Regional Studies: Europe

Examples of Colonialism

• Social hierarchies that still exist in Latin America today

• Culture

• Education systems that were created and that still exist today

• UN Security Council, big powers

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

Portugal and Spain divided the New World

Scramble for Africa

European powers divided Africa (no African representative were present during Berlin Conference)

Triple Entente

Germany, Russia, Italy

Triple Alliance

Germany, Austria-Hungry, Italy

Treaty of Westphalia (1648)

Sovereignty of states, beginning of international relations

Congress of Vienna (1815)

Agreed to meet periodically to take steps to maintain Europe’s peace and stability, broke down with Franco-Prussian War

Transatlantic Slave Trade (1525-1866)

12.5 million slaved were shipped from Africa to the New World, started by the PortugueseE

Exports in Africa

Palm oil, nuts, wood, rubber, ivory

Exports from America

Lubricate machines, soap, cosmetics, billiard balls, piano keys

Mercantilism

An economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought

Global Trade Networks

Establishment of joint companies like the Dutch East India Company and British East India Company facilitated control over trade in Asia.

Absolute Monarchy

What was England’s government pre-1688?

Constitutional Monarchy

What was England’s government post-1688?

Dutch Netherlands and French Catalonia

What land did Spain lose between 1648 and 1659?

1688

When was the Portuguese independence recognized by the Spanish?

War of Spanish Succession (1701-1715)

War fought over the Spanish throne; Charles II died and gave the throne to Philip V

Bourbon

What is the current dynasty in Spain?

Death of Charles II

When did the Habsburg dynasty end?

Trastamara, Savoy, Habsburgs, Bourbons

What are the 4 Spanish Dynasties?

Impact of Enlightenment

Ideas of liberty and human rights began to challenge the morality of slavery and colonial exploitation, leading to growing unrest in colonies

Otto von Bismarck (chancellor of the German empire)

Who organized the Berlin Conference (Scramble for Africa?

Personal property of Leopold II (King of Belgium 1865-1909)

Who was put in charge of the Congo Free State?

Quadruple Alliance

Russia, Prussia, Austria, Britain

Ideas of John Locke and Thomas Paine

What is liberalism based on?

Nationalism

A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one’s country

How did the Franco-Prussian War end?

1871 France surrendered to Germany and accepted Otto von Bismarck’s harsh peace terms

Economic Liberalism

Free markets, lower taxes, small government, easier trade (international treaties, regulations, relationships), prevent monopolies (want competition), wealth creation

Socialism

Reaction to the effects of economic liberalism and the Industrial Revolution, concerns about the individualism, inequalities and poverty— contrary to the Social Contract, Need for cooperation and new sense of community

Communism

political, economic, and social ideology aimed at creating a classless, stateless society based on common ownership of the means of production, eliminating private property.

Main Causes of WWI

Militarism: Building up military

Alliances: Mutual defense pacts between countries

Imperialism: gain territory and expand empires

Nationalism: Extreme feeling of pride in nation/ethnic group

Conservatism

Political ideologies and practices should be rooted in tradition

Facism

Extreme nationalism, state control, racial superiority, propaganda and media control, military, paramilitaries, rebirth

Industrial Revolution

Private businesses, mass production, new techologies, urbanization, housing, class divisions

Unification of Italy

Formed alliances with Britain and France against Austria, United under a constitutional monarchy

The Consolidation of European Nation States

Nationalism was the main unifying principle, Combined with the concessions to the middle and working classes, Masses felt part of the nation, Women’s rights were advancing.

Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism

Main Causes of World War I

Militarism

Building up the military and preparing for war

Alliances

Mutual defense pacts between them

Imperialism

Gain territory and expand empires

Nationalism

Extreme feelings of pride in the nation/en ethnic group

What are some key events leading up to WWI?

Consolidation of German nation-state; Changed the continental balance of power (Congress of Vienna 1815); Resulted in the relative decline of France

Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungry

Who formed the Three Emperors’ League in 1873?

1882

When was the Triple Alliance formed?

The Triple Alliance

Newly unified Italy joined Germany and Austria; Doctrine of collective defense against France and Russia; Italy wanted to prevent French aggression and gain territory in the Balkans; Romania joined in 1883

What did Bismarck hold and what was it?

1884-85: Bismarck held the Berlin Conference; mapped and negotiated territorial claims in Africa; established the conditions for a “peaceful” division of African continent; Recognized Congo Free State & Protectorate of Egypt

Forced Bismarck to resign as Chancellor

What did Emperor Kaiser Willhelm II (1888-1918) force Bismarck do in 1890?

What was the Balkan Wars?

1912-1913; Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro (with Russian support) defeated the Ottoman Empire

Key Events of WWI

1914: A Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand; Sparked WWI; Austria-Hungry declared war on Serbia; Russia declared war on Serbia; Germany declared war on Russia to support Austria-Hungary

What was the 1878 Dual Alliance Treaty?

(Germany-Austria-Hungary) Germany declaring war on Russia to support Austria-Hungary.

What was the 1892 Franco-Russian Military Treaty?

France declared war on Germany to support Russia

What was the Schieffen Plan (1905)?

Germany would seek to defeat France quickly, the fight against Russia; Germany and Austria-Hungary faced two-front war against France and Russia

Triple Alliance/Central Powers & Triple Entente/Allied Powers

What were the two opposing alliances in WWI?

Triple Alliance/Central Powers

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire

Triple Entente/Allied Powers

France, Britain, Russia, Italy, US

Zimmerman Note (1917)

A secret diplomatic note issued by the German Foreign Office in 1917 that called for a military alliance between Germany and Mexico if the US enter WWI against Germany.

Lenin’s Beliefs

Communist revolution was possible in peasant-dominated Russia; only violent could be destroyed capitalism; Workers’ party made up of a group of elite intellectuals and full-time revolutionaries; Vanguard of the Proletariat would lead the masses

Believes in a Permanent Revolution

What is Trotsky’s Belief?

Permanent Revolution

Russia should export revolution everywhere, it should be an alliance between peasants and industrial workers, and should not compromise with elements of the Old Regime

After WWI

1919-20 Paris Peace Conference: Treaty of Versailles; Decided by Allied Powers (France, Britain, US, Italy, and Japan); Supported by Woodrow Wilson; Created the League of Nations

What is the object of the League of Nations?

Punish Germany and prevent another major war

The Great Depression

1929-39; Brought an end to the “Roaring 20s”; started with the US stock market crash; major drop in investment; large decline of industrial output substantial rise of employment; major reduction In consumer spending

The Great Depression on the rest of the world

Domino effect on the world’s stock exchanges; caused a global financial crisis; major decline in world production; 1929-1933: global output of goods fell by about 38%

FDR

Won a landslide victory in 1932; promised “New Deal for the forgotten man”; would resume capitalism by reforming it; Rejected Soviet Style-communism (government ownership of industry); advocated economic,ic stimulus and government social programs

What did FDR do during this Presidency?

Devalued the US dollar; provided financial assistance to farmers; created over a hundred new federal agencies; major public works project to alleviate unemployment; works Progress Administration employment 1/5 of the US workforce during the 1930s; pensions and unemployment benefits

Stalinism

Gained wide support within the Communist Party; Consolidated power by exiling, and eventually killing Trotsky; Eliminated other resistance within the part; Created the Leninist Myth (Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin)

Mussolini

Early 20^th century: Italy was a constitutional monarchy; Major class division and inequality; weak sense of national identity; Tense Church-State relations

Who Is Mussolini?

Began his political career was a Socialist Party Leader; expelled from party from supporting WWI; began uniting idea war veterans in a band of fascists (Blackshirts); nationalist, rather than class discourses; solidified a base around nationalism and anti-nationalism

Nazism

1929: Hitler joined the Nazi Party; 1921 onward: Hitler led the Nazi Party; 1923: imprisioned after unsuccessful coup against the Weimer Republic; wrote My Struggle, outlining his views of racism, anti-semitism, leadership, and the need for “living space for ethnic Germans”

Japan

Hideki Tojo: Supreme Military Leader and Prime Minister; Sino-Japanese War (1937-1947): killed about 4 million Chinese; Occupied parts of China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines; Claimed he was freeing Asians from Western Imperialism

End of WWII

Military alliance between US, Britain, & the USSR; first, defeat Hitler, then wage an all-out attack on Japan; 1944-5: Americans, British, French invaded Germany from the west; the Soviets did the same from the east; April 30, 1945: Hitler committed suicide in his bunker; May 7, 1945: Germany surrendered

Start of the Cold War

End of WWII: allied occupation of Germany and Berlin; four zones: American, British, French, Soviet; Decided at Potsdam Conference (1945); Allied zones merges in 1947; Truman (1945-53) wanted Stalin to hold free elections in Eastern Europe after WWII; Stalin refused at Postdam (1945)

Truman Doctrine

Contain Soviet Communism; Based on several events from 1945-1950; Stalinist puppet regimes in Eastern Europe, Prague Coup (1948), Berlin Blockade (1948-9), 1st Soviet nuclear test (1949); Korean War (1950-3)

Marshall Plan

Economic backbone of Truman Doctrine; $12.5 billion in aid to European countries; combat the spread of Stalinism; Economic growth would solidify mainstream politics; Marshall: “Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exists”

Clash of Ideologies

Capitalism against Communism; Private versus public contour go the means of production; Truman Doctrine: Based on the domino theory- if one country fell into communism, other would

Causes of Anti-Colonial Independence

Two world wars, establishment of UN, anti-colonial/imperial nationalism, civil rights movements in US and Britain

Vietnam War

1854-75; US replaced France as imperial power; Truman Doctrine (domino theory): prevent spread of communism; Communist N. Vietnam (supported by Russia and China) versus S. Vietnam (backed by US);

Cuban Revolution

1953-59: Revolution to overthrow Batista; Led by Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, guerrilla force; land redistribution, nationalization of industry…; Castro gained control, affluent Cubans fled to Miami

When did Castro gain control?

Gained control after the Cuban Revolution, in power from 1959-2011, affluent Cubans fled to Miami

What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?

An 13-day standoff between the US and USSR; Khrushchev put nuclear weapons in Cuba; US already had them in Turkey and Italy

What was China’s “Great Leap Forward?

1958-62: Massive industrialization project failed; most peasants were forced to work in factories; shortage in labor and resources in agriculture; famine

What was Détente (1969-79)?

The meeting between Nixon and Brezhnev in Moscow in 1972 eased tensions between the US and USSR; Led some cooperation and the reduction of nuclear weapons (SALT treaties)

Who was Robert Schuman?

Former French Prime Minister and Foreign Minister; Member of the résistance; liberalist; proponent of an united Europe

What did Schuman Propose?

European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); Treaty of Paris (1951)

What was the ECSC?

Common market for coal and steel; Neutralize competition over these resources; High Authority; Common Assembly; Special Council; Court of Justice

What was the purpose of the ECSC?

Reintegrate West Germany; rebuild Eastern European economies; eliminate tariffs; harmonize process

How did the ECSC spur further European integration?

Treaty of Rome; Creation of Common Market; Free Trade; Common external tariff

A common desire for peace and democracy

What was the driving force of European unity after WWII?

The Soviets were enemies, not allies

Regarding the Cold War, by the late-1940s, what became clear?

What did the Soviets do from 1945-1950?

Puppet states in Eastern Europe; no free elections; Violation of Tehran, Postdam, Yalta; Prague Coup (1948); Berlin Blockade (1948-9); Soviet nuclear test (1949)

European Integration

“Spirit of superiority and discrimination has been banished from relationships between member states”; Tension: national sovereignty vs super nationalism; High vs low politics

European Defense Community (EDC)

What common initiative failed from 1950-1954?

What was the European Defense Community?

Proposed by René Pleven and Jean Monnet; address a growing Soviet threat; Rearm E. Germany to contain the spread of Stalinism

Why did the EDC fail?

Rejected by French National Assembly; Gaullist and Communist; Fear of German re-militarization; did not want to lose sovereignty

What was the Treaty of Rome (1957)?

European Economic Community; Common market for free trade and movement, and for nuclear energy; dismantle all tariffs in industry; common external tariff for third countries; cooperation in research and development, and in nuclear energy security

What is the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)?

Proposed by France; response to food shortages of 1930s; Common market for agriculture; common external tariffs; high quality, safe production; income for farmers

What was the “Empty Chair Crisis”?

EU institutions: too much power; loss of national sovereignty; potential consequences for French agriculture

When and why did Britain apply to the EC?

Britain’s application was rejected in 1963 and 1967; end of an empire; crisis of identity and legitimacy; losing competitiveness to Germany and France; Treaty of Rome and CAP; unprecedented economic boom in Germany and France

Why did Britain want to join the EC in 1973?

further decline of economy; further loss of competitiveness; further demise of empire

What was the Single European Act (1986)?

Attempt to overcome Eurosclerosis; re-launch of European integration; first major revision of Treaty of Rome; remove non-trade barriers; simplify legislation process; work towards a monetary union, more developed common foreign policy, and more cohesive immigration