Chapter 2 - Economic Strengths

• What happened in 1889?

  Britain passed the Naval Defence Act
• What happened in Russia in 1893?

  Witte became Russian Finance Minister and oversaw rapid industrialisation
• What happened in Germany in 1893?

  The Reichstag votes to increase the size of the German army
• What happened in 1898?

  Germany passes the first Naval Law
• Define the term "depression"

  A downturn in economic activity, causing nations' economies to shrink. This leads to large scale unemployment, and often a reduction in trade
• Define the term "imperialism"


  The policy creating and expanding an empire, or the desire to do so
• Define the term "trade union"

  Workers' organisations which campaign for better pay and conditions
• Define the term "protectionism"

  A policy designed to protect domestic businesses from foreign competition by imposing a duty/tariff
• Define the term "mir"

  A peasant commune
• Define militarism


  A belief or system where the military is exalted and its needs and considerations are given extensive importance or priority

  
  

  - In militaristic nations, generals and admirals often act as government ministers or officials, advising political leaders and influencing domestic policy. Not surprisingly, this leads to significant increases in defence and arms spending
• Describe the importance of militarism


  - Military power is considered a measure of national and imperial strength

  - A powerful state needed a powerful military to protect its interests and support its policies

  - War was avoided where possible, but it could also be used to advance a nation's political or economic interests

  - Governments and leaders who failed to maintain armies and navies to protect the national interest were considered weak or incompetent
• Describe the strength of the British navy

  Due to having a large empire, Britain invested heavily in its navy in order to protect trade across the globe

  
  

  The British applied the "two power standard", which suggested that the Royal Navy should be bigger than the next two navies combined

  
  

  To maintain her advantage, Britain passed the Naval Defence Act 1889
• What was the Naval Defence Act 1889?

  Increased British naval spending to £21.5 million

  
  

  Allowed for 10 battleship, 42 cruisers and 18 torpedo gunboats to be built
• Describe the erosion of Britain's economic supremacy

  - Britain pioneered the Industrial Revolution and the building of railways

  - Britain was also an imperial power with a large empire and therefore got access to large supplies of raw materials

  - However, other countries had also built empires and were challenging Britain's domination

  - Another factor in Britain's relative industrial decline was its failure to embrace new technologies like automobiles and chemicals, which the USA and Germany were leading in
• Describe the rise of trade unions

  - Represented people who worked in specific industries/trades, e.g. coal miners

  - During the late 1800s, unions became more militant and more likely to take strike action

  - This could affect industrial production if strikes became widespread
• Describe the decline of world/imperial trade

  By 1910 British exports had fallen to 10% share in the world, half of that of Germany and a quarter of the USA

  
  

  British industrialists wanted the government to end free trade and introduce tariffs (taxes on imported goods) to protect Britain's trade with the empire from cheaper foreign competition
• Describe traditional British attitudes to the military

  • British attitudes to the military began to transform starkly during the 1800sBritons had previously considered armies and navies a necessary evil

  - Their ranks were filled with the dregs of the lower classes, their officers were often failed aristocrats and ne'er do wells
• Describe new British attitudes to the military


  - Soldiering was seen as a more noble vocation and a selfless act of service to one's country

  - Military power considered essential for maintaining Britain's imperial and trade interests

  
  

  - The Royal Navy was engaged in protecting shipping, trade routes and colonial ports as the world's largest naval force

  - British land forces kept order and imposed imperial policies in India, Africa, Asia and the Pacific

  
  

  - Whether serving in Crimea or the distant colonies, British officers were hailed as gentlemen and sterling leaders

  - Enlisted men were well drilled, resolute and ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for King and country

  
  

  - Soldiers were presented as heroes in Tennyson's 1854 poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade"

  - Cheap novels about foreign wars and battles became widespread
• Why did the British fail in the Second Boer War?

  - They believed it would be an easy victory, fighting against "disorganised farmers"

  - The Boer forces proved that a smaller force with knowledge of the land and modern weapons could stand up to a much larger force

  - British soldiers had ill suited equipment and poor camp conditions

  - A recruiting drive to increase numbers failed as half of the volunteers were rejected due to health reasons
• What were the consequences for the British army after the Second Boer War?

  - Following the British withdrawal from South Africa, the public demanded an expansion in the army and better training for soldiers

  - The British army increased in size to 730,000 volunteers by 1914 with no conscription

  - 99,000 of the 600,000 British Imperial forces were killed, wounded or missing
• What were the consequences for the Boer forces after the Boer War?

  6,000 of the 62,400 Boer forces were lost

  
  

  24,000 of the Boer forces were captured
• How many Bitter Enders and civilian casualties were there, and what was the total cost of the Boer War?

  Bitter Enders - 21,000

  
  

  Civilian Casualties - 46,000

  
  

  Total Cost - £211,000,000
• Describe the effect of the 1871 German unification

  - Boosted industrial growth and railway construction

  - Coal production, iron ore mining and foreign investment spiked

  - The government adopted policies to encourage industrial growth while unification removed the border tariffs and trade duties which had existed before 1871

  - German banks formed and grew quickly, providing credit and investment for new ventures
• Describe German expansion in the early 1900s


  - The population was large and rapidly growing, increasing from 40 million in 1880 to 58.5 million in 1910, and so Germany could meet the Labour needs of industrialisation

  - In 1900 German steel production exceeded Britain's and was second only to the US

  - Agricultural production did not grow in line with the industrial sector, but remained steady and efficient, meeting Germany's food needs
• What was international trade like for Germany?

  - Germany's new colonies in Asia and Africa gave access to more raw materials

  - Bismarck introduced tariffs in 1878 which protected German goods, especially agricultural, against cheap foreign imports

  - Taxes on imports were also a source of income for the German government
• What was the increase in German and British production of coal, iron and steel 1890-1900, and what was the overall increase in production 1890-1913?

  COAL: IRON: STEEL: OVERALL:

  B 58% 12% 41% 58.6%

  G 68% 87% 207% 213%
• What was the impact of modern industries in Germany?

  - Electrical and chemical industries were on the rise, e.g. Siemens and AEG

  - Cable exports increased from £150,000 in 1891 to £2,500,000 in 1908

  - The numbers of people employed in the electrical industry increased from 26,000 in 1895 to 107,000 in 1907
• What was German agriculture like?

  - Modern machinery and better fertilisers produced by the chemical industry helped to increase agricultural production

  - More efficient processing techniques were used

  - More than 4 million acres were brought under cultivation for the first time in 1880-1900

  - However, by 1912, Germany was not self-sufficient in animal products
• What was the economy like in Russia?

  - Economic transformation began as a response to their defeat in the Crimean war

  - A railway building programme began and small scale development of factories. Some were state owned, producing armaments, and others were foreign owned

  - By 1881, Russian economic development lagged well

  behind Western Europe, a huge gulf in potential given its huge supplies of natural resources and man power

  
  

  - In the reign of Alexander III, industrial development took off

  - The Russian rail network expanded hugely and the state bought private companies to create rapid construction

  - The heavy industry was expanding, reorganising factories and concentrating industrial labour

  
  

  - Inhibitors of progress persisted - textiles dominated rather than heavy industry and agricultural reforms were well overdue

  - Ukrainian coal and oil was exploited to Russian steel, petroleum and chemical production could grow

  - Russia fell into debt
• What was the economy like in France?

  - Progress was steady but slow

  - A new source of iron ore was discovered, so the heavy industry was maintained on a small scale

  - It had a relatively small industrial workforce - most worked on the land

  - In 1892 the Méline Tariff was imposed, introducing protective tariffs on all industrial and agricultural imports, which contributed to France's self sufficiency

  - With the exception of the motor industry, France lagged well behind in "new" industries
• What was the economy like in Austria-Hungary?

  - Had a strong agricultural sector and good access to resources

  - Slow to modernise its economic growth and so was stunted

  - A small player in world trade and government debt was on the rise

  - Output of agriculture forests and fisheries rose but cheap American crops threatened this

  - Development of industry was hampered by over focus on land
• What were the strengths of the German military?

  - Most formidable power in terms of army

  - A strong economy allowed for high military spending

  - High population allowed for more potential soldiers

  - Prussia had a strong tradition of military strength

  - Pride in the German army was high

  - Defeat of France in 1870 provided propaganda to glorify the German army

  - The Prussian officer class had a large amount of influence on government policy

  - Wilhelm II was very competitive - keen interest in military, first speech addressed to army

  - Professional core of army allowed to expand

  - Leo von Caprivi introduced the Military Bill 1893 to increase the size of the army by 84,000 soldiers
• How strong was Russia's military?

  - All great powers sans Britain had a policy of conscription in 1900

  - Russia had access to millions of troops, professional soldiers and reservists

  - They initially had 135.6 million soldiers, and with conscription, this increased to 1,162,000 - the largest of all the great powers, but with a poor reputation

  - Soldiers' training was inferior and recruits were peasants with poor living conditions, poor health and poor fitness

  - Russia could not afford to equip its soldiers well
• How strong was the French military?

  - France lacked security in its cultures and societies, alike to AH, inhibiting possible improvements to training and efficiency

  
  

  There were disagreements in the French military circles about what the army was actually for:

  - Left wingers thought it was for the people and self defence only

  - Conservatives wanted a professional army alike to Germany's
• How strong was the Austro-Hungarian military?

  - The Habsburg Empire believed that the army was a focus for rivalry between two states and a preserve for German speaking Austrians

  - They sought to emulate the Prussian army's success

  - There was a fierce political debate on the role of Hungarians in the army