Second Industrial Revolution: Colonialism and the Great War

Posted on Feb 23, 2025 in History

Second Industrial Revolution and Colonialism

The Second Industrial Revolution saw economies transform, increasing production and improving trade and transport. Utilizing their financial and military superiority, European powers established colonial empires in Africa and Asia.

Causes of Colonialism

  • Europe sought new markets.
  • There was an excess of population, which caused people to emigrate.
  • Expansionist fervor was prevalent on lands outside Europe.
  • Conservative nationalism advocated the superiority of some nations and their right to impose themselves on others.

Colonial Organization

  • Colonies of Exploitation: Devoted to economic exploitation, with European occupation.
  • Colonies of Settlement: Colonies receiving white settlers (e.g., Canada, Australia).
  • Protectorates: Territories that maintained a state organization, with an Indian government and its own administrative apparatus.

Social Structure in Colonies

  • Traditional dominant groups
  • Bourgeoisie
  • National bourgeoisie
  • Peasants
  • Proletariat (very small)

Scramble for Africa

Total domination by European powers (English, French, and Portuguese), except for Liberia and Abyssinia. The clash between rival powers led to the Conference of Berlin (1885).

Colonization of Asia

  • The British conquered India, Burma, and Malaysia. Russia faced them in Afghanistan.
  • France focused on Indochina.
  • In China, colonial powers forced open trade through the Opium Wars (1840-1858).

Major Colonial Empires

  • British Empire: Its aim was to control maritime trade routes. India was initially conquered by a private company, the East India Company, and Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India (1876).
  • United States: Expanded into the Pacific and the Caribbean. They expelled the Spanish from the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.
  • Japan (Meiji Era): Japanese expansion involved the abolition of feudalism, economic modernization, and the breakdown of isolationism. They adopted Western political, social, and economic criteria.

Consequences of Colonization

  • Improvement of infrastructure, farmland, and new industries.
  • Hygienic measures and new hospitals.
  • Schools and missionaries trying to impose Christianity on natives.
  • Large plantations.
  • Introduction of a monetary and market economy.
  • Loss of identity of indigenous cultures (Indian officials were rich, and the majority very poor).

Causes of World War I (The Great War)

The rivalry between colonial powers, nationalist exaltation, and the Balkan conflict (different peoples under the Turkish Empire had organized wars for independence) were major causes of the war (1914-1918).

States invested heavily in weapons, warships, and troop training. In 1882, Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary signed the Triple Alliance. France, Russia, and Britain signed the Triple Entente (1907). In 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was murdered in Sarajevo. Austria declared war on Serbia, and Russia mobilized to protect Serbia. Germany declared war on Russia and France. Britain declared war when Germany invaded Belgium, which was an ally.

Key Events of World War I

  • German armies attacked France, but the English and French armies stopped their progress at the Battle of the Marne.
  • The Russians reached the borders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
  • The fronts froze, and trenches were opened in the West.
  • Italy sided with France and Britain, and the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria with Germany.
  • In 1916, the Germans attacked the French at the Battle of Verdun, but the French resisted for four months.
  • In 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution occurred in Russia, and Russia signed peace with Germany (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: a treaty between Russia and Germany where Russia ceded Poland, Courland, and Lithuania and paid a heavy war indemnity).
  • The United States entered the war after the sinking of the Lusitania, a liner, by a German submarine.
  • The British, French, and Italians defeated Austria and later Germany.
  • In 1918, the German Emperor sought peace and signed the armistice.

It was a new kind of war due to resource mobilization and the involvement of the entire population.

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty with Germany. The winners (United States, Italy, France, Great Britain) imposed harsh conditions: Germany was deemed solely guilty of the conflict and had to pay reparations, disband its army, and surrender its colonial empire. Conquered territories were returned to their respective countries.

New Map of Europe

  • The Russian Empire ceded lands to Poland.
  • The Ottoman Empire was reduced to Turkey.
  • The Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated.

League of Nations

Proposed by Wilson, President of the United States, the League of Nations aimed to secure peace, promote international cooperation, maintain vigilance, and resolve conflicts peacefully.