CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. Introduction

II. The Bismarckian System of Alliances, 1871–90

III. The New Imperialism, 1881–1914

A. The Scramble for Africa

B. Imperialism in Asia and the ‘Opening of

China’

IV. The Diplomatic Revolution, 1890–1914

V. The Eastern Question and the Road to War

VI. Militarism and the European Arms Race

VII. The Balkan Crisis of July 1914

VIII. World War I: From the Invasion of Belgium to a

World War

A. Trench Warfare and the Machine Gun

B. The Home Front

C. Exhaustion and Armistice, 1917–18

IX. The Russian Revolution: The February

Revolution

A. The October Revolution of 1917

B. Civil War, 1918–20

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CHAPTER 27

IMPERIALISM, WAR, AND REVOLUTION,

1881–1920

C

hapter 27 looks at three great experiences

that shaped European (and global) history in

the twentieth century: (1) the new imperial-

ism (1881–1914), in which the great Euro-

pean powers seized control of most of Africa and much

of Asia; (2) World War I (1914–18), which destroyed

the last monarchical empires of the Old Regime; and

(3) the Russian Revolution (1917–20), which posed a

new and powerful form of mass politics to compete

with democracy.

The chapter begins with the background to these

great events during two generations of peace. It exam-

ines the Bismarckian alliance system, which divided Eu-

rope into two opposing sides, and the militarism and

arms race, which made this division so dangerous. Al-

though it was an era of peace among the European

great powers, the same powers fought dozens of imper-

ial wars of conquest and annexed empires around the

world. During the new imperialism, they seized control

of nearly 25 percent of the planet. The discussion of

World War I shows how it introduced Europe to a cen-

tury of “total war”—in both its destructive battles and

life on the home front. The final section focuses on the

Russian Revolution of 1917. This wartime revolution

established Lenin’s Communist government in Russia, a

regime that introduced Europe to twentieth century

totalitarianism.

The Bismarckian System of Alliances,

1871–90

The German victory in the Franco-Prussian War led to

the creation of a unified German Empire so strong,

both militarily and economically, that it dominated Eu-

rope, yet Chancellor Otto von Bismarck still feared

French revenge. After 1871 he aimed to protect Ger-

many by negotiating treaties that would guarantee the

support of the other powers and deny France potential

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