6.2+Imperialism

Imperialism- the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies. Imperialism is basically an empire conquering another nation and establishing an economical and political domination over the nations. Imperialists make monopolies in other countries. The main reason for imperialism is the want for power and money. According to Lenin, imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism. Danish War This war occurred when the Danish government took over two German States (Schleswig and Holstein). These two territories were largely German and were outraged after being annexed by Denmark. Otto Von Bismark of Prussia convinced Austria to go to war against Denmark along side Prussia. They quickly beat Denmark and forced the country to turn over the two states. Austria and Prussia split the two states, Austria took Holstein and Prussia took Schleswig. It was Bismark’s plan to allow Austria to take the German state, he planned on using this as a reason to go to war with Austria in the future if he needed to.

Austro-Prussian War (1866) This war was fought between Austria with her German allies and Italy and Prussia with her German allies. Bismarck orchestrated this war in order to create the North German Federation and to obtain overall dominance over the other German states, including Austria. It was the third phase in Bismarck’s plan to unify Germany, and it did so with the creation of the North German Federation, which was controlled by Prussia. After the defeat of Austria, Prussia gained large quantities of territories in primarily north Germany, including Holstein.

Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) This war, fought between France and Prussia with her German allies, was an attempt by Bismarck to gain the support of the southern German states, such as Bavaria, Baden, and Württemburg. The declaration of war between France and Prussia would force these southern German states to respect their alliances with Prussia and go to war against France. By the end of the war, the southern German states were willing to join with the North German Federation and form the German Empire. Bismarck’s plan to unite Germany with four phases: Modernization, Danish War, Austro-Prussian War, and Franco-Prussian War.

Imperial Russia After being beaten in the Crimean war, Russian Tsar Alexander II realized that it was in need of some serious reforms. He began with serfdom, seeing how it was the most burdensome in the entire country. Alexander issued an Emancipation Edict on March 3, 1861, allowing peasants to own property, marry as they see fit, and bring suits to a court of law. After abolishing serfdom, the Tsar then made reforms that allowed small local governments to come into power. These assemblies were known as “zemstvos”. They were given limited power to govern things like education, famine relief and maintenance of public roads and bridges.