Exam 3 Timelines + Cause and Effect

🏭 Timeline 1: Industrialization & Social Movements (1750–1900)

• 1769 — James Watt patents his improved steam engine, accelerating the Industrial Revolution.

• 1832 — The Reform Act is passed in Britain, expanding suffrage and addressing industrial-era inequality.

• 1834 — The Zollverein is established, promoting German economic unity through a customs union.

• 1848 — The Communist Manifesto is published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels during widespread European revolutions.

• 1864 — Britain enacts the Contagious Disease Act, sparking feminist opposition to state control over women.

• 1888 — The Match Girl Strike in London highlights poor labor conditions and catalyzes union activism.

• 1890s — The SPD (German Social Democratic Party) rises as a major political force advocating for workers’ rights

🌍 Timeline 2: Imperialism & Global Resistance (1850–1900)

• 1859 — Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species, introducing natural selection and influencing imperialist ideology.

• 1884–1885 — The Berlin Conference divides Africa among European powers, formalizing the "Scramble for Africa."

• 1885 — King Leopold II begins brutal exploitation of the Congo Free State under the guise of humanitarianism.

• 1896 — Ethiopia defeats Italy at the Battle of Adwa, successfully resisting European colonization.

• 1900 — The Boxer Uprising erupts in China as a nationalist, anti-foreign rebellion; it is suppressed by the Eight Nation Alliance.

⚔ Timeline 3: Road to World War I & Russian Revolution (1904–1918)

• 1904–1905 — The Russo-Japanese War ends in Russian defeat, weakening the Tsarist regime and inspiring revolutionaries.

• 1905 — The First Moroccan Crisis challenges French control in North Africa; the Russian Revolution of 1905 erupts after Bloody Sunday.

• 1914 — Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo, triggering the outbreak of World War I.

• 1915 — The Armenian Genocide is carried out by the Ottoman Empire under the cover of war.

• 1917 — The February and October Revolutions in Russia lead to the fall of the Tsar and the rise of the Bolsheviks.

• 1918 — The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ends Russia’s involvement in WWI; the Armistice is signed on November 11, ending the war.

Overall timeline

🏭 TIndustrialization & Social Movements (1750–1900)

🌍 Imperialism & Global Resistance (1850–1900)
⚔ Road to World War I & Russian Revolution (1904–1918)

- James Watt’s steam engine innovation

Accelerated the Industrial Revolution and mechanized production

- Harsh factory conditions during industrialization

Sparked labor movements like Luddism and the Match Girl Strike of 1888

- Publication of The Communist Manifesto (1848)

Inspired socialist and Marxist movements across Europe

- The Revolutions of 1848

Led to the rise of nationalist and liberal demands, though most were suppressed

- The Ems Dispatch edited by Bismarck

Provoked France into the Franco-Prussian War

- Franco-Prussian War victory (1871)

Resulted in German unification and the proclamation of the Second German Reich

- The Berlin Conference (1884–85)

Formalized European imperial control over Africa, intensifying colonial exploitation

- Battle of Adwa (1896)

Demonstrated successful African resistance to European imperialism

- Russo-Japanese War (1904–05)

Weakened Tsarist Russia and fueled revolutionary unrest

- Bloody Sunday (1905)

Triggered the Russian Revolution of 1905 and demands for reform

- Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914)

Sparked the outbreak of World War I

- Germany’s “Blank Check” to Austria-Hungary

Encouraged Austria’s aggression toward Serbia, escalating the July Crisis

- The Schlieffen Plan

Led to Germany’s invasion of Belgium and Britain’s entry into WWI

- The Armenian Genocide during WWI

Resulted in the deaths of over a million Armenians under Ottoman rule

- February Revolution (1917)

Overthrew Tsar Nicholas II and established the Provisional Government

- October Revolution (1917)

Brought the Bolsheviks to power under Lenin

- Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918)

Ended Russia’s involvement in WWI, ceding territory to Germany

- Armistice signed on November 11, 1918

Ended fighting in World War I