La Belle Époque [ ] “The Beautiful Era” or the Fin de Siècle La Belle Époque [ ] “The Beautiful Era” or the Fin de Siècle

Characteristics of La Belle Époque 1.Late 1800s Europe entered a dynamic period of material prosperity - Materialism  Higher standard of living  Development “zones” Inner Zone  Br, Fr, Ger, Belg, No. It,W. Austria Inner Zone  Br, Fr, Ger, Belg, No. It,W. Austria Outer Zone  Ire., Iberian Pen., most of Italy, Europe east of Ger. Outer Zone  Ire., Iberian Pen., most of Italy, Europe east of Ger. Underdeveloped Zone  Afro-Asia Underdeveloped Zone  Afro-Asia

2.Increased European Population million to 460 million in Death rate decline thanks to medical discoveries and better environmental conditions 3.Growth of Cities & Urban Life 4.Migration from Europe   60 million left Europe  Went to  US, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Australia/N. Zeal. Characteristics of La Belle Époque

5. “Second” Industrial Revolution – transformed human environment, dazzled Europeans, and led them to believe that their material progress meant human progress  Steam  electricity  Electricity spawned a whole series of new inventions: light bulb, home/city lights, telephone, radio, etc  1 st electric railway in Berlin 1879  1880s streetcars/subways began to replace horse drawn carriages  Electricity transformed factories  Internal combustion & diesel engines  Gave rise to cars and planes  1900 world car production = 9,000  Henry Ford revolutionized this with assembly line  First air transportation – Zeppelin then Kitty Hawk

Second” Industrial Revolution Britain  “The World’s Industrial Workshop” 5.“Second” Industrial Revolution Britain  “The World’s Industrial Workshop”  Corporations  limited liability of investments.  Mass production.  Rise of Industrial World led to rapid economic changes that led to emergence of mass society  Improvements for lower classes  Voting rights  Better standard of living  Education  Leisure – “weekend” Characteristics of La Belle Époque

5.Free Trade ended – tariffs invoked 6.Growth of new World Markets 7.Advance of Democracy  Extension of the vote to the working class.  Creating a “welfare state.”

9.The Appeal of Socialism  By the 1880s, most socialist parties were Marxist [esp. Ger. & Fr.]  Not very successful in England. 10.Anarchism Socialist parties grew less radical in pursuing goals Socialist parties grew less radical in pursuing goals Especially in less industrial/less democratic areas Especially in less industrial/less democratic areas Initially not a violent movement Initially not a violent movement People good inherently but corrupted by state and society People good inherently but corrupted by state and society True freedom could be achieved only by abolishing the state and all existing social institutions True freedom could be achieved only by abolishing the state and all existing social institutions Anarchist revolutionaries used assassination as their primary instrument of terror Anarchist revolutionaries used assassination as their primary instrument of terror Victims included a Russian tsar (1881), president of French republic (1894), king of Italy (1900), and a president of the United States (1901) Victims included a Russian tsar (1881), president of French republic (1894), king of Italy (1900), and a president of the United States (1901) Characteristics of La Belle Époque

9.Faith in Science Alone  Science at the core of industrialization.  “New Wonders” of daily life.  Charles Darwin Origin of Species [1859] Origin of Species [1859] “survival of the fittest” “survival of the fittest”

10.Faith in Science Alone [con’t.]  “Social Darwinism”  Herbert Spencer  Newtonian Science turned on its head Einstein  “Theory of Relativity”  nature & energy were separate & distinct. Einstein  “Theory of Relativity”  nature & energy were separate & distinct. Max Planck  Quantum Physics Max Planck  Quantum Physics Characteristics of La Belle Époque

10.Faith in Science Alone [con’t.]  Professionalization of “new” sciences [anthropology, archeaology,etc.] Psychology Psychology  Ivan Pavlov  conditioned responses  Sigmund Freud  psychoanalysis o The Interpretation of Dreams [1900] o The role of the unconscious [the id, ego, super ego]. Characteristics of La Belle Époque

11.New Trends in Philosophy 11.Growth of scientific thinking as well as the forces of modernization = new challenges for Christian churches 11.Mass migration of people from countryside to cities – close knit traditional ties of village where church had been a key force gave way to new urban patterns of social life which churches generally excluded  Agnosticism  View that the truth of certain claims like whether or not God (the divine or supernatural) exists are unknown and unknowable  Nihilism  Rejection of all religious principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless  Extreme skepticism maintaining that nothing in the world has a real existence  Irrationalism - stressed the dimensions of instinct, feeling, and will as over and against reason  Existentialism – emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through the acts of will Characteristics of La Belle Époque

12. Internal Religious Struggles  modernists vs. fundamentalists  Modernism was an attempt by the church to reinterpret Christianity in light of the new developments  Viewed the Bible as a book of useful moral ideas and encourage Christians to become involved in social reforms and insisted that churches must provide a greater sense of community  Fundamentalists wanted to maintain a literal interpretation of the Bible 13.Anti-Semitism  Dreyfus Affair  Theodore Herzl  “Father of Modern Zionism” 14.Women’s Movement  Emmeline Pankhurst Characteristics of La Belle Époque

14.The “New” Imperialism Causes: Causes: Existence of competitive nation-states and growing nationalism Existence of competitive nation-states and growing nationalism Heightened competitions spurred European states to acquire colonies abroad that provided ports and coaling stations to their navies Heightened competitions spurred European states to acquire colonies abroad that provided ports and coaling stations to their navies Colonies = international prestige Colonies = international prestige Failure to enter scramble race seen as a sign of weakness Failure to enter scramble race seen as a sign of weakness Patriotic fervor Patriotic fervor Social Darwinism – survival of fittest Social Darwinism – survival of fittest Racism – superior races must dominate inferior races by military force to show how strong and virile they are Racism – superior races must dominate inferior races by military force to show how strong and virile they are Religious motives – moral responsibility to civilize ignorant people Religious motives – moral responsibility to civilize ignorant people Economic motive – natural resources and markets to sell Economic motive – natural resources and markets to sell

Characteristics of La Belle Époque 15. Militarism  glorification of war –As armies grew, so did the influence of military leaders who drew up vast and complex plans for quickly mobilizing millions of men and enormous quantities of supplies in event of war –Lack of flexibility in plans forced European political leaders to make decisions for military instead of political ones