Today’s Standards
SS6H6 The student will analyze the impact of European
exploration and colonization on various world regions.
d. Explain the impact of European empire building in Africa and Asia on
the outbreak of WWI.
Intro to our
“Essential Question(s)”…..
How did the existence of large European colonial empires in Africa and
Asia impact the outbreak of WWI?
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period of change beginning in the late 18th century
(1700’s), during which goods began to be
produced/manufactured using power-driven
machines.
The Industrial Revolution This revolution mainly began in western
Europe (Starting in the UK) & later spread to North America.
This enabled imperialist countries to turn the raw materials from the colonies
into goods for sale at a rapid pace.
It also enabled them to build large modern armies & navies & influenced
the invention of more effective weapons of war, like battleships, submarines,
tanks, machine guns, & artillery weapons
Defending Empires
The colonial powers of Europe depended heavily on their colonies for raw materials (natural resources) & labor
(human resources).
As a result, they built up their armies and navies to
defend their possessions from other European
powers.
They were also used to crush pesky rebellions.
Eastern Europe
Though western Europe was industrialized,
eastern Europe remained mostly
agricultural.
These eastern European countries imported
most of their manufactured goods
from northern & western Europe.
Austria-Hungary
The 2nd largest “empire” in eastern Europe around
1900 was Austria-Hungary.
It was a dual monarchy, in which one ruler
governs two nations.
Its territory included parts of modern day Austria, Hungary,
Czech Rep., Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia,
Ukraine, Poland, & Romania.
To Prevent War……? Many of the nations of Europe
decided to sign military alliances with one another to prevent outsiders from
declaring war.
For example:
“I have an alliance with France….so if you want to fight me, you’ll have to fight France as well.”
This was meant to discourage armed conflict in Europe &
create peace.
Everybody wanted the good time to continue to “roll”
To Prevent War……?
This “web” of alliances posed one simple
problem:
If any of those nations got into a war, all the rest would be pulled
in.
One tiny spark could cause all of Europe to
blow up in war.
Formula for Disaster
Europe around 1900:
Everybody thinks they’re the best (nationalism)
Everybody has huge armies & navies (colonial defense)
Predictions………
Return to our
“Essential Question(s)”…..
How did the existence of large European colonial empires in Africa and
Asia impact the outbreak of WWI?
The Emergence of Nationalism The industrial revolution
combined with the expansion of European
colonial/imperial possessions made many European countries very
wealthy.
You could say that European leaders felt a
sense of power & superiority when
comparing themselves to other people/places.
The Spread of Nationalism
During the 1800’s nationalism was sweeping
through Europe.
Nationalism is the extreme love of one’s country as being more important &
superior to other nations.
Nationalism would influence the actions of many national citizens and
leaders between the mid-1800’s & mid-1900’s.
The Spread of Nationalism One of the reasons that
nationalism became so widespread in Europe during
this time was because many of the nations of Europe had
adopted some form of democratic government.
For the first time, many Europeans were able to
participate in the governance of their country.
This made people proud to be a citizen of their nation.
European Empires (1914) By 1914, many western European countries-including France, Italy, the United Kingdom,
Germany, & Belgium had many colonies in Asia, Africa, & the Americas.
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