European diplomacy and the changing balance of power after 1871; imperial expansion in Africa and Asia, and its impact on European diplomacy; the Congress of Berlin and European Alliance system

the scramble for africa

• Imperialism is a system where a powerful nation seizes or controls territories outside its own borders and are claimed as colonies

• During the 19th century, the British Empire ruled the seas with the strongest naval army, dominated with the East India Trading Company, held privileges in China, and spanned over 35.5 million km2 in land area

• The pre-war period saw European powers scramble to acquire new colonial possessions

• Majority of this imperialism was known as the Scramble for Africa

• Industrialisation was the main motivation for acquiring colonies

• Nationalism also played a part as the Europeans each wanted to one-up each other

• Europeans wanted colonies to secure sources of raw materials such as cotton, copper, iron, rubber, gold and diamonds, all of which were used to fuel their growing industrial economies

• Impact of the Scramble for Africa

  • The French, Italians, British and Germans all increased their power and influence among other European nations

  • Caused competition for colonies in Africa between various European countries, thus fuelling rivalries

  • Created tensions as countries wanted economical gains and international prestige with an expanded empire

the rise of germany p1

• The pre-war years of 1871 to 1914 resulted in a significant change in the balance of power due to the rise and fall of empires

• The rise of Germany can be credited to Otto von Bismarck’s leadership and his Realpolitik policies

• German victory in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 resulted in Bismarck becoming the German Chancellor

• Bismarck completed the unification of Germany by bringing together the 39 Germanic states

• This resulted in great strength as the sudden appearance of world power threatened other powers, Britain and France

• Bismarck implemented Realpolitik, in which diplomacy was based on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical premises

• Bismarck’s political approach was known as pragmatism (rather than fascism, socialism, communism, etc)

• In 1871, Bismarck implemented a policy of consolidation of national unity, and the centralisation of administration which united Germany as one nation

• Examples of his changes included:

  • One national currency that was introduced throughout the Germanic states

  • All internal tariffs between states were abolished

  • A central Reichbank was formed that would span the country and would stabilise the economy

  • A national legal system was established

  • Creation of a ‘common German market’

• Bismarck introduced other laws in 1883, referred to as ‘state socialism’, as he introduced

  • Medical insurance

  • Sick pay

  • Insurance of industrial injuries

  • Old age pension

the rise of germany p2

• The Treaty of Versailles of 1871, was the peace made after Germany’s victory in the Franco-Prussian War

• The treaty included clauses that increased nationalistic pride and unity, as France were subjected to

  • An indemnity of 5 billion francs over a period of 3 years

  • German military occupation in parts of France until the indemnity was paid

  • The annexation of the coal rich region Alsace-Lorraine into Germany, forming the western part of the new German empire

• Bismarck created alliances with Russia and other nations with the purpose of isolating France, maintain the French as their arch-nemesis, and preventing the possibility of a two-front war

• Bismarck also heavily increased the economic development of Germany

  • Population

    • 1870: 40 million

    • 1890: 50 million

  • Coal

    • 1870: 40 million tons

    • 1890: 90 million tons

  • Steel

    • 1870: 300 thousand tons

    • 1890: 2 million tons

  • Iron ore

    • 1870: 3 million tons

    • 1890: 8 million tons

the rise of germany p3

• There were three wars Germany participated in from 1864 to 1871, so the fact that there were no wars from 1871 to 1890, meant that Germany enjoyed peace which allowed them to grow economically and socially

• It can be argued that Bismarck’s foreign policy is part of the explanation to this, as he was satisfied with the unification of Germany, had no interest in colonial conquests and formed alliances with others, which avoided a war

• Bismarck also created his Web of Alliances which strengthened Germany’s influence around the world

  • The Drekaiserbund (1873)

    • Germany allied itself with Austria-Hungary and Russia

    • AKA The Three Emperor’s League

    • Stated that they had to assist each other in the breakout of war

    • Eventually collapsed over issues in the Balkans 5 years later in 1878

  • The Dual Alliance (1879)

    • Germany allied itself with Austria-Hungary

    • Mended their relationship after issues in the Balkans

    • Intended to assist each other if Russia attacked either one of them

    • Would remain neutral in the event of one of the members being attacked by another European nation

  • Revival of the Drekaiserbund (1881)

    • Germany allied itself with Austria-Hungary and Russia again

    • Russia came back to Germany after being isolated in Europe and joined the Dual Alliance

    • If one of the members entered a war, the other two would remain neutral

    • Collapsed in 1885 due to Balkan issues between Austria-Hungary and Russia

  • The Triple Alliance (1882)

    • Germany allied itself with Austria-Hungary and Italy

    • Italy was angered after France seized Tunisia in 1882

    • Italy saw Tunisia as a potential colony and thus joined Germany and Austria-Hungary due to their mutual enemy

  • The Reinsurance Treaty (1887)

    • Germany allied itself with Russia

    • Germany drew up a separate treaty with Russia to stay friendly with each other

    • Bismarck did not want the possibility of a two-front war

the fall of the ottoman empire

• The Ottomans had controlled the Balkans for centuries but in the late 19th and the early 20th century, their power was in decline

• Their empire was referred to as “the sick man of Europe”

• This created a power vacuum in the Balkans which left other superpowers such as Russia and Austria-Hungary to exploit it

• The Russians were victorious in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) which further weakened the Ottomans

• German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck called for the Congress of Berlin in June 1878 in which the following nations were present

  • The six great powers: Germany, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, France and Austria-Hungary

  • The Ottoman Empire and the four Balkan states: Greece, Serbia, Romania and Montenegro

• Aimed at determining the territories of the states in the Balkan peninsula following the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878)

• Bismarck attempted to stabilise the Balkans, recognise the reduced power of the Ottoman Empire and balance the distinct interests of Britain, Russia and AustriaHungary while at the same time attempting to undermine Russian territorial gains in the Balkans

• Bismarck successfully managed to make as much countries as he could happy and the congress was hailed as a great achievement in peacemaking and stabilisation

• However, the Balkan countries were not fully satisfied and resulted in the First and Second Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and contributed to the beginning of World War I in 1914

• The Ottomans and Russians were weakened as a result of the congress and AustriaHungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece were strengthened, resulting in alliances with Bismarck

• Thus, the changing balance of power in Europe as the Ottomans were heavily weakened whilst the Germans increased in power

• The British and French remained strong but were to be threatened by the rise of Germany, as it filled the void left by the fall of the Ottomans