LECTURE X

LECTURE X:
The European Century
Modernization & Western Power, 1800-1914

Online TB Exercises
Chap. 33 Quiz
Chap. 34 Quiz

THEME: During the 19^th century Western nations came to dominate the world. This lecture examines how the three revolutions of modernity were connected to the expansion of western power and its influence on other civilizations. We shall see how all three facets of modernization were involved:
1. The Development of Industrial Economy and Urban Society
2. The Rise of Nationalism and the Nation State
3. The Cultural Changes of Secularism and Modernism and the Emergence of Modern Consciousness.

Historians differ on how much emphasis to place on each of these forces in explaining the rise of the New Imperialism after 1870. In this topic we'll look at the development of western power in the 19th century and try to understand how the forces of modernization were involved with the so-called new imperialism after 1870.

Here are some additional short references on Imperialism:
Imperialism (Social Science Encyclopedia)
Imperialism (Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.)

TEXT BOOK MATERIAL

The main chapter for this topic is chapter 34 "The Building of Global Empires." Chapter 33, "Societies at Crossroads," is a useful resource on the non-western empires (Ottoman and Chinese) that proved no match for the western empires that became supreme by the end of the 19th century. Only Japan was able to withstand western power. Chapter 33 also shows the condition of the traditional dynastic Russian empire, a western power that was beaten by the Japanese Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. The result of that Russo-Japanese war pitted a traditional empire, still way behind in modernization, against an energetic, modernized Asian state.

Reading

TB:
chap.33
chap. 34

SB:
Lin-Tse,133-36
Ferry, 222-24
al-Afghani,143-46
Macaulay, 217-21
Morgan, 153-56
Yukichi, 230-236

To begin we'll look at a documentary on the new imperialism. Note that its title, Industry and Empire, 1870-1914, places economic forces first. As you review your notes of the documentary and read TB chapter 34, make up your own mind on the relative importance of economic, political, and cultural factors. Here are some of the documentary’s major points. Find sections of the TB chapters and documents from the SB that deal with these points.

Opening Event Focus – 1897, Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee: what point are the documentary writers making by beginning with this event?

Dominance of England as an imperial power.

London as commercial and banking center

Improved standard of living of 19^th-century Europeans

The last quarter of the 19^th century as the Age of the Consumer Economy fed by new industries

New Technology – the last quarter of the century saw more changes that at any time before or since., e.g. air travel and the Zeppelin, 1900

Migrations

From countryside to cities

From Europe to North and South America

Shattering of traditional peasant world

Social Classes

The new middle class

Old aristocracy goes into finance etc

Age of Broad Education – Growth of schools and universities

Rail Roads as arteries of European trade and culture

The Steam Ship

Views of civilization and Race

Mass society and National Pride

The scramble for empire and the arms race after1890

How does the documentary compare with TB chapter 34?

LECTURE X: The European Century Modernization & Western Power, 1800-1914

LECTURE X:
The European Century
Modernization & Western Power, 1800-1914