Modern1750 CE - 1900

Here's what this period looks like cartographically:

One of the major topics of this period is the Political Revolutions that took place.  They really changed the layout of the planet.  This is the first period where we've had major revolutionary changes to government systems.  That being said, these revolutions didn't happen overnight.  They have roots in the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment.

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The Scientific Revolution actually began in the last era.  Most textbooks like to look at it along with the Enlightenment.

The Enlightenment takes the logical approach to government.  It’s where all of the revolutions got their ideas.  It’s America. It’s Venezuela. It’s the National Assembly in France.  

See the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment link on Scott’s page for an overview.

This era, the Modern Period, truly breaks down into 4 big ideas:

1. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2. IMPERIALISM

3. REVOLUTION

4. MIGRATION

To make things easier, let’s go chronologically and start with the Revolutions.

5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform:

There are four major revolutions.  

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Here’s a page on the American Revolution- http://www.freeman-pedia.com/american-revolution

Here is a page on the French Revolution- http://www.freeman-pedia.com/frenchrevolution

Here is a page on the Haitian Revolution- http://www.freeman-pedia.com/haitianrevolution

Here is a page on the Latin American Revolutions- http://www.freeman-pedia.com/latinamericanrevolutions

Not all revolutions are enlightened.  To be honest, a lot of them aren’t even revolutionary.  Everyone know George Washington and Maximilien Robespierre… But, Wovoka? Hong? Let’s look at some other ‘movements’ that weren’t so successful…

5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform

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Spend most of your time in 5.3 on the Revolutions we went over a few days ago.  But, here are some other attempts (some successful, some not) that took place in this era.

Let’s start with the successes:

SLAVERY/SERFDOM ABOLISHED: This is a HUUUUUGE deal.  Up until this point slavery/serfdom had been omnipresent in most civilizations around the world.  But, through the work of the British Navy and women’s groups (among others) around the world, this scourge on humanity was erased from the earth.  Most notably by war in America, Tsarist Decree in Russia, and laws passed around the world. The last large one was Brazil in 1888.

SLAVE RESISTANCE: Who doesn’t like a good revenge story? Well, the ultimate one took place in Haiti where Maroon Societies (escaped slaves living in the hinterland) succeeded in overthrowing Napoleon. Sadly, this is the ONLY time this worked.  Most often they were defeated by their former slave owners :(

SUFFRAGE: LADIES!!!!! You did it.  This is the era where women showed that they were equal (somewhat) to men.  At least in the field of suffrage (VOTING RIGHTS), women began to gain voting privilege in this era.  However, most women do not receive the right to vote until the beginning of the next era.  The roots of women’s suffrage took hold at the end of the 19th Century. 

REFORM MOVEMENTS: This could go in either category.  Some were somewhat successful (Tanzimat reforms) others were not (Self-strengthening movement).  You take the good… You take the bad… Here are some that didn’t work out:

CHALLENGES TO CENTRALIZED STATES: Not all states just conquered and succeeded everywhere.  In fact, all major empires that succeeded in expanding throughout their geographic region step forward… NOT SO FAST MUGHALS! The Mughals actually lost an expansionary war (Deccan Wars) to the Murathas.  It was a 27 year war where Aurangzeb’s goal of Mughal control of the subcontinent was forever shattered.

ANTI-COLONIALISM: Nobody likes an outsider moving into your territory and bossing you around, making you feel like a second class citizen.  Well, that’s exactly how Africa and Asia felt.  However, if you attempt to fight back against an Industrialized power, you’re gonna have a bad time.  The AP gives two examples: 

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1. SEPOY REBELLION: Indian soldiers in the British East India Trading Company were forced to use a gun that required them to ingest animal fat to open the protective packaging.  This led to a rebellion that was squashed by the British in 1857. However, it was a big enough rebellion to cause Great Britain to take over for the British East India Co. (meet the new boss… same as the old boss)

2. BOXER REBELLION: The Chinese peasants (along with the spirits of their ancestors) decided to fight back against foreign/Christian incursions into China. They were successful for a minute before being crushed by an international coalition of forces, including both Japan and the United States.

MILLENARIANISM: Technically, it MILLENARIANISM means a belief that the world will end on years ending in 1000; in this case it refers to a mystical belief that the world will end or a major change will occur due to an upcoming prophecy.  

The banner should tip you off to the THESIS of this era.  It’s the Industrial Revolution, stupid! (Sorry, you’re not stupid… You’re a unique intellectual star. It’s a famous quote popularized by President Clinton in the 90s as to how to win elections, “It’s the economy, stupid.”)

Yeah, it’s that big of a deal.  It changed everything.  And, when I say everything, I MEAN UHHRTHANG.  If I had 10 seconds to sum up human history to aliens, I would say, “People left Africa, farmed, Columbus, Industrial Revolution, Moon landing, Zelda.”  This is gonna take a couple days to cover, so… Industrial Revolution: DAY ONE:

5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism

The Industrial Revolution is the answer to a lot of questions.  Here are some:

What started in England and spread to Europe and America?

The Industrial Revolution. Europe was uniquely positioned for global domination following the Columbian Exchange.  Plus, the Atlantic System was the perfect highway system to funnel precious raw materials (I’m looking at you cotton) back to the continent…

What was totally fueled by timber, coal, and iron? 

The Industrial Revolution.  Your little spinning wheel in your house was made out of a tree that fell on your property a few years back.  Its

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powered by your feet.  That’s not revolutionary.  One spinning wheel isn’t cool.  You know what’s cool? A billion spinning wheels!

And that kind of production can’t happen in Mongolia or Mali.  It can’t happen in Arizona or Arabia.  It requires Raw Materials.  It’s no longer GOD GOLD & GLORY the Europeans want… It’s Raw Materials…

When did European population growth go through the roof?

The Industrial Revolution.  I’m not talking about, “Hey, did you hear the Andersons had another kid?” I’m talking about the entire population of Europe doubling in one century… Doubling.  From 100 million to 200 million.  

Cities sure are big these days… When did that start happening?

The Industrial Revolution.  Improvements in farming (Scientific Farming) and increases in population led people to the cities in search of work in the new factories.  Take a look at the two charts above.  Not a ton of European Cities on the left, but on the Right? It’s only cities that developed during the increase in Urbanization in this era. 

If the first Agricultural Revolution was the introduction of farming, when does the next Agricultural Revolution take place?

The Industrial Revolution. Scientific Farming put agriculture under the microscope. Crop rotation, selective breeding, etc. led to greater yields.  More food with less workers=more calories, more unemployed. Luckily, there’s always those city jobs you can take in the big city.

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All those rivers and canals in England/Europe… What could those help out with?

The Industrial Revolution.  How do you move product? Water.  It’s cheap and easy.  It fuels steam engines.  In England (where it all began) you can pretty much get anywhere within a few days. Compare that to the United States or Russia…

Next, we look at the machinery all of this was built on.  Word.

We built this revolution. We built this revolution on advanced machinery.

5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism:

The AP wants you to know two examples of machinery that led to all of the things we looked at yesterday.  And, its not just them; the Industrial Revolution was built on the backs of two power sources:

1. The Steam Engine (Improved by James Watt)Prior to Watt’s invention, most factory’s still held close to rivers and used waterwheels as the key power source.  But, rivers freeze, overflow, etc.  There has to be a better way? James Watt, the Scottish inventor, developed what you see above.  Using the same small source of water, water is heated via burning coal that creates pressure that moves a piston and creates force.  Boom.  That’s it. That allows factories to be moved closer to ports and coal sources.  Also, you take this bad boy and strap it to a train or a boat; and you have a nice little energy source.

2. The Internal Combustion EngineMost of you don’t have steam engines that get you from Point A to Point B. What you probably use more is the internal combustion engine (above). I’m no engineer but burning fuels (gas) directly in the engine creates more force than heated water (steam) can provide.  All I know is that if you crank up your car and hear a sound coming from under the hood, its one of these.  This may be the only thing on the AP test that you have in your possession… unless you have the plague… Then, sorry about that…

Next, what does it all mean? We’ve got Industrialization built on Steam and Gas… Where does it go from here? 

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A: Global. Europe leaves the friendly confines and heads around the world for Markets for these industrial goods, and Materials (raw) for their factories.

We looked at the Industrial Revolution and how it worked.  But, what are the effects of this thing?

5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism

Here are some things that arose from the Industrial Revolution;

FACTORY SYSTEM: People doing work away from their homes? Sounds so 19th century.  But, when factory owners streamlined labor into one building around advanced machines, productivity grew. 

SPREAD: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.  England couldn’t keep their industrial secret for long.  America, Russia, and the rest of Europe all quickly learned their methods and implemented them back at home.

SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: It’s hard to draw a hard line between IR 1.0 & IR 2.0 but it is essentially the second wave of inventions/innovations that expedited progress.  Best examples are Bessemer’s Steel and Automobiles.

GLOBAL ECONOMY: We’ll focus here in a few days, but the Industrialists sought out Materials and Markets around the world to sell their stuff and get materials to make more stuff.

DECLINE OF OLD ECONOMIES: If you lived in a non-Industrial region, you simply could not keep up with the Industrial strength of the West. So, your economy is going to have a bad time. Example: Textile Industry in India suffered terribly as they were overrun with British textiles.

COMMUNICATION/TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS: These may seem obvious but with the Industrial revolution comes improvements like Railroads, Telegraphs, steamships, and Canals (most notably the Suez)

SOCIAL CLASSES: A new group emerged: THE MIDDLE CLASS. This was a group that filled in between the Peasants and Nobility.  Almost like the “Bourgeoisie”, they were often educated people who held skilled positions. Also, there was the INDUSTRIAL WORKING CLASS; this is basically anyone who went to work in the new factories.

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UNSANITARY CONDITIONS: Coal is gross. It burns dirty. It made everything gross.  Also, living conditions in the new cities were not regulated and often amounted to nothing more than a shanty town. Later regulations led to improvements, but initial industrial cities were gross.

EDUCATION: Kids were initially working in the factories (cheap labor). But, unions pushed to get the kids out of the factory (so they could get those jobs). But, what do we do with them? A: Book Learnin. Kids went to school and created an educated workforce/voting population. States could instill nationalism (did you say the Pledge of Allegiance yet today?). 

Let’s focus on the economics behind the Industrial Revolution.  AKA Capitalism, Classical Liberalism, Marxism, Utopian Socialism, and Anarchism

5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism:

This massive change in how things are produced and sold will reshape the way the global economy works.  Say goodbye to your precious Mercantilism and hello to some new ideas:

CAPITALISM: Get rid of that old Mercantilist way of doing things. Adam Smith pioneered Capitalism in his work Inquiry into the Wealth of Nations (or justWealth of Nations).  Instead of government control of markets, individuals control the means of production and invest to make profits.  They then take those profits and reinvest.  The best products, ideas, services, etc. will succeed as the Invisible Hand pushes the market in the correct direction.  It is also known as Free Market capitalism or Laissez Faire due to the fact that the government does not get directly involved and the market decides on its own. 

CLASSICAL LIBERALISM: This is the movement that Capitalism flourished under.  It is the belief that during the Industrial Revolution, the new economy that emerged required a free market.  It required government to keep it’s hands-off (laissez-faire).  Think of it as the Tea Party Movement… The government needs to get its hands out of my ___________ (money, economy, rights, etc.)

MARXISM: The evil capitalists who control the means of production will grow so large and corrupt under the above that the people will rise up and take the means of production for themselves.  Then, they will share equally in the rewards.  In theory, the government will not even be needed as people will work for the sake of the community.  This sounds nice; but always ends with the deaths of tens of millions (Stalin,

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Mao).  It has never been fully implemented, but that’s because it’s an economic theory that can only exist in a perfect state/vacuum.

UTOPIAN SOCIALISM: Think of Utopian Socialism as the ideal under the early stages of Marxism.  Wealth is redistributed from rich to poor to provide equal opportunity for all.  This is most closely seen in Scandinavia today.

ANARCHISM: Some people just want to watch the world burn. Anarchy is a state of no government.  Every man for himself.  It’s Rick, Darryl, and Michonne fending for themselves in a post-Apocalyptic Zombie-hellscape.  Ok.  Everything but the Zombies.

Enough Industry.  Let’s turn to the biggest political effect of the Industrial Revolution; the incursion of Industrial nations into non-Industrialized nations.  AKA=IMPERIALISM

5.2 Imperialism & Nation-State Formation

States that industrialized went from having colonies, to having an Empire.  Empires have existed before (Rome, Arabic, Spanish), but these new Empires were backed by industrial strength (machine guns, medicine, food, railroads, steam engines, etc.)  

There are two new players in the empire-building game; AMERICA & JAPAN. As they Industrialized, they spread.  Japan started later, but it will not stop them from building one of earth’s largest empires (albeit in the next era). AMERICA’s empire primarily took the form of MANIFEST DESTINY (westward expansion), but there were some acquisitions from Spain (Philippines).  RUSSIA was an old world power, but their expansion was also on the scale of Eastward expansion akin to Manifest Destiny.

The BIG European Imperial powers were:

British, Dutch, German, Russian, French

Now that you’ve got the idea of how it worked, we’ll see the consequences… (and it’s not pretty…)

Industrialized European powers sought new markets and raw materials for their economies.  Well, here are some consequences of that:

5.2 Imperialism & Nation-State Formation

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The intro sentence above is the main idea; but there are some offshoots the AP would like you to focus in on:

METHODS: Both Warfare and Diplomacy were used.  I’m thinking the “diplomacy” piece is dealing with the Berlin Conference, where the major European powers met to divide Africa amongst themselves.

SETTLER COLONIES: These have happened before (New World) but they take on a greater significance in this era.  It’s just a colony where there are far fewer colonists (white people or Japanese people) than the natives.  Best example is probably India, but also Algeria (French) and New Zealand (British).

ECONOMIC IMPERIALISM: The US was the king of this in Latin America (along with the British). This is where a state dominates another state via their economy.  You don’t conquer them. You don’t indoctrinate them. You just make them dependent on your economy for survival.  Another great example is the British making the Chinese dependent on Opium.  

MEIJI JAPAN: They deserve their own subsection here. Japan (after some internal debate/warfare and some passive aggressive coaxing from the US) began to rapidly modernize in the late 19th Century. This will play a huge role in the 20th Century, but even at the end of THIS era; Japan has won a war against China and received some concession territory in China. Japan is the exception! Not the Mongols… Think of Japan as another Imperial power.

LAND EMPIRES TOO! Don’t forget that Russia and the US expanded primarily over land.  Look at a map. Russia is blanking HUGE! The US and Russia both grew to their current sizes during this period.

EXISTING EMPIRES ON THE EDGE OF THESE NEW EMPIRES:   

OTTOMAN FAIL: The Ottomans have been around since 1452 (and before). But, as other states expanded their borders, the Ottomans contracted theirs.  They lose Egypt to the British, Balkans to independence, and North Africa to French and Italians.  The Ottomans do not make it very far into the 20th Century, but there were signs of decay even this early…

NATIONALISM: Nationalism plays a huge role everywhere in this period.  Nationalism is either the pride one has in their existing nation OR the aspirations of having your own nation; for us here, it is the latter.  It begins with Napoleon’s romp around Europe, but wherever

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the Europeans went in this era, they took this with them.  It then was used against the Europeans as a force for Independence.

SOCIAL DARWINISM: This was a favorite excuse of the Imperialists. Remember how the Dodo bird died because it was inferior.  It was not the fittest.  Well, societies are the same way (according to this theory). Your way of life will die out because it will be replaced by a superior one.  So, when the Europeans are mocking your culture, or destroying your history… It’s not their fault… It’s science! (this is a totally racist/horrible excuse. Your culture is not better than any other culture… Proof).

There’s only one thing left to know for this era… and that is:

5.4 Global Migrations

Good News: This section had its own essay a few years back. So, HERE (http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53b17013e4b0f83f2d8a8a4a/t/544a8a5ee4b02ea0ed36acd9/1414171230862/Key+Concept+5.4+IN+REVIEW.pdf) is a synopsis.

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