History Notes on the 19th Century

History Notes on the 19th Century

Nationalism- fanatical devotion to “nation’s” commonalities
Imperialism- one nation dominates another
Industrialism- mass production of technology to be more effective
Capitalism- competition (between nations) to eradicate; all for profit
Militarism- utilize military as 1st choice; espirit de corps
Scientificism- reasoning and justifications; technology
Social Darwinism- “survival of the fittest”; why you take place in other “isms”- hierarchy

Crimean war (1854-1856):
First major power conflict in 40 years acted as the birth of modern warfare
Britain, France, Turkey, and Austria VS. Russia- Russia lost to an alliance of France, Britain, the Ottoman Empire, and (to a lesser extent) the Piedmont-Sardinia (The Kingdom of Sardinia). Austria, while neutral, played a role in stopping the Russians
Weakening of Ottoman Empire  Russian wanted to conquer and expand
The allied forces had a far superior industrial base compared to the Russians who were very backward thinking in their approach
Allies=metal warships; Russia= wooden ships  complete takeover of Black Sea
Allies could keep their army better supplied due to steam ships; Russians= supply trains and marching due

Congress of Vienna 1814
When victors of the Napoleonic wars gathered in Vienna, Austria to plan the post war world and reestablish the international order
Meant to tie together the continental nations by a sense of moral values to create a balance of power
Leader of Austria was against democracy- believed they were dangerous and unpredictable; wanted to preserve the power of the monarchs
Other representatives= Prussia, France, Britain, Russia
Issues-
Germany= composed of several small, futile states and kingdoms that couldn’t protect themselves; when Germanic peoples were weak and divided it tempted its neighbors such as France to expand
However Germany was rapidly gaining power and took up a large chunk of Europe (unified Germany would be too great a threat to neighbors)- Solution= consolidate, not unify Germany
France= Many wanted to punish France because of Napoleon- Metternich said France should be reprimanded but not left angry (mirrored Treaty of Versailles in 1919 Paris Peace Conference)
Association of nationalism with revolution and the expansion of French military power
Created Quadruple Alliance= GB, Austria, Prussia, and Russia- purpose was to prevent any trouble started by France
Holy Alliance= Austria, Prussia, and Russia- to preserve the domestic status quo of Europeans (combat revolution and support monarchies in power)
Austria felt nationalism could ruin her empire- empire consisted of a large number of different nationalities

Otto von Bismarck
Bismarck, the creator of the German empire, became its first chancellor-
When added to his Prussian positions (premier, foreign minister, and minister of commerce) the imperial chancellorship gave him almost complete control of foreign and domestic affairs.
Peace necessary for consolidation of empire= he proposed to advance a strong military program (to gain the friendship of Austria) to avoid naval or colonial rivalry (to preserve British friendship) and to isolate France in diplomacy so that revanche (revenge) would be impossible.
Formed Three Emperors' League in 1872 (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia)- also maintained friendly relations with Italy.
Balkan rivalries of Austria and Russia and subsequent triumph of Austria at the Congress of Berlin over which Bismarck presided, caused rift in Russo-German relations- a defensive alliance with Austria was now concluded (this Dual Alliance became a Triple Alliance when Italy adhered in 1882)
Friendship with Russia was revived in the Reinsurance Treaty of 1887
Bismarck, with his system of alignments and alliances, became the virtual arbiter of Europe

Three Emperor’s League
The aims of league= preserve social order of conservative powers of Europe and keep peace between Austria-Hungary and Russia.
The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 shook the alliance (see Congress of Berlin).
Although the agreement was secretly renewed in 1881, it was disrupted again in 1885 as a result of the Balkan flareup.
Remained in force until 1887, when it was eclipsed by the German-Austrian alliance of 1879- became the Triple Alliance in 1882 with Italy joined.
All that remained of the Three Emperors' League from 1887-1890 was a Russo-German reinsurance treaty.
The German chancellor Graf von Caprivi refused to renew even this in 1890, thus opening the way for the Franco-Russian rapprochement and the creation of the Triple Entente

Congress of Berlin
United Kingdom, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the Ottoman Empire revised the Treaty of San Stefano created March 3rd the same year.
Most important task of the Congress was to decide the fate of the Principality of Bulgaria established in the Treaty of San Stefano.
Bulgaria itself was excluded from participating in talks at Russian insistence.
Treaty of San Stefano had created a greater Bulgaria which was pro Russian- Great Britain and Austria-Hungary feared this
Treaty reduced Bulgaria by two-thirds the size proposed in the San Stefano Treaty, with no access to the Mediterranean Sea
Bulgaria becomes vassal state
Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro gain independence

Triple Alliance
Germany had allied itself with Russia and Austria-Hungary in the Three Emperors' League, but Austria-Hungary and Russia were not friends- partly because they were at odds over the Balkans and partly because Russia represented the Pan-Slavic movement, (which threatened the existence of Austria-Hungary)
The Treaty of San Stefano (1878), following the Russo-Turkish War, furthered the cause of Pan-Slavism through the creation of a large Bulgarian state and offended Austria-Hungary as well as Great Britain.
A European conference (see Congress of Berlin 1878) called to revise the treaty, caused a sharp decline in the friendship between Russia on the one hand and Austria-Hungary/Germany on the other
Bismarck formed (1879) a secret defensive alliance—the Dual Alliance—with Austria-Hungary.
In 1882 Italy, angry at France (France had forestalled an Italian advance by occupying Tunis) signed secret treaty with Germany and Austria-Hungary (Triple Alliance)
Italy was not too bound to either of its allies as Germany and Austria-Hungary were to each other
Italy was a rival of Austria-Hungary in the Balkans and particularly for control of the Adriatic; moreover, there remained unsettled territorial problems (irredentism).