Belle Epoque Test

Characteristics

Materialism

• high standard of living, industrial development zones

Increase in pop

• growth of city, migration from europe, second industrial rev (steam to electricity, cars etc) , free trade, world, market, democracy, socialism, faith in science alone, 

British Politics (Conservatism, Liberalism, Disraeli/Gladstone) 

The Great Reform Act of 1832

• Change in Electoral System

• Got rid of “rotten boroughs” (unpopulated areas with lots of voting influence due to immigration from industrial revolution)

• expanded the electorate 

The Second Reform Act:

Workers wanted the right to vote, Disraeli expanded the electorate, expected loyalty in return, did not happen right away- they voted for gladstone

Gladstone

(liberal prime minister): Ballot Act of 1872 (secret voting), Education Act of 1870 (govt. responsible for running elementary schools), supported free trade, lowered taxes, competition, free trade 

Disraeli

(conservative-paternal method, prime minister): Public Health Act of 1875- gove can violate priv property if matter of health, Artisan Dwelling Act of 1875- working class housing, Trade Unions protected, government needs to step in

Irish Question: 

Gladstone takes over again, gave some rights to irish but kept in order by GB- Coercion Act

1855

• Parnell organised irish voters disrupted house of commons, Irish party held balance of power so Gladstone supported home rule

• Liberal defeated and ireland under england

• By 1855, Ireland was still suffering from the famine, and British policies had increased poverty, emigration, and resentment, fueling Irish nationalism.

Imperialism

Overview

• Motives economic, political, cultural

• Positive effects: infrastructure, medicine/tech 

• Negative: loss of culture, explosion, labor 

• Berlin Conference

• European nations met to divide africa without them  

• Treaty of Berlin

• Agreement to by european powers to reorganize the balkans

• Came out of congress of berlin- leaders met to prevent larger european war

• Fear of russia getting too big after defeating ottoman empire

Social Darwinism

• Natural selection, evolution 

• Herbert spencer: survival of the fittest 

• White Mans Burden: it was the duty of europeans to govern non european people

Main Countries

• GB (India) , France, Germany, Belgium, Italy

• Sepoy mutiny 

• Indian soldiers uprise against british rule in india 

France 2nd Empire and 3rd Republic 

2nd Empire

• Louis Cavaignac defeats June Days rebellions

• After attempted coup in 1851, Napoleon III controlled everything and is emperor

• Napoleon started to give liberal concessions: freer debate in legislature, relaxed press laws, allowed labor unions (covering up failures in foreign policy)

• Failures: lost control in Italian unification, defeated in Franco-Prussian War (at Battle of Sedan, Napoleon is captured and republic is declared)

• Paris Commune (independent government from France) crushed by troops, mainly working class 

Third Republic:

(*lasts until 1914 and German occupation)

• Constitution drafted in 1875

• Universal male suffrage and a president 

• La Belle Epoque Era (“The Beautiful Era”): Eiffel Tower, etc

• Boulanger Crisis

• Boulanger distinguished himself in franco prussian war to crush paris commune- became minister of war and wanted revenge against germany, won support in paris then was outed as a traitor 

Panama Canal Crisis

• project led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, govt. tried to cover it up, two people blamed were German Jews (antisemitisms)

Dreyfus Affair

• military officer blamed for giving secret military documents (antisemitism)

  • Both strengthened third repub, proved it strong 

Science and Christianity

Positivism

• Created by philosopher Auguste Comte

• Everything can be scientifically explained

• knowledge comes from science  

• A philosophy of human intellectual development in 3 stages: theological, metaphysical, positive

Christianity Threatened in these areas: 

• Historical Credibility: Strauss questioned if Jesus was a real person vs. a myth 

• Scientific Accuracy: Lyell said earth was older than the bible said it was

• Morality: The Old Testament is cruel (ex. Sacrifice sons) and Nietzsche believed it was morally weak

• Education: governments in Europe take over education from the Catholic Church (BUT…Church doubles down by reiterating papal infallibility)

Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud

Darwin

• “On the Origins of Species”: mechanical interpretation of nature into living world 

• Idea of natural selection/ adapting to ones environment 

• All started from a single cell organism

  • Oxford debate: Huxley (revolutionary) vs. Wilberforce (anti-rev) over decent of man 

Neitzsche

• Attacked Christianity, democracy, nationalism, rationality, science, and progress 

• Believed Chrisitainty made society morally weak

• Thought morality was human invention with no independent existence 

• Nonrational aspects of nature are just as important as rational ones 

• Herden (follows rules made be others) vs. Herren (own rules)

• Apollonian (order) vs. Dionysian (chaos)

  • find a balance of both

Freud

• Infantile Sexuality: Sexual drives already exist in humans as infants

• Studied dreams: believed dreams allow unconscious desires that had been excluded from everyday conscious life to enjoy freer play in the mind

• Id (pleasures, desires), Superego (morals/rules), and Ego (balances reality)

• Pleasure principle: people seek immediate pleasure and avoid pain

Feminism

Areas of Women’s Social Disabilities:

• Property: women could not own property (everything in husband’s name) > Married Women's Property Act (only married women could own)

• Family Law: women were legal minors in most of Europe, divorce was hard to accomplish and when accomplished the husband automatically gained custody of children

• Education: women excluded from gaining professional degrees or higher education, and many women saw real conflict between family responsibilities of women and education 

New Employment Patterns:

• 2nd Industrial Revolution led to expansion of available jobs for women > withdrawal of married women

• Women gained jobs like teachers, clerks, secretaries

• *Stereotype: the less work a woman has to do, the more prosperous her family appears

• Economic vulnerability led to poverty which led to high rates of prostitution

Women of the Middle Class and Political Feminism:

• Cult of Domesticity: rearing and nurturing children is a woman's role and they should be isolated from the male dominated society

• Charity: often Chrisitan based, led to the creation of social workers

• Smaller family sizes became the trend so a family could spend more money on consumer items

• Mary Wollstonecraft, John Stuart Mill, Harreit Taylor all political feminists 

• National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies 

• Women’s Social and Political Union by Emmeline Pankhurst led to the “suffragetts”

• National Women's Party 

Empires, Alliances, Diplomatic Tensions

Austro-Hungarian Empire:

• Multi ethnic group in central/ eastern europe

• Struggles with nationalism 

• Rivary with russia over control of the balkans 

• Ausgleich of 1867

  • Created dual monarchy 

  • Both had own parliament and government but shared the same emperor- Franz Joseph I 

  • Why? Austria was weak and hungry wanted more autonomy and rights 

  • Only leopard hungarians not other ethnic groups 

• Maygars 

  • Dominant ethnic group in Hungary 

Russian Empire:

• Supported slavic nationalism- especially in balkans 

• Wanted warm water ports 

• Treaty of Paris

  • Ended crimean war

  • Loss of influence in Balkans 

  • Shifted power 

• Alexander II

  • Tsar liberator 

  • Emancipation of serfs 

  • legal/ military reforms 

German Empire:

• United in 1871 after victory in franco prussian war 

• Bismarck

  • Chancellor of germany- keep peace in europe and isolate france 

  • Kulturkampf: reduced power of catholic church, strengthened authority of state over religion

• Three Emperor’s League 

• (Germany, Austria, Russia)

• Maintain peace- failed due to balkans

• Triple Alliance 

• (Germany, Austria, Italy)

• Against france and russia

• The Reinsurance Treaty 

• Secret agreement between germany and russia 

• Promised neutrality if either was attacked

• Kaiser Wilhelm II

• Dismissed bismarck in 1890

• Took more aggressive foreign policy (Weltpolitik: focus on becoming a major global power through expansion and military)

• Moroccan Crisis 

• Germany challenged french control in morocco, increased tension between france germany and GB

• Strengthened alliances AGAINST Germany

Great Britain

• Maintained global empire and naval power

• Avoided alliances until they feared germany 

• Entente Cordiale: settles colonial tensions with France 

• Industrial rev- first to industrialize bc of natural resources, geography, political stability, capital, surplus of labor 

France

• Wanted revenge for loss in franco prussian war 

• Feared Germany 

• Formed alliances with russia and then GB

• Third republic 

• Alsace- lorraine

Crimean War:

• 1853-1856

• Russia vs. ottoman empire (GB + France helping ottomans)

• Showed russia was weak 

Franco-Prussian War:

• Germany defeated france 

• G unified and powerful 

• France lost Alsace-Lorraine