71TJ123-8-2009 LK VWD0011 Tradition Humanistic 6th Edition W:220mm x H:292mm 175L 115 Stora Enso M/A Magenta (V)LOOKING AHEAD
The Global Dominion of the West
CHAPTER 30 Industry, Empire, and the Realist Style 71Book5 71miles of railway track crisscrossed Europe, linking the
sources of raw materials—such as the coal mines of north-
ern Germany’s Ruhr valley—to factories and markets. The
second half of the nineteenth century saw the unification
of both Italy and Germany, the modernization of Russia,
and the transformation of the United States into an eco-
nomic powerhouse, fueled by abundant resources of iron
ore and coal. Across the vast continent of North America
railroads facilitated rapid economic and political expan-
sion. As Western nations colonized other parts of the globe,
they took with them the railroad and other agents ofindus-
trialization.
Before the end of the nineteenth century, Western tech-
nologyincluded theinternalcombustion engine, the tele-
graph, the telephone, the camera, and—perhaps most
significant for the everyday life of human beings—electricity.
Processed steel, aluminum, the steam turbine, and the pneu-
matictire—all products of the 1880s—further altered the
texture of lifein theindustrialized world.These technologies,
along with such lethalinstruments of war as the fully auto-
matic“machine gun,”gave Europe clear advantages over
other parts of the globe and facilitated Westernimperialism
in lessindustrially developed areas.In the enterprise of
empire building, theindustrialized nations of Britain, France,
Belgium,Germany, Italy, and the United States took the lead.Colonialism and the New Imperialism
The history of European expansioninto Asia, Africa,
and other parts of the globe dates back at least to the
Renaissance.Between approximately 1500 and 1800, Euro-
peans established trading outpostsin Africa, China, and
India.But not until after 1800,in the wake of the Industrial
Revolution, did Europeanimperialism transform the terri-
tories of foreign peoplesinto outright colonial possessions.
Driven by the need for raw materials and markets for their
manufactured goods, and aided immeasurably by their
advanced military technology, theindustrial nations quick-
ly colonized or controlled vast parts of Asia, Africa, and
Latin America.So massive was this effort that, by the end
of the nineteenth century, the West had established
economic, political, and cultural dominion over much of
the world.
European imperialists defended the economic exploita-
tion of weaker countries with the view, inspired by social
Darwinism, that in politics, as in nature, the strongest or
“most fit” prevailed in the “struggle for survival.” Since
Caucasians had proved themselves the “most fit,” they
argued, it was the white population’s “burden” to care for,
protect, and rule over the “less fit” nonwhite peoples of the
earth. Britain, the leader in European industrialization,
spearheaded the thrust of colonization.
The self-appointed mission of Western rule in less tech-
nologically developed countries is best expressed in a poem
by one of themost popular British writers of his time,
Rudyard Kipling (1864–1936). Three verses of his poem
“The White Man’s Burden” sum up two of the key imperi-
alist notions: racial superiority and the spirit of paternal and
heroic deliverance.Nations have long drawn their strength and identity from their
economic and military superiority over other nations. But during
the late nineteenth century, nationalism and the quest for
economic supremacy took on a more aggressive form. Fueled by
advancing industrialization, Western nations not only competed
among themselves for economic and political pre-eminence, but
also sought control of markets throughout the world. The
combined effects of nationalism, industrialization, and the conse-
quent phenomena of imperialism and colonialism influenced the
materialist direction of modern Western history and that of the
world beyond the West as well.
It was in this climate that Realism emerged. As a cultural
movement, Realism reflected popular demands for greater access
to material wealth and well-being. In place of nostalgia and the
sentimental embrace of the Romantic past, Realists manifested a
renewed sense of social consciousness and a commitment to
contemporary issues of class and gender. Unlike the Romantics,
whose passionate subjectivity often alienated them from society,
Realists regarded themselves as men and woman “of their time.”
As a style, Realism called for an objective and unidealized
assessment of everyday life. Artists, writers, and composers
attacked the reigning stereotypes and pursued scientifically
based fidelity to nature. Lithography and photography encouraged
the Realist sensibility. Advances in science and technology
facilitated increased mobility and transformed urban life. The city,
with its monumental skyscrapers and its bustling mix of people,
became the site of new ideas and cultural norms that propelled
the West toward Modernism.Advancing Industrialization
Industrialization provided the economic and military basis
for the West’srise to dominion over the rest of the world.
This processis wellillustratedin the history of the railroad,
the mostimportant technological phenomenon of the early
nineteenth century because it facilitated economic and
political expansion. It was made possible by the combined
technologies of steam power, coal, andiron.
The first all-iron rails were forgedinBritainin 1789, but
it was not until 1804 that the British built theirfirst steam
railwaylocomotive, and several more decades until“iron
horses”became a major mode of transportation.The drive
to build national railways spread, encompassing Europe and
the vast continent of North America.By 1850, 23,000BK5_001-141.indd 71BK5_001-141.indd 71 04/12/2009 8:54 AM04/12/2009 8:54 AM