What is going on in the 19th Century?
The 19th century is a time period during which numerous events took a political, economical, religious, social, intellectual and artistic toll on Europe. These events can be based around different types of “-isms”. These “-isms” are imperialism, colonialism, conservatism, liberalism, nationalism, romanticism, and communism. Some events that are important to 19th century history are the Dreyfus Affair, Crimean War, Greek Independence War, Irish Potato Famine and many others.
Politically, nations of Europe detoured from their previous policies and philosophies. Nations such as Greece wanted independence from the Ottoman Empire. Their independence was motivated by the feeling of nationalism among the Greek people. Although the Turks wanted Greece to be a more conservative nation, the Greeks’ nationalism created a more democratic and liberal movement. Even though conservatism was trying to crush the liberalism for the Greeks, it was also trying to bring the change associated with the Industrial Revolution to an end. With the demands for more goods, new inventions were created, forming a greater number of employment opportunities. The creation of new jobs motivated people to move from rural farmland areas to the cities to find work. Moreover, nationalism was reflected in the art produced in the romantic era. The balance of powers was shifted in the Congress of Vienna, and the Unification of Germany and Italy. The Congress of Vienna was created to re- construct national borders that were created by Napoleon. Conservative order described the Congress of Vienna because stability and peace were exchanged for liberalities and civil rights. 19th century feminism promoted a more individualistic mindset among women. Women gained the right to vote and their views and opinions were considered more seriously by male politicians. On the other hand, European imperialism turned into colonialism. One example of this was the British imperialism in China. Britain helped to divide China into spheres of influence. All the different spheres led to colonialism.
The political effects of 19th century Europe were also influenced by the economic effects. Mercantilism, loss of land, and money played a role in the economics of Europe. In the Greek Revolution, Britain, France, and Russia helped the Greeks fight against Turks because the Greeks were considered to be the cradle of western civilization. Also, by helping the Greeks, they could secure their trade route across the Mediterranean Sea to Turkey. The Dreyfus Affair brought to the inflow of money to a standstill. The Jews during the Dreyfus Affair were able to boycott goods bought from France. Due to the use of boycotting, businesses were forced to close resulting in lost jobs. Another result of boycotting was that the Jews began to starve because they continued to boycott store who favored the Dreyfus Affair. In addition, the French Revolution caused unemployment. Poor harvests compelled people to spend money on food instead of manufactured products, which caused loss of work. The Dreyfus Affair and the French Revolution of 1848 reduced the amount of available jobs, but the Irish Potato Famine replaced these jobs. Potatoes were a main source of food for the people of Ireland and when the potatoes were infected with disease, people began to die which increased employment. In fear of disease and death people left Ireland and moved across Europe. The Industrial Revolution produced jobs in poor working conditions to keep up with the supply and demand of products in Europe. Thus, prices decreased and gave people more money to spend. Karl Marx helped to bring about communism (Marxism) which fought for equality and put Europe into classless societies. In addition, communists tried to improve working conditions in factories. The Congress of Vienna redistributed the lands of many countries. This affected multiple country economies because if the country gained territories with new resources, that country benefited. Inversely, losing territories resulted in an upset the economy.
Europe was also going through a religious change as well as political and economical change. Dreyfus, in the Dreyfus Affair, was imprisoned because of his religion (Jewish). With this, the people either aligned with church and supported Dreyfus or agreed with the state (who was against Dreyfus). This shows how the government judged and persecuted people for their beliefs. The Congress of Vienna divided 300 German states into 39 states and religious disorder ensued. People chose between two religions; Lutheran and Roman Catholic. On the other hand, during the Industrial Revolution, religion was not as significant to people anymore. Job availability, new inventions, and higher standard livings became the importance to people. Religion mostly played a big position in the Dreyfus Affair.
There were little social effects in Europe. Feminism helped to gain more women’s rights including their equality to men. Women and men worked alongside each other in factories of the Industrial Revolution. In turn this fueled the fight for women’s rights. Women gained civil rights of child care, education, and improved working conditions. The Dreyfus Affair created controversy between Jews and non- Jews. People who were once friends of different religions had to split due to the affair. In addition, Social Darwinism socially changed Europe. Charles Darwin theories of evolution generated ideas of competition between people and nations. Socially, women gained the most in the 19th century.
Intellectually, people of Europe changed their views and ideas during the 19th century. Karl Marx’s communism changed the society with the spread of revolutionary ideas. People during the feminism movement learned that women were actually smart and had useful thoughts. Sigmund Freud also enhanced the intellectual change in Europe. Freud was a neurologist and psychiatrist who researched cerebral palsy and believed that cocaine was a metal cure. The Industrial Revolution was largely an intellectual movement. With the advancement of tools, it allowed materials to be produced at a faster rate for the need of supply and demand. The inventions of the Industrial Revolution helped to develop the though of future technology.
Artistically, romanticism was an important aspect of Europe. Romanticism stressed emotion and showed an appreciation for nature. Artists painted and drew scenes to portray revolutionary ideas. The art illustrated the horrible working conditions and destruction of nature of the Industrial Revolution. Artists also revealed popular opinions and views.
Overall, ideas of change flourished in Europe. Imperialism gave way to colonialism and nationalism motivated liberalism even though conservatism attempted to diminish liberalism. Nations started to lose money and land. People had to choose what religion to belong to and women began to gain political and social rights, striving for gender equality. People’s thoughts revolutionized and art became the portrayal for opinion. 19th century European history was vital in shaping the world in the formation of what it is today.
