SHORT ESSAYS

Short Essays

Short Essays

Question 1

After 1870, Europe extended its power over ten million square miles and one hundred fifty million people - about one-fifth of the world's land area and one-tenth of its population. Since the motives for the New Imperialism was economic, European attitudes toward imperialism were hanged. Previous imperialism seized land and settled it with the conqueror's people or established raiding centres to exploit the resources of the dominated area (Bergonzi 2000). However, in New Imperialism, a European nation would invest capital in a "less industrialized" country, to develop its mines and agriculture to build railroads, bridges, harbors, and telegraph systems, and to employ great numbers of natives in this process.

Bismarck wanted to improve the new Germany's diplomatic position in Europe after 1871. He hoped that colonial expansion would redirect French hostility against Germany and that German colonies in Africa could be used as a weapon with which to persuade the British to be reasonable (Kutner 2008). He insisted that Germany was a satisfied power and wanted no further territorial gains after 1871. He wanted to avoid a new war that might undo his achievements. Bismarck established the Three Emperor's League in 1873 to bring together the conservative empires of Germany, Austria, and Russia. The league failed as result of Austro-Russian rivalry in the Balkans. Bismarck was a complete success. He was allied with three of the great powers and friendly with the other, Great Britain, which held aloof from all alliances.

German leaders reacted to a problem that they had not foreseen and the fundamental decision to support Austria made war difficult if not impossible to avoid (Brophy and Eric 2000). The possibility that the Russians might start mobilization before the Germans could move would upset the timing of Germany's only battle plan, the Schlieffen Plan, which required an attack on France before the Russians were ready to act, and would put Germany in great danger. The invasion of Belgium violated the treaty of 1839 in which the British had joined the other powers in guaranteeing Belgian neutrality. This factor damaged the significant reaction in Britain for neutrality and united the nation against Germany. The Schlieffen Plan failed by a narrow margin. As a result, the French and British were able to stop the German advance on Paris at the Battle of the Marne in September 1914. Victory was out of the hands of Germany (Kutner 2008).

Lenin was successful in establishing Bolshevik rule in Russia since they demanded that all political power go to the soviets, which they controlled. The Bolsheviks had come to rule Russia and the government issued decrees that nationalizes the land and turned it over to its peasant proprietors. The Bolshevik government also took Russia out of the war, which they believed benefited only capitalism. Trotsky was Lenin's chief collaborator who was imprisoned and led the powerful Petrograd soviet. He also organized the coup that took place on November 6 and that concluded with an armed assault on the provisional ...