Chapter 20: War and Revolution

Question 1

Old Imperialism

Answer 1

16th and the 17th centuries, when European countries (Dutch, England, Spain, etc) had a growing interest in establishing trading post empires (namely in Asia, India, and Africa).

New World was an exception to this, as Spain conquered peoples and took over empires.

Question 2

New Imperialism

Answer 2

18th and 19th century, when Europeans wanted to exercise political and economic control over other groups (namely in Africa and Asia).

Question 3

Motivation for New Imperialism

Answer 3

• Power and prestige.
• New sources of raw materials.
• Social Darwinists believed these cultures and people were inherently subordinate to the whites.
• Europeans felt they had a duty to “civilize” and westernize these indigenous peoples.

Question 4

Scramble for Africa

Answer 4

All the Europeans wanted parts of Africa, and the most aggressive example of new imperialism. The struggle got so intense that Otto von Bismarck had to call the Berlin Conference where they discussed how to divide Africa.

Led by Germany, England, and France, Europe divided Africa, where Liberia and Ethiopia was the only independent African states.

Question 5

Consequences of New Imperialism

Answer 5

• Destroyed native cultures (as Europeans westernized them).
• Intensified European rivalries.
• Created global economies.

Question 6

Germany’s Power after the Unification

Answer 6

Germany was incredibly powerful after their unification, and was easily the strongest European power at the time. The German leaders also knew their power, and demanded more respect from neighboring countries.

Question 7

Bismarck Isolating France

Answer 7

Bismarck tried to isolate France through creating an alliance with Austria-Hungary, which Italy soon joined making the ‘Triple Alliance.’ Bismarck also signed a treaty with Russia, taking away yet another ally for France.

Question 8

Kaiser William II’s Policies

Answer 8

This arrogant leader wanted to lead alone, so he forced Bismarck to resign, and let the RussiaxGermany treaty lapse and expanded on their navy to threaten Great Britain.

Question 9

Triple Entente

Answer 9

When Kaiser William II let the Russia and Germany friendship die, France jumped on the chance and created a Franco-Russian alliance, which Britain later joined to make the ‘Triple Entente.’

The presence of two major alliances between all the biggest countries could easily escalate into a major war if two countries got upset at each other.

Question 10

Balkan Powder Keg

Answer 10

The Balkans were filled mostly with people who spoke Slavic languages, and embraced Pan-Slavism, the nationalist movement for Slavic peoples. Bismarck recognized the growing tensions with Balkan nationalism, so he supported Slavic independence just to release tensions.

However, the Austrians felt threatened by Pan-Slavish, and enraged the Serbians by annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina. WWI started when Gavrilo Principe (part of the Black Hand) assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne.

Question 11

Schlieffen Plan

Answer 11

Germany had to right Russia and France all at once. Schlieffen drew up a plan to do an all out attack against France, which meant invading Belgium too. This unprovoked attack against Belgium outraged the British, which Great Britain called war against Germany. This plan ultimately failed.

Question 12

Trench Warfare

Answer 12

After the Schlieffen plan failed, both sides constructed elaborate trenches, which created a stalemate and unprecedented casualties.

Question 13

Home Front

Answer 13

Since it was clear the war would not be over quickly, all countries mobilized their human and industrial resources to wage total war.

Women replaced men in the factories since all the men were going to war. Even Emmeline Pankhurst called an end to their militant and terroristic efforts for suffrage to help out in the war effort. Parliament gave women the right to vote in 1918.

Question 14

“All Quiet on the Western Front”

Answer 14

Written by Remarque, describing the senseless violence and slaughter seen on the Western Front during WWI.

Question 15

End of Romanov Rule

Answer 15

Russian army was no match for the German war machine. Nicholas II was also a shitty ruler, and the constant food shortages (Petrograd) lead to strikes and uprisings, in which even Nicholas’s own soldiers betrayed him. Nicholas II abdicates and marks the end of Romanov Rule.

Question 16

Provisional Government

Answer 16

The new government led by Kerensky within in Russia that replaced the Romanov monarchy. This government continued the war with Germany, which was incredibly unpopular, and ultimately weakened the provisional government.

Question 17

Bolshevik Revolution

Answer 17

Lenin returned to Petrograd and overthrew the provisional government. He and the Bolsheviks earned widespread support, and then seized the establishment of the new Bolshevik government.

Question 18

Lenin’s Key Ideas

Answer 18

• Communist revolution was possible in a backwards state like Russia.
• Did not like gradual reform.
• Leaders would be a small group of elite revolutionaries.

Question 19

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Answer 19

Lenin realized that the survival of Bolshevik power depended on ending the war with Germany, which he reluctantly agreed to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which stated that Russia would lose a lot of its land and its population.

Question 20

Civil War in Russia

Answer 20

In 1918, the “Whites” tried to overthrow the Bolsheviks (Reds). Leon Trotskey led the Reds beat the Whites.

Question 21

The End of World War I

Answer 21

Because Russia was no longer a problem for Germany, Germany tried to attack the French. But revitalized by their British and American allies, the French pushed back the Germans. William II then abdicates the German throne (making Germany a republic) because defeat was imminent.

Question 22

Fourteen Points

Answer 22

Devised by Woodrow Wilson, who was the spokesperson for a long and lasting peace.

1. Open diplomacy.
2. Freedom of the seas.
3. Poland with access to the seas.
4. Return of Alsace Lorraine to France.
5. “General association of nations”

However, the Fourteen Points were ineffective because other European countries came up with secret treaties meant to punish Germany.

Question 23

Paris Peace Conference

Answer 23

Meeting of many countries, with France, US, and Britain making most of the major decisions. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia (because they were in a civil war) were not allowed to attend. Drew up the Treaty of Versailles.

Question 24

Treaty of Versailles

Answer 24

1. Germany lost much of its land, including Alsace Lorraine.
2. German overseas territory were given as mandates to the other major European countries.
3. Poland was independent.
4. German army was limited to a small number of men.
5. Germany accept that they were guilty of starting the war.
6. Creation of League of Nations.