Today’s Standards

SS6H6 The student will analyze the impact of European

exploration and colonization on various world regions.

d. Explain the impact of European empire building in Africa and Asia on

the outbreak of WWI.

Intro to our

“Essential Question(s)”…..

How did the existence of large European colonial empires in Africa and

Asia impact the outbreak of WWI?

European Empires

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period of change beginning in the late 18th century

(1700’s), during which goods began to be

produced/manufactured using power-driven

machines.

The Industrial Revolution This revolution mainly began in western

Europe (Starting in the UK) & later spread to North America.

This enabled imperialist countries to turn the raw materials from the colonies

into goods for sale at a rapid pace.

It also enabled them to build large modern armies & navies & influenced

the invention of more effective weapons of war, like battleships, submarines,

tanks, machine guns, & artillery weapons

Defending Empires

The colonial powers of Europe depended heavily on their colonies for raw materials (natural resources) & labor

(human resources).

As a result, they built up their armies and navies to

defend their possessions from other European

powers.

They were also used to crush pesky rebellions.

Eastern Europe

Though western Europe was industrialized,

eastern Europe remained mostly

agricultural.

These eastern European countries imported

most of their manufactured goods

from northern & western Europe.

Austria-Hungary

The 2nd largest “empire” in eastern Europe around

1900 was Austria-Hungary.

It was a dual monarchy, in which one ruler

governs two nations.

Its territory included parts of modern day Austria, Hungary,

Czech Rep., Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia,

Ukraine, Poland, & Romania.

To Prevent War……? Many of the nations of Europe

decided to sign military alliances with one another to prevent outsiders from

declaring war.

For example:

“I have an alliance with France….so if you want to fight me, you’ll have to fight France as well.”

This was meant to discourage armed conflict in Europe &

create peace.

Everybody wanted the good time to continue to “roll”

To Prevent War……?

This “web” of alliances posed one simple

problem:

If any of those nations got into a war, all the rest would be pulled

in.

One tiny spark could cause all of Europe to

blow up in war.

Formula for Disaster

Europe around 1900:

Everybody thinks they’re the best (nationalism)

Everybody has huge armies & navies (colonial defense)

Predictions………

Return to our

“Essential Question(s)”…..

How did the existence of large European colonial empires in Africa and

Asia impact the outbreak of WWI?

The Emergence of Nationalism The industrial revolution

combined with the expansion of European

colonial/imperial possessions made many European countries very

wealthy.

You could say that European leaders felt a

sense of power & superiority when

comparing themselves to other people/places.

The Spread of Nationalism

During the 1800’s nationalism was sweeping

through Europe.

Nationalism is the extreme love of one’s country as being more important &

superior to other nations.

Nationalism would influence the actions of many national citizens and

leaders between the mid-1800’s & mid-1900’s.

The Spread of Nationalism One of the reasons that

nationalism became so widespread in Europe during

this time was because many of the nations of Europe had

adopted some form of democratic government.

For the first time, many Europeans were able to

participate in the governance of their country.

This made people proud to be a citizen of their nation.

European Empires (1914) By 1914, many western European countries-including France, Italy, the United Kingdom,

Germany, & Belgium had many colonies in Asia, Africa, & the Americas.

Empires These colonial empires were very important to the European

countries that ruled them.

They were a source of great wealth and status.

This is commonly referred to as colonialism or imperialism.