Mr. Dostert's Domain
Industry and Empire
The Development of Nationalism
The Napoleonic wars had helped foster the development of nationalism which transformed Europe in ways which were unthinkable in their time. This intense devotion to one's nation reshaped the society of European people as their identity became defined by their country. Nationalism was volatile and unpredictable as it dismantled ancient empires and bore the creation of new ones. People throughout Europe struggled to answer the age old question, "who am I?" As more and more people looked to their country for an answer, identities were redefined in a wave of conformity. Nationalism exaggerated features of culture as character traits became a symbolic part of new national identities. Politically, the national pride which fueled nationalist movements brought a renewed call for revolutions and popular government, but they also inspired militarism and competition amongst the powers of Europe. For better or worse, nationalism became the catalyst for the modern era; an era of great achievement and attrocity.
Clash of Philosophies
In the first half of the 1800s, three schools of political thought struggled for supremacy in European societies. Each believed that its style of government would best serve the people. Each attracted a different set of followers.
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Conservative: usually wealthy property owners and nobility. They argued for protecting the traditional monarchies of Europe.
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Liberal: mostly middle-class business leaders and merchants. They wanted to give more power to elected parliaments, but only the educated and the landowners would vote.
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Radical: favored drastic change to extend democracy to all people. They believed that governments should practice the ideals of the French Revolution- liberty, equality, and fraternity.
For much of the early nineteenth century conservatives maintained dominance and held together the balance of power established at the Congress of Vienna, however rising nationalism began to challenge their power. Throughout Europe a flurry of revolutions ignited, peaking in 1848, threatening the conservative order.
Nationalists Challenge Conservative Power
Nationalism affected different regions of Europe in a variety of ways. For example, in Germany, liberals looked to gather the many German states into one unified nation-state. Other liberals in large empires, such as the Hungarians in the Austrian Empire, wanted to split away and establish self-rule.
The first nation to win self-rule in this period were the Greeks. Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries yet had never lost their memory of their past, including the great cultural achievement of antiquity. Spurred on by nationalist spirit, the Greeks demanded independence in 1821. Initially many of the European states refused to support the revolution due to their fear of popular uprisings in their own countries, however Greek independence was popular among the people. Many educated Europeans loved and respected ancient Greek culture and eventually threw their support behind the rebels. When the British, Russian, and French navies intervened the Ottomans were forced to grant Greece its independence.
By the 1830s the conservative order arranged by the Congress of Vienna was breaking down. Nationalist riots broke out in Brussels against Dutch rule. In Italy, nationalists began working for a unified Italian state. In Warsaw, Poles staged a revolt against Russian rule. Although the conservative order once more reasserted itself through swift military action, it was clear that nationalism was tearing apart the great empires of Europe.
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In 1848, ethnic uprisings erupted throughout Europe. One after another nationalists demanded self- government and democratization. Despite impressive initial gains, revolutionaries failed to unite themselves and conservatives reasserted their power. The only truly successful revolution occurred in France when a Paris mob overturned the monarchy and once more established a republic. The violence turned many French citizens against radical revolution and the people elected Louis Napoleon, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. Four years later he took the title Napoleon III and made himself emperor. The French were weary of instability. They welcomed a strong leader who would bring peace to France.
Unification Movements in Germany & Italy
For several regions nationalism inspired movements for unification. Following the Congress of Vienna Germany was made up of 39 states called the German Confederation. The Austrian Empire dominated the confederation. However, Prussia was ambitious and ready to unify all the German states under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck.
Prussia enjoyed several advantages that would eventually help it forge a strong German state. First of all, unlike the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Prussia's population was almost entirely German which encouraged nationalists to side with Prussia. Moreover, Prussia's army was by far the most powerful in central Europe. Secondly, Prussia had a master of political manoevering named Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck was a Junker, staunchly conservative landowner, who became Prime Minister in 1862. Bismarck immediately set into motion his policies aimed at unifying Germany under Prussian leadership. His approach to politics which became known as realpolitik viewed states as actors set against one another, each fighting for their own agendas. Realpolitik uses tough power political actions without concern for morality or idealism to accomplish goals and improve the status of the nation. With realpolitik as his style, Bismarck would become one of the most commanding figures of German history.
Bismark masterfully took to molding an empire by taking aggressive actions to expand Prussia's power. He declared that, "It is not by means of speeches and majority resolutions that the great issues of the day will be decided- but by blood and iron." This militaristic approach led to three nationalist wars which subsequently resulted in Prussian victories and the expansion of Prussia's borders as well as the amplification of Prussia as the voice of all Germans. The final war, known as the Franco-Prussian War, saw the Prussian army humiliate France with a crippling attack which devastated the army and resulted in the capture of Napoleon III himself. On January 18, 1871, at the captured French palace of Versailles, King Wilhelm I of Prussia was crowned kaiser, or emperor of all of Germany. Bismarck's "blood and iron" had reshaped the map of Europe and overturned the balance of power by making the German Empire the most powerful state in Europe.
Like Germany, the people of Italy were also inspired by nationalism. Authors such as Giuseppe Marzini wrote articles which stirred popular sentiment and argued for revolution. When the revolution of 1848 failed to bring change, Italian nationalists looked for leadership from the kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, the largest and most powerful of the Italian states. In 1852, Sardinia's king, Victor Emmanuel II, named Count Camillo di Cavour as his prime minister. Like Bismarck, Cavour was a cunning statesman who worked tirelessly to expand Piedmont-Sardinia's power. Using skillful diplomacy as well as carefully chosen alliances he set about gaining control of northern Italy for Sardinia. By allying himself with France Cavour was able to provoke a war with Austria and seize all of northern Italy except Venetia. Meanwhile, Cavour began secretly aiding nationalist rebels in southern Italy under the command of Giuseppe Garibaldi. Garibaldi marched north from southern Italy. When Garibaldi reached Naples he willingly agreed to step aside in the name of nationalism and let the Sardinian king rule.
In 1866, the Austrian province of Venetia, which included the city Venice became part of Italy. In 1870, Italian forces took over the last hold out for unification, the Papal States. Rome became the new capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
Nationalism Shakes Aging Empires
Three aging empires- the Austrian Empire, the Russian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire​- contained a mixture of ethnic groups. When nationalism emerged in the nineteenth century, ethnic unrest threatened to tear these empires to pieces.
The Austrian Empire brought together Slovenes, Hungarians, Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, Croats, Poles, Serbs, and Italians. The rise of nationalism in the nineteenth century pulled the diverse peoples of the empire in different directions, each demanding a nation-state of their own. Pressured by the Hungarians, Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria split his empire in half, declaring Austria and Hungary independent states, with himself as ruler of both. The empire was now called Austro-Hungarian Empire. Nationalist disputes continued to weaken the empire for the next 40 years, eventually contributing to the outbreak of World War I.
In the Russian Empire the ruling Romanov dynasty was determined to maintain control over the Ukrainian, Poles, Finns, Jews, Georgians, Armenians, and others who began demanding independence. They instituted a policy of Russification, forcing Russian culture on all the ethnic groups in the empire. Local languages were banned in public, practice of Catholicism was prohibited, and the government instituted harsh anti-Jewish policies which resulted in thousands of deaths and over 2 million Jews fleeing Russia most for the United States. This policy ultimately backfired by strengthening ethnic nationalist feelings and helped destabilize the empire further.
The ruling Turks of the Ottoman Empire controlled Greeks, Slavs, Arabs, Bulgarians, and Armenians. In 1856, under pressure from the British and French, the Ottomans granted equal citizenship to all the people under their rule. Despite this liberal act, pieces of the empire continued to revolt and break away due to nationalism and foreign aid from European nations, particularly Russia. Throughout much of the nineteenth century the Ottoman Empire became seen as the "Sick Man of Europe," a political entity that was slowly collapsing. Conservatives in the country were outraged by their declining power and took a stand against nationalism in Armenia by massacring and deporting as many as 300,000 Armenians between 1894-96 and another 1.5 million Armenians from 1916-23.
In a century dominated by conservative politics and an emphasis of maintaining power structures, nationalism eroded the order from within by creating a new dominant power in the form of the German Empire, and sowing the seeds of destruction for the aging empires which had dominated central and eastern Europe for centuries. The age of empires quickly came to an end as nation-states replaced them in the dynamic and evolving world of the twentieth century.
Imperialism
As nationalism and industrialization stirred ambitions of many European nations, many looked for ways to expand their country's power. Many nations looked to Africa and Asia as a source of raw materials and as a market for their industrial products. As a result, colonial powers seized vast areas of Africa and Asia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in what has come to be called imperialism. As occurred throughout Asia and Africa, the powerful countries of Europe (and Japan) dominated their colonies politically, economically, socially, and culturally. This new type of empire exploited these regions and inadvertently created an interconnected network of colonies which became the economic basis of the modern world.
Forces Driving Imperialism
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Nationalist Competition: Europeans viewed an empire as a measure of national greatness driving them to expand their territory as a sense of national pride
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Industrialization: Urbanization and the development of factories forced many in Europe to need more raw materials to manufacture goods and new markets to sell them in.
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The Desire to "Civilize": Many Europeans subscribed to the belief in Social Darwinism which held that the culture or society which enjoyed wealth and success did so because they superior. Europeans believed that because they had made scientific and technological progress they had the right and the duty to teach their advancements to the world. In action this belief encouraged forced westernization upon the peoples of the world.
For centuries Europeans had established contact and trade with Africa and Asia since the fifteenth century. However, Europeans were unable to establish empires because they were part of empires of their own. Furthermore, travel into many regions was impossible because many of the rivers were unnavigable and certain regions were home to various diseases which killed many explorers who ventured into the unknown. This all changed in the nineteenth century when new technology such as the steam boat and vaccination allowed explorers and armies to venture further into the interior than previously possible. Together with the improvement of military technology the great European powers began claiming and subduing the peoples of Africa and Asia to create global empires.
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Imperialism had three dominant motivations:
The Scramble for Africa
The scramble for African territory began around 1880. At that time, the French began to expand from the West African coast toward Western Sudan. The discoveries of diamonds in 1867 and gold in South Africa further increased European interest in colonizing the continent. No European power wanted to be left out of the race. The competition became so fierce that European countries began to fear war would result. To prevent this conflict, 14 European nations met at the Berlin Conference in 1884-85 to divide up Africa amongs them. Their division of Africa showed complete disregard for African ethnic or linguistic groups. Without any consent or conversation with native peoples, Africa's fate was sealed.
Despite resistance throughout Africa, native people were no match for the modern military technology of European powers. Wars such as the Zulu War and the Mahdist War provided European men the opportunity to demonstrate their nationalism and test military tactics in what were more massacres than war. For most Africans imperialism signaled the destruction of their traditions and way of life. For the next 100 years Africans lived at the mercy of European policy makers.
Imperialism in Asia
European economic interest in Asia began in the 1500s. First the Portuguese and later the British began to set up trading posts in Asia, particularly in India. At first, ruling empires such as the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East and the Mughals in India kept European traders under control. By the 1700s, these empires began to enter a period of decline, making them prime targets for European exploitation.
The most prized colony of any European colony was British India. Early on India was controlled by the British East India Company. India's vast territory and enormous population made it a major supplier of raw materials and huge market for British manufactured goods. The British considered India the "jewel in the crown," the most valuable of all of Britain's colonies. The British set up a system of indirect rule to manage India, filling the ranks of its armies with sepoys (Indian soldiers) and run largely by local princes called rajah. India's economy came under the control of the British as local farmers were forced to grow crops that would be used in British factories. Furthermore, Indian competition with British goods was prohibited. Railroads were built to transport raw materials to port and manufactured goods to the interior. Under British rule India was transformed from a series of fractured regions into a unified country with a modern economy.
British India
By 1850, the British controlled most of the Indian subcontinent. However, there were pockets of discontent. Many Indians believed that in addition to controlling their land, the British were trying to convert them to Christianity. The Indian people also resented the constant racism that the British expressed toward them. As economic problems increased for Indians, so did their feelings of resentment and nationalism. In 1857, gossip spread among the sepoys that the cartridges of their rifles were greased with beef and pork fat which offended both Hindus and Muslims. As a result, Indian soldiers began to rebel. This mass rebellion which spread throughout much of India has become known as the Sepoy Mutiny. The revolt lasted for more than a year and resulted in the establishment of the British Raj in which the British government took a more direct and increasing role in Indian government. Many see the Sepoy Mutiny as the beginnings of Indian nationalism. Over time it led to the creation of two groups which began calling for self-government; the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. These two groups became instrumental in Indian independence in the twentieth century.
French Indochina
Early on the French, like the English had established trading centers in India. However, as the British asserted dominance in the region the French were forced to look elsewhere to establish trade in Asia. The French had been active in Southeast Asia since the 17th century. They even helped the Nguyen dynasty rise to power in Vietnam. During the nineteenth century France took steps to take control of the region.
In the 1840s, during the rule of an anti-Christian Vietnamese emperor, seven French missionaries were killed. Church leaders and capitalists who wanted a larger share of the overseas market demanded military intervention. Emperor Napoleon III ordered the French army to invade southern Vietnam. Later, the French added Laos, Cambodia, and northern Vietnam to the colony they renamed French Indochina. Using direct colonial management, the French set themselves to transform the region. The colonial government was made up almost entirely by Frenchmen and encouraged assimilation by the natives at all levels of society. The French did not support local industry, instead, devoted much of their energy to force cultivation of rice for export. French policies in Indochina led to anger and hostility fueled by nationalism as the Vietnamese resisted French control. This violent resistance would continue throughout much of the twentieth century as Indochina fought to rid itself of foreign domination.
Management Methods
Each European nation had certain policies and goals for establishing colonies. To establish control of an area, Europeans used different techniques. Over time, four forms of colonial control emerged: colony, protectorate, sphere of influence, and economic imperialism. In practice, gaining control of an area might involve the use of several of these forms.
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Europeans also developed methods of day-to-day management of a colony. Two basic methods emerged. Britain and other nations such as the United States preferred indirect control. However, France and most other European nations opted for direct control.
Indirect control relied on existing political rulers. In some areas, the British asked a local ruler to accept British authority to rule. These officials handled much of the daily management of the colony. In addition, each colony had a legislative council that included colonial officials as well as local merchants and professionals nominated by the colonial governor. The assumption was that the councils would train local leaders in Western methods of governing and that a time would come when the local population would govern itself. This happened in colonies sch as Australia and Canada.
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The French and other European powers preferred more direct control of their colonies. They viewed Africans and Asians as unable to handle the complex business of running a country. Based on this attitude, the Europeans developed a policy called paternalism. Using that policy, Europeans governed people in a parental way by providing for their needs but not giving them rights. To accomplish this, the Europeans brought in their own bureaucrats and did not train local people in methods of governing.
Direct Control also supported a policy of assimilation. That policy was based on the idea that in time, the local populations would adopt European culture and become like them. To aid in the transition, all local schools, courts, and businesses were patterned after European institutions. In practice, many abandoned the ideal of assimilation and settled for a policy of association. They recognized local institutions and culture, but regarded them as inferior to European culture.
This forced assimilation became part of a larger vision Europeans of the nineteenth century had for the world known as the "white man's burden." This belief was based on the theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin. Europeans took the theory of survival of the fittest to mean that because they had developed superior technology that it was a sign of their cultural superiority. Therefore, imperial powers began to believe that it was their obligation to spread European culture throughout the world to improve it, whether the indigenous people welcomed it or not. This belief was used to justify imperial wars, mistreatment of natives, and imperialism itself.
Collapse of Imperial China
Out of pride in their ancient culture, the Chinese looked down on all foreigners. Despite repeated efforts to balance trade, Europeans were unable to find goods that the Chinese were interested in trading for. This was because China was largely self-sufficient. The basis of this self-sufficiency was China's healthy agricultural economy. China also had extensive mining and manufacturing industries. Rich salt, tin, silver, and iron mines produced great quantities of ore. The mines provided work for tens of thousands of people. The Chinese also produced beautiful silks, high-quality cotton, and fine porcelain. Determined to find a product the Chinese would trade for in large quantities, Europeans introduced opium. By 1835, as many as 12 million Chinese people were addicted to the drug. Following China's defeat in the Opium Wars which followed China found itself increasingly at the mercy of European powers, ultimately leading to rebellion, revolution, and the end of Imperial China.
A Century of Conflict
The nineteenth century saw China's authority and power weaken both internally and externally. The century was filled with conflicts which demonstrated how ineffective the Qing Dynasty had become in a humiliating fashion. The Opium Wars which were fought against the British forced the Chinese to cede Hong Kong to the British. It also gave Europeans extraterritorial rights, making foreigners not subject to Chinese law. Furthermore, The great cities of northern China such as Shanghai which the government wished to keep free from Europeans were forced open. These humiliating treaties have come to be known as the "unequal treaties."
The Taiping Rebellion only amplified these problems by tearing apart what little cohesion was left in China. As many as 40 million people died in the ten years it took to put down the uprising. This weakening opened China to foreign dominance. European nations carved out spheres of influence which gave them total control of trade and investment within the region. Other countries such as the United States argued for an Open Door Policy to open all China to trade from all countries. It was clear that by 1900 China was on the verge of tearing itself apart, or worse, becoming a series of European colonies.
The Boxer Rebellion
Humiliated by their loss of power, many Chinese pressed for strong reforms. They looked to modernize their country by reorganizing the education system, strengthening the economy, improving the military, and streamlining the government. Most Qing officials saw these changes as a threat to their power. Instead of actively looking to improve China, the Qing government under the leadership of the Dowager Empress Cixi, fought to maintain traditional values and stifled any attempt to create lasting change. Increasingly the Chinese people grew angry, frustrated by the government's inaction and inability to free China from foreign domination.
The widespread frustration finally erupted into violence. Poor peasants and workers resented the special privileges granted to foreigners. They also resented Chinese Christians, who had adopted a foreign faith. To demonstrate their anger, they formed a secret organization called the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists. They soon became known as the Boxers. Their campaign to rid China of foreign influence is known as the Boxer Rebellion. In 1900 the Boxers descended on Beijing shouting, "death to the foreign devils." They surrounded the European section of the city and attacked any foreigner or Christian they found. Although the Dowager Empress expressed support for the Boxers, she did not aid them. After two months the siege ended when a multinational force of soldiers attacked Beijing and wiped out the Boxer threat.
Despite the failure of the Boxer Rebellion, a strong sense of nationalism had emerged in China. The Chinese people realized that their country must resist more foreign intervention. Even more important, they felt that the government must become responsive to their needs. This nationalist sentiment would ultimately inspire revolution in 1911, forever ending the dynastic cycle which had dominated Chinese political thought for nearly 3,000 years. This Republic of China, led by Sun Yat-sen, established a modern government with nationalism and democracy at its core. However, despite these lofty goals, China descended into chaos as central power eroded and a period of civil war began.
The Meiji Restoration
Following the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the early 17th century, Japan had shut itself off from almost all contact with other nations. Japanese culture and customs became stylized and Japanese society became very tightly ordered. The rigid feudal system managed to keep the country peaceful and prosperous for over two centuries. However, with the arrival of the American admiral Commodore Perry, Japan embarked ona period of rapid modernization which transformed Japan into a major world power in only 50 years. By 1900 Japan rivaled the imperial European states with an industrial economy, and an expanding empire which threatened East Asia.
The Meiji Restoration
The arrival of Matthew Perry in 1853 shocked and frightened the Japanese who had for centuries took advantage of Japan's geography to isolate the islands from all outsiders. The massive steam ship and powerful cannons forced the Tokugawa government to receive Perry and accept the opening of trade with the West. Many Japanese were angry that the shogun had given in to the foreigners' demands and turned to the emperor who symbolized Japanese pride and nationalism. In 1867 the last Tokugawan shogun stepped down and the Emperor took control of the government for the first time since the 12th century in what became known as the Meiji Restoration.
The emperor realized that the best way to counter Western influence was to modernize. He sent diplomats to Europe and North America to study Western ways. The Japanese then chose what they believed to be the best that Western civilization had to offer and adapted it to their own culture. For example, they admired Germany's strong centralized government and used its constitution as a model for their own. They also emulated European militaries by modeling their new imperial army and navy based on the European examples. Finally, they adopted an American system of universal public education that required all Japanese children to attend school. The emperor also energetically supported following the Western path of industrialization. They built railroads, telephone lines, roads, factories, and mines which improved life for many Japanese but more importantly made Japan competitive with the West.
The race to modernize paid off. By 1890, the country had several dozen war-ships and 500,000 well trained, well armed soldiers. It had become the strongest military power in Asia.
Japanese Imperial Expansion
As Japan's sense of power grew, the nation became more imperialistic. As in Europe, national pride played a large part in Japan's imperial plans. The Japanese were determined to show the world that they were a powerful nation. The Japanese first turned their sights to their neighbor Korea. In 1876, the Japanese forced Korea to open three ports to Japanese trade. Soon after Japan came into conflict with China which viewed Korea as tributary state. When China sent troops to Korea to support the king, the Japanese sent in troops to drive the Chinese out of Korea. The Sino-Japanese War lasted only a few months. In that time, the Chinese army and navy were decimated by the Japanese modern military despite having a numerical advantage. This stunning victory gave Japan its first colony Taiwan. More importantly, the Sino-Japanese War established Japan as the predominant military power of East Asia, further demonstrating the decline of the Chinese Empire.
Japan's victory over China brought it into conflict with Russia which dominated northern China as a sphere of influence. In 1903, Japan offered to recognize Russia's rights in Manchuria if the Russians would agree to stay out of Korea. The Russians refused. This refusal prompted Japan to launch a surprise attack on Russian ships resulting in the Russo-Japanese War. Once again Japan shocked the world by defeating a world power, and a European one at that. The treaty which ended the war gave Japan control of Russia's sphere of influence in Manchuria and a promise that Russia would stay out of Korea.
In 1910 Korea was officially annexed by Japan. The Japanese were harsh rulers of Korea. They shut down Korean newspapers and took over Korean schools. There they replaced the study of Korean language and history with Japanese subjects. They took land away from Korean farmers and gave it to Japanese settlers. They encouraged Japanese businessmen to start industries in Korea, but forbade Koreans from going into business. The world largely ignored these oppressive policies. To many in Europe and America, Japan represented the prosperity and progress of Western-styled systems, legitimizing imperialism and the westernization in Africa and Asia. Meiji Japan had shockingly made Japan a world power, forever altering its destiny.
Victorian England
Despite the liberal revolutions and nationalist unification movements which dominated the political landscape of Europe throughout the nineteenth century, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland managed to hold off revolution through reform and efforts to offer greater inclusion and increase the participation in government by all classes of society. These gradual changes transformed the government from a Constitutional Monarchy to a Parliamentary Democracy, in which the monarch was only a figurehead without any real political authority. Behind their symbolic Queen Victoria the British Empire became the largest in the world, stretching across six continents, championing both democracy and empire.
Victorian England
Queen Victoria I was coronated in 1837 at the age 18. Her reign which lasted for 63 years became a golden age for British political and economic power in the world, with London sitting at the center of a global empire. Despite her position as queen, her influence was primarily cultural, as she became a stoic symbol of British exceptionalism. The culture of the era which shared her name emphasized duty, thrift, honesty, morality, and above all respectability. Victorian Culture stressed self control and measured progress through law and order while embracing English traditions and the aristocracy. This culture sought to harmonize both past and future, as well as all classes of society, by underscoring each person's role in a powerful empire bigger than any individual. It was only together, that Britain dominated world affairs.
A central theme to Victorian culture was the importance of gender roles in society. The emphasis on traditions and morality supported views which encouraged female dependency and patriarchal authority over women in order to protect the "weaker sex" as they were commonly called. Men and women lived under the Doctrine of 'Separate Spheres' which featured men as industrious breadwinners and women as their domestic decorative trophies and spiritual guardians. Victorian culture promoted sexual restraint and physical love was never discussed in polite society. This idealized view of women emphasized chastity and helped foster the modern romantic view of love, in which people court prospective mates and ultimately marry for love rather than by arranged marriages.
Democratic Reform in Britain
Despite the unified national consciousness that the Victorian culture encouraged, society remained strictly divided by social class with very little opportunity for mobility. Although Britain had a parliament and a constitutional monarchy, at the turn of the nineteenth century Britain was far from democratic. Less than 5% of British citizens could vote, and wealthy nobles and landowners dominated politics. British parliament had two houses, the House of Commons which created legislation and established governments to rule for the King, as well as a House of Lords, made up of hereditary nobles and clergy which had the power to veto any bill that threatened their dominant role in British society. This allowed conservative governments to dominate politically, preventing truly meaningful legislation from being passed that could help the masses which lived in the horrific conditions in cities, factories, and mines created by industrialization.
Throughout the nineteenth century the British government was pushed into reforms that radically changed British government by making it more inclusive and accessible to a greater number of citizens. This process, known as democratization, expanded voting rights and eliminated barriers that expanded the electorate from less than 5% of the population to the vast majority over the course of the century. This measured approach to reform prevented revolutionary forces from taking hold in England as they had in much of Europe. These reforms also marginalized the role of the British monarch by increasing the power of parliament and ultimately the people of Britain.
The democratization did not come all at once, instead happening in waves of changes which slowly increased participation, created more equitable districts, and reduced requirements for suffrage. These reforms included:
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Eliminated Religious Discrimination
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Doubled the Electorate by giving the vote to working class
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Created equally populated constituencies
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Created voting by secret ballot
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Made the Prime Minister responsible to Parliament rather than the king/queen
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Diminished the role of the House of Lords
Mass Migrations
Throughout the nineteenth century many people throughout Europe left everything they had to resettle in the United States as well as the British colonies of Canada, Australia, and South Africa. In these colonies European colonists dominated the native populations to create European-styled states that marginalized native people for the benefit of European immigrants. As Britain and the United States industrialized and prospered in the 1800s, so did these colonies. The growth of industrialized cities and cheap available farmland created great opportunities unavailable in Europe, leading to a great exodus of hundreds of thousands of Europeans from all over Europe.
To encourage immigration, the government offered settlers cheap land. The populations grew steadily in the early 1800s, and then skyrocketed in the latter half of the century after the discovery of gold and the greater availability of steam ships which greatly decreased travel time and lowered costs.
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Britain began colonizing Australia in 1788 with convicted criminals to help ease the overcrowding of English prisons. Free British settlers eventually joined and grew into a prosperous colony built on raising and exporting wool. In Australia, as in Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa, colonists began to call for greater autonomy especially in domestic matters. As a result, they became dominions, self-governing units within the British Empire. These dominions continued the efforts to democratize society, ultimately creating parliamentary systems similar to those of England. Legally the king/queen of England remained the chief of state, but local parliaments were given the power to rule themselves.
The Victorian Era saw great changes that established increased participation and the normalization of democratic practices built on measured reform by elected representatives. As the nineteenth century closed, the lands of the world were all claimed. The European powers now faced each other with competing claims. Their battles would become the focus of the twentieth century.
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