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Europe and the World Before the Great War, 1900-1914

• Chronology
• Europe and the World
• The New Imperialism
• The "Positive" Side of the New Imperialism
• The Dark Side of the New Imperialism
• The Great Powers
• The Class Structure
• Nineteenth-Century
• Intellectual and Cultural Trends
• Swan Song
• References

Chronology

IF A MEMBER OF "GENERATION Z" could somehow be transported back to the turn of the twentieth century, after the initial shock from the lack of modern technology, he or she would notice many similarities between the two periods. Both were periods of rapid change in every aspect of life. The pace of discoveries in the natural sciences was accelerating, providing new knowledge of how the universe machine operated. The new social sciences claimed to apply the scientific method to studying how people interacted with society. For many, the twentieth century promised an improved quality of life for all. While most saw peace and prosperity continuing, others saw dark clouds gathering over the horizon.

What would appear most different to our imaginary time traveler would be the international order. The twenty-first-century global village with its great diversity from which our time traveler came would not exist. Instead, with a virtual monopoly on certain kinds of scientific and technological knowledge, Western Civilization was able to exert imperialistic force all over the world by the end of the nineteenth century. Some of the more ancient civilizations-e.g., India, China, the Middle East, and North Africa-managed to retain their distinctive cultures while benefiting from Western science and technology. In some cases, Western influences were resisted by force, as in the Boxer Rebellion in China (1899-1901). Japan avoided becoming a victim of the new imperialism by embracing Western scientific, economic, military, and political practices while preserving its distinctive culture.

Europe and the World

Remnants of the overseas empires established during the Age of Exploration and Discovery (c. 1450-c. 1650) remained, but interest in overseas empires had waned by the mid-nineteenth century. Those early outposts of Western influence around the globe mainly originated for economic reasons. According to the then-accepted economic theory (mercantilism), a fixed amount of wealth existed. The goal of a nation was to increase its share of the wealth, usually measured in precious metals, for example, gold and silver. International trade was one means by which a nation could either increase or decrease its share of wealth. A favorable trade balance increased a nation's share of the wealth, whereas an unfavorable balance of trade decreased its portion.

The new seaborn trade birthed a commercial revolution and the rise of capitalism (sixteenth to eighteenth century). The Scientific Revolution (1543-1687) provided a mechanical model of the universe governed by cause-and-effect natural laws. The intellectuals of the Enlightenment who followed the Scientific Revolution tried to find similar natural laws that governed society. Economic thinkers such as Adam Smith (1723-1790) believed they could identify the natural laws of economics. This new understanding of economics, often referred to as laissez-faire, free-market capitalism, or classical liberal economics, helped stimulate the Industrial Revolution that led to the new age of imperialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The new economic theories that fueled industrialization required free access to raw materials and markets but did not require control of the areas that provided the raw materials or markets for finished goods. Most European leaders as late as 1870 believed that apart from a few exceptions, colonies cost more than they were worth. Why be burdened by tracts of overseas territory that were expensive to administer and provided little benefits? The lack of interest in colonies shifted quickly to a fast-paced and dangerous competition for colonies during the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

The New Imperialism

There were a variety of motivations behind the new imperialism, and they were not different from those that fueled the Age of Exploration and Discovery. Some, including Christian missionaries and humanitarians, wanted to bring the benefits of modern civilization to remote parts of the world. Some sought to explore unknown lands and people groups to satisfy curiosity and further knowledge of the non-Western world. Christian missionaries and humanitarians often built orphanages, hospitals, and schools for boys and girls, introduced agricultural technology, and tried to defend the native people from colonial exploiters. However, the two primary motives were first economic gain and, second, the role that colonies played in the ongoing struggle for power between the Great Powers in Europe.

The rapid industrialization in the West increased the demand for raw materials, some of which, like petroleum and rubber, were necessary to modernize existing industries and create new ones. As the standard of living increased for the working classes, there was an increased demand for items from distant parts of the world, such as coffee and tea. Mass production and distribution of manufactured products required reliable supplies of raw materials and new and expanding markets for finished goods. The seemingly insatiable need for new markets was due in part to the unequal distribution of wealth in the industrialized nations of the West. The concentration of wealth in fewer hands, combined with the inability of the working classes to purchase the ever-increasing quantities of goods they produced, drove the investment of excess capital abroad.

Governments of turn-of-the-century industrialized nations abandoned free trade in favor of neomercantilism to protect the profits of existing and emerging industries. The result was the creation of colonial empires that served as large, worldwide trading communities. Tariffs on imported goods, combined with restrictions on competition within the colonial empires, helped protect the upper classes' luxurious lifestyles while providing limited improvements in the working classes of the imperial powers. Except for the British Empire, however, the economic model fell short, as the cost of colonies often surpassed any economic benefit they provided for the mother country. More important, therefore, was what colonies meant in terms of national prestige and rivalry among the great powers.

Before the emergence of air power after the Great War, naval power determined a nation's rank among the great powers. Colonies required navies to protect them, and navies required coaling stations. Possessing overseas territories and navies to protect them became a sign of great power status. The interrelationship between seaborne commerce, large naval forces, and imperial expansion was the subject of a series of lectures by US Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914), published in 1890 as a book titled The Influence of Sea Power Upon History: 1660-1783. He argued that sea power was the key to a nation's military strength and economic growth. Mahan argued that Britain's control of the seas accounted for its imperial dominance.

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History greatly influenced the development of modern navies. After reading Mahan's magnum opus, Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) invited Mahan to lunch aboard his yacht, Hohenzollern, then ordered copies of the book placed aboard every ship in the German Navy. Mahan influenced the imperialist foreign policies of US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) and William McKinley (1843-1901), and the powerful influencer of American foreign policy, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924). Inspired by Mahan's study, the United States began building a navy capable of operating in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It became the "big stick" of American foreign policy at the turn of the twentieth century.

In defending America's annexation of Hawaii (1898), Mahan argued that sea power was critical in determining a nation's position and prosperity. Big navies, seaborne commerce, economic prosperity at home, and foreign colonies were all bound together. Behind it all lay the influence of Social Darwinism. According to Social Darwinism, the greatness of a nation or a people was determined by struggle, ultimately a struggle won or lost on the battlefield. The argument went that the "fittest" people would naturally triumph in any such conflict for the betterment of both parties. To bring the supposition to its ironic-and ultimately tragic-conclusion, progress would stop if peace...