Imperialism/ WW1

New Imperialism: Scramble for Africa

Colonialism

• a system in which one country takes control of the political and economic affairs of another nation and imposes policies to control the population

• lasted in Africa from 1884-1960

Scramble for Africa

• in 1880 80% of Africa was independent

• by 1900 Europeans has laid claim to the entire continent, except Libera and Ethiopia

What Events and Movements Contributed to the Rapid Colonization of Africa by Europe

Industrial Revolution

• gave European countries a huge advantages over African nations

  • had financial resources needed to fight wars of conquest in Africa

  • had professional armies and navies

  • new advancements in medicine, transportation, and weapons made it easier to conquer African nations

  • Atlantic lave trade had depleted African populations

European Rivalry

• competition to find new sources of materials

• competition to establish themselves in African countries, didn’t want to fall behind in competition for national prestige and economic growth

• some claimed territories so rival nationals couldn’t have them

Berlin Conference (1884-1885)

• representatives from 14 countries came together, no African countries were present

• set up by German chancellor Otto Von Bismark

• countries would need their claims on African territories ratified by other Europeans countries

• European countries now required to actually occupy the territories they claimed

How Were Africans Affected by Cultural, Economic, and Political Colonial Policies

Cultural

• language: European language became the official one throughout Africa

• racism: Europeans believed racist ideas that Africans needed to be “civilized”

• women: African women lost a great deal of power and rights

• education: for a minority, western education generated a new identity and meant better jobs/opportunities

Economic

• rearranged African economics to grow cash crops (peanuts, cotton, wheat, timber, palm-oil, coffee) for export to Europe instead of crops for local consumption

• Europeans bought up local land and paid low wages

• mining was a major economic source in some areas (ex. diamonds)

• Europeans companies essentially ran the economy

Political

• Europeans drew new boundaries and grouped divers, often rival, groups together

• some boarders divided united groups

• European powers set up new governments though while Europe was becoming more democratic, their systems in Africa were less democratic

• African traditional leaders continued to be important in many ears and often led to resistance movements

WW1: Causes of the War (Essay)

• Militarism

• Alliances

• Nationalism

• Imperialism

• Assassination

(MANIA)

Militarism

• glorifying military power and values on society

• European nations believed their power was largely based on their ability to wage war

• soldiers gained new status/respect by the public

• resulted in an arms race between western European nations

• Germany was competing with Russia and France to expand their armies

• each nation devolved mobilization and war plans in the event of an attack

• ex: Schlieffen Plan- German plan to defeat France by going through neutral Belgium. Germany thought Great Britain would not get involved (they were wrong)

Alliances

- a complex series of alliances formed dividing Europe into two sides

• Triple Alliance

  • Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Italy

    • Italy would not hold up their part of the Alliance

• Triple Entente

  • Great Britain, France, Russia, and United States (but not until 1917)

Nationalism

• an intense form of patriotism that celebrated ones’ own national identity, while often putting down others in the process

  • call for increased military- willingness to die for ones’ country

  • songs, anthems, flags, media, propaganda

• propaganda: the spreading of ideas to promote a cause or damage an opposing cause

• nationalism leads to overconfidence because each country believed that they would win the war quickly (we are strong, they are weak, war is easy)

Imperialism

• rivalries formed as new powers competed for colonies in Africa, southeast Asia, and spheres of influence in China

• led to competition and bad feelings

  • British feared Germany in Africa

  • Austrians fears Serbia/ Russians in the Baltics

• Germany having unified in 1870 and rapidly industrializing was a late comer to imperialism and was trying to “catch up”

Assassinations

• assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne by Gavrilo Princip a Serbian nationalist

• black hand- Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo- wanted Bosnia to be part of Serbia and a wider Yugoslavia, not Austria-Hungary

• Balkans were known as the “power keg” of Europe

• Blank Check Agreement: on July 5 1914, Germany gave Austria a “Blank Cheque” in handling its punishment of Serbia regarding the assignation of the heir to the Austrian throne. It lead to the start of the first World War

There were 5 major causes for WW1, militarism, alliances, nationalism, imperialism, and assassinations. Militarism became glorified during WW1 and countries based their power off of how easily they could wage war. Each nation created mobilization plan in case of an attack. An example of this which is the Sheffield Plan created by Germany in fear of a French attack, he would march his armies through neutral Belgium how every the plan didn’t work.

Next is alliances, they were created between countries. Two major ones were the Triple Alliance which consisted of Germany, Austria- Hungary Empire, Ottoman Empire, and Italy however they would switch sides. The second was the Triple Entente which was Great Britain, France, Russia and later the U.S.

Third is nationalism which is a sever form of patriotism. It was spread through propaganda, media, and songs. This lead to countries becoming overconfident about how easily they would win the war.

Forth is imperialism, this was due to competing European countries wanting Africa and southeast Asia. British feared Germany in Africa and Serbia feared Russians in the Baltics.

Lastly, was the assassination of Archduke Fernande, heir to Austria-Hungarian Empire. This happened because a Serbian nationalist wanted it to be part of Bosnia and larger Yugoslavia and not Austria-Hungary. This was the start of WW1.

WW1: The War

Fighting the War

• total war: warfare placed demands on nearly every aspect of society, including the home front

• women filled tradition male roles/ jobs and kept the economy going. The right to vote came after the war

• trench warfare: goal was to protect. Soldiers went “over the top” to hold battles. Rarely was aby progress made, and for four years there was a stalemate

  • in between tow countries trenches was called “no mans land”

Major Battles and Events

• Battle of Somme: one of the deadliest battles in human history

  • July 1- November 18, 1916; over 1 million casualties, 300,000 fatalities

• Battle of Verdon: longest campaigns in WW1

  • February 21- December 18, 1916; over 700,000 casualties, 300,000 fatalities

• Battle of Gallipoli: attempted to open up Dardanelle straight for entente supplies

  • April 15 1915- January 9 1916; over 250,000 casualties,77,000 fatalities

• Sinking the Lusitania: German U-Boat sank British passenger ship, 1,195 killed including 128 Americans

• Zimmerman telegrams: a coded message sent by Germany to Mexico in 1917 proposing an alliance against the U.S.

Near the End

• The U.S. gets involved April 1917

• President Woodrow Wilson outlines his 14 points for peace

  • opening diplomacy with out treaties

  • self determination for Austria-Hungary territories

  • formation of a league of nations

WW1: End of the War

Armistice

November 11, 1918, truce agreement to end war

• end of hostiles

• surrender of German weapons, including machine guns, airplanes, and ships

• return allied prisoners of war

• future reparations by Germany

• withdraw of German forces

• no end to naval blockade of Germany

• no return of German prisoners

Paris Peace Treaty, 1919

• the treaty of Versailles was signed June 28, 1919

• the controversial war guilt clause blamed Germany for WW1 and imposed heavy debt payments on Germany

• the treaty of Versailles was a major contributing factor in the out break of WW2

League of Nations

• the league of nations was established at the end of WW1 as on international peacekeeping organization

• although U.S. president Woodrow Wilson was an enthusiastic proponent of the league, the United States did not officially join due to opposition from isolation in congress

• the league of nations effectively resolved some international conflicts but fails to prevent the outbreak of WW2