Western Civilization II

Imperialism, Alliances, and War

Imperialism in Africa

Africa Before Partition

• New States and Strong Empire

– Muslim leaders started new states in west Africa that depended on the heavy trade of the Sahara.

– The Sokoto Empire, in 1804, took over many small kingdoms in West Africa.

– In 1819, Shaka and the Zulu Empire took over most of southeastern Africa by using new kinds of spears.

– Egypt gains land and prospers through the rule of Mohammed Ali and his grandson, Ismail.

• New Trading Patterns

– Due to loss of slave trade, Africa offered major exports of ivory and palm oil to industrial Europe.

• The Foreign Presence in Africa

– Liberia, in 1847, is Africa’s first republic, with it’s government being modeled after the U.S.

– Missionaries come to Africa to offer medical treatment and education .

– Many explorers set off to Africa to find new goods

• Early Colonization of Africa

– Dutch colonized a supply post at the Cape of Good Hope and called it Cape Colony. They later lost it to Britain in the Napoleonic Wars.

– Britain outlaws further expansion into Africa and, in 1833, ends slavery.

– Between 1835 and 1845, Dutch farmers migrated Northeast, which is know as the Great Trek 3.

– In 1830 through 1848, France takes over Algeria and guides Tunisia and Morocco, gaining almost total control of the Barbary Coast

The Conquest of Africa

• The Berlin Conference

– The Berlin Conference, which included 12 European nations, the Ottoman Empire, and the US, decided that free trade and travel could occur on the Niger and Congo Rivers, and made it easier for European powers to take over parts of Africa

– No representative of Africa was present at the Berlin Conference

• Western Africa

– In Western Africa, desire to protect trade was most important.

– France began to take over parts of Africa, including land between Senegal and Algeria.

– Britain also captured many parts of Africa by defeating the Ashanti. They also captured Nigeria.

• Northeastern Africa

– By 1882, Britain took control of Egypt and it's Suez Canal due to financial debts.

– Britain later conquered land around the Nile from the French in order to protect Egypt.

• Southern Africa

– Britain annexed parts of Africa that were rich in goods.

– The Afrikaner republics began the South African War when they decided to break away from British influence. They lost the war and surrendered in 1902.

– Britain, in 1910, combined British and Afrikaner colonies into the Dominion called the Union of South Africa.

• Ethiopian Independence

– Ethiopia gained independence from Italy in 1896 in a battle in which Ethiopia defeated Italy

European Rule of Africa

• Colonial Policies

– Most common type of rule was direct rule, where ruling country would replace African officials with their own.

– The British used indirect rule, where native officials would handle day to day tasks.

• Economic Domination

– Export of raw materials made up most of Africa's wealth.

– The African people were taxed, and their workers were heavily mistreated.

• The Impact on African Life

– The Europeans practiced Paternalism on what they considered to be the "childlike" African people.

• “Whie Man’s Burden” (Rudyard Kipling)

– Racial discrimination was rampant.

– Europeans gave some Africans they opportunity to gain access to higher education - they used this as a tool to regain their independence

Asia in the Age of Imperialism

India Under British Rule

• European Trade with India

– Indian disunity.

– European trading companies

• British Rule of India

– Mogul empire is weakened by rebellion.

– Britain drives France out of India

• British/French conflict in India grew out of power struggles in Europe

– War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) - France is prominent in India

– Seven Years War (1756-1763) - Treaty of Paris France accepts British control of India

• India Within the Empire

– Technological changes

• a. best road system in Asia and largest network of railroads

• b. postal service, India and Britain linked by telegraph

• c. technology helped to unify India

• d. technology hurt India economically - British imports drove many out of business

– Sources of nationalism

• education

• racial discrimination

• lack of self government

– New Indian organizations

– British concessions

Imperialism in China and Southeast Asia

• China's Foreign trade

– European trade limited by strict rules

• The Opium Wars

– Ended with Treat of Nanjing (1842)

• Chinese no longer made the trade rules, Westerners did

• Britain has the right to trade in five "treaty ports"

– China's Internal Problems

• The Taiping Rebellion

• Threats from Western powers - Europeans carve out spheres of influence in China

• Attempts at Reform

– Self-strengthening

• China attempts to modernize and reform

• China's weakness clear after defeat in Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)(Sino is a prefix meaning Chinese)

– The hundred days of reform

– Demands from foreigners

– The Boxer Rebellion

– The last days of the Qing Dynasty

• The Nationalist Revolution

– Sun Yat-sen

• Three Principles of the People

– nationalism and the creation of a strong central government

– democracy

– economic security for all Chinese

– Yuan Shikai (Commander of the Imperial forces)

• Imperialism in Southeast Asia

– Great Britain and France were the most active imperial powers

• Britain - India, Burma, Malaya

• France - Indochina (Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia today)

• British government

– Did not make an attempt to understand Indian customs.

– Real mission was to gain power and wealth

• The Sepoy Rebellion

• Taking full control

– Parliament closed East India Co. and annexed its Indian lands.

– Governor-general replace by a viceroy.

– Important decisions about India are made.

World War I

The Outbreak of War

• Entangling Alliances

– The Triple Alliance

• Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

– Germany worried that France would try to retaken the region Alsace-Lorraine.

– Made alliances with other powers that provided all members would help each other if any of them were attacked

– The Triple Entente

• France, Britain, Russia

– France worried about Germany's growing military and industrial strength.

– Britain saw Germany as a rival to its sea power and for colonies in Africa

– This understanding was a treaty of friendship, not a firm military pact

• Other Forces

– Militarism - a policy of glorifying war and readying the armed forces for conflict.

• Urged a constant buildup of weapons and troops.

• Believed that quarrels between nations "must be settled not at the conference table but on the battlefield”

– Imperialism

• European Imperialism and the Balkan Crisis

• Countries competed fiercely to gain colonies, new markets, and new sources of raw materials.

• Germany and Italy wanted to catch up to Britain and France.

– Nationalism

• French wanted to reclaim Alsace-Lorraine

• Germany wanted to extend its power and territory.

• Russian Pan-Slavics wanted Russia to rule over the Slavs of Eastern Europe

• The Coming of War

– Murder in Sarajevo

• June 28, 1914

• Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip (The Black Hand) assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand

– Germany gives Austria-Hungary

• “Blank Check” to move against Serbia.

– The ultimatum - July 23, 1914

• Ordered Serbia to end all anti-Austrian activities and let Austria handle the investigation of Ferdinand's murder.

• Deliberately made the ultimatum too harsh to accept

– The start of war

• July 28, 1914 Austria declared war on Serbia

• Sets of a chain reaction - WWI began August 4, 1914

The Course of the War

• The Allies and the Central Powers

– Allies - France, Britain, and Russia.

• US officially joined the Allies in 1917.

– Central Powers- Austria-Hungary and Germany

• Italy remained neutral at first and then joined the allies in 1915

• Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers

• The Western Front

– The German Attack

• The Schlieffen Plan - The plan called for Germans to invade France through Belgium and after (what planners believed would be a quick) victory send the troops on trains to the Eastern front to fight the Russians

– Trench Warfare - instead of a quick victory battle became a war of attrition -- German advance halted at Ypres.

– New weapons

• machine guns, artillery, poison gas, tanks, airplanes, submarines

– Stalemate

• February 1916 Germany army began a major offensive at the French town of Verdun

• In five months of siege, the Germans failed to capture Verdun

• German attack (August 1914)

– Belgium armies resisted the German attack and fell back in an orderly retreat

– French armies linked with the retreating Belgium armies to give a stiff resistance to the German attack

– English armies landed in France very quickly and joined the Belgians and French, thus slowing the German advance toward Paris and spreading it out over a wide front

• French counter-attack at the Marne (September 1914)

– The French sensed a gap in the German line near the Marne River

– The French threw everything they had into the battle of the Marne

– The French government even requisitioned Paris taxi cabs to shuttle reinforcements to the front

– The ferocity of the attack forced the Germans to stall

• Trench warfare

– Both sides dug trenches to protect themselves from machine gun fire (a new technology in this war)

– By November 1914 continuous trenches extended from the Belgium ports to the Swiss border

– Artillery was used to "soften up" the other side

– Infantry went "over the top" and tried to run across "no man's land" and reach the opposing trench

– Cost in lives was tremendous and the gain in territory was minuscule

• The battle of the Somme gained 125 square miles at a cost of 600,000 allied dead and 500,000 German dead

• The battle of Verdun lost 700,000 lives on both sides with no gain in territory

• From Erich Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front "We see men living with their skulls blown open; we see soldiers run with their two feet cut off....Still the little piece of convulsed earth in which we lie is held. We have yielded no more than a few hundred yards of it as a prize to the enemy. But on every yard there lies a dead man."

• Stalemate produced new tactics

– Poison gas (chlorine and mustard gas)

• Used initially by the Germans in an experiment

• Many died without warning

• Later agreements limited the use of gases

– Airplanes

• Initially used for reconnaissance

• Later loaded with hand-held bombs

• Eventually equipped with machine guns

– Erection of the Siegfried Line

• A group of forts along the German-French line that provided improvements over the trenches

• Effective in stopping French advances

• Eastern front

– Serbia repulsed the Austro-Hungarian army and forced a stalemate

– Russia armies attacked Germany but were stopped short of the Vistula River in September 1914

– The combined Austro-Hungarian and German armies pushed the Russians back into Russian territory in 1915

• Battle of Tannenburg

– Russia ran out of artillery shells and rifles, forcing Russian soldiers to try and find weapons among the dead

– Russian casualties were 2.5 million

The Russian Revolutions

• Initial changes in government

– Heavy Russian casualties turned the people against the war

– A progressive, democratic block, in Russia called for a new government with a stronger Duma

– Czar Nicholas II, under pressure from his wife and Rasputin, adjourned the Duma (1915)

– Rasputin murdered (1916)

– Bread riots in St. Petersburg (March 1917)

• “March Revolution”

– Duma reassembled and declared a provisional government (March 1917)

– Power was shared with a council of workers and soldiers called the Petrograd Soviet

– Czar Nicholas abdicated (March 1917)

November Revolution

• Bolsheviks (Communists)

– Lenin returned from exile in Switzerland (with German help) and denounced the provisional government (April 1917)

– Lenin and his associates (Trotsky) convinced the Petrograd Soviet to issue Army Order No. 1 which stripped officers of their authority and placed power in the hands of elected committees of common soldiers

– The Bolsheviks were elected leaders of the Soviets and then used that power to take control of the government

• The war was very unpopular with the Russian people and the Communists immediately sought peace terms from the Germans

– Undoubtedly this was why the Germans helped Lenin return to Russia

– The Germans made large demands for territory as a condition of peace (Lenin balked on the demands)

– The Germans then intensified their attacks on the Eastern Front

– The Russians realized they did not have the means to keep up the war

– The Russians agreed to the German demands and withdrew from the war (Brest-Litovsk Treaty)

The Role of the United States

• American neutrality

– Propaganda

– Interference with shipping - sinking of the Lusitania

– Economic motives

• American entry into war

– Zimmerman Note

– April, 1917, Wilson pledges to 'make the world safe for democracy”

• US troops led by John J. Pershing

THE WAR AND THE ARMISTICE: 1918

• The Final German Effort

· March - July - create pockets in allied lines

· 800,000 casualties for French and British

· Ludendorff destroys the German army and the Allies hold on

· War of Attrition

· Americans tilt the balance - bring in 100,000 troops - second Battle of the Marne - Chateau Thierry

· Unity of command under Foch

• Failure of the Submarine

· In 1917: Germans destroyed shipping faster than it could be rebuilt

· Purpose: starve England before U.S. help counted

· Convoy system saved the day

• Allied success in the Near East

· Allenby takes Jerusalem in December 1917

· Turks forced out of Asia Minor in 1918

· Allied forces move up from Salonika against Bulgaria in September 1918 - surrender follows

· Whole German southeast began to crumble

• Breakdown in Germany

· Shortage of food and fuel

· Failure of Ludendorff's offensive

· Austria-Hungary on the brink of revolution

· Foch drives German army back in the West

· German soldiers on the Eastern Front infected with Bolshevism

· Fourteen Points of President Wilson convince Germans that the war is lost and that peace had to be made

• The Armistice - November 11, 1918

The Peace Treaties

• The Paris Peace Conference

– Wilson’s Fourteen Points(5 key ideas are listed below)

• Self-determination - nationalities should have the right to establish their own governments, free of foreign control.

• Peace without victory - Allies should treat their former enemies generously.

• Disarmament - wanted nations of the world to disarm and an end to militarism.

• Fair treatment of colonial peoples - wanted imperial nations to look out for the welfare of their colonies.

• League of Nations - international organization meant to help large and small nations settle quarrels

– Obstacles to a settlement

• Stiff opposition by allies, especially France.

• Difficulty of self-determination.

• Secret treaties on how to share the spoils of war.

– Separate peace treaties

• Peace settlement made in Paris consisted of five separate treaties - one with each defeated states (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire).

• Treaty of Versailles - settlement with Germany

• The Versailles Treaty

– Territorial changes - Germany lost land to France and Poland and was forced to dismantle most of its military

– Mandates - Germany lost control of its overseas territories which became mandates of French, Britain, and Japan

– Reparations - payment of war damages to other nations 33 billion

• New states

– Various nationalities in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire carved out their own states

• Czechs and Slovaks formed Czechoslovakia

• Croats and Slovenes joined with Serbia to form Yugoslavia

• Italy and Romania gained land from the old empire

• Hungary became a separate nation

• The new Austria was forbidden to united with Germany

• The League of Nations

– More than 60 countries joined.

– The US did not join the League of Nations.

– US senate persuaded a policy of isolationism and felt that the League might drag them into future European conflicts

The Aftermath of War

• Total War

– A war involving all the human and material resources of the countries taking part.

• Some civilians such as those aboard the Lusitania were killed as a direct result from the conflict

• Millions died from the war, hunger, and the influenza outbreak

• People on the "home front" sacrificed whatever they could to make sure their armies had enough supplies (daylight savings time was invented in Europe to save fuel)

• Governments used propaganda to boost public support for the war

• Governments steadily took more control over the economy, turning resources to the war effort

Unresolved Problems

• Militarist ideas persisted, especially in countries that felt cheated by the peace settlements (Germany, Italy, & Japan)

• Imperialism remained - "colonies" became "mandates" but most did not gain independence

• Nationalist rivalries intensified