Summary of the Situation of Europe in the 1900s
The growth of Germany has created much tension and many problems Europe. Germany was on its way to becoming one main powers and it was in direct competition with all the other powerful nations. Whoever was the most powerful and stable country would be the winner of this race.
The political system of Germany was an autocracy. The 'Kaiser' or the supreme warlord would be at the top of ranks and had absolute power, then the chancellor and then the ministers. These officials often had little power compared to the Kaiser and could only take care of small issues. Kaiser Wilhelm desperately wanted to expand his empire and gain status in the world. The Kaiser was insane and obsessed with getting his goals completed. This made Germany very unstable due to this insane Kaiser. Germany wanted a friendly relationship with Russia, so they could isolate France. They were in desperate need of allies. France was also an autocratic nation. The Franco - Prussian war 1870-1871, it was started by Prussia offending their honour. France was defeated and humiliated and they had a desire for revenge. France was going through revolutionary ideas and enlightenment at the time. The middle class franchise wanted to vote and wanted a more liberal government. Germany took the Alsace-Lorraine in 1070/71 from France. It was a resource rich and industrial land and France wanted it back. France had a liberal alliance with Britain but poor relations with the rest of Europe. Before WWI, Great Britain set reform in the popular interest of the people. The government was very stable and strong. However they needed an ally to break out of their isolation. Britain had many dispute over colonies in France however. Their relationship with Germany was very good because of good sea trade with them. Austria/Hungary had a dual monarchy in which one monarch resides in Austria and the other in Hungary. They had an autocracy ruling but it was very corrupt which made it weak. The aristocracy was incompetent it was partly due to inbreeding. Russia was no different to Austria/Hungary. It also had a weak government and was corrupt. Russia was part of the triple alliance which consisted of France, Britain and itself. They were allied for security. They wanted to gain some land from the Ottoman Empire, join the Slavic people and also gain Constantinople. Turkey or the Ottoman Empire had a sultanate ruling. The sultans had absolute power but it was contest by the Committee of Union and Progress. They were very xenophobic which meant that they had a strong nationalistic pride and hated foreigners in their country. They were in a Germany, Austria/Hungary Alliance. Politically, Great Britain was the strongest by far. It had modern democracy which made them very stable.
The growth of Germany has created much tension and many problems Europe. Germany was on its way to becoming one main powers and it was in direct competition with all the other powerful nations. Whoever was the most powerful and stable country would be the winner of this race.
The political system of Germany was an autocracy. The 'Kaiser' or the supreme warlord would be at the top of ranks and had absolute power, then the chancellor and then the ministers. These officials often had little power compared to the Kaiser and could only take care of small issues. Kaiser Wilhelm desperately wanted to expand his empire and gain status in the world. The Kaiser was insane and obsessed with getting his goals completed. This made Germany very unstable due to this insane Kaiser. Germany wanted a friendly relationship with Russia, so they could isolate France. They were in desperate need of allies. France was also an autocratic nation. The Franco - Prussian war 1870-1871, it was started by Prussia offending their honour. France was defeated and humiliated and they had a desire for revenge. France was going through revolutionary ideas and enlightenment at the time. The middle class franchise wanted to vote and wanted a more liberal government. Germany took the Alsace-Lorraine in 1070/71 from France. It was a resource rich and industrial land and France wanted it back. France had a liberal alliance with Britain but poor relations with the rest of Europe. Before WWI, Great Britain set reform in the popular interest of the people. The government was very stable and strong. However they needed an ally to break out of their isolation. Britain had many dispute over colonies in France however. Their relationship with Germany was very good because of good sea trade with them. Austria/Hungary had a dual monarchy in which one monarch resides in Austria and the other in Hungary. They had an autocracy ruling but it was very corrupt which made it weak. The aristocracy was incompetent it was partly due to inbreeding. Russia was no different to Austria/Hungary. It also had a weak government and was corrupt. Russia was part of the triple alliance which consisted of France, Britain and itself. They were allied for security. They wanted to gain some land from the Ottoman Empire, join the Slavic people and also gain Constantinople. Turkey or the Ottoman Empire had a sultanate ruling. The sultans had absolute power but it was contest by the Committee of Union and Progress. They were very xenophobic which meant that they had a strong nationalistic pride and hated foreigners in their country. They were in a Germany, Austria/Hungary Alliance. Politically, Great Britain was the strongest by far. It had modern democracy which made them very stable.
