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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, women had not. Women also earned less than half the wages that men did. They were not allowed to go to university and had to obey their husbands, fathers or brothers. Because of these injustices, women, especially in Great Britain, began to form groups calling for gender equality. -
EMMELINE PANKHURST
Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928) is considered the most important British feminist of her time. She was an activist and leader of the suffragette movement, but was criticised by her contemporaries for the very aggressive methods - such as smashing windows and supporting arson - that she used to make her views known.
When she was arrested, she often fought with police and went on hunger strikes. She spent years touring, giving speeches and participating in marches. -
First system
Known as the League of the Three Emperors, this was an alliance between the Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian empires. -
Second system
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
The German chancellor reinforced the Triple Alliance and signed the Reinsurance Treaty with the Russian tsar. This treaty guaranteed Russian neutrality in the event of an attack by France. Bismarck also signed the Mediterranean Agreements with Great Britain, Italy, Austria and Spain. -
ARMED PEACE
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. In the Triple Alliance, each member promised mutual support in the event of an attack by any other great power, or, in the case of Germany and Italy, an attack by France alone. -
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. Two sources of extreme tension inherited from the Bismarckian Systems made the situation worse. -
THE TENSION ARISES
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. Serbia, which had the support of the Russians, benefited from this war. -
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. This was caused by the following factors, amongst others:
The creation of schools, universities, scientific societies and research centres to support the industrialisation process. German universities, for example, had a great influence on the development of the country’s chemical industry. -
LITERARY MOVEMENTS
Realist literature was developed by authors such as Honoré de Balzac (France), Charles Dickens (England), Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Russia) and Benito Pérez Galdós (Spain).
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.