Modern World 1500 AD - 1945 AD

Modern World 1500 AD - 1945 AD

Renaissance

• The 16th century is commonly designated as the ‘Age of Renaissance’, also called the ‘Revival of learning’.
• It is said to have started with the capture of Constantinople (now Istanbul) by the Turks in 1453 and the dispersal of the scholars throughout Europe, who sought asylum in Italy.
• Italy practically became the home of the Renaissance and fundamental to the Renaissance were the revival of classical learning, art and architecture and the concept of the dignity of the man, which characterized Humanism. It resulted in the emancipation of the mind of man from the shackles of effete dogmatism, and in the creation of fresh intellectual atmosphere and ideals of life.
• The person, which has considered as the ‘symbol of renaissance’ was Leonardo da Vinci of Italy.
• Great writer of the Italian Renaissance included Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio & Machiavelli. Great painters of Italian renaissance included Leonardo da Vinci (Famous Paintings; ‘The Last Supper’ & ‘Monalisa’) Michelangelo (‘The Last Judgement’ & The Fall of Man’) & Raphel (‘Madona’). Great astronomers of Italian renaissance included Bruno & Galileo.
• The Movement spread to other countries of Europe also, especially to France & Germany; and at last it reached the shores of England, where it manifested itself in the poems of Chaucer & Spenser, the plays of Shakespeare, the essays of Francis Bacon & utopianism of Thomas More, and particularly in the courts of such rulers as Elizabeth I of England.
• The Renaissance movement was enormously, helped by the invention of the printing press (in 1454 by Gutenberg of Germany; ‘Gutenberg Bible’ 1456 – the first printed book); with the help of which old and classical books were multiplies leading to a great increase in knowledge and in the spirit of enquiry and experiment.

Great Literature of Renaissance

Reformation

• The Reformation was another movement that the 16th century witnessed.
• It was started by Martin Luther in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517 by publicly protesting against the sale of letters of Indulgence.
  (Indulgence: the letters which remitted punishments of the sinners who bought them and which began to be considered as passports to heaven.)
• It was a revolt against the control of conscience by the priests.
• Thanks to the inborn  spirit of revolt against the Catholic Church, Henry VIII of England could take the bold step of breaking away from the papacy i.e., authority of the Pope on the issue of his first divorce in 1534. Henry VIII declared himself the head of the church when the Pope would not give him permission to divorce his wife, Catherine.
• With the breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church by such leaders as Luther of Germany and Calvin of Switzerland, Western Europe was split between Catholic & Protestant countries, a situation which developed enmities of the fiercest nature.
• The movement, which began within the Catholic church to combat the effects of the Protestant Reformation, was known as Counter-Reformation Movement.

Geographical Discoveries

• A great development which marked the beginning of the modern age in Europe was a series of geographical discoveries.
• Helped by some remarkable inventions viz. the Compass and Astrolabe, daring sailors sailed to distant lands.
• They were financed by rulers and merchants.
• The main motivation behind these adventures was the lure of profits that trade with the East would bring.
• During 1288-93, Marco Polo (1256-1326), Venetian travelled, travelled from Venice to China’. From his travelogue the Europeans learned about the all round prosperity of the East.
• The first great steps in the exploration of the earth were taken by the sailors under the patronage of the Portuguese and Spanish rulers.
• Prince Henry (1394-1460), the Navigator of Portugal, encouraged sailors by making maps based on trips to the African coast.
• IN 1487, Bartholomew Diaz, reached the point which the Portuguese named Cape of Good Hope (the southern-most point of Africa).
• Vasco da Gama followed this route and sailed on round the cape and reached Calicut in India in 1498.
• Italian sailor Columbus’ trip was financed by Spain from where he sailed in 1492. When he had reached land, he thought he had reached India; so he called the islands, the ‘Indies’; but it was America.
• The land discovered by Columbus was soon to be called the ‘Americas’ after the name of a later Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci.

• Magellan, a Portuguese sailor, went beyond the lands that had stopped Columbus. He sailed around the tip of South America, which is named after him-the Straits of Megellan. He called the new ocean that he entered, ‘The Pacific’ because it seemed quiter than the Atlantic. Magellan reached what is now called the Philippine Islands where he died. Megellan was the first to sail round the world.
• Other countries – England, France & Holland – also sent out their ships to join the race for explorations Francis Drake of England sailed round the world in 1577.
• These voyages laid the foundations for the almost complete geographical knowledge of the world.

Glorious Revolution: 1688, England

• James II was a Roman Catholic. His tactless attempt to secure freedom of worship for the Catholics united the Whigs and the Tories of the Anglican Church against him.
• People tolerated the rule of James II, because they thought that he would be succeeded by his daughter Mary who was a protestant. But a son was born to James II. The knowledge that James’ policies might be continued by a son to be brought up as a Catholic turned against his many Tories, hitherto loyal to him.
• So a few leading men – Whigs as well as Tories – dispatched an invitation to William of Orange, ruler of Holland, to succeed to the English throne and save England from Catholic tyranny.
• William accepted the invitation and came to England for his purpose.
• James II, throwing the great seal into the Thames, fled to France.
• This event is known as in England Glorious or Bloodless Revolution.

Effect:

1. The despotic rule of the Stuarts ended; the supremacy of Parliament was established.
2. The system of requiring estimate and accounts for supplies and , of specific appropriations – which is the nucleus of modern budgetary system – now became fixed.
3. The Bill of Right (1689): It settled the problem of succession; it also laid the provision that no Roman Catholic can wear the Crown. As William III and his wife Mary II (daughter of James II and a Protestant by faith), the joint monarchs accepted the Bill of Rights.

Industrial Revolution

• The process of change that transformed Britain first and then other countries from agricultural to industrial economies.
• The Industrial revolution began about 1750 when the agricultural revolution was well under way. Inventions were made in the textile industry by such men as James Hargreaves (Spinning Jenny, 1764), Richard Arkwright (Water Frame, 1769), Samuel Crompton (Mule, 1779), and Emmund Cartwright (Power Loom, 1785), which made the production of cloth much faster and the yarn produced of better quality.
• These new machines required factories to house them, at first near rivers for water power and then, when the steam engine was invented (by James watt in 1769), near coalfields.
• England, an agricultural country was now turned into a manufacturing country. The production increased manifold. Things were available at cheaper rates. Improved methods of communication followed.
• The economic progress and industrialization of England influenced the social and cultural life of the people. It had far-reaching effects on the political history of England.
• By 1850 the Industrial Revolution had penetrated into Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland and USA. By 1900 it had extended to Sweden, Italy, Russia, Japan & Argentina. Presently it is penetrating into China, India and Africa.

American Revolution or American War of Independence: 1775-83

• The American Revolution is the name given to the struggle by which the 13 colonies of England in North America declared their independence from England and fought a war to make it a reality.
• By the middle of the 18th century, differences in thought and interests had developed between the colonies on the one hand and the mother country (England) on the other.
• Attempts to collect new taxes such the Stamps Act (1765) and Tax on tea (1767) angered the colonists who maintained that the British government was imposing ‘taxation without representation’ and that only the colonial representative assemblies could rightfully tax the Americans.
• Boston Tea Party (1773): The tax on tea led to trouble. In 1773, several colonies refused to unload the tea coming in English ships. In Boston, when the governor ordered a ship to be unloaded, a group of citizens dressed as American Indians, boarded the ship and dumped the crates of tea into water. This incident is known as the ‘Boston Tea Party’.
• The American Revolution started in 1775 and lasted until 1781.
• On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was issued. Its author was Thomas Jafferson. The Declaration stated that all men are created equal; that they have a natural and inalienable right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness; and that they are justified in revolting when these rights are violated by any government.
• The colonies won the war against England. The American Revolution made possible the establishment of a new nation, the United States of America (U.S.A.).
• In 1783englnd acknowledged American independence in the Treaty of Paris and George Washington was elected the first President of USA.

French Revolution: 1789-93

• The French Revolution was a great event in the history not only of France & Europe but of mankind as a whole. It gave to humanity new ideas of ‘Liberty, Equality & Fraternity’.
• The French revolution is the name given to the struggle which swept away the Old Regime in France and brought about fundamental changes in the sociopolitical set-up.
• This political upheaval began in 1789. King Louis XIV and his successors had brought divine-right absolutism to the peak. The French king, in the 18th century, had unlimited powers. Opponents were put in prison without trial.
• The French society consisted of three estates or classes. The first (clergy) and the second (nobility) estates were privileged in many ways. Members of the third estate commoners (middle class, workers & peasants) were the ’underdogs’. They made 90% of the population. Almost the entire tax burden fell on the third estate. But the privileged classes were exempted from these taxes.
• These undemocratic features of French society were sharply criticized by able writers and thinkers like Montesquieu (1689-1775), Voltaire (1694-1778) and Rousseau (1712-1778).
• The immediate cause of the French Revolution was the bankrupt condition of French treasury brought about in part by the extravagant expenditure and inefficiency of Louis XV & Louis XVI.
• The French Revolution started with the Fall of Bastille Fort. The mobs in Paris attacked the Bastille on July 14, 1789, killed its governor and freed the prisoners. This ancient fortress, where political prisoners were kept, was the symbol of tyranny in France. Its capture aroused the whole nation. Peasants in the provinces plundered and burnt several castles.
• ‘Liberty Equality and Fraternity’ became the watch word.
• Government in France broke down, as royal officials fled and the people stopped paying taxes. The National Assembly governed France from 1789 to 1791. It drafted a constitution which created a limited monarchy. Its preamble was the famous Declaration of the Rights of Man. All feudal rights were abolished. Local government was reorganized. The old provinces were replaced by 83 departments. Church lands were confiscated and sold to peasants. Special Church privileges were abolished. The first Republic was proclaimed on Sep. 21, 1792. King Louis XVI and his queen Marie Antoinette were beheaded on the guillotine on Jan.21, 1793 and Oct. 16, 1793 respectively on charges of treason. Napolean, after sometime, emerges as the strong man of France.
• The French Revolution was an event of fundamental importance not only for France but for the whole of Europe and ultimately for the whole world. In France, the Revolution established the political supremacy of the middle class in the towns and transferred the bulk of landed property to the peasantry in the countryside. For Europe and the world, it represented an ideal of popular sovereignty and equality before the law.

Unification of Italy: 1848-70

• One of the major features of the history of Europe in the 19th century was the struggle for national unification and independence. Italy & Germany were the two important nations which emerged as united, independent states in the 19th century.
• In the early 19th century, Italy was divided into a number of states in which the Kingdom of Sardinia was the most powerful.
• The struggle for Italian independence and unification was organised by the two famous revolutionaries – Mazzini & Garibaldi. The movement led by them is known as the ‘Young Italy’ movement.
• After the revolution of 1848, Count Cavour, the Prime Minister of Sardinia, took the initiative of uniting Italy under the leadership of Sardinia.
• By the year 1861, the entire states (except Rome) had been united and then Victor Emmanuel II, the king of Sardinia took the title of ‘King of Italy’.
• Rome was still outside the kingdom of Italy. It was ruled by the Pope. Italian soldiers liberated the city of Rome in 1870 and in 1871, Rome became the capital of united Italy.

Unification of Germany: 1848-71

• Like Italy, Germany was also divided into a number of states. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815) there were 38 independent states in Germany in which Prussia was the most powerful.

• In 1815, the German states along with Austria were organised into a Germanic confederation.
• In 1848 revolts occurred in every German state and the rulers were forced to grand democratic constitutions. To unite Germany and to frame a constitution for the united Germany, a constituent assembly met in Frankfurt.
• The Frankfurt Assembly proposed the unification of Germany as a constitutional monarchy under the king of Prussia who would become the emperor of Germany. However, the king of Prussia declined the offer. Repression soon followed.
• With the failure of the revolution of 1848 to unify Germany, one phase in the struggle for unification came to an end.
• Now Germany was to be unified not into a democratic country by the efforts of revolutionaries but by the rulers into militaristic empire. The leader of this policy was Bismarck who belonged to a Prussian aristocratic family. He wanted to achieve the unification of Germany under the leadership of the Prussian monarchy.
• Bismarck described his policy of unification as one of ‘blood and iron’. The policy of blood and iron meant a policy of war.
• He defeated Austria and dissolved the Germanic confederation. Thus Austria was separated from other German states. In place of old confederation, he united 22 states of Germany into North German Confederation in 1866.
• The unification of Germany was completed as a result of Prussia – France war (1870) in which the French emperor Louis Bonaparte was defeated and captured. This war enabled Bismarck to absorb the remaining German states into a united Germany.
• The formal ceremony at which William I, the king of Prussia, took the title of German Emperor was not held on the German soil. It took place at Versailles in France, in the palace of the French kings.
• After unification, Germany emerged as a very strong power in Europe.

First World War: July 28, 1914 – Nov. 11, 1918

Causes of the First World War:

The causes of First World War are as under –

1. Militarism:

This means the dangerous and burdensome mechanism of great standing armies and large navies along with an espionage system.

2. Narrow Nationalism or Competitive Patriotism:

The love of one’s country demanded the hatred of the other. Love of Germany demanded the hatred of France and vice-versa.

3. Economic Imperialism:

It led to international rivalries. Every country tried to capture markets in every nook and corner of the world. This led to bitterness and heart burning.

4. Anglo-German Rivalry & The Charter of William II:

Anglo-German rivalry proved to be the main cause of World War I. Germany had become a great industrial country and wanted to have more markets for trade. Germany was jealous of the colonial and naval greatness of England. William II, emperor of Germany was very ambitious and wanted o gain influence in Turkey by linking Berlin with Baghdad by a railway line. This gave rise to a great rivalry between England and Germany. William II was arrogant, haughty and ambitious. He wanted Germany to be the strongest power in the world. He believed in the policy of ‘world power or downfall’.

5. Lack of International Organisation:

There was lack of an International Organisation to control international relations.

6. Immediate Cause:

The immediate cause of the war was the murder of Archduke Ferdinand who was the heir to the Austrian throne. He and his wife Sophie were killed at Serajevo, the capital of Bosnia, an annexed territory of Austria, by a Serbian. The Austrians held Government of Serbia responsible for the murder and ultimately attacked Serbia. There was a strong rivalry already between Austria Hungary and Serbia in the Balkans.

Beginning of the War:

To begin with, Austria was in favour of local war but as time passed, the situation became graver. Other countries jumped into the fray. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey & Bulgaria were on one side; they were called Central Powers. On the other side were England, France, Serbia, Belgium, Japan and Russia; they were called the Allied Powers. The Allied powers joined by Italy in 1915 and USA in 1917. The war started on July 28, 1914 and ended on Nov. 11, 1918.

Peace Settlement (1919-20):

The Central Powers were completely defeated by the Allied Powers and an Armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918, followed by a Peace Conference at Paris. The defeated countries were not represented at the Peace Conference. Though the number of countries represented at the Peace Conference was 27, the terms of the peace treaties were really decided by three countries – USA, Britain and France. The three persons who played the determining role in framing the terms of the treaties were Woodrow Wilson (President of USA), LIoyed George (Prime Minister of Britain) and George Clemenceau (Prime Minister of France). After prolonged discussion, the Treaty of Versailles (Versailles – a city of France) was signed between the Allies and allies & Germany on June 28, 1919. This Treaty rearranged the boundaries of Europe, and many new states – Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Estonia, Lithuania, etc. were formed. William II, the German Emperor, abdicated and took asylum in the Netherlands (Holland). The treaty also contained provisions for disarming Germany, the strength of her army was to be limited to 1,00,000 troops. Germany was to pay ₤6,50,00,000 as war-reparations for damage done to the Allies during the war. The Treaty of Versailles was followed by the Treaty of St. Germaine (1919), the Treaty of Neuilly (1919), the Treaty of Trianon (1920) and the Treaty of Severes (1920).