Lecture 22: The Armed Camp of Europe - Towards August 1914

so far, we’ve been doing colonial — but now

colonial has greater consequences - as we’ll see

now that the US was its own country, trade abroad no longer controlled by British, US ships went

elsewhere including across the pacific - and here was a problem: japan

1853

commodore matthew perry sent to threaten japan into opening to western trade (gunboat diplomacy)

japan rules not by emperor, but by military governor, the shogun — and

they had closed japan to foreign trade except the dutch

the major consequence of the opening of japan =

the overthrow of the shoguns and the rise to power of the emperor

meanwhile, another power russia was expanding

all the way to the pacific

but on the pacific needed a

warm water port

the fading chinese empire

lost war to vigorous young japan 1894-5

russia get their warm water port by leasing Lushun from

the chinese (port arthur) — right across from korea and japan

thus was seen as typical

russian expansionism behavior

but this led to rising tension between

russia and japan

war will come in 1904/5 but with

japanese victories, shocking the west

the russians far from resupply,

the japanese across the street

japanese goals:

a. chase russians north out of korea and away from port arthur

b. capture port arthur

both sides have about the same weapons so:

a. magazine rifles

b. breach loading rifiled artillery

c. machine guns

d. armored ships

(russians also have concrete bunkers + spotlights + hand grenades + barbed wire)

to take port arthur the japanese need to capture

hills overlooking the port

the russians surrender pt arthur — the peace treaty

overseen by president theodore roosevelt (first noble peace prize)

lessons learned by western powers focus on:

a. moral courage: modern weapons can be overcome by bravery and dash

b. modern navy necessary — fast heavily armored ships

germany had come late:

a. only unified 1871

b. was slow in colonizing

also ruled by a constable

Kaiser Wilhelm

instability at the beginning of the 20th c is to the

south in the balkans — ex. provinces of the ottoman empire

1912-13

zurars aming these ex-provinces — w/ austrian looking on

but astria made trouble by incorporating one

— bosnia / herzogovina — into itself

the kaiser was worried about his neighbored —

france (west) russian (east) suppose they attacked him?

alfred won schlieffen offers a solution

but what sets off the ticking bomb — as assassination in bosnia at saragero — and the consequences? (WW1)