In Europe, the revolutionary transformation of the ruling systems
and state structures began with a bang: In 1789 the French
Revolution broke out in Paris, and its motto "Liberte, Egalite,
Fraternite"—Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood—took on an irrepressible
force. A fundamental reorganization of society followed the French
Revolution. The ideas behind the revolution were manifest in
Napoleon's Code Civil, which he imposed on many European nations.
The 19th century also experienced a transformation of society from
another source: The Industrial Revolution established within society
a poorer working class that stood in opposition to the merchant and
trading middle class. The nascent United States was shaken by an
embittered civil war. The economic growth that set in following that
war was accompanied by the development of imperialist endeavors and
its rise to the status of a Great Power.
Liberty Leading the People,
allegory of the 1830 July revolution that deposed the French
monarchy,
with Marianne as the personification of liberty,
contemporary painting by Eugene Delacroix.
African State Building and Colonization
1814-1914
At the turn of the 19th century, Africa was hardly colonized at
all, apart from the coasts. The European outposts became unprofitable
after the slave trade was banned at the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815;
African states on the west coast and the East African sultanate of
Zanzibar, however, lived off the slave trade until well into the 19th
century. The states formed in Africa were often kept under the
"protective rule" of European countries. However, many independent
African states were able to assert themselves until the Europeans pushed
into the interior and divided Africa among themselves at the Berlin
Conference of 1884-1885.
Zulu Dance
Discuss Art
Please note: site admin does not answer any questions. This is our readers discussion only.
