History of Europe, our own times, the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: the opening of the twentieth century and the world war

Front matter

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Preface

G^ieral European history is one of the most perplexing subjects to deal with in the high school. It seems absolutely essential that boys and girls should have some knowledge of the whole past of mankind ; without that they can have no real understanding of the world in which they live, for the simple reason that the present can be explained only by the past. The older historical manuals were, in the main, short accounts of past events ; but it is really past conditions and past institutions and past ideas that are best worth knowing about. The older books tended, moreover, to give too much attention to the remote past and too little information in regard to recent history, so that there was little chance of the pupil's realizing the vital bearing of the past on the present.

The aim of these two volumes is to avoid the defects of the older books, first, by frankly subordinating the mere happenings of the past to a clear statement of the conditions under which men lived for long periods, of the ideas which they held, and of the manner in which conditions and ideas have undergone great changes in man's slow rise from his original savage estate ; secondly, by devoting about half of the work, namely. Volume II, to the past hundred and fifty years, which concern us most immediately.

The arrangement of the volumes is novel in a number of respects. Each chapter is divided into several topical sections, as will be seen by consulting the Contents. The topics are, of course, arranged with strict attention to chronology, but the writers have always before them a particular subject which they aim to make plain under each section heading. In short, each section is a discussible topic and not a fragment of chronology. The authors hope that this plan of presentation will serve to make the books more useful and teachable than the older method of arrangCTient.

iv History of Europe

Not only have the illustrations been carefully chosen with a view of corroborating and vivifying the text, but under each picture a sufficiently detailed legend is given to explain its significance, and this often adds materially to the information given in the letterpress. The pictures consequently give a sort of parallel narrative and furnish a helpful supplement and corrective to the text itself. Everything which does not obviously bear upon the chief matters under consideration is sedulously excluded.

These volumes meet the growing demand for a two-yesLt course in European history in the earlier years of the high school and in the preparatory schools. In Volume I the great achievements of the oriental peoples and of the Greek and Roman periods are brought into immediate relation with later European development, without devoting a whole year's study to them. English history, if somewhat briefly treated, is given its proper association with that of the neighboring nations on the Continent. By devoting the whole second year to the history of the tremendous changes which have overtaken the world since the middle of the eighteenth century, the student will be in a position to grasp the causes and results of the World War and the perplexing conditions in the midst of which we live. It will be observed that a half of the present volume — a quarter of the whole work — is assigned to the period since 1870; namely, "our own times."

J. II. R.

C. A. B.

Book I, Introductory Review Of The Eighteenth Century

I. Age of Louis XIV and the Contest over Spain

I. Clues to Modern European History i

II. Louis XIV and Absolute Monarchy 4

III. How Louis encouraged Art and Literature 8

IV. Louis XIV attacks his Neighbors 10

V. Louis XIV and his Protestant Subjects 12

VI. War of the Spanish Succession 13

II. Russia and Prussia become European Powers

I. Beginnings of Russia 17

II. Peter the Great 19

III. Origfin of the Kingdom of Prussia 22

IV. The Wars of Frederick the Great 26

V. Three Partitions of Poland, 1772, 1793, and 1795 29

VI. The Austrian Realms : Maria Theresa and Joseph II . . • • 33

III. The Struggle between France and England in India and

North America I. How Europe began to extend its Commerce over the Whole.

World 37

II. Contest between England and France for Colonial Empire :

India 39

III; Revolt of the American Colonies from England 44

BOOK IL CONDITIONS AND REFORMS IN THE EIGHTEENTH

CENTURY

IV. Life op the People in the Eighteenth Century; Nobility

and Clergy

I. Life in the Country — Serfdom 51

II. The Towns and the Guilds 54

III. The Nobility and the Monarchy 58

IV. The Catholic Church 62

V. The English Established Church and the Protestant Sects . . 65

V vi History of Europe

V. The Spirit of Reform

I. The Development of Modern Science 70

II. How the Scientific Discoveries produced a Tendency

toward Reform 74

III. New Ideas of Government and its Functions 80

VI. Beginnings of Reform before the French Revolution

I. Reforms of Frederick II, Catherine II, and Joseph II . . 88

II. England after the Revolution of 1688 93

III. The English Limited Monarchy in the Eighteenth Century

and George III 95

Book III. The French Revolution And Napoleon

VII. The Eve of the French Revolution

I. Confusion of the Old Regime loi

II. The Privileged Classes : the Third Estate 104

III. Powers of the French King: the Parlements 109

IV. How Louis XVI tried to play the Benevolent Despot . . 112

VIII. The French Revolution

I. How the Estates were summoned in 1789 118

II. First Reforms of the National Assembly, July to October,

1789 '25

III. The National Assembly in Paris, October, 1789, to Septem-

IV. France becomes involved in a War with Other European

Powers 133

V. Founding of the First French Republic 139

VI. The Reign of Terror 142

VII. End of the Reign of Terror : the Directory 147

IX. Europe and Napoleon

I. General Bonaparte % 152

II. How Bonaparte made himself Master of France .... 157

III. How Bonaparte secured Peace in 1801 and reorganized

Germany 161

IV. Bonaparte restores Order and Prosperity in France ... 1 65 V. How Napoleon destroyed the Holy Roman Empire ... 167

VI. Napoleon humiliates Prussia: the Continental Blockade . 171

VII. Napoleon at the Zenith of his Power (1808-1812) ... 176

VIII. The Fall of Napoleon 183

Contents vii

BOOIC IV. FROM THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA TO THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR {/8/S-1870)

X. The Reconstruction of Europe at the Congress of Vienna

I. The Congress of Vienna and its Work 193

II. Results of the Revolutionary Period : Nationalism .... 198

III. The Holy Alliance: Metternich becomes the Chief Oppo-

nent of Revolution 202

IV. Thought and Culture at the Opening of the Nineteenth

Century 205

XI. Reaction and Revolution after the Congress of Vienna

I. The Restoration of the Bourbons in France 210

II. The Revolution of 1830 212

III. Elstablishment of the Kingdom of Belgium 215

IV. Formation of the German Confederation 217

V. Restoration in Spain and Italy 22 1

VI. The Spanish-American Colonies and the Revolution of 1820 223

XII. The Industrial Revolution

1. Invention of Machinery for Spinning and Weaving . . . 230

II. The Steam Engine 234

III. Capitalism and the Factory System 237

IV. Effects of the New Business Methods . .* 240

V. The Rise of Socialism 243

XIII. Revolution of 1848 in France

1. Unpopularity of Louis Philippe's Government 248

II. The Second French Republic 251

III. Louis Napoleon and the Second French Empire .... 256

XIV. Revolution of 1848 — Austria, Germany, Italy

I. The Fall of Metternich 260

II. Uprisings in Central Europe 265

III. General Failure of the Revolutions of 1848 268

XV. The Unification of Italy

I. Plans for Uniting Italy 273

II. R61e of Napoleon III in Italy 276

III. The Kingdom of Italy since 1861 279

XVL Formation of the German Empire and the Austro- Hungarian Union

L Prussia assumes the Leadership in Germany 288

II. The War of 1866 and the Formation of the North German

Federation 293 viii History of Europe

III. The Franco-Prussian War and the Foundation of the

German Empire 295

IV. Austria-Hungary after 1866 301

Book V. Reform In Europe Before The World War

XVII. The German Empire (1871-1918)

I. The German Constitution 307

II. Bismarck and State Socialism 314

III. Germany's Policy of Protection and Colonization; For-

eign Affairs 317

IV. Reign of William II 320

XVIII. France under the Third Republic

I. The Paris Commune and the Question of Restoring

Monarchy 324

II. Establishment of the Third Republic and its Constitution 329

III. The Separation of Church and State ...*.... 332

IV. Political Parties in France : the Socialists 337

V. Expansion of France 339

XIX. Political and Social Reforms in England

I. Extension of the Right to Vote 344

II. The English Cabinet 354

III. Freedom of Speech and Opinion, and Reform of the

Criminal Law 357

IV. Social Reforms 361

V. Free Trade 365

VI. The Irish Question 367

BOOK VL MERGIKG OF EUROPEAN HISTORY INTO WORLD

HISTORY

XX. The Expansion of Europe and the Spread of Western Civilization I. How the Peoples of the Globe have been brought together

by Improved Means of Communication 375

II. Trade Competition; Imperialism; R61e of the Missionaries 380

XXI. The British Empire in the Nineteenth Century

I. The Extension of British Dominion in India 384

II. The Dominion of Canada 390

Contents

IX

III. The Australasian Colonies 394

IV. Growth of the British Empire in Africa 397

XXII. The Russian Empire in the Nineteenth Century

1. The Reigns of Alexander 1 (1801-1825) and Nicholas I

(1825-1855) 406

II. The Freeing of the Serfs and the Growth of the Spirit of

Revolution 410

III. The Industrial Revolution in Russia 416

IV. The Struggle for Liberty under Nicholas 1 1 418

XXIII. Turkey and the Eastern Question

I. The Greek War of Independence 428

II. The Crimean War (1854-1856) 431

III. Revolts in the Balkan Peninsula 433

XXIV. European Interests in the Far East

I. Relations of Europe with China 437

II. Japan becomes a World Power; Intervention in China . 439 III. War between japan and China and its Consequences for

Europe 445

IV. Changes in China ; the Boxer Rising 448

V. The Russo-Japanese War; the Revolution in China . . 451

XXV. Exploration of Africa and the Struggle of European Powers for its Possession

I. Gradual Exploration of Africa by Europeans 455

II. Partition of Africa 458

III. Question of Morocco and Egypt 460

IV. Decline of the Spanish Empire and Rise of the United

States as a World Power 464

Book VI L The Twentieth Century And The World War

XXVI. Europe in the Opening Years of the Twentieth Century

I. Review of the Previous Chapters 469

II. War on Poverty in England, 1 906-191 4 471

III. Curbing of the House of Lords; Suffrage; the Irish

Question 479

IV. Germany as a World Power 485

V. France in the Twentieth Century 491

VI. The Socialistic Parties 494

X History of pMrope

XXVII. Progress and Revolutionary Effects of Modern Science

I. Discovery of the Great Age of the Earth 498

II. Modern Theories of Evolution : Darwin*s Work . . . 502

III. New Conceptions of Matter 506

IV. Progress in Biology and Medicine 508

V. The New History 514

XXVIII. Origin of the World War

I. The Armies and Navies of Europe 519

II. Movements for Peace: the Hague Conferences;

Pacifism; Socialism 522

III. Matters of Dispute : National Rivalries 525

IV. The Near-Eastern Question 529

V. Extinction of Turkey in Europe 531

VI. The Outbreak of the War 539

XXIX. First Years of the World War (1914-1916)

I. Course of the War in 1914 and 191 5 546

II. The War on the Sea 553

III. The Campaigns of 1916 556

IV. The United States and the World War 559

XXX. Final Stages of the War : the Russian Revolution

I. Entrance of the United States into the War 564

II. The World at War 566

III. The Russian Revolution ; the Bolsheviki 570

IV. Issues of the War 573

V. Course of the War after the Entrance of the United

States . 582

VI. Fall of the Hohenzollern, Hapsburg, and Romanoff

Dynasties and Close of the War 589

XXXI. The Reconstruction of Europe

I. The Settlement at Paris 594

II. The League of Nations 598

XXXII. Europe after the World War

I. Continuance of War and Disorder 602

II. Political and Economic Readjustment 606

III. International Affairs 612

BIBLIOGRAPHY i

INDEX vii

LIST OF COLORED PLATES

Plate L page

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND TROOPS (aNZACS) ENTER- ING BAPAUME Frontispiece

Plate II

A FIGHT IN THE BRITISH CHANNEL BETWEEN THE OLD- FASHIONED WOODEN MEN-OF-WAR OF THE ENGLISH AND THE DUTCH 38

Plate III

A STREET SCENE IN CANNES IN SOUTHERN FRANCE . . I06

Plate IV

OPENING OF THE OPERA, PARIS 330

Plate V

QUEEN VICTORIA NOTIFIED OF HER ACCESSION .... 350

Plate VI

CHURCH OF ST. BASIL, MOSCOW 412

Plate VII

GREAT TANGLEY MANOR IN SURREY, BUILT IN ELIZABETH'S TIME 476

Plate VIII

MARSHAL FOCH 580

LIST OF COLORED MAPS

PAGE

Europe when Louis XIV began his Personal Government 8

Europe after the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastadt i6

Northeastern Europe in Time of Peter the Great i8

Partition of Poland 32

India about 1763 37

England, France, and Spain in America, 1750 44

Europe at the Time of Napoleon's Greatest Power, about 1810 . . . . 176

Europe after 1815 198

Austria- Hungary, 1867-1918 302

The German Empire, 1871-1918 314

The British Empire, 1914 396

Western Portion of the Russian Empire, before the Revolution of 191 7 406

The European Advance (to 191 4) in Asia 436

The Partition of Africa 460

Europe in 1914 526

Southeastern Europe, 1907; Southeastern Europe, 1914 532

HISTORY OF EUROPE: OUR OWN TIMES

Chapter I Age Of Louis XIV Akd Th£ Contest Over Spain

I. Clues to Modern European History

1. Three Great Wars. It is a strange coincidence that each of the past three centuries opened with a terrible struggle among the powers of Europe. In 17 13 the warring nations settled their quarrek by the Peace of Utrecht, in 181 5 by the Peace of Paris, and in 19 19 by the Peace of Versailles. By an equally singular coincidence America was involved in all these disputes and settlements— as English colonies in Queen Anne's War and as the United States in the War of 181 2 and in the World War of our own time. Likewise, at the dose of each, mankind, weary of bloody battles that seemed to yield only the fruits of death and destruction, was moved to consider ways of putting an end to all wars. The "Plan for Lasting Peace" of Abb6 de St. Pierre was published in 17 13, the Holy Alliance was conceived by the Tsar of Russia in 181 5, and the League of Nations was sponsored by President Wilson in 1918.

2. Chief Causes of Wars — Ambition of Kings. In all of these great wars certain elements have been constant. First among them has been the ambition of European rulers to increase the glory of their families and to widen their dominions. When William II, the late German emperor, declared that he received his crown from God, he did but echo the sentiment of a French king, two hundred years in his grave, Louis XIV, who looked upon the majesty of monarchs as "the image of the grandeur of God." AVhen, with sword in hand, William sought to enlarge the inheritance received from his father he was only following the example set by European sovereigns for many a long century. Louis XIV, plunging all Europe into w^ in his desperate effort to get possession of the crown and dominions of Spain, was likewise walking in the footsteps of his ancestors ; at the same time he was serving as a model to his neighbor, Frederick I of Prussia, already planning to enhance the power and increase the territory of his family. The majesty of the prince, whatever the name, — Bourbon, HohenzoUern, Hapsburg, or Romanoff, — has been the symbol of military aggression and territorial aggrandizement.

3. Commercial Rivalry. A second constant element in the endless strife of Europe has been the struggle for trade and empire opened in the age of geographical discovery and intensified in the age of steam and electricity. No country of the world has escaped the impact of this new force. When, in 1701, King William III of England formed a league of powers against France to prevent a grandson of Louis XIV from inheriting the crown of Spain, his prime concern was not family prestige ; it was rather the protection of English trade. In the name of England he declared that his country should enjoy commercial privileges in the Spanish dominions and that France should never possess the Spanish Indies or enjoy the right of trading there. The Peace of Utrecht, arranged in 17 13, gave England Newfoundland, Acadia, Hudson Bay, and Gibraltar, and valuable commercial concessions in Spanish America. At the end of the nineteenth century a German historian and supporter of the Hohenzollems complained that "Up to the present Germany has always had too small a share of the spoils in the partition of non-European territories among the powers of Europe." One of the kaiser's motives for entering the World War was to enlarge Germany's share of trade.

Age of Louis XIV 3

4. Rivalry in Military and Naval Power. A third constant dement, intimately connected with the two just mentioned, has been military and naval power. Prussia has been the leader in the first and England in the second, while France has developed both at times. For more than two hundred years the kings of Prussia labored with unremitting zeal at the task of raising and drilling armies. During the same period the British navy was growing steadily in might, striking down all rivals with deadly precision — first the Dutch, then the French, and finally the Germans. Essential to the defdise of the island kingdom, it has been equally effective in the erecting of a world-wide empire. It remains to-day the greatest single element that can be thrown into the balance of power among the nations of the earth.

6. Democratic Tendencies. To these ancient elements of might have been added new and more hidden forces. The United States, on Altering the family of nations in the eighteenth century, exhibited to the world a republic founded on democratic ideals and became a standing challenge to the states of Europe founded on opposite principles. Through its institutions, its wealth, and its arms it has really been a "world power" since the Declaration of Independence. In the very act of throwing off British sovereignty it made use of an alliance with France. The French Revolution, quickly following the American Revolution, let loose in Europe a flood of ideas that undermined at every point the royal, aristocratic, and priestly r^ime which had endured the tempests of centuries.

The great inventions steam and machinery shifted whole populations from agriculture to industry, multiplied a thousandfold the output of goods, intensified the rivalry of nations for markets, and introduced the conflict between capital and labor. About the same time there arose an intense spirit of nationalism or patriotism among the Italians, Belgians, Germans, and other races which led them to cast off the yoke of foreign princes and unite under one government people of a common tongue and common culture.

Finally, we may say that the growth of labor unions and labor parties, with their national and international conferences, has brought a new and imcertain factor into the ancient practices of statecraft and diplomacy. Imagine a congress of French peasants attempting to dictate to Louis XIV as the trade unions of England have attempted to lay down the law to the British government !

6. Summary. In these many forces are to be found the keys to the bewildering maze of wars, intrigues, revolutions, and crises which crowd the pages of our record. With these forces in mind we can comprehend clearly the ambitions of Louis XlV^who kept France at war during most of his long reign from^ASp^i7i5 ; the militarism of the Hohenzollerns, who were th^^Sgaged in converting insignificant Prussia into one of the fi^Ppowers of Europe ; and the imperial pretensions of the Romanoffs, pushing Russia upon the European stage. Here are the clues to many wars over trade and empire and to revolutions that have changed the governments and policies of states. Through a warp of ambitions, intrigues, and commercial jealousy is shot a woof of peaceful ideals

• and democratic aspirations. Such is the texture of modem history.

II. Louis XIV and Absolute Monarchy

7. France at the Accession of Louis XIV. Under the despotic rule of Louis XIV (1643-1715) France enjoyed a commanding influence in European affairs. After the wars between Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots) were over, the royal authority had been reestablished by the wise conduct of Henry IV. Later, Richelieu had solidified the monarchy by depriving the Huguenots of the exceptional privileges granted to them for their protection by Henry IV ; he had also destroyed the fortified castles of the nobles, whose power had greatly increased during the turmoil of the Huguenot wars (see Vol. I,^ §§ 787-795). His successor, Cardinal Mazarin, who conducted the government during Louis XIV's boyhood, was able to put down a last rising of the discontented nobility.

8. What Richelieu and Mazarin had done for the French Monarchy. When Mazarin died, in 1661, he left the young monarch with a kingdom such as no previous French king had enjoyed. The nobles, who for centuries had disputed the power

I Where " Vol. 1 " appears in cross references the earlier book in this series, Robinson and Breasted, History of Europe : Ancient and Medieval^ is referred to.

Age of Louis XIV S

with the king, were no longer feudal lords but only courtiers. The Huguenots, whose claim to a place in the State beside the Catholics had led to the terrible civil wars of the sixteenth century, were reduced in numbers and no longer held fortified towns from which they could defy the king's officers. Richelieu and Mazarin had successfully taken a hand in the Thirty Years' War, and France had come out of it with enlarged territory and increased importance in European affairs.

9. The Government of Louis XIV.

Louis XIV carried the work of these great ministers still farther.

He gave that form to the French monarchy which it retained until the French Revolution. He made himself the very mirror of

kingship. His mar- _ _ _„,^

, ^ _^ , -, Fig. I. Louts XIV

velous court at Versailles became the model and the despair of other less rich and powerful princes, who accepted his theory of the absolute power of kings but could not afford to imitate his luxury. By his incessant wars he kept Europe in turmoil for over half a century. The distinguished generals who led his newly organized troops, and the wily diplomats who arranged his alliances and negotiated his treaties, made France feared and rejected by even the most powerful of the other European states.

10. The Theory of the ** Divine Right of Kings** in France. Louis XIV had the same idea of kingship that James I had tried in vain to induce the English people to accept (Vol.1, §§ 827-828). God had given kings to men, and it was his will that monarchs

6 History of Europt

should be regarded as his lieutenants and that all those subject to them should obey them absolutely, without asking any questions or making any criticisms ; for in submitting to their prince they were really submitting to God Himself. If the king were good and wise, his subjects should thank the Lord; if he proved foolish, cruel, or perverse, they must accept their evil ruler as a welldeserved and just punishment which God had sent them for their sins. But in no case might they limit his power or rise against him.^

11. Different Attitudes of English and French toward Absolute Monarchy. Louis XIV had two great advantages over James I. In the first place, the English nation has always shown itself far more reluctant than France to place absolute power in the hands of its rulers. By its Parliament, its courts, and its various declarations of the nation's rights it had built up traditions which made it impossible for the Stuarts to establish their claim to be absolute rulers. In France, on the other hand, there was no Great Charter or Bill of Rights. The French had, it is true, a sort of parliament, the so-called Estates General. But this assembly did not hold the purse strings (Vol. I, § 566), and the king was permitted to raise money without asking its permission or previously redressing the grievances which it chose to point out. It was therefore only summoned at irregular intervals. When Louis XIV took charge of the government, forty-seven years had passed without a meeting of the Estates General, and a century and a quarter was still to elapse before another call to the representatives of the nation should be issued, in 1789.

Moreover, the French people placed far more reliance upon a powerful king than did the English, perhaps because they were not protected by the sea from their neighbors, as was England. On every side France had enemies ready to take advantage of any weakness or hesitation which might arise from disagreement between a parliament and the king. So the French felt it best,

1 Louis XIV does not appear to have himself used the famous expression " / am the S/aU/' usually attributed to him, but it exactly corresponds to his idea of the relation of the king and the State.

Age of Louis XIV 7

on the whole, to leave all in the king's hands, even if the nation suffered at times from his tyranny.

12. French Horror of Revolutionary England. To the faithful subjects of Louis XIV England seemed to stand for godless revolution. She had actually put to death one of her kings and chased out another (Vol. I, §§ 842, 853). She permitted books to be printed which attacked the government and religious views sanctioned by the State. All this horrified the French, who enjoyed no such liberty. They thought of the English as revolutionists with no respect for authority, tradition, or religion. In short, England had the same reputation at the end of the seventeenth century that France gained at the end of the eighteenth.

13. Personal Characteristics of Louis XIV. Louis had another great advantage over James. He was a handsome man, of elegant and courtly mien and the most exquisite perfection of manner ; even when playing billiards he is said to have retained an air of world mastery. The first of the Stuarts, on the contrary, was a very awkward man, whose slouching gait, intolerable manners, and pedantic conversation were utterly at variance with his lofty pretensions. Louis added, moreover, to his graceful exterior a sound judgment and quick apprehension. He said neither too much nor too little. He was, for a king, a hard worker and spent several hours a day attending to the business of government.

14. The Strenuous Life of a Despotic Ruler. It requires, in fact, a great deal of energy and application to be a real despot. In order thoroughly to imderstand and to solve the problems which constantly face the ruler of a great state, a monarch must, like Frederick the Great or Napoleon, rise early and toil late. Louis XIV was greatly aided by the able ministers who sat in his council, but he alwa3rs retained for himself the place of first minister. He would never have consented to be dominated by an adviser, as his father had been by Richelieu. "The profession of the king," be declared, "is great, noble, and delightful if one but feels equal to performing the duties which it involves," — and he never harbored a doubt that he himself was born for the business.

III. How Louis encouraged Art and Literature

16. The King's Palace at Versailles. Louis XIV was careful that his surroundings should suit the grandeur of his office. His court was magnificent beyond anything that had been dreamed of in the West. He had an enormous palace constructed at Versailles, just outside of Paris, with interminable halls and apartments and a vast garden stretching away behind it. About this

Fig. 2. One of the Vast Halls of Versailles

a town was laid out, where those lived who were privileged to be near his Majesty or supply the wants of the royal court. This palace and its outlying buildings, including two or three less gorgeous residences for the king when he occasionally tired of the ceremony of Versailles, probably cost the nation about a hundred million dollars, in spite of the fact that thousands of peasants and soldiers were forced to turn to and work on the buildings without pay. The furnishings and decorations were as rich and costly as the palace was splendid, and still fill the visitor with wonder. For over a century this magnificent "chateau" at Versailles continued to be the home of the French kings and the seat of their government.