Although England was the world’s most powerful power in the 19th and early 0th centuries, other industrial powerhouses of Europe were gaining momentum too.
The change in the political landscape of Europe after the French Revolution did not bring an end to the empires of Europe across the globe. A340-41,9. Actually, the opposite was true.
The new century saw the growth of capitalists who are mature (see History of the Western Economy). The countries that were part of Northern as well as Western Europe benefited tremendously from the Industrial Revolution and were able to use steam ships and railroads as tools to expand their empires farther into the interiors of Asia, Africa and the Americas. The upper classes (nobility as well as the clergy) who’s wealth was built on taxation and land ownership were gradually replaced by capitalists, whose wealth is based on the production of services and goods. With modern weaponry, England was able to win solid military victories against powerful India and China which was a feat that had that was never previously achieved by any European power. Prior to the advent of modern times, capitalists (e.g. traders, artisans) were generally part of in the middle classes . France, Germany and even smaller powers such as Belgium were able to create the colonies of their own (largely located in Africa) with modern weapons and technology. In the time from the Enlightenment until World War I (ca. 1650-WWI) The five nations with the most power in Europe included France , Britain , Austria , Prussia (later Germany) and Russia . A Political Cartoon that shows British imperialist Cecil Rhodes standing atop Africa using an Telegraph cable.
Austria’s power was weakened during the First World War, such that the most powerful European nations prior to WWI were the major four: France, Britain, Germany, and Russia. In 1900, the empire of England covered about a quarter of the globe. It is the Two Pillars of the West. In the domestic sphere, England’s industry was now the ‘workshop of the world’, producing incredible quantities of textiles and other products that were manufactured that were exported to the colonies. The two fundamental elements that make up Western society are democracy and science (see Enlightenment, History of Science, History of Democracy). Although England was the world’s most powerful power in the 19th and early 20th centuries, other industrial powerhouses of Europe were gaining momentum too.
The extraordinary standard of life across the Western world could be due in part to the two "pillars of the West". Germany even though it had only a handful of overseas colonies, had one of the most prosperous economies, and was one of the most powerful European militaries. In the present the two "pillars" (along along Western culture in general) gained a wide influence across the world that is not Western. The Next Generation of Crisis.
Main Article. From 1914 until 1945 Europe was a victim of two world wars as well as general depression that when taken in combination, could be described as a long period of general turmoil. Napoleonic Wars. At the time of the First World War (1914 – 1918) the major powerhouses of Europe were caught up in an intricate web of alliances and nationalist conflicts. 1799-1815 Summary of the Nineteenth-century Europe Napoleonic Wars 1799-1815 Napoleon briefly conquers the majority of Central and Western Europe Pax Britannica 1815-1914 the British Empire prospers as the world’s dominant colonial power. Through the 20th century, nearly all major military powers of Europe had signed defensive agreements with a number of allies. Prussia wins over Austria and France and then joins with the German Empire; Russia continues to expand, but is defeated in its battles in the Crimean War and Russo-Japanese War.
The treaty system guaranteed that any war declared against one nation could bring several allies to the fight. After the rise to the position of Napoleon Bonaparte as dictator of France (1799) and the French Revolutionary Wars became the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815), that drew the attention of most of Europe. This meant that it was virtually inevitable that even a minor conflict between two powers could turn into a bigger multi-national conflict. Napoleon was the one who announced France as an "empire" (and consequently as an "emperor") and brought the majority of Continental Europe under French control and in part, as a result in the form of satellite states (which are legally independent, but heavily governed by the dominant state).
6 . The murder of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary in the summer of 1914 was the spark that brought the two rival nations from Russia as well as Austria-Hungary into conflict. His victory over Austria ended the nation’s status to the title of "Holy Rome Empire". Germany, England, France and a host of other nations signed alliance agreements and quickly joined the fight. Napoleon’s plans to invade Britain were foiled by the battle for naval supremacy of Trafalgar during which the French empire’s principal fleet (comprised of French and Spanish vessels) was defeated by Horatio Nelson in the southwest waters of Spain. Then the entire continent of Europe was at war in the an open war.
After this triumph, British dominance of the oceans of the world remained unquestioned throughout the Pax Britannica. World War I is often considered to be the first major-scale industrial war. Napoleon then turned his back on Britain and remained focused upon his Continental campaign . In reality, the use of tanks, machine guns, and chemical gas , made it one of the most deadly conflicts in the history of the world. K306-07,6.
The expansion of war into the Atlantic eventually pressed the United States into joining the War on the side of the Russian-British-French alliance in 1917. The downfall of Napoleon began by launching an invasion of Russia and, following the temporary seizing of Moscow the forces of Napoleon were wiped out by the frigid winter and Russian counter-attacks. It was the landing place of French soldiers in World War I. Retreated to the west, the final blow was delivered by the Battle of Leipzig , followed by the invasion of France and the forced abdication of Napoleon (1814). The loss of Germany and allies during the First World War in 1918 resulted in part to both an economic downturn and the Second World War (1939 – 1945). The year 1815 was the time that Napoleon was able to escape from his exile (on Elba, the island that he was exiled to Elba) and was able to regain the power for a short period called"the Hundred Days ; this time was he defeated permanently in Waterloo , Belgium, by Britain and Prussia.
6,16. Germany was stricken with a heavy burden of war reparations, and was removed from military power. In the Congress of Vienna (the subsequent peace agreement) the borders of national sovereignty were restored to their pre-French revolution arrangement, and the previous 5-way equilibrium in European authority was restored. In the 1930s, Germany was able to adopt an extreme and totalitarian government system in order to regain its previous position as the leading military and industrial force in Europe. Napoleon’s influence remained but he also influenced his reforms to the administrative system . Italy was among Nazi Germany’s most trusted allies, took a similar route of dictatorship that was characterized as fascist. He was the most famous for establishing the national civil code of law (the Napoleonic Code, which was the basis for the contemporary legal system in Continental Europe) and nationalized the system of education . 5,8. The aggressive expansion of the portion of Nazi Germany and Japan led to the start of a Second World War.
Pax Britannica. In 1945, each Germany and Japan were defeated by an alliance of nations that included Britain, the US, Britain, and Russia. 1815-1914 Summary of the Nineteenth century Europe Napoleonic Wars 1799-1815 Napoleon briefly conquers the majority of Central and Western Europe Pax Britannica 1815-1914 the British Empire prospers as the world’s dominant colonial power. Stalin and Churchill in peace talks to the close of World War II. Prussia wins over Austria and France and then joins with the German Empire; Russia continues to expand, but is defeated in its battles in the Crimean War and Russo-Japanese War.
It was the Cold War. The Pax Britannica (ca. 1815-1914) was a time of relative peace, thanks in large part to Britain’s global naval dominance . The post-World War II period during Europe was defined by the political machinations that accompanied the Cold War. This was the peak of European dominance over the Old World (see European Colonialism). After Germany defeated, the allies quickly found themselves in a tense standoff over the political and economic control of Europe.
The peace of the Pax Britannica was finally shattered by the First World War essay, the bloodiest war the world has ever witnessed. On one hand were those of the Western European nations led by the United States, and on the other side was that of the Soviet Union . A354,A436,K287,3.
