The world in 1900
Many historians ask how the World was in 1900. The answer is quite simple. The world was coming to an end… better to say to the beginning of the end of monstrous political scenery. But was it only political? No. Let’s remember what it was going on during this period. Mainly, there have been both political and ideological metamorphoses among the new men in power during these days. These new ideologies had inevitable consequences; let’s consider some of the political or ideological causes and the social consequences of the period.
On the one hand, it has to be beard in mind that by that time the world was dominated by rulers of Europe. And many of them were related to each other. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and the Tsar Nicholas II of Russia were cousins. And King Edward VII of Great Britain was their uncle.
On the other hand the expansionist idea of the empires have being in a continuous growth. Vast areas of Africa and Asia had been colonized by Europeans. Europeans obtained raw materials for industries from these colonies in exchange of the constructions of schools and railways for the people they ruled. These empires made Europe rich, but also caused the European countries to be suspicious of each other. This let their defenses down in such a sense that there appear many spies working for each ruler so as to know what the other were about to do or not.
All this thirst for more and more power was reinforced by the social class differences. Europe in 1900 was divided by class. The upper class owned the land; the middle class controlled industry or shops and offices; the working class worked in factories or in the fields. They also worked as servants for richer people. Many working-class people lived in dreadful poverty. It is in that time when most children died because they couldn’t resist the dreadful and inhumane working conditions.
“A change, a chance” was the logo of many revolutionaries in the principal cities of Europe. There were many revolutionary groups in Europe who wanted to bring down governments by force. Russian revolutionaries had blown up the tsar Alexander II in 18881, and in 1911 they shot the Russian prime minister. In 1914, a Bosnian revolutionary was to assassinate the son of the Austrian emperor in Sarajevo. This act sparked off the First World War.
Many historians ask how the World was in 1900. The answer is quite simple. The world was coming to an end… better to say to the beginning of the end of monstrous political scenery. But was it only political? No. Let’s remember what it was going on during this period. Mainly, there have been both political and ideological metamorphoses among the new men in power during these days. These new ideologies had inevitable consequences; let’s consider some of the political or ideological causes and the social consequences of the period.
On the one hand, it has to be beard in mind that by that time the world was dominated by rulers of Europe. And many of them were related to each other. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and the Tsar Nicholas II of Russia were cousins. And King Edward VII of Great Britain was their uncle.
On the other hand the expansionist idea of the empires have being in a continuous growth. Vast areas of Africa and Asia had been colonized by Europeans. Europeans obtained raw materials for industries from these colonies in exchange of the constructions of schools and railways for the people they ruled. These empires made Europe rich, but also caused the European countries to be suspicious of each other. This let their defenses down in such a sense that there appear many spies working for each ruler so as to know what the other were about to do or not.
All this thirst for more and more power was reinforced by the social class differences. Europe in 1900 was divided by class. The upper class owned the land; the middle class controlled industry or shops and offices; the working class worked in factories or in the fields. They also worked as servants for richer people. Many working-class people lived in dreadful poverty. It is in that time when most children died because they couldn’t resist the dreadful and inhumane working conditions.
“A change, a chance” was the logo of many revolutionaries in the principal cities of Europe. There were many revolutionary groups in Europe who wanted to bring down governments by force. Russian revolutionaries had blown up the tsar Alexander II in 18881, and in 1911 they shot the Russian prime minister. In 1914, a Bosnian revolutionary was to assassinate the son of the Austrian emperor in Sarajevo. This act sparked off the First World War.
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