of Africa and Asia. As seen in document 1 exploiting markets and
During the late 19th century, many European countries were seeking to gain power, both in Europe and the rest of the world. In doing so, the Europeans colonized many different areas, including India, North America, and quite notably, Africa. This colonization was part of a process known as imperialism, where the various European nations would each colonize territories around the world, and subsequently used the natural resources, and often times people, in these colonies to fund their empire. This would work towards an eventual goal of possible world domination through an aggregation of power. The Europeans also did not want to cede power to their rivals in Europe, as this could lead to their own country getting conquered and thus losing control of Europe and their bid for heightened power and world domination. As a result, they each conquered territory to both earn money and power for themselves, and keep these from ending up in the hands of their rival nations. European imperialism in Africa was thus driven by economic and political forces, due to the fact that European countries wanted to spread their influence, improve their economies by keeping control of their colonies, and prevent other nations from gaining power in a similar manner.
Industrialization added to Britain’s desire for raw materials and new markets and the British were motivated by this desire and looked for colonies to obtain. Adopting the policy of imperialism was economically beneficial for Britain, since it helped supply Britain with raw materials for industrial development, along with cheap food for Britain’s developing population. Britain chose to become imperialistic, because it would bring them prudent and economic benefits.
During the latter half of the nineteenth century, Europe went through many significant changes that had great effects on their society. These changes were largely due to the Industrial Revolution that dates back hundreds of years, but shows most prominent influence during this time. The technological
Throughout history, the evolution of communities and societies has been influenced by the local and global economy. Large cities emerged from vibrant business activity and flow of products and services. For the most part