-
SUFFRAGISM AND FEMINISM
At the end of the 19th century, there continued to be great inequality between men and women. Although men had achieved the right to vote thanks to the successive liberal revolutions of 1820, 1830 and 1848, -
THE BISMARCKIAN SYSTEMS OF ALLIANCES (1872-1890)
-First system (1872). Known as the League of the Three Emperors, this was an alliance between the Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian empires.
-Second system (1879-1882). Bismarck made a bilateral agreement with Austria (Dual Alliance). Italy later joined the agreement, -
THE TENSION ARISES
As diplomatic tension between the two blocs increased, each bloc invested in its military, taking advantage of the advances of industrialisation. This process was called the arms race or armed peace. -Between 1905 and 1911, France and Germany were on the brink of war over control of Morocco, a territory that Germany wanted for its strategic value
-In 1912, two Balkan Wars began. In the first, an alliance of Balkan countries– Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Greece–declared war on the Turks -
ARMED PEACE (1890-1914)
After Bismarck resigned in 1890, two opposing diplomatic blocs formed in Europe: the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austro-Hungary and Italy) and the Triple Entente (Russia, France and Great Britain).
In the Triple Alliance, each member promised mutual support in the event of an attack by any other great power -
Women and the Struggle for Voting
The situation would change thanks to the Great War, when 20 million soldiers went to fight in Europe. The jobs previously done by men then had to be done by women. As huge numbers of women joined the workforce and proved that they could do the tasks required quite efficiently. -
LITERARY MOVEMENTS
Realism. Realist literature was developed by authors such as Honoré de Balzac (France),
-Naturalism. Naturalistic writers depicted everyday reality with extreme realism. In naturalistic works, people would change for the better -
SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT
Many cultural and scientific advances were made in the 19th century. The great scientific revolution of the 17th century was followed by a second scientific revolution during this period.