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International relations in Europe
The late 19th century-also known as the Belle Époque - was a period of prosperity and optimism, but also of great tension in international relations because of the terriotorial expansionism. Between 1870 and 1890 , relations between countries were determined by Germany. The German Chancellor, Bismarck, designed a complex system of alliances (The bismarckian system) in order to isolate France, which wanted revenge for the loss of alsace and lorraine after the Franco - Prussian war in 1871. -
Emmeline Pankrurst (1858-1928)
Emmeline Pankhurst is considered the most important British feminist of her time. She was an activist and leader of the suffragette movement. When she was arrested, she often fought with police and went on hunger strikes. -
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 succesive liberal revolutions of 1820, 1830 and 1848, women had not.
Because of these injustices, women especially in Great Britain, began to form groups calling for gender equality. Because their main demand at the time was the right to suffrage or to vote, they became known as suffragist, or suffragettes in Great Britain. -
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, forming the Triple Alliance. Bismarck also revived the League of the Three Emperors. Third system (1887). The German chancellor reinforced the Triple Alliance and signed the Reinsurance Treaty with the Russian tsar. -
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). The Entente meant the end of british neutrality in Europe. Britain was worried because Germany’s navy had expanded into a battle fleet that could threaten the supremacy of the Royal Navy. -
Scientific development
Many cultural and scientific advances were made in the 19th century. The creation of schools, universities, scientific societies and research centres to support the industrialisation process. Academic prestige as a sign of social prestige. Experimentalism of the new society, always looking for new discoveries or technologies that would improve living conditions. -
The Tension Arises
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 and because of the raw materials it could provide for German industry. In 1912, two Balkan Wars began. In the first, an alliance of Balkan countries– Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Greece–declared war on the Turks, leading to the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from Europe. In the second, the former allies fought each other. -
Suffragism in Spain
The fight for women’s right to vote in Spain did not begin until well into the 20th century.This was because of Spain’s limited industrial and cultural development, and the power of the Catholic Church. Novelist Emilia Pardo Bazán(1851-1921)criticised the political advances made by liberal men because they had actually increased inequality between men and women. Writer and activist Conception Arenal(1820-1893)believed that women not be restricted to the traditional roles of wife and mother. -
Women and the Struggle for Voting
Until the First World War, the suffragists achieved very little. Only four Nordic states (Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway) and New Zealand recognised women’s right to vote. 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. At the end of the war,other nations began to recognise women’s right to vote. -
Literary movements
Realism. Realist literature was developed by authors such as Honoré de Balzac (France), Charles Dickens (England), Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Russia) and Benito Pérez Galdós (Spain). Naturalism. Naturalistic writers depicted everyday reality with extreme realism. In naturalistic works, people would change for the better if their living conditions changed. Émile Zola (France) and Emilia Pardo Bazán (Spain) were important naturalistic writers.