Creation Of Modern Europe: The Late 19th And Early 20th Century

980 Words2 Pages

University of Pittsburgh Cortland Sperry
CHS Western Civilizations 11/17/17
Paper 2: Creation of Modern Europe Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many changes were occurring in Europe. Newer nations, such as Italy and Germany, were beginning to challenge older nations such as England and France. The main reason for this was the rise in technology throughout Europe and the beginning of modern ideas. The definition of modern is having characteristics of contemporary styles of art, literature, and music that reject traditionally accepted and emphasize individual experimentation and sensibility. It was obvious that during this time Europe was changing and that it was up to each country on whether they would change …show more content…

For example, Germany was united in 1871 by Prussian leadership. Once Germany gained independence, Otto von Bismarck, who was the newly crowned Chancellor, decided to make a council named the Bundesrat that was made up of individual German states. Then, Bismarck allowed for male suffrage throughout Germany. After unifying Germany, Bismarck helped form the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy. In addition to forming alliances, Germany was the first country to have an accident and insurance disability program, along with protection against foreign competition in agriculture and industry. Overall, Germany succeeded in gaining independence and did not allow for socialism or liberals to take over. As Germany was gaining independence, England was Industry took a major turn towards modern as shown by the older England and the newer Germany. For example, at the beginning of the 19th century England went through an industrial revolution. England had a great supply of cotton in its overseas colonies and had a lot of resources back at home. In addition, the cotton textile industry went through an economic boom with …show more content…

Germany began to force itself into the imperial contest by using their powerful bankers and businessmen to gain more land in Africa. By 1914, Germany had colonies in South West Africa, East Africa, Togoland, and the Cameroons. The German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, thought of these colonies as bargaining chips. In addition, to gaining colonies in Africa, Germany went through a “civilizing mission” in which they wanted to teach the Africans their heritage, history, and language. The Germans did a good job gaining land in Africa as it began to threaten the power held by France and England. While Germany was beginning to join the imperialisation of Africa, England was already in the thick of it. For example, England had seized control of Egypt in 1882 and changed its whole economy to focus on the production of cotton, raw silk, wheat, and rice. This helped increase England’s power because it gave them a country with many resources and the Suez Canal which allowed for more efficient access to Asia. Additionally, England needed to have control of the Southern and Eastern coasts of Africa to help with access to its empire in India. Then, in the South African War, England and the Boers fought until England defeated them and annexed South Africa. This was crucial for England because it helped them complete their goal in having control from “Cairo to

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