Unit 10: Nationalism
Key Concepts
The problems of industrialization provoked a range of ideological, governmental, and collective responses.
A variety of motives and methods led to the intensification of European global control and increased tensions among the Great Powers.
The problems of industrialization provoked a range of ideological, governmental, and collective responses.
A variety of motives and methods led to the intensification of European global control and increased tensions among the Great Powers.
Concept Overview |
Sub-Concept 1 |
The European imperial outreach of the 19th century was in some ways a continuation of three centuries of colonization, but it also resulted from the economic pressures and necessities of a maturing industrial economy. The new technologies and imperatives of the second industrial revolution (1870–1914) led many European nations to view overseas territories as sources of raw materials and consumer markets. While European colonial empires in the Western hemisphere diminished in size over this period as former colonies gained independence, the region remained dependent on Europe as a source of capital and technological expertise and was a market for European-made goods. European powers also became increasingly dominant in Eastern and Southern Asia in the early 19th century, and a combination of forces created the conditions for a new wave of imperialism there and in Africa later in the century. Moreover, European national rivalries accelerated the expansion of colonialism as governments recognized that actual control of these societies offered economic and strategic advantages. Notions of global destiny and racial superiority fed the drive for empire, and innovations such as antimalarial drugs, machine guns, and gunboats made it feasible. Non-European societies without these modern advantages could not effectively resist European imperial momentum.
The “new imperialism” of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was promoted in European nations by interest groups that included politicians, military officials and soldiers, missionaries, explorers, journalists, and intellectuals. As an example of a new complex phase of imperial diplomacy, the Berlin Conference in 1884–1885 outlined the procedures that Europeans should use in the partition of the African continent. By 1914, most of Africa and Asia were under the domination of Great Britain, France, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Notwithstanding the power of colonial administrations, some groups in the colonial societies resisted European imperialism, and by 1914, anticolonial movements had taken root within the non-European world and in Europe itself. Imperialism exposed Europeans to foreign societies and introduced “exotic” influences into European art and culture. At the same time, millions of Europeans carried their culture abroad, to the Americas and elsewhere, through emigration, and helped to create a variety of mixed cultures around the world. In the second half of the 19th century, labor leaders in many countries created unions and syndicates to provide the working classes with a collective voice, and these organizations used collective action such as strikes and movements for men’s universal suffrage to reinforce their demands. Feminists and suffragists petitioned and staged public protests to press their demands for similar rights for women. The international movements for socialism, labor, and women’s rights were important examples of a trend toward international cooperation in a variety of causes, including antislavery and peace movements. Finally, political parties emerged as sophisticated vehicles for advocating reform or reacting to changing conditions in the political arena. Nationalism acted as one of the most powerful engines of political change, inspiring revolutions as well as campaigns by states for national unity or a higher degree of centralization. Early nationalism emphasized shared historical and cultural experiences that often threatened traditional elites. Over the course of the 19th century, leaders recognized the need to promote national unity through economic development and expanding state functions to meet the challenges posed by industry. Following the Crimean War, Russia undertook a series of internal reforms aimed at achieving industrial modernization. The reforms succeeded in establishing an industrial economy and emboldened Russia’s aspirations in the Balkans. They also led to an active revolutionary movement, which employed political violence and assassinations and was one of the driving forces behind the 1905 Russian Revolution. After the new German Emperor Wilhelm II dismissed Chancellor Bismarck in 1890, Germany’s diplomatic approach altered significantly, leading to a shift in the alliance system and increased tensions in European diplomacy. Imperial antagonisms, growing nationalism, militarism, and other factors resulted in the development of a rigid system of alliances. The Great Powers militarized their societies and built up army and naval forces to unprecedented levels (fed by industrial and technological advances), while at the same time developing elaborate plans for the next war. The long-anticipated war finally came in the summer of 1914. The assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne in Sarajevo forced the political leaders of the Great Powers, locked in the rigid structure of the Triple Entente versus the Triple Alliance, to implement war plans that virtually required the escalation of hostilities. The ensuing Great War revealed the flaws in the diplomatic order established after the unifications of Germany and Italy, but more importantly, it produced an even more challenging diplomatic situation than that faced by the diplomats in 1814–1815. *Language on this page is provided by the College Board. |
European nations were driven by economic, political, and cultural motivations in their new imperial ventures in Asia and Africa.
Sub-Concept 2Industrial and technological developments (i.e., the second industrial revolution) facilitated European control of global empires.
Sub-Concept 3Imperial endeavors significantly affected society, diplomacy, and culture in Europe and created resistance to foreign control abroad.
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