Europe 1850-1914: Progress, Participation and Apprehension

423 Pages·2009·4.396 MB·English

by  Jonathan Sperber

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EUROPE 1850–1914
,
PROGRESS
PARTICIPATION AND APPREHENSION
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EUROPE 1850–1914
,
PROGRESS
PARTICIPATION AND APPREHENSION

Jonathan Sperber
Jonathan Sperber
Jonathan Sperber
JoJnoantahtahnanSpSeprebrebrer
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First published 2009 by Pearson Education Limited
Published 2013 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 2009, Taylor & Francis.

The right of Jonathan Sperber to be identified as author
or this work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or
by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.

Notices
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Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
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To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors,
assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products
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instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.
ISBN: 978-1-4058-0134-8(pbk)
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Sperber, Jonathan, 1952–
Europe, 1850–1914 : progress, participation and apprehension / Jonathan
Sperber. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4058-0134-8 (pbk.)
1. Europe—History—1848–1871. 2. Europe—History—1871–1918. I. Title.
D359.s69 2009
940.2′88—dc22 2008024318
Set by 35 in 11.25/13pt Stone Print
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To the memory of my paternal grandparents, Nathan Sperber and Fanny
née Dolberg, one-time loyal subjects of the Habsburg emperor Franz Joseph,
and my personal link to the now-vanished world of pre-1914 Europe.
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BRIEF CONTENTS

List of figures, tables and boxes........................................................................xiii
List of maps.......................................................................................................xv
Publisher’s Acknowledgements..........................................................................xvi
Introduction.....................................................................................................xvii
Part 1 The age of progress, 1850–1875................................................................1
1 Overview of the age of progress.........................................................3
2 Population and the economy..............................................................9
3 Social structures and social institutions...........................................23
4 The arts and sciences........................................................................40
5 The politics of the people.................................................................58
6 The politics of the Powers................................................................75
7 The dynamics of power.....................................................................81
Notes to Part 1................................................................................111
Part 2 The age of uncertainty, 1871–1895.......................................................113
8 Overview of the age of uncertainty.................................................115
9 Population and the economy..........................................................121
10 Social structures and social institutions.........................................136
11 The arts and sciences......................................................................148
12 The politics of the people...............................................................165
13 The politics of the Powers..............................................................180
14 The dynamics of power..................................................................193
Notes to Part 2................................................................................213
Part 3 The age of classical modernism, 1890–1914.........................................215
15 Overview of the age of classical modernism...................................217
16 Population and the economy..........................................................225
17 Social structures and social institutions.........................................245
18 The arts and sciences......................................................................265
19 The politics of the people...............................................................281
20 The politics of the Powers..............................................................302
21 The dynamics of power...................................................................316
Notes to Part 3...............................................................................344
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EUROPE 1850–1914
Conclusion......................................................................................347
Bibliography............................................................................................362
Index.......................................................................................................382

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CONTENTS

List of figures, tables and boxes........................................................................xiii
List of maps.......................................................................................................xv
Publisher’s Acknowledgements..........................................................................xvi
Introduction.....................................................................................................xvii
Part 1 The age of progress, 1850–1875...............................................................1
1 Overview of the age of progress.........................................................3
The shape of an era.......................................................................................3
The main events............................................................................................5
2 Population and the economy..............................................................9
Creating economic growth............................................................................9
Agriculture, crafts and commerce in an industrial world............................15
Prosperity and population...........................................................................19
3 Social structures and social institutions...........................................23
Urban life....................................................................................................23
Property, gender and an industrial society..................................................28
A world of associations...............................................................................32
4 The arts and sciences.......................................................................40
Expanding the cultural universe..................................................................40
Science on the advance................................................................................43
Progress and positivism in the human sciences..........................................48
Revealed religion facing an age of progress.................................................51
The arts under the banner of realism..........................................................53
5 The politics of the people.................................................................58
An era of reform..........................................................................................58
The reign of the notables............................................................................61
Liberalism and nationalism.........................................................................63
Old political tendencies in a new environment...........................................65
6 The politics of the Powers................................................................75
Eurocentric diplomacy................................................................................75
Foreign policy and public opinion..............................................................76
The changing nature and importance of warfare........................................77
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