unit 10: chapter 24 empire, industry, and everyday life 1870-1890
TRANSCRIPT
Unit 10: CHAPTER 24Empire, Industry, and Everyday Life
1870-1890
I. The New Imperialism
A. Taming the Mediterranean
1. European Takeover in Egypt: Shaping the Egyptian Economy — Imperialism surged in the last third of the nineteenth century. In the Mediterranean region, efforts to establish economic influence assumed a political dimension, with Egypt as an early target. European investment in Egyptian industry, agriculture, canals, and railroads produced enormous debts. In 1879, the French and English took over the Egyptian treasury, and Britain used the nationalist resistance that ensued as an excuse to invade Egypt in 1882. Britain took charge of the Egyptian government and reshaped the Egyptian economy away from self-sufficiency and towards the provision of raw materials.
• 2. Europe in Asia Minor and the Middle East — To “protect” Algeria, France occupied Tunisia in 1881, and cheap European goods flooded markets in Asia Minor and the Middle East, driving local artisans into low wage occupations. European employers discriminated on the basis of ethnicity and religion, paying Muslims less than Christians and Arabs less than other ethnic groups, and fostering long-lasting hatred.
I. The New Imperialism
B. The Scramble for Africa1. Greed and Competition over Africa — Europeans were increasingly interested in acquiring African raw materials and ports to help expand trade globally. In the 1880s Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal and Italy acquired one African territory after another. Social Darwinism reshaped racism to justify conquest of African lands.2. Africa and Diplomatic Tensions — Conflict over the acquisition and control of African territory escalated tensions in Europe. In 1884 and 1885 a series of conferences in Berlin led to agreements that dissected the continent and limited trade in alcohol and firearms. The agreement accelerated conquest and associated violence.
• 3. Europeans in South Africa — In South Africa, farmers of European descent (many of them Dutch, known as Boers) and British immigrants struggled with each other and native peoples over land and resources such as diamonds. Notions of European racial superiority became more widespread.
• 4. Consequences for Africans — The Berlin agreements divided Africa into territories along straight lines that cut across indigenous boundaries, and European competition and influence destroyed or transformed African political and economic systems. African accomplishments and achievements were ignored or discounted and Africans were thought to be uncivilized, only capable of manual labor. Family and community networks were weakened and disrupted by new labor patterns, migrations, and other economic changes that benefitted Europeans.
The Congo Free State orThe Belgian Congo
King Leopold II:(r. 1865 – 1909)
Harvesting Rubber
Punishing “Lazy” Workers
5-8 Million Victims! (50% of Popul.)
It is blood-curdling to see them (the soldiers) returning with the hands of the slain, and to find the hands of young children amongst the bigger ones evidencing their bravery...The rubber from this district has cost hundreds of lives, and the scenes I have witnessed, while unable to help the oppressed, have been almost enough to make me wish I were dead... This rubber traffic is steeped in blood, and if the natives were to rise and sweep every white person on the Upper Congo into eternity, there would still be left a fearful balance to their credit. -- Belgian Official
Belgium’s Stranglehold on the Congo
I. The New Imperialism C. Acquiring Territory in Asia1. Britain in India and Malaysia — Much of Asia was also integrated into western empires. India was the centerpiece of the British Empire, but resistance from the Indian National Congress (established in 1885 by elite educated Indians) increased as well. Britain took over the Malay peninsula in 1874 and the interior of Burma in 1885, seeking to secure natural resources and a trade route into China.2. Russian and French Imperial Activity — Russia and France also expanded in Asia. The Russians penetrated Persia and China as well as the Ottoman Empire and built the Trans-Siberian railroad, which opened up Siberia large-scale settlement. Russian expansion brought them into competition with Britain. France threatened military action to establish control over Indochina in 1887.
I. The New Imperialism
D. Japan’s Imperial Agenda1. Japanese Industrial Expansion — Japan transformed itself into an industrial state with an imperial agenda by incorporating western ways into native traditions. Japanese students brought back new knowledge from the west, and Japan underwent a western-style modernization. 2. Modernization and Reform: The Meiji Regime in Japan — Under the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese embraced foreign trade, imperialism, and industry. The Japanese constitution, drafted in 1889, emphasized state power over individual rights, and the Japanese adapted samurai traditions in establishing a powerful modern military. Japan also adopted the imperialist mentality of the West, and in the 1870s they used western-built ships to acquire neighboring islands and intimidate their Korean neighbors, imposing favorable trade agreements.
I. The New Imperialism E. The Paradoxes of Imperialism
1. The Costs and Profits of Empire — Imperialism was a much-debated topic. Meant to establish economic security, it intensified political instability. For some sectors of the economy, it was very profitable, and imperial industries provided many jobs, although taxpayers had to provide for larger armies and navies as well. The costs of empire were high, despite promised profits, and some argued it cost more than it was worth.
2. The Civilizing Mission — Many believed that Europeans had a “civilizing mission” to bring their superior culture to the rest of the world. Native peoples were forced to learn European history and culture while their own was neglected. The idea of this civilizing mission sometimes conflicted with the violence used to establish and impose imperial rule.
…also known as the White Man’s BurdenWhite Man’s Burden
By Rudyard Kipling (1899)Take up the White Man's burden--Send forth the best ye breed--Go bind your sons to exileTo serve your captives' need;To wait in heavy harness,On fluttered folk and wild--Your new-caught, sullen peoples,Half-devil and half-child.
Take up the White Man's burden--In patience to abide,To veil the threat of terrorAnd check the show of pride;By open speech and simple,An hundred times made plainTo seek another's profit,And work another's gain.
3. Inferiority and Superiority — Europeans studied colonial cultures and gathered much scientific knowledge. In many cases they misunderstood or misinterpreted native cultures and considered European people and culture to be superior, expecting native peoples to be grateful for what Europeans brought them. Missionaries attempted and often succeeded in spreading Christianity, but Christianizing entire peoples and making them obedient often proved impossible, leading to violence and repression. Some Europeans romanticized colonized peoples, viewing them as “purer” or “simpler” than Europeans, sometimes in condescending ways. European self-confidence obscured many of these paradoxes, particularly the paradox that western states focused on nation-building destroyed the independence of so many.
1. How does the illustrator depict the African man in this image?2. How does this scene express British superiority?
II. The Industry of EmpireA. Industrial Innovation1. The Spread of Factories and Innovations in Agriculture — Industrial,
technological, and commercial innovation strengthened nation states and empires. In Britain a second stage of industrialization occurred involving steel and other heavy industry, while in much of the rest of Europe industrialization happened in one phase, with innovation and heavy industry developing alongside domestic industrial work. Industrial innovation changed agriculture, and industrial fertilizers, wire fencing, and mechanized dairy farming along with refrigeration and canning all changing the marketplace.
2. The Tools of Empire — Powerful guns, railroads, steamships and medicine accelerated Western expansion into Asia and Africa. Drought and famine also weakened Africa and Asia, leaving them vulnerable. Breech-loading rifles and early machine guns dramatically increased European firepower, and African resistance was swiftly crushed.
3. Challenges to British Dominance — Despite industrial innovation, increasing trade, and profits from overseas investments, Britain’s rate of industrial growth slowed. Germany and the United States grew more quickly. Investing heavily in research and education, the Germans developed new industrial processes, while the United States exploited vast natural resources. Other countries trailed these leaders.4. Areas of Slower Industrialization — French industry grew steadily, although French businesses remained small. In Austria and Italy, industrialization was a local phenomena. Russian industrial progress remained torturously slow, but the Russian government encouraged and attracted capital and entrepreneurial talent to help build railroads. Workers and peasants benefited little.
II. The Industry of Empire
B. Facing Economic Crisis1. Economic Downturn — The 1870s and 80s were a period of
economic difficulty. Before 1850, economic crises had usually been caused by an agricultural crisis, but in 1873 a crisis of industry and finance developed on its own because entrepreneurs were facing more and more obstacles.
2. New Challenges for Later Industrialization — The industrial economy was vulnerable to depressions and economic weakness, and economic uncertainty was a serious problem.
3. Capital-Intensive Industry — Newer factories required massive amounts of capital, and start up costs escalated. In addition, the distribution and consumption of goods were both inadequate to sustain growth because workers were paid too little to consume many industrial products. Slumps became common.
• 4. Limited-Liability Corporations — New laws spurred the development of limited liability corporations designed to protect investors from personal responsibility for debt. This helped spur the development of stock markets and encouraged investment. Money invested in stock markets increased dramatically.
• 5. Cartels, Trusts, and the Challenges to Free Trade — Businesses banded together in cartels and trusts. Cartels were combinations of industries formed to control prices and competition. Trusts, pioneered by John D. Rockefeller in the United States in 1882, acquired shares in a range of companies within an industry and controlled the shares and their companies through trustees. Cartels and trusts restricted the free market. Governments increasingly imposed import taxes to protect domestic industries, causing much of Europe except Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands to abandon in the 70s and 80s the free trade many had adopted in the 1850s.
II. The Industry of EmpireC. Revolution in Business Practices1. The White-Collar Sector — Specialized managers increasingly ran
industrial operations. A service sector, made up of skilled workers, emerged as part of the development of management. Armies of office workers were needed, and women formed the bulk of service employees. The cost of middle class life overcame the ideology of domesticity, and married and unmarried women increasingly took jobs outside the home. A gendered, dual labor market developed, with female occupations receiving consistently lower wages.
2. The Department Store — From about mid-century the drive to boost consumption led daring entrepreneurs to establish department stores, at first in the largest cities. These replaced stores that sold single lines of goods with modern shopping palaces that offered a glorious array of goods designed to stimulate consumer desires. Department stores became a public domain of women. Consumerism was also stimulated by catalogues and the consumption of colonial products.
1. How does this work seem more “respectable” than factory work for women?2. Why would these women have been paid less than their male counterparts?
III. Imperial Society and Culture
A. The “Best Circles” and the Expanding Middle Class1. The Expansion of the Upper Class — Profits from
industry and empire expanded the upper classes, or “best circles” of society. Aristocrats increasingly shared influence with the newly rich from the middle class as the distinction between aristocrat and the wealthiest bourgeois weakened. Social Darwinism was often cited as a reason for their social position.
2. The Imperial Elite — Empire reshaped the way elites spent their time. Travel and big-game hunting, zoological collecting, and the establishment of museums and traveling displays all flourished. People in the best circles saw themselves as an imperial elite.
• 3. Women and the Social Elite — Women maintained the standards of the social elite, particularly by preventing girls’ sexual activity and relationships with the lower class. Many marriages were arranged. Upper-class women devoted themselves to raising children and directing staffs of servants. Gardens furnishings and women’s clothing reflected imperial power. By practicing art and music, women offset the grim side of imperial and industrial society.
• 4. Growth and Change in the Middle Class — Middle class circles, especially outside of eastern Europe, also expanded. The lives of these businessmen and professionals remained modest, but most households employed at least one servant. In place of the conspicuous consumption of the very rich, the middle class proudly maintained a high level of cleanliness and polish.
III. Imperial Society and CultureB. Working People’s Strategies1. Working People Leave Europe — Parts of Europe simply could not produce
enough or provide enough employment to support a growing population, so many working people migrated in search of work, leaving their native lands for many reasons. Migration was especially heavy out of Sicily, Sweden, and Britain, especially Ireland. Many Jewish peasants also migrated out of eastern Europe, fleeing horrifying pogroms. Destinations were determined by commercial and imperial opportunities. Most went to North and South America, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Railroads and steamships aided population movement, and money sent home improved life. Emigrants lived transformed lives with new languages and work habits. Many other migrants, often seasonal, many of them women, moved from the European countryside to cities, continuing the trend toward urbanization. The most urbanized countries were Britain and Belgium.
2. Adaption to Industrial Change — Factory work became more fast-paced and stressful. Work was more heavily supervised. Low-paid outwork also continued in some industries. Hard times had uneven consequences. Despite uncertainty, some workers prospered, particularly in urban areas.
III. Imperial Society and CultureC. National Fitness: Reform, Sports, and Leisure1. Reform for the Working Classes — Reformers interested in social improvement and concerned about Social Darwinism emphasized national fitness. Settlement houses, clinics, and health centers appeared in urban areas. Middle and upper-class men and women worked in urban areas to improve workers lives, involving themselves in missionary work or scientific approaches to solving social problems. Philanthropists and government officials intervened in the lives of working-class families to improve fitness, with school lunches, clinics, and inspections of children. Some distributed birth control information, although this was opposed by churches and reformers concerned it would encourage sexual exploitation of women. Women’s work lives also came under closer control, as they were “protected” in some places from certain professions. Working men and reformers cooperated in criticizing women for taking jobs from men and not producing enough healthy children.
2. Sports and Leisure — Sports teams began to develop mass followings that welded lower and higher classes together in a competitive culture. Sports were seen as a sign of national strength and spirit. Team sports sharpened differentiation between men and women, as women were generally encouraged to engage in individual sports. Middle class leisure activities such as mountain climbing also became popular, along with working class clubs for bicycling, touring and cycling. Healthy recreation was promoted to give people a better sense of individual might and national strength.
III. Imperial Society and CultureD. Artistic Responses to Empire and Industry1. The Arts and Social Anxiety — The arts were influenced by economic
innovation, as well as Darwin’s theory that strong civilizations that failed to keep up with changing conditions would perish. Emile Zola’s dark visions of social and family decay in industrializing France raised questions about civilization. Other writers such as Emilia Pardo Bazan and Olive Schreiner depicted a widespread deterioration of behavior in urban and rural life, echoing the Social Darwinism in the air.
2. Countertrends in the Decorative Arts — Decorative arts offered a countertrend to stark realism. Mass-produced textiles were used to create traditional-looking costumes and invented customs based on a mythical past. Folk motifs were copied by urban architects and industrial designers, who were also influenced by imperial Persian and Indian motifs in designs of fabric, wallpaper, and household goods, which became simpler and less ornate.
3. Impressionism in Art — Painters were also influenced by industrial developments. By the 1870s, in reaction to the camera, painters such as Claude Monet used light, color, and visible brushstrokes to move away from realism. Painting in the style that came to be known as impressionism, they challenged artistic norms with vibrant colors and outrageous visual style. Along with the camera new factory-generated pigments contributed to an artistic rebellion. Global vision characterized much art, and Japanese art clearly influenced impressionism. Westerners borrowed styles from around the world, and American expatriate artist Mary Cassatt and Vincent Van Gogh both used Japanese images and motifs in their work.
IV. The Birth of Mass PoliticsA. Workers, Politics, and Protest
1. Unions and Strikes — The growth of industry contributed to mass politics by bringing together workers who increasingly put pressure on the political and economic system. Unions attracted the allegiance of millions of workers, demanding a say in working conditions and wages. Businessmen and governments viewed strikes as dangerous, although some industrialists saw the advantage of unions because they presented worker’s demands coherently. The pace of collective action accelerated from the 1880s, with strikes across Europe increasing more than 50 percent between 1888 and 1890. Housewives often supported strikers or engaged in collective action to sell confiscated goods at “fair” prices, protect children needed for work from truant officers, or act on behalf of evicted tenants. Governments increasingly called out troops or police to deal with striking workers. New unions that formed from the mid 80s were nationwide and planned general strikes across a range of trades. Larger unions fought against cartels, trusts, and governments.
2. Political Parties — Working class political parties emerged out of unions, including the Labour Party in England, the Socialist Party in France, and the Social Democratic parties in Sweden, Hungary, Austria, and Germany. Most were inspired by Marxist theories. An international socialist movement also developed as socialists in 1889 met to form the Second International, replacing the First International that had been founded by Marx after the Paris Commune. The Second International advocated for suffrage, better working conditions, and a Marxist revolutionary program. They opposed random violence and rejected the anarchism that was popular in less industrial parts of Europe. Women were involved in unions, but less so than men, as they had little time for meetings and were sometimes excluded by men. Workers joined social societies and established festivals and parades, which encouraged solidarity and physical fitness.
IV. The Birth of Mass Politics
B. Expanding Political Participation in Western Europe1. Mass Journalism — In western Europe newspapers allowed ordinary people to become more politically aware. The will of the people became increasingly important in politics. Industrial developments led to the rise of mass journalism. Papers emphasized sensational stories, particularly those involving murder or sexual scandal. Journalism created a national community of up-to-date citizens, a career path for up and comers in the middle and working class, and wider participation in the political process.
2. British Political Reforms — In England in 1879 William Gladstone used mass meetings to encourage broad participation in politics as he was elected Prime Minister. In 1872 a Ballot Act made voting secret and the Reform Act of 1884 doubled the electorate. Both the Liberal and Conservative parties established political clubs, which, along with unions, increasingly influenced national politics. An explosive political climate in Ireland and tensions between landlords and tenants led to the establishment of the National Land League. Irish tenants elected a solid block of nationalist representatives to British Parliament led by Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891), who demanded a separate Irish parliament. Gladstone accommodated Parnell with reforms but Conservatives opposed home rule and cracked down on Irish activism. The exposure of his affair with a married woman in 1890 ended Parnell’s political career, as cultural values and the media determined politics.
IV. The Birth of Mass PoliticsB. Expanding Political Participation in Western Europe3. France’s Third Republic — In France, defeat at the hands of Prussia led to the establishment of the Third Republic in 1871. Dogged by efforts of royalists to reassert power, economic downturns, widespread corruption and growing anti-Semitism, the Third Republic was unstable. An attempted coup by popular general George Boulanger showed the government’s weakness. Leaders tried to strengthen loyalty to the state by instituting secular public schools, and mandating military service.4. Political Liberalism Rejected — Although many western European leaders believed in economic liberalism, some states did not grant full political rights or establish republics. In Spain, the catholic Church and conservative landlords dominated, and Denmark and Sweden both had limited political participation. In Italy the vote was given to all men with primary school education, but many remained discontented, and southern Italians in particular felt less loyalty to the new nation, resenting taxes and the national draft.
IV. The Birth of Mass Politics
C. Power Politics in Central and Eastern Europe
1. Bismarck’s Germany — Bismarck’s powerful, united Germany upset the European balance of power. Bismarck sought to encourage political stability and forged the Three Emperors League with Austria-Hungary and Russia. He worked with German liberals to establish financial institutions and a central bank. He attacked socialists, banning the Social Democratic Party in 1878 and sponsoring benefits for workers. He established tariffs in 1879 to protect German industry and agriculture, strengthening German conservatism.
2. Authoritarian Austria-Hungary — In Austria-Hungary, the liberals held power for a time in the 1870s, and the government enacted free-trade provisions, but the country remained monarchist and authoritarian. Despite some concessions, Austria-Hungary was increasingly threatened by Slavic nationalism. In 1876 Slavs in Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina rebelled against Ottoman control. They were aided by Pan Slavic organizations and Russia, who declared war on Turkey in 1877. In 1878 a large pro-Russian Bulgaria was created by the Treaty of San Stefano, nearly generating a war as Austria-Hungary and Britain feared an enlarged Bulgaria and Russian expansion. An international congress held in Berlin staved off the threat of war, and rolled back the Russian victory by partitioning Bulgaria, but the Balkans remained in a state of political unrest. In 1882 Austria-Hungary and Germany formed a Dual Alliance for protection against Russia, they were later joined by Italy. A Reinsurance Treaty between Russia and Germany in 1887 was designed to prevent war in the region.
3. Unrest in Russia — Diplomatic setbacks and domestic problems beset Russia in the 70s and 80s. Denied a constitutional government, young Russians often turned to revolutionary groups, and the secret police arrested many. Russian novelists such as Leo Tolstoy, with his epic War and Peace (1869) and Fyodor Dostoevsky, who satirized radicals in The Possessed (1871) added to the debate about Russia’s future. In 1881 a radical group assassinated Tsar Alexander II with a bomb, but failed to provoke a general uprising. Alexander III (1881-1894) unleashed new oppression, giving the police unlimited powers. Russian Jews and ethnic minorities were portrayed as a threat to Russian civilization, and Jews endured particularly harsh treatment. The dismissal of Bismarck in 1890 by the brash new German king, William II (r. 1888-1918) led to Germany’s rejection of the Reinsurance Treaty, which further destabilized the diplomatic scene.
1. How is the appearance of these men distinctive, and why is this important?2. Why would Russians have blamed Jews—isolated in ghettos—for their multitudes of problems?
