Q: When and where did the Industrial Revolution begin, and why?
A: It started in England (1760-1830) due to its natural resources (coal, water) and liberal constitution that supported capitalism.
Q: What was the enclosure movement, and what were its consequences?
A: It ended the open-farming system, leading to market-oriented agriculture and the emergence of a landless rural proletariat.
Q: What was the cottage industry, and how did it function?
A: It was a stage of industrial development where rural workers used hand tools at home to manufacture goods for capitalist merchants in the putting-out system.
Q: What was the putting-out system?
A: A system where rural workers were supplied materials by merchants to produce goods, with merchants taking a profit without laboring themselves.
Q: Name three key inventions of the Industrial Revolution and their inventors.
A:
Jethro Tull’s seed drill – Improved farming efficiency.
James Hargreaves’s spinning jenny & Richard Arkwright’s water frame – Boosted the cotton textile industry.
James Watt’s steam engine (1763) – Enhanced power production.
Q: What was George Stephenson’s "Rocket," and why was it significant?
A: It was the first modern steam-powered railroad, revolutionizing transportation.
Q: What were the Corn Laws (1815), and why were they controversial?
A: They imposed high tariffs on imported grain, benefiting aristocrats but raising food prices for workers, leading to protests.
Q: What was the Peterloo Massacre?
A: A protest against the Corn Laws where 18 demonstrators were killed in 1819.
Q: What were the Six Acts, and what did they do?
A: Laws passed by Parliament that heavily taxed the press and restricted mass meetings.
Q: What were the Combination Acts (1799), and what happened to them?
A: They outlawed unions and strikes, favoring capitalists over artisans, but were repealed in 1824 due to opposition.
Q: What was the Factory Act of 1833, and who advocated for it?
A: Advocated by Robert Owen, it limited work hours for women and children and set safety standards.
Q: How did the sexual division of labor change during the Industrial Revolution?
A: It created "separate spheres," where men were wage-earners and women were homemakers.
Q: How did the Industrial Revolution impact living and working conditions for the poor?
A: Conditions stagnated or worsened until around 1850, especially in overcrowded industrial cities.
Q: How did industrialization affect social classes?
A: It created new social groups, intensified conflicts between capital and labor, and strengthened the middle class.
Q: What is Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, and where was it published?
A: Darwin’s theory, published in On the Origin of Species (1859), states that beneficial traits help species survive and spread through natural selection.
Q: Why was Darwin’s theory of evolution controversial?
A: It suggested evolution occurred without God’s intervention and that humans were just one species among many, leading to accusations of anti-Christian beliefs.
Q: Who was Herbert Spencer, and what was Social Darwinism?
A: Spencer was an English philosopher who applied Darwin’s ideas to society, arguing that economic struggle determined the “survival of the fittest.”
Q: How did Social Darwinism justify imperialism and nationalism?
A: It suggested that Western dominance over African and Asian colonies was “natural” and later influenced Nazi racial policies.
Q: Who was Louis Pasteur, and what were his major contributions?
A: A French microbiologist, Pasteur developed germ theory, pasteurization, and was the father of vaccination, greatly advancing medicine.
Q: How did Georg Hegel influence Karl Marx?
A: Hegel’s nationalistic philosophies inspired Marx’s belief that history follows purposeful patterns toward an ultimate goal.
Q: What is Das Kapital, and what was its main focus?
A: Das Kapital (1867) is Marx’s analysis of economic problems, critiquing capitalism and advocating for “scientific” socialism.
Q: How did Karl Marx view class struggle?
A: Marx argued that history was driven by class struggle, with the bourgeoisie exploiting the proletariat, leading to an inevitable workers' revolution.
Q: What did Marx predict would happen to the proletariat?
A: He believed they would reach class-consciousness, overthrow the bourgeoisie in a violent revolution, and establish communism.
Q: What is communism according to Marx?
A: A classless, stateless, communal society where economic struggle ends.
Q: What is The Communist Manifesto, and who co-wrote it?
A: Written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848, it outlined Marxist socialism and called for proletarian revolution.
Q: How did Marxism influence global politics?
A: Though initially ignored, it shaped radical left-wing movements and influenced Russian leaders from Lenin to Stalin until the USSR’s collapse.
Q: What were the key features of the Second Industrial Revolution (1815-1914)?
A: Increased automation, new power sources (petroleum, electricity), dominance of steel over textiles, and advancements in transportation and communication.
Q: What industries and technologies emerged during the Second Industrial Revolution?
A: Automobiles, chemicals, railroads, telegraph, telephone, and radio.
Q: How did urbanization change during the Second Industrial Revolution?
A: Urban workers lived in poor conditions, but sanitation improvements, led by Edwin Chadwick, improved life quality. Cities grew as rural peasants migrated for factory jobs.
Q: What was the significance of the Crystal Palace in 1851?
A: It showcased Britain’s industrial success with a structure made entirely of glass and iron, materials that were now cheap and abundant.
Q: How did Max Weber view industrial society?
A: He saw modernization as a loss of community and tradition, similar to the concerns of the Romantics.
Q: What was the Bourbon Restoration of 1814, and what did Louis XVIII grant?
A: It restored the monarchy in France, and Louis XVIII granted the Constitutional Charter, a limited liberal constitution.
Q: What did the Constitutional Charter of 1814 protect?
A: Economic and social gains of the middle class and peasantry, intellectual and artistic freedom, and a parliamentary system.
Q: Why was the Constitutional Charter not fully democratic?
A: Only the richest men had suffrage rights, limiting political participation.
Q: Who was Charles X, and what was his political stance?
A: He was Louis XVIII’s successor and a reactionary who aimed to restore the old order in France.
Q: What event marked the rebirth of French imperial expansion?
A: The conquest of Algeria by the French military in 1847.
Q: What led to the July Revolution of 1830?
A: Charles X attempted to overthrow the Constitutional Charter, triggering an insurrection.
Q: Who replaced Charles X, and what was his approach?
A: Louis Philippe, who accepted the Constitutional Charter but failed to meet popular demands for reform.
Q: What triggered the Revolutions of 1848?
A: A full-scale revolution in France in February 1848 that inspired uprisings across Europe.
Q: What were the main goals of the 1848 revolutions?
A: Nationalism, democratic constitutions, and social reform.
Q: What was the outcome of the 1848 revolutions?
A: They ultimately failed due to conservative and monarchist resistance.
Q: Which two major European countries did not experience revolutions in 1848, and why?
A: Britain (already reformed) and Russia (oppressive and undeveloped).
Q: What led to the French Revolution of 1848?
A: Widespread discontent with Louis Philippe’s government united bourgeois merchants, opposition deputies, intellectuals, and working-class groups.
Q: What type of government was established after the revolution?
A: A provisional republic with strong democratic influences.
Q: What economic reforms did Louis Blanc advocate for?
A: Permanent, government-sponsored cooperative workshops as an alternative to capitalism.
Q: What were the National Workshops, and why did they fail?
A: A government program for public works that failed to satisfy both moderate liberals and radical republicans.
Q: What were the June Days, and what was their outcome?
A: A violent conflict between moderate liberals and radical republicans, ending with a constitution favoring a strong executive.
Q: Where and when did the revolution in the Austrian Empire begin?
A: It began in Hungary in March 1848, led by nationalistic Hungarians demanding autonomy, civil liberties, and universal suffrage.
Q: How did the Habsburg emperor Ferdinand I respond to the revolution?
A: He promised reforms and a liberal constitution, though Metternich refused to compromise and fled to London.
Q: What weakened the revolutionary coalition in Austria?
A: Conflicting national aspirations, particularly between Hungarians and ethnic minorities like Croats, Serbs, and Romanians.
Q: Why did ethnic minorities oppose Hungarian unification efforts?
A: They wanted political autonomy and cultural independence rather than being centralized under Hungarian control.
Q: How did the Austrian monarchy regain control?
A: By playing ethnic groups against each other and relying on the aristocracy’s determination and the army’s loyalty.
Q: What was the goal of liberal German reformers in Prussia after the Napoleonic Wars?
A: They sought to transform absolutist Prussia into a constitutional monarchy and hoped it would lead to a unified German nation-state.
Q: What factors encouraged liberals to press for reform in Prussia?
A: The fall of Louis Philippe, crop failures, and economic crises.
Q: What promise did King Friedrich Wilhelm IV make to the people of Prussia?
A: He promised to grant Prussia a liberal constitution and merge it into a new national German state.
Q: Why did the Prussian Constituent Assembly struggle with reforms?
A: Urban workers wanted radical reforms, while the aristocracy wanted much less change.
Q: How did Friedrich Wilhelm IV respond to the revolution and liberal demands by 1849?
A: He reasserted royal authority, crushed popular movements, and dissolved the Prussian Constituent Assembly.
Q: What was the significance of Friedrich Wilhelm IV's refusal to accept the "crown from the gutter"?
A: It showed his contempt for the offer of leadership from the Frankfurt Parliament, rejecting a liberal national unification.
Q: What was the outcome of Prussia’s attempts at German unification?
A: The plan failed as Prussia was forced to renounce its unification schemes, and the German Confederation was re-established in 1851.
Q: How did the German Confederation respond to liberalism after 1850?
A: Reactionary policies returned, with state security forces monitoring universities, civic organizations, and the press.
Q: What is conservatism, and who is associated with it?
A: Conservatism values tradition, privilege, and institutions. Edmund Burke, a British statesman, argued that abstract ideas of liberty and rights caused problems, and that inherited traditions and privileges maintain social stability.
Q: What were Klemens von Metternich’s beliefs regarding government?
A: Metternich believed that authoritarian, aristocratic government was necessary to protect society from the chaotic elements of human nature, and that organized religion was vital to prevent radical change.
Q: What does nationalism emphasize?
A: National unity based on common language, culture, ethnicity, religion, and shared history.
Q: Who was Giuseppe Mazzini, and what was his view on nationalism?
A: Mazzini was an Italian author who argued that language, historic traditions, unification based on “harmony and brotherhood,” and divine purpose define a national people.
Q: What was the Brothers Grimm’s contribution to nationalism?
A: They wrote "Grimm’s Fairy Tales" with both nationalistic and Romantic motivations, emphasizing the importance of cultural identity.
Q: What is Romanticism?
A: Romanticism was a movement that revolted against Enlightenment ideals, emphasizing emotion, intuition, tradition, nature, and religion, often associated with nationalism and conservatism.
Q: How did Mary Shelley contribute to Romanticism?
A: She wrote "Frankenstein" as a critique of the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, which she saw as damaging to spirituality and nature, opposing the Enlightenment’s emphasis on rationality.
Q: Who was Eugène Delacroix, and what was his significance?
A: Delacroix was a French artist known for his painting Liberty Leading the People, which romanticized the French Revolutionary concept of Liberty during the July Revolution.
Q: What is liberalism, and what did it promote?
A: Liberalism promoted limited government intervention, individual freedoms, laissez-faire capitalism, civil liberties, and representative government. It was supported by the bourgeoisie or middle class.
Q: What were Adam Smith’s main ideas regarding economics?
A: Smith advocated for free competition, minimal government intervention, and a “division of labor” to improve efficiency. His theory of the “invisible hand” argued that self-interest in a competitive market improves citizens’ living conditions.
Q: What is socialism, and what does it seek?
A: Socialism seeks justice, equality between classes, fairness, cooperation, and collectivization. It is primarily supported by the working classes.
Q: Who were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and what were their beliefs?
A: Marx and Engels were early advocates of socialism, believing that the proletariat would become class-conscious and overthrow the bourgeoisie in a violent class war, leading to a classless, stateless, communal society (communism).
Q: What did Louis Blanc argue for in Organization of Work?
A: Blanc advocated for government-sponsored cooperative workshops as an alternative to capitalist employment, aiming to create a noncompetitive social order.
Q: What does republicanism advocate for?
A: Republicanism advocates for universal democratic voting rights (for males), radical equality, democracy, and often supports violent upheaval to achieve these goals.
Q: Who was Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III), and how did he come to power?
A: Louis Napoleon, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, won the presidential election in 1848 and established a semi-authoritarian regime after a coup d'état in 1852. He declared the Second French Empire and crowned himself emperor.
Q: How was Napoleon III's nationalism different from earlier forms of nationalism?
A: Napoleon III's nationalism was authoritarian, as opposed to the liberal or radical nationalism seen earlier. He supported a strong central state and an emperor rather than a republic or an elected leader.
Q: Why was Napoleon III popular with the bourgeoisie?
A: Napoleon III was popular with the bourgeoisie because they feared socialism’s influence following the 1848 Revolution. He promoted national unity and social progress while offering economic and social benefits to all people.
Q: What significant action did Napoleon III take after becoming emperor?
A: After becoming emperor, Napoleon III illegally dismissed the highly conservative legislature and seized power through a coup d'état. He restored universal male suffrage and declared the arrival of the Second French Empire.
Q: What reforms did Napoleon III introduce to improve workers' rights?
A: Napoleon III granted workers the right to form unions and the right to strike in the 1860s, which gained him strong support from the working class.
Q: Why did Napoleon III focus on rebuilding Paris, and who did he hire to do so?
A: Napoleon III believed that rebuilding Paris would create jobs, improve living conditions, limit cholera epidemics, and showcase the glory of his empire. He hired Baron Georges Haussmann to modernize the city.
Q: What changes did Haussmann make to Paris?
A: Haussmann transformed Paris by bulldozing old buildings and opposition. He designed new streets to prevent barricades, built small parks, improved housing, and modernized the sewage system, completely changing the city in 20 years.
Q: What was the Crimean War (1853-1856) about, and who fought in it?
A: The Crimean War was fought between Russia and an alliance of France, Britain, and the Ottoman Empire. It was caused by Russian desires to expand into Ottoman territory. Russia was defeated, and the war concluded with the Treaty of Paris in 1856.
Q: How did the Crimean War influence Tsar Alexander II of Russia?
A: Russia's military failure in the Crimean War made Tsar Alexander II realize that Russia needed industrialization and social reforms. As a result, he abolished serfdom in 1861 and implemented some governmental reforms, though they were not fully effective.
Q: What reforms did Tsar Alexander II introduce after the Crimean War?
A: Alexander II abolished serfdom in 1861 and introduced reforms such as the creation of zemstvos (local governing councils), although these were considered half-measures. However, economic industrialization in Russia was successful.
Q: What was the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867?
A: The Austro-Hungarian Compromise (or Ausgleich) of 1867 created the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. It divided the Austrian Empire into two parts, each managing its own ethnic minorities, but sharing a common monarch, finance, defense, and foreign affairs ministries.
Q: How did the Austro-Hungarian Compromise affect Hungary and its governance?
A: The Magyar nobility restored the 1848 Hungarian constitution and used it to dominate both the Magyar peasantry and minority populations. Suffrage was limited to the top 25% of adult males, making the parliament a mechanism of the Magyar elite.
Q: How did nationalism affect the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the 1867 Compromise?
A: Nationalism weakened the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as Magyar extremists advocated for complete separation from Austria, while radical leaders of subject nationalities sought independence from Hungary. This tension persisted until the First World War.
Q: How was Italy organized after the 1814 Congress of Vienna, and what was the focus of Italian nationalists in the 1850s?
A: After the Congress of Vienna in 1814, Italy was reorganized into a patchwork of states. In the 1850s, Italian nationalists focused on creating a national federation led by Victor Emmanuel II, the autocratic king of Sardinia-Piedmont, a wealthy and industrialized region on the peninsula.
Q: What was the significance of Victor Emmanuel II's constitution?
A: Victor Emmanuel II retained a liberal constitution granted by his father after the 1848 revolutions. The constitution combined a strong monarchy with civil liberties and parliamentary government, offering a balance between autocracy and liberal reform.
Q: Who supported the struggle for Italian unification and how did Count Camillo Benso di Cavour contribute?
A: Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, prime minister of Sardinia-Piedmont, supported Italian unification. He pursued realistic goals and gained Napoleon III’s support in early 1860 by ceding Savoy and Nice to France. This helped central Italy join the kingdom under Victor Emmanuel, uniting northern Italy.
Q: What role did Giuseppe Garibaldi play in the Italian unification movement?
A: Giuseppe Garibaldi, a super-patriot, led his guerrilla band of Red Shirts in a campaign for unification. He believed unifying just the north was incomplete. While he was popular, Cavour controlled him and redirected his nationalist efforts to achieve conservative unification, culminating in the formation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860.
Q: What challenges did Italy face after unification under Victor Emmanuel II?
A: Despite unification under a parliamentary monarchy, Italy faced significant challenges. The majority of men could not vote, and there was a stark divide between the industrial, urban North and the poor, agricultural South. These economic and social disparities created tensions within the newly unified state.
Q: Who was Otto von Bismarck, and what was his role in German unification?
A: Otto von Bismarck was appointed Prussian prime minister by Kaiser Wilhelm I in 1871. He was the architect of German unification, using Realpolitik, which prioritized power over ideals. His foreign policy, known as “Blood and Iron,” focused on military strength and nationalism.
Q: What was the significance of the Austro-Prussian War (Seven Weeks’ War) in German unification?
A: The Austro-Prussian War (1866) established Prussia as the dominant state in Germany. Prussia defeated Austria, leading to the formation of the North German Confederation under Prussian leadership and solidifying Prussia's influence over the German states.
Q: How did the Franco-Prussian War contribute to the unification of Germany?
A: The Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) united Northern and Southern Germany. Bismarck provoked French Emperor Napoleon III into war, which led to a German victory. Following the war, the German Empire was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, completing unification. France was forced to cede Alsace-Lorraine and pay reparations, while the Second French Empire fell, leading to the establishment of the Third French Republic.
Q: How did the unification of Germany affect the balance of power in Europe?
A: The unification of Germany in 1871 made it the most powerful state in Europe, both militarily and economically. Germans were immensely proud of Bismarck's leadership and Prussia's invincible army, and semi-authoritarian nationalism became dominant in the newly united state.
Q: What measures did Bismarck take to strengthen the newly unified German state?
A: After unification, Bismarck attempted to strengthen the state through his Kulturkampf, which sought to limit the influence of the Catholic Church, but it failed. He also banned the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) and socialist propaganda, while implementing state socialism policies such as old age pensions, accident insurance, and health insurance, making Germany the first modern welfare state.
Flashcard 1:
Q: What did the Paris Commune leaders want during the Franco-Prussian War aftermath?
A: They wanted workplace reforms, church-state separation, press censorship, and radical feminism.
Flashcard 2:
Q: How did the French government respond to the Paris Commune?
A: The National Assembly, led by Adolphe Thiers, crushed the Commune, killing 20,000 people.
Flashcard 3:
Q: What educational reforms did the National Assembly make between 1879 and 1886?
A: They legalized trade unions and expanded public, tax-supported, free, and compulsory elementary education for boys and girls.
Flashcard 4:
Q: What was the Dreyfus Affair?
A: Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish captain, was falsely accused of treason, leading to public divisions between conservatives and liberals.
Flashcard 5:
Q: What did Émile Zola do during the Dreyfus Affair?
A: He published "J'Accuse!" accusing the army of a mistrial and cover-up, resulting in a prison sentence for Zola.
Flashcard 6:
Q: How did the French government respond after Dreyfus was exonerated?
A: The government severed ties with the Catholic Church between 1901-1905, reducing support for Catholic schools.
Flashcard 1:
Q: What happened at the 1884 Berlin Conference?
A: Western powers set standards for the occupation of Africa, resulting in almost all of Africa being conquered except Ethiopia and Liberia.
Flashcard 2:
Q: Why did industrialized countries pursue colonies in Africa and Asia?
A: They needed raw materials for their industries and sought to set up naval bases due to increasing military budgets.
Flashcard 3:
Q: How did Christian missionaries support imperialism?
A: They argued they were leading non-Christians to salvation, promoting the "civilizing mission."
Flashcard 4:
Q: What atrocities did King Leopold II commit in the Congo Free State?
A: He forced the Congolese to harvest ivory and rubber, terrorizing them until public outrage forced him to relinquish control in 1908.
Flashcard 5:
Q: What was the outcome of the Boer War?
A: The British defeated the Afrikaners, but many Afrikaners and native Africans were forced into concentration camps.
Flashcard 6:
Q: What is Social Darwinism and how did it relate to imperialism?
A: Social Darwinism applied "survival of the fittest" to race, justifying imperialism by claiming European superiority.
Flashcard 7:
Q: What was the concept of Orientalism?
A: Europeans viewed the East as exotic and romantic, while also seeing non-Western peoples as primitive and in need of European control.
Flashcard 8:
Q: What technological advantages did the West have during imperialism?
A: The Maxim machine gun, quinine for malaria control, steamships, and the telegraph helped Western powers dominate non-Western regions.