The century begins Monarchies In 1900 most of the world was dominated by the rulers of Europe.

Many of these rulers were related to each other. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia were cousins. King Edward VII of Great Britain was their uncle. Empires Vast areas of Africa and Asia had been colonised by Europeans. Europeans obtained raw materials for industries from these colonies but they also built railways and schools for the people they ruled. These empires made Europe rich, but they also caused the European countries to be suspicious of each other.

Railways and motor cars In 1900 it was possible to travel across Europe, America or Africa by train. The first motor cars had recently been developed. Within a few years, the Model T Ford was produced, which was cheap enough for many people to buy. Air and sea travel The American brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, were the first to fly a few hundred metres in an aeroplane in 1903. Within six years, the Frenchman Louis Blriot was to fly across the English Channel. At sea, great luxury ocean liners competed to cross the Atlantic in the fastest time. Medicine In medicine, the bacillus that causes tuberculosis (TB) had been discovered, and more people were being vaccinated against smallpox. Pierre and Marie Curie had worked on developing X-rays. But many people still died when ordinary wounds became infected.

Votes for women! In 1900, no woman, anywhere in the world, had the right to vote. Norwegian women were to win the vote in 1913. In Britain, suffragettes led by Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst often staged violent demonstrations demanding the vote. Revolutionaries There were many revolutionary groups in Europe who wanted to bring down governments by force. Russian revolutionaries had already blown up Tsar Alexander II in 1881, and in 1911 they shot the Russian Prime Minister. In 1914, a Bosnian revolutionary was to assassinate the son of the Austrian Emperor in Sarajevo. This act sparked off the First World War.

Class Europe in 1900 was divided by class. The upper class owned the land; the middle class controlled industry or ran shops and offices; the working class worked in factories or in the fields. They also worked as servants for richer people. Many working-class people lived in dreadful poverty. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Origins of the First World War Germany v. France For centuries clashes between the French and German peoples had taken place, but after 1871 the rivalry became especially deadly for the following reasons: 1- In 1870-71 Germany easily defeated France in a war. 2- At the end of the war Germany took from France the areas of Alsace and Lorraine. 3- Many important people in France were afterwards determined to get their revenge on Germany. Yet France had good reasons for fearing Germany, which was a very much stronger country. The strength of a country to fight a war can be roughly estimated from the size of its population and its coal and steel production. Armies need men as soldiers; coal and steel are needed to make their weapons. Austria-Hungary and the Balkans There were eleven different main nationalities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1914. The Germans tended to control the empire, though the Hungarians had had some independence since 1867. The other people were unhappy about this and wanted independence, too. The country was described as a ramshackle empire. The people who were most discontented were the Slavs. There were Slav people living outside Austria-Hungary. The Serbs were the most important. By the early twentieth century the Austro-Hungarian government was worried that the Slav peoples in the southern part of the empire would join up with Serbia to form a separate country. They thought that this would lead to the complete break-up of the empire as other peoples gained independence. Nationalism In Europe this feeling of belonging together and wishing to be free of control from foreigners is often connected with language. So, for example, most people who speak French feel they should belong to France. Nationalism has been a very powerful force in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Britain v. Germany By the early twentieth century Britain had the largest empire in the world. It was described as the empire on which the sun never sets. She also had the largest navy. This huge navy was necessary for four reasons: 1-to protect the empire 2-to protect food supplies coming across the oceans. Britain could not grow enough food to feed her crowded population. 3-to protect her trade routes. Britains wealth depended on selling her manufactured goods. 4-to protect her against invasion from the mainland of Europe. In contrast, Germanys strength lay in her army. The great nineteenth-century German statesman, Bismarck, believed Germany and Britain should be friends. He said, a land rat has no quarrel with a water rat. But in 1890 the young Kaiser William II, dismissed Bismarck. The Kaiser was an unpleasant, arrogant man and he hated the idea of Britain being so much stronger on the oceans than Germany. He therefore ordered a massive increase in the Germany navy. There than started a great race to build more and better warships. Many people in Britain became worried about the German naval threat.