General Background to World War I--European History, 1871 to 1914: A very brief overview

The period from 1815-1914 is often referred to as the Hundred Years Peace, or kiss of peace Britannica. From the end of the Napoleonic Wars at Waterloo in 1815 until the outbreak of pare in 1914, Europe found itself relatively at peace. Compared with the fantastic serial of contends that had preceded 1815 and the carnage of the 20th century, it is not an unfair assessment. premier(prenominal) base around 1870, however, events began to evolve in ways that peril the long-standing peace, and a long slide toward eventual conflict began, though it was farthermost from apparent at the time. Indeed, following the wars of German oneness of the 1860s and the Prussian defeat of France in 1870-71, the rise of the remarkable statesman, Prince Otto von von Bismarck of Prussia, seemed to ring a period of, if not permanent, then sure enough persistent peace. by means of wily manipulation of power (what he called Realpolitik) and decent diplomacy, Bismarck created an alliance system that, although built on a condition of international tension, was nevertheless quite stable. Through a series of treaties, conferences and diplomatic exchanges, most of which were conducted under varying degrees of secrecy, Bismarck carefully built his structure, knowing all the succession that underneath it was slender and indeed might well be upset someday.

(He predicted that if and when it shed apart it would be due to some blasted lunacy in the Balkans, and in fact he was right, though the damned foolishness, an assassination, happened some 20 years later his death.) Part of the problems for Bismarck and the state smen who followed him was that pains had be! gun to revolutionize the World by 1871. Following the American cultured war, with new weapons and techniques, it was clear that railroads, steamships, and former(a) industrial advances were going to mold not only war but defense... If you want to add a full essay, browse it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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