NATIONAL BUILDING 1850 -1900

OUTLINE OF EUROPE BEFORE 1870

(Background to European History)

Before 1870, most European states were small and had no proper leadership.
Some of the bigger states that existed practiced imperialism (the influence of one state in another).
Before 1870, some European states were;

There was no big Nation or state called Germany.
Instead, there were small German-speaking states under the leadership of states such as Austria, Denmark, and France e.g. Alsace and Lorraine.
The dominant German state was Prussia that was ruled by King William.

Britain was the biggest state in Europe under a monarch.
It was united and strong.
However, Britain followed a policy of Splendid Isolation, which meant non- involvement in the affairs of mainland Europe.
Being an island, Britain did not regard her as being part of Europe.
Britain only came into European affairs when other countries threatened her interests.
Britain’s interests were to build a strong Navy, extend her colonial Empire and to protect her commercial industry.
Britain became the most powerful colonial power with a big commonwealth Empire.

France was one of the most powerful states in Europe, ruled by Napoleon.
Napoleon waged a number of devastating Napoleonic wars in Europe.
France was a traditional enemy of Britain because of competition. She had the strongest army and controlled some German speaking states.
Her aim was to crush the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans.

This state was first called Austria and was ruled by the Hapsburg Family. This family intermarried with the different royal families.
Austria was made up of many tribes e.g. Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, Poles, Serbs, Romanians, and Hungarians.
Austria and Hungary combined to form Austria- Hungary, which became a dual Monarch under Emperor Frank Joseph

This was the biggest European country in terms of size.
She was ruled by an autocratic family with the title of Tsar or Czar. Most of the People in Russia were backward and illiterate because of suppression from the ruling family.
Russia had no sea outlet; as such she desired to control some of the Balkan states to have access to the sea.
This brought her into the Balkan Region and brought her into conflict with Britain and Austria over the control of the Mediterranean Sea and the Balkans respectively.

These were small states that were ruled by the Ottoman family.
The Balkan states were collectively known as the Ottoman Empire.
The Empire stretched from the borders of Austria to include Hungary, Russia, Turkey, and North Africa.
Other states in the Ottoman Empire were Denmark, Yugoslavia, Sweden, Bulgaria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.
The Ottoman Empire was made in different areas, with people of different languages and religions (Christians and Moslems) under the control of the Turks who were Moslems.
As a result, the Empire was weakened because of internal conflicts. Many races broke away and became independent states.
The remaining small states came under the control of the big European states.
Russia wanted to control the Balkan states so as to have a sea outlets. Britain and France had commercial interests in the Balkans.
Austria depended on the Balkans for the survival of her Empire.
After Germany was unified, Bismarck feared that the Balkans would join France against Germany.
Due to these factors, the Balkan region became a sensitive area, which led to the outbreak of the First World War.

Before 1870, there was no country called Italy but small states that were ruled by Austria. The people were poor, backward, and illiterate.
One man called Mazzini rose up and united the small Italian states through war into one country called Italy.

Other notable states at the time were Holland, Spain, and Portugal.
These did not have much conflict with the other European Countries.
They concentrated on Trade, voyages of discovery, and the exploration of other continents.

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