Napoleonic Era to WWI: A Historical Timeline
The Napoleonic Empire
1799: Napoleon, during the period of the Consulate, solidifies the conquests of the bourgeois revolution and enacts:
- Administrative reform
- Centralization of finances and the education system
- A new Civil Code
1804: He is crowned Emperor, defeats absolute monarchs, and conquers much of Europe.
1811: His empire extends from Germany to Italy, but Great Britain remains his rival. He places family members or his generals on thrones, disseminating revolutionary ideas. While seen as a liberator by some, he primarily advances bourgeois interests and those of France, leading to the emergence of national sentiments against the invaders.
1808: Uprising against the Spanish invasion and the imposition of a foreign king (Joseph Bonaparte).
1814: After his defeat in Russia and Spain, he leaves power.
1815: He returns but is finally defeated at Waterloo.
War of Independence (1808-1813)
Spain declares war on France following the outbreak of the French Revolution. Manuel Godoy (Minister to Carlos IV) allies with Napoleon against Britain, signing the Treaty of Fontainebleau, authorizing France to pass through Spain to attack Portugal (a British ally).
1808: The Mutiny of Aranjuez, fueled by fear and discontent, forces the resignation of Godoy, and the abdication of Carlos IV in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII. Napoleon summons Carlos and Fernando to Bayonne (France), where they abdicate, and he accepts Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.
May 2: Uprising of the people of Madrid, resistance movements form councils in the provinces, and a Supreme Central Junta is established, employing a system run by guerrillas.
1812: Russia turns on Napoleon, and with British and Spanish aid, the Treaty of Valençay is signed: Ferdinand VII regains the crown, and Napoleon withdraws his troops from Spain.
Spanish Constitution of 1812
1810: In Cádiz, the Central Board convenes a court with representatives of the Spanish people to draft:
The 1812 Constitution, based on political liberalism:
- National sovereignty and separation of powers
- Bill of rights for citizens
- Universal male suffrage
However, not all that was legislated was applied. The formerly privileged classes wanted the return of Ferdinand VII and the Old Regime.
Liberalism and Nationalism
Liberalism: Heir to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, it defends:
- A society based on the individual. The state must guarantee religious freedom, expression, assembly, etc.
- Popular sovereignty
- A parliamentary system with an assembly elected by popular vote, even if it’s a census suffrage, representing the will of the nation
- Laws made by Parliament, with the constitution being the supreme law
- Division of powers
- Economic and social freedom (property and market economy)
Nationalism: The idea of a nation is defined differently in each country. In some, state and nation coincide. Separatist movements arise in the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, and it is the origin of the struggle in Italy and Germany to form a single state.
Unification of Italy and Germany
Similarities of independence:
- Unification led by the most developed territory: Piedmont in Italy and Prussia in Germany
- Achieved after years of armed conflict
- The bourgeoisie leads the new states, having to compromise with the old aristocracies, acquiring a conservative character
Unification of Italy
Divided into six states:
- Papal States: The Pope is sovereign
- Lombardy and Veneto: In the hands of Austria
- Tuscany
- Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
- Piedmont: A liberal monarchy in favor of unification
1859: Count Cavour, Prime Minister of Piedmont, starts a war with Austria and achieves the annexation of Lombardy. A popular uprising led by Garibaldi overthrows the monarchs of central and southern Italy.
1860: Victor Emmanuel, King of Piedmont, is proclaimed King of Italy, and the Austrians leave Veneto.
1870: The Papal States are annexed.
Unification of Germany
Divided into 36 states. Prussia attempts to lead the unification, excluding Austria, and goes to war. Otto von Bismarck (the Prussian Chancellor) achieves victory against Austria in 1866 and against France in 1870, uniting all the states under Kaiser Wilhelm I.
Labor Movement
It is the initiative of all workers to improve their working conditions (wages, hours, etc.) and political objectives. The enormous inequalities in 19th-century economic relationships between classes give rise to labor organizations and social theories.
- Britain: The first movement was Luddism, where artisans destroyed machines for fear of losing their jobs.
- 1825: With the right of association recognized, the first unions or trade unions (workers’ associations) are founded, organized and peaceful.
Marxism and Socialism
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels denounced the exploitation of the working classes by the bourgeoisie and defended the necessity of a revolution to destroy capitalism. The proletariat would conquer political power (dictatorship) and create a worker’s state that would socialize property. Classes would disappear, leading to the ideal communist society. In the late 19th century, Marxist socialist labor parties emerged in Europe, entering politics and standing for elections to enact legislation favorable to workers (universal suffrage, including women, income taxes, an 8-hour workday, etc.).
Anarchism
A movement that rejects any imposed organization (including the state and political participation by workers). Proudhon (French) was a defender of mostly peaceful actions. Bakunin (Russian) believed that violence was necessary to destroy the state.
Internationalism
Marxists and anarchists unite in a proletarian effort of the working class against capitalism worldwide.
1864: The International Workingmen’s Association is created to unite trade unionists, but discrepancies between Marxists and anarchists cause it to disappear.
1891: The Second International is founded by socialist leaders, exclusively socialist. It establishes symbols such as the anthem of the International and the celebration of May 1st (Labor Day).
First World War (1914-1918)
Causes:
- Disputes between colonial powers: Germany and France over Morocco, and with Great Britain due to nationalist fervor
- German and French rivalry
- Balkan Conflict: The Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires maintain disputed borders. In the Balkans, Serbs, Albanians, Bulgarians, and Romanians want independence, supported by Russia against Austro-Hungarian or Ottoman rule.
Armed Peace and Alliance System
The unrest among the great powers leads to an arms race, known as the period of “armed peace.” Two opposing systems of alliances emerge:
- The Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy
- The Triple Entente: France, Russia, and Great Britain
Outbreak of War
Two stages:
1. War of Movements: A rapid German attack to defeat France and then turn against Russia. However, German attacks force the withdrawal of some troops from France. The French halt the German advance at the Battle of the Marne.
2. Trench Warfare: A harsh and costly phase, where the fronts are hardly altered, and life is very difficult (humidity, poor nutrition, enemy bombings, etc.). New weapons are introduced: cannons, machine guns, tanks, aircraft, and chemical weapons.
1915: Italy joins France and Great Britain, while Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire join Germany and Austria-Hungary.
1917: In Russia, the Bolshevik Revolution triumphs, and they sign a peace treaty with Germany, withdrawing from the war. The United States joins the Allies after the German attack on the transatlantic liner “Lusitania.”
1918: The Central Powers sign an armistice. Kaiser Wilhelm II flees to Holland, and the Republic is proclaimed.
Organization of Peace
a) Treaty of Versailles: Conditions for the signing of peace with Germany:
- Germany is declared solely guilty and obliged to pay war reparations.
- Its army and navy are minimized.
- Great Britain and France divide its colonial empire.
- German territory is fragmented.
Germany considers it humiliating, reviving nationalism and a desire for future revenge.
The old European empires are broken up:
- Russia loses its Baltic coast and land granted to the new Poland.
- The Ottoman Empire disappears, leaving only Turkey.
- From the Austro-Hungarian Empire, new states emerge: Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, and Yugoslavia.
The League of Nations, a precursor to the current UN, is born as an assembly of all states in the world to ensure peace, political independence of states, and disarmament. However, it is unable to prevent future conflicts due to this imposed, rather than negotiated, peace.
Soviet Revolution
The first communist state in the world in the 20th century: the Bolshevik Revolution. Hunger appears in cities, affecting workers and peasants after the First World War, for which Russia was not prepared. By late 1916, the defeated and demoralized army is unwilling to support Tsar Nicholas II and his government. The political opposition—bourgeois parties, peasants, and workers—takes advantage of the circumstances.
February Revolution (1917)
The first revolt of workers and soldiers in St. Petersburg. Bourgeois parties (Duma) force the Tsar to abdicate and establish a democratic provisional government. Another government of workers, peasants, and soldiers (Soviets) is also formed. The bourgeois government (Kerensky) aims to continue the war, but military failures and the failure of promised reforms lead the Russians to support the Bolsheviks (Lenin), who promise peace, land distribution to peasants, factories run by workers, and the nationalization of banks and transport.
October Revolution
The Bolsheviks overthrow the provisional government, attacking the Winter Palace. The government is arrested, and, accepted by most of the Soviets, the first communist government is established under Lenin. They sign the distribution of land and peace with Germany. However, Tsarist generals form the White Army, and with the help of the British, French, and Americans, a three-year civil war ensues. The Red Army wins and regains control.