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Changes in Europe Between 1870-1939

The period between 1870-1939 was an era of radical change for East and Central Europe. Throughout the early part of the period, this region developed in response to the Industrial Revolution, with most of the countries becoming peripheral to the core nations of Western Europe. The period of development ended with World War I. The interwar era was characterized by reconstruction, fueled by foreign capital. The redrawing of national boundaries during the early interwar period left East and Central Europe in the throes of societal conflict, a prelude to World War II.

Politically, the period between 1870 and 1918 was characterized by international stabilization. Alliances between the so-called central powers--Germany, France, and Austria-Hungary--were forged using the diplomacy of Germany's Otto von Bismarck. Tensions began festering, however, as a rising number of German elite, opposed to a foreign policy of stabilization, supported Pan-Germanism.

In terms of economics, Europe found itself in the midst of what has been dubbed a "double revolution," during the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution in England and the socio-political revolution in France occurred rapidly and simultaneously during the first half of the 19th century. The result of these simultaneous developments was the transformation of the European world system.

The industrialization of Western Europe had a profound impact on Eastern Europe. To sustain its rapid development, the West required increasingly greater amounts of agricultural resources and raw materials. The agrarian culture of the East eagerly supplied the West's needs, which resulted in a modernization of the East's traditional labor system: "It was, of course, the ruling elite of landlords that most interested itself in change. The challenge, however, pervaded the whole of sociopolitical life." Subsequently, the feudal system was reformed and serf labor, inefficient to meet the d...

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Changes in Europe Between 1870-1939. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 21:10, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1693184.html