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The 19th century was a revolutionary period for European history and a time of great transformation in all spheres of life. Human and civil rights, democracy and nationalism, industrialisation and free market systems, all ushered in a period of change and chance. By the end of the century Europe had reached the peak of its global power. Social and national tensions as well as international rivalries festered however - all exploding in conflict at the beginning of the 20th century. Audio guide:
The 19th century – an age of revolutions! Taking inspiration from the French Revolution of 1789, people across Europe challenged
aristocratic ruling classes and fought for the development of civil and human rights, democracy and national independence. Nationalism emerged as a revolutionary claim promising citizens more involvement in democracy, but it was exclusive, imagining a world of national territories inhabited by ethnically similar people. Some visionary Europeans, however, hoped for the unity of the continent beyond national allegiances. Audio guide: MARKETS AND PEOPLESteam, smoke, factories, noise – all announced the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain. To different degrees manufacturing then spread across Europe turning the continent into the world centre of industrialisation, finance and commerce. New technical innovations initiated industrial progress with steam power driving the development of heavy industry. Methods of production were totally transformed and large factories with thousands of workers mass produced industrial and consumer goods. Audio guides:
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYSpeed, dynamism and a belief in progress defined Europe at the end of the 19th century. Railways, electricity, cinema, photography and new theories in science and medicine affirmed Europe’s leading role in this technological coming of age. A time of optimism beckoned. The arrival of the age of railways demonstrated Europe’s advance as an assured technological world leader. Industrialisation expanded and long-distance travel became possible across all social classes. Audio guide:
IMPERIALISMThe 19th century witnessed a globally dominant Europe. Empires expanded, colonies amassed – all pushed energetically forward by the Industrial Revolution. Colonies provided the raw materials and luxury commodities to meet rising consumer demand, in return promising vast markets for European products. Abuse and inequality were excused as a necessary part of ‘civilising’ savage peoples. The gradual ending of slavery was followed by new forms of intolerance and racism. By 1914 European countries ruled about 30 % of the world’s population. Europe had been involved in overseas exploration and trade for centuries, but the benefits of the Industrial Revolution enabled Europe to tighten its grip on other continents. Audio guide:
AN AGE OF REVOLUTIONS, 1750-1914Standard 1: The causes and consequences of political revolutions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries Standard 2: The causes and consequences of the agricultural and industrial revolutions, 1700-1850 Standard 3: The transformation of Eurasian societies in an era of global trade and rising European power, 1750-1870 Standard 4: Patterns of nationalism, state-building, and social reform in Europe and the Americas, 1830-1914 Standard 5: Patterns of global change in the era of Western military and economic domination, 1800-1914 Standard 6: Major global trends from 1750-1914 The invention of the railway locomotive, the steamship, and, later, the telegraph and telephone transformed global communications in this era. The time it took and the money it cost to move goods, messages, or armies across oceans and continents were drastically cut. People moved, or were forced to move, from one part of the world to another in record numbers. In the early part of the era African slaves continued to be transported across the Atlantic in large numbers; European migrants created new frontiers of colonial settlement in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres; and Chinese, Indian, and other Asians migrated to Southeast Asia and the Americas. International commerce mushroomed, and virtually no society anywhere in the world stayed clear of the global market. Underlying these surges in communication, migration, and trade was the growth of world population, forcing men and women almost everywhere to experiment with new ways of organizing collective life. This was an era of bewildering change in a thousand different arenas. One way to make sense of the whole is to focus on three world-encompassing and interrelated developments: the democratic revolution, the industrial revolution, and the establishment of European dominance over most of the world.
Why Study This Era?
STANDARD 1The causes and consequences of political revolutions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Standard 1A The student understands how the French Revolution contributed to transformations in Europe and the world.
Standard 1B The student understands how Latin American countries achieved independence in the early 19th century.
STANDARD 2The causes and consequences of the agricultural and industrial revolutions, 1700-1850. Standard 2A The student understands the early industrialization and the importance of developments in England.
Standard 2B The student understands how industrial economies expanded and societies experienced transformations in Europe and the Atlantic basin.
Standard 2C The student understands the causes and consequences of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the Americas.
STANDARD 3The transformation of Eurasian societies in an era of global trade and rising European power, 1750-1870. Standard 3A The student understands how the Ottoman Empire attempted to meet the challenge of Western military, political, and economic power.
Standard 3B The student understands Russian absolutism, reform, and imperial expansion in the late 18th and 19th centuries.
Standard 3C The student understands the consequences of political and military encounters between Europeans and peoples of South and Southeast Asia.
Standard 3D The student understands how China’s Qing dynasty responded to economic and political crises in the late 18th and the 19th centuries.
Standard 3E The student understands how Japan was transformed from feudal shogunate to modern nation-state in the 19th century.
STANDARD 4Patterns of nationalism, state-building, and social reform in Europe and the Americas, 1830-1914. Standard 4A The student understands how modern nationalism affected European politics and society.
Standard 4B The student understands the impact of new social movements and ideologies on 19th-century Europe.
Standard 4C The student understands cultural, intellectual, and educational trends in 19th-century Europe.
Standard 4D The student understands the political, economic, and social transformations in the Americas in the 19th century.
STANDARD 5Patterns of global change in the era of Western military and economic dominance, 1800-1914. Standard 5A The student understands connections between major developments in science and technology and the growth of industrial economy and society.
Standard 5B The student understands the causes and consequences of European settler colonization in the 19th century.
Standard 5C The student understands the causes of European, American, and Japanese imperial expansion.
Standard 5D The student understands transformations in South, Southeast, and East Asia in the era of the “new imperialism.”
Standard 5E The student understands the varying responses of African peoples to world economic developments and European imperialism.
STANDARD 6Major global trends from 1750-1914. Standard 6A The student understands major global trends from 1750 to 1914.
Which of the following was the result of the changes that occurred in the 19th century in Europe?During the nineteenth century, nationalism emerged as a force which brought about sweeping changes in the political and mental world of Europe. The end result of these changes was the emergence of the nation-state in place of the multi-national dynastic empires of Europe.
What was developed in Europe in the early 19th century?The 19th century was a revolutionary period for European history and a time of great transformation in all spheres of life. Human and civil rights, democracy and nationalism, industrialisation and free market systems, all ushered in a period of change and chance.
What were the most important outcomes of the Atlantic revolutions both immediately and in the century that followed?What was the most important outcomes of the Atlantic revolutions, both immediately and in the century that followed? Following the revolutions, the common people began to gain more rights while the aristocracy and kings began to lose power in colonies.
Which of the following best describes how nineteenth century European industrialization affect European women's lives?Which of the following best describes how nineteenth-century European industrialization affected European women's lives? By the end of the century, new social welfare legislation made it possible for most women to earn university degrees.
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