Continuities and Changes in Europe during the 18th and 19th Centuries | Teen Ink

Continuities and Changes in Europe during the 18th and 19th Centuries

April 30, 2019
By Grace.Fontenot BRONZE, Metairie, Louisiana
Grace.Fontenot BRONZE, Metairie, Louisiana
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, major changes and continuities in wars that took place and countries in Europe. The French Revolution of 1848 was a war that took place in France where the working class revolted against the middle class and set up barricades. The Crimean War in 1850 was a war where Russia wanted control of the Crimean peninsula but Great Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire were all against it. The Franco-Prussian War in 1870 was a war where Bismark tried to convince the southern German nation states to join with him by sending a fake letter to Napoleon so he would get mad and revolt. This war resulted in the 4 independent nation states joining Germany out of fear of being caught in the middle of the two countries. Bismark's impressive techniques, styles, and imperialistic reasoning helped him succeed in the war. Throughout all of these major wars, major improvements took place as countries began to develop new and improved discoveries. For the time period 1850-1919 there were many changes in European warfare including advancements in military medicine, new weapons, and technology. Although these changes occurred, imperialism remained continuous throughout the era.

For the time period 1850-1919, there were many medical advancements and acknowledgements in military warfare that were considered changes for that era. For the first time female nurses were used on the battlefield to aid wounded soldiers and provide medical care. For example, Florence Nightingale was the first British female nurse who administered medical care on the battlefields of the Crimean War. Liberal reform movements in Britain tended to be more modern, especially the suffragette movement. Suffragettes protested for equality in all aspects of life including equality and equal opportunity in the military. Furthermore, many young soldiers often witnessed traumas that they never would have imagined therefore influencing their psychological development. In the trenches, these soldiers feared for their lives and their friends lives all in defense of nationalism of their country. Many of these soldiers experienced Post-traumatic stress syndrome, however, it was a new challenge for doctors and the medical field. Poets such as Siegfried Sassoon, captured the mental anxieties of warfare, through collections of poems written in the trenches. Awareness of the mental health of soldiers was considered a change in European warfare, because WWI was global and covered by the media. It was witnessed by the world through newspapers and journalists. It was a fast change due to the pace of Industrial warfare that has developed due to mass production of weapons throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Therefore, are new changes in medical medicine.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in Europe, new weapons and technology were discovered and developed. These new improvements were greatly needed in many wars that took place throughout the time period as they helped countries to become more efficient and easier to access their weapons during wars. The working class during the French Revolution in 1848 only had limited resources and weapons to use against the Bourgeoisie, such as single shot rifles. With such a little amount of powerful and useful weapons and technology, the working class had a very hard time to overthrow the middle class and win their revolution. By 1850 and the Crimean War, Britain was so industrialized and had developed faster than other countries in Europe, which gave them an advantage in the war and led them to victory. Some new weapons that they used were machine guns and they also began to develop new technology, such as photography. When World War I began in 1914, the allied and central powers knew that they had to become prepared for war by discovering new weapons and technology to use in the war to win. These huge and strong militaries dug trenches where they waited for war against the other countries. World War I was known to be a war that had the first hand grenades, landmines, and u boats. With these amazing and effective weapons, it is much easier and efficient to use their weapons during the war and this resulted in the war only lasting for five years. After the war, world wide newspapers had been printed and sent all throughout Europe where the news had been spread. The New York Times was a major newspaper during the time that eventually produced pictures and new technologies.

Imperialism was a major occurrence in many European countries during the time period 1850-1919. Otto Von Bismark, as a political person, recognized that it was important to colonize in order to have competition with other major European nations. In 1884, the Berlin Conference occurred where the major powers of Europe, Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Germany, meet to discuss how to divide Africa amongst themselves. This led to Bismark having colonies not only in Europe, but also in Africa. Additionally, Great Britain had imperialized and owned colonies all over the world and in Europe. Britain had control of Ireland for a while, since the 1100's. However, Great Britain had recently imperialized in countries such as India, Africa, and China during the 1800's. Britain tried importing and trading opium to the Chinese, but the Chinese emperor got upset and started the Opium Wars in the 1800's. This war consisted of the Chinese emperor trying to get Britain to stop selling opium to China, but China lost. Starting in the 1900's, the Austro-Hungarian Empire began to imperialize other European countries such as Bosnia. Because Austro-Hungary began to colonize so many surrounding countries, Serbia got scared that they would take over them next, later causing World War I to take place. After WWI occurred, many of the colonies that Germany had imperialized were taken from them and given to the allied powers as colonies. Therefore, imperialism was a huge theme that continued in countries throughout Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries.

To conclude, there were many improvements and continuities that took place in Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Medicine, weapons, and technologies were factors that became much more advanced and developed due to substantial and major wars in European countries. These wars made countries realize they must rapidly increases their quality in weapons and technology in order to proceed after their distressing wars. Throughout the French Revolution of 1848, the Crimean War in 1850, and World War I in 1914, medicine, weapons, and technology rapidly increased and became more and more advanced in each war. The French Revolution began with only small single shot guns, where it was very difficult for the working class to win. By the time of the the Crimean War, machine guns were already being made at a rapid pace in order for the British to win against Russia. Also, medical care started to occur on the battlefields when soldiers became injured during war in order to heal them and get them back out of the field. Lastly, during World War I, weapons such as hand grenades, landmines, and u boats, were being produced for the first time. Because this new technology and weapons were advancing throughout the years, wars became easier to fight and countries were able to fight more efficiently. While new technology was changing, imperialism was staying the same. Bismark and the Franco-Prussian War is a huge example of imperialism because he started this war in order to gain more German land. Additionally, Britain's continuous imperialism and spread of colonies all over the world shows how much imperialism was a prominent factor for them and their growth. While new medicine, weapons, and technology advanced from the time period 1850-1919, imperialism continued to be a huge aspect of many European countries in order to grow.



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