BLOOD, FIRE AND STEEL
INTRODUCTION
The beginning of the year 1850 saw the unveiling of a new
horizon for modern day Europe, as the turn of the mid century had spawned the dawn
of a generational shift that saw Europe embracing the widespread changes associated
with the industrial Revolution on the continent.
The French at this time as leaders on the continent were
also passionately immersed in a national debate as to whether to return to the
way of the dynastic rule or to embrace a Republican system as Napoleon III’s
reign appeared questionable in character and lacked credibility.
The Italian city states at this time were also in the
process of evolving, and an inherent Italian nationalism was evolving as the
City states began to focus on merging and shaking off the Papal conventions
that put Rome under Vatican control, while at the same time they also labored
towards ending the rule of the French- imposed Bourbon dynasty.
The middle of the 19th Century became a
defining period for the manifestation of the pro-democracy credentials of the
newly emerging nation states in Europe with agitation for civil liberties, free
press, and the rule of law and the establishment of a parliament that made
representative rule possible.
All these however
were met by strong repressive measures, as the existing “powers that be” were
definitely not willing to yield to the wind of change that was blowing all over
Europe
The birth pangs of transformation of the existing feudal
and agricultural economies into modern industrial economies were to be felt all
over Europe. The birth of the Industrial Revolution in England in the mid-18th
century had sent sparks of reform and change all across France, Prussia, and
the Low Countries all the way to Russia.
The dawn of the industrial age, the defeat of Napoleon and
the treaty of the Congress of Vienna were notable milestones that sparked a
desire for transformation and an aspiration for modernization and innovation
throughout Europe. The foundation of the modern European society that was to
emerge 100 years later in the form of a free, united and economically
prosperous Europe was laid at this time.
A lot of the change was precipitated to start with from
the series of violent responses and protests, which culminated in wars and
bloodshed as the existing socio-economic order simply refused to yield to the
emerging trends.
The states of
Prussia, Austria, Italy and much of Central Europe were racked by prolonged
political and economic instability. Ideological and political ideas that were
seen as anomalous by the ruling feudal class were handled with violent force
and brutal suppression.
Change as we know, is a powerful force that is difficult
to suppress especially when it’s time is ripe. The printing press and the free
flow of ideas that came with the advent of the railways, telegraphs and the
typewriter made it easy for ideas to move across borders with incredible speed,
while the whole continent reverberated with the impact of innovations that were
being transported all the way from the United Kingdom, France and down to the
Prussian states and beyond.
The boundless energy and insurmountable desire of people
to freely imbibe those changes swept through every nook and cranny of Western
Europe. This was evident in the passion of the people to move forward, express
new ideas, both political and economic and also to recreate the existing social
order. The old order that was based on Church and State control was now being
challenged by a new wave of nationalism and a push for the expression of
individual liberties.
The pressure for political reform all across Europe
reached its zenith during the middle of the 19th century. People
long accustomed to feudalistic and dynastic rule began to press and agitate for
representative government, independent parliaments; introduction of individual
liberties and free expression of speech and thought.
All these culminated in increased pressure on the socio-
political order of the day and led many governments to become increasingly
repressive in their bid to curb dissent.
Europe in the 1850s was a continent on the move. Many of
the seeds of the social order enjoyed in Europe today were sown and nurtured
then. Free thought expressed mainly through writings continued to push forward
the frontier of wisdom and learning, and people began to question and abandon
long held practices as they discovered newer and better ways of doing things.
No country in Europe experienced more fundamental changes
at this time than Prussia, which was in the midst of a revolution that would
soon give birth to the nation of Germany. In France, the pressure to return
from monarchy to Republican rule was on.
The smaller European states meanwhile were pressing for
independence and political reform. The United Kingdom, flourishing at the
height of the Victorian Empire was more concerned with issues of trade, empire,
expansion and reform of the political and economic system on the home front.
In Germany, Karl Marx had produced his communist
manifesto and was daily winning friends and followers to his socialist and communist
teachings. Friedrich Engels and others were busy putting into print the unique
message of communism. The economic conditions of the working class which were
quite unhealthy in that era naturally drove the cry for the working class to
take over the whole system of production.
The industrial revolution added its growing pressure to
the discontent that was spreading amongst Europe’s industrial and economic
powers. Charles Darwin with his theory of evolution was also undermining the
moral persuasive strength of the Church by creating the foundation for the
extreme secularism that we see flourishing in Europe today.
Everywhere people questioned the old and existing order
and demands were made for change on a national and class level. A new group was
also forming out of the prevailing agricultural and feudal society while the
new working class was demanding better pay and better conditions of living.
This emerging trend was most noticeable among the working
class who were definitely struggling to stamp out the yoke of feudalism. Labor
laws at this time were few and rudimentary. The emerging industrial powers
battled with the issue of, and on what terms the working class was to work and
exist.
Wages were still low and precarious. Industrial safety
was still an unexplored subject as many workers, under- aged by contemporary
standards, labored under very seriously inhospitable conditions. Voices were
already emerging, trying to reform society as it then was, on the need to
protect the working class and insulate the under- aged from the lure of factory
work which in any case then, was clearly exploitative.
The emerging industrial class of this period who hitherto
were the landlords of the existing feudal society was more interested in
maximizing profits and wealth than in creating a new working order which would
have made life more tolerable for the masses. The middle 19th
century was clearly a hard time in European society. Change was the only
constant factor in everyday society.
When Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria initiated
the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 to show- case the wealth and achievements
of the British Empire in Hyde Park in the summer of that year, it became a moment
of marvel at the innovations and wonders of the new face of emerging industrial
Britain.
The middle of the 19th century was also the
peak for the scramble for Africa as each of the dominant European powers
schemed for its own position of imperial dominion particularly in Africa. The
scramble also tended to generate conflict and rivalry among the main European
powers as each plotted to outwit the other in the scramble to partition Africa.
The scramble for
Africa as it came to be known, led to a conference held in Berlin and sponsored
by the Prussian Chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck in 1881 to delimit the borders of
colonial control among the dominant players in the rush to seize and create
colonies in Africa.
The African
colonies also played a prominent role on the political scene in Europe as the
prestige of a nation was somehow revealed in the size of its colonial holdings.
This led to rivalry and competition among the major players i.e. Great Britain,
France, Germany, Holland, Belgium and late-comer Italy.
The struggle for a
global presence also led to the building of merchant fleets and formidable
navies which eventually led to the naval arms race that ensued between Great
Britain and Germany in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The emergence of Otto Von Bismarck was particularly significant at this time in
the evolution of Germany following his ascension to power as Premier of Prussia
in 1862.
His defeat of Austria in the Austro-Prussian war created
the North German federation and his subsequent defeat of France in the
Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 paved the way for a united German empire and the
ascension of Wilhelm I as the Emperor of a united Germany.
Germany under Bismarck’s premiership flourished
politically and economically becoming a dominant power in Europe in the late 19th
century particularly after its conquest of France and the annexation of
Alsace-Lorraine as part of Germany.
Under Bismarck, the German Navy began a significant build
up that towards the end of the 19th Century, began to rival and
undermine the naval supremacy of Great Britain. German ascendancy altered the
face of Europe as France’s prestige began a decline as the dominant power on
the continent following the defeat and abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte in the
war of 1814 and the decisions reached by the victorious powers in the Congress
of Vienna in 1815.
The ascendancy of Prussia became a defining moment in
European history as the balance of power was greatly altered (with growing apprehension
on the part of France) to include a growing and virile Prussia. The defeat of
Austria and France set the stage for Germany’s ascendancy as a world power and
also directly led to the creation of the system of alliances that indirectly
set the stage for the two great conflicts that were to engulf Europe in the
first fifty years of the 20th century.
The dominant issue in France in the 1850’s centered on
the rule of Napoleon III which lasted until his downfall following the defeat
of France in 1870 by Prussia.
In Italy the
Risorgimento, meant bitter battles among the Italian city states led by
Garibaldi to free Italy from the rule of the Bourbons dynasty which was a
product of French imperial designs of the late 14th to the 19th
century. His eventual victory paved way for the unity of the Italian states and
ascension to power of King Victor Emmanuel in 1861.
On the whole, the situation of Europe in the 1850s was
fluid, volatile and evolving. 1860 marked the year the state of Prussia
expanded vigorously under Bismarck as Prime Minister who also became its first Chancellor.
The emergence of Germany as a united modern state in Europe in the 1860s
changed the whole shape and character of Europe.
The French as was
to be expected became nervous and uncomfortable with the emergence of a united
and strong Germany as a rival power on the European mainland. Prince Otto Von
Bismarck was not unaware of the tension generated in France over the emergence
of a united Germany.
He immediately swung into action to build a formidable
German army that was designed to stand and resist the best equipped armies in
Europe. His defeat of Austria in 1866 led to the creation of the North German
Federation and his victory over the French in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870
led to the emergence of a German Empire under Prussian hegemony.
Germany had
certainly arrived as a great power on the European scene and was to keep Europe
on her toes for the next hundred years as she sought to define her sphere of
influence on the European political stage and on the world scene in general.
The annexation of Alsace-Lorraine following Prussian
victory in the war of 1870 left France bitter and humiliated. The defeat in
fact ended the rule of Napoleon III and once more France swung over to
Republican rule. The rule of the Bourbons following the defeat of Napoleon had
been brief following which Louis Philippe was put on the throne of France in the
July Revolution of 1830.
Following the deposition of Napoleon II, Louis Philippe
became Emperor under the Second Republic in 1852. His downfall and ultimate
dethronement came with his defeat and capture in the Franco-Prussian war of
1870. His deposition gave birth to the Third Republic.
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