I enjoy playing chess against my computer. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. I notice a phenomenon that often happens in live games. One square becomes the focal point. Everything builds up until something breaks. American history, like the history of the rest of the world, tends to act in the same way.
The nineteenth century. Nineteenth doesn’t mean 1900-1999. Remember the first decade after the supposed birth of Christ (which actually happened around 5-4 BCE) there were only three digits in the years. In the first century there were only two. So the first century was 1-99, second 100-199, etc. The nineteenth century is by common acceptance 1800-1899, although technically it is 1801-1900 but we’ll not quibble about that.
Historically, when we’re talking about centuries it’s not necessarily about a strictly defined period of 100 years. Arguably, the end of the English Renaissance is with the death of Queen Elizabeth ! In 1603. Similarly, it could be argued that in terms of historical trends and culture the nineteenth century ended in Europe in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I, when the world that had gradually come into being was destroyed—the world of empires, free trade, open borders, and pacifism, all the while below their feet a massive arms buildup was growing that would explode in 1914.
What is it about the nineteenth century? We’ll look at it in at least a couple of blog entries. I’m not sure how long it will take. I will include thoughts about a variety of historical artifacts.
In Western history the nineteenth century begins, to a degree, with the treaties of Paris (1814-15) ended the Napoleonic wars. Napoleon’s urge to conquer all of Europe was a culmination of the philosophical and military advances of the eighteenth century, a century that saw nearly constant warfare in Europe over a variety of issues including territory, claims to various thrones, etc. Napoleon took over France in 1799 at the lowest point in the French Revolution.
The first artifacts are two pieces of paper money from Revolutionary France. They come from different periods in the Revolution but represent the same thing. The revolutionary government confiscated huge tracts of land from the nobility and also from the Roman Catholic Church. They may not have know what they were going to do with all that wealth in real estate but somebody came up with a seemingly brilliant idea (at the time). Let’s issue paper money based on the value of the land. The government held the land, and wasn’t going to sell it right away, so why not? The problem was inflation. It didn’t take long for hyperinflation to set in. Series after series of notes were issued to stay on top of the hyperinflation but it didn’t work. It didn’t work because real estate value fluctuates. You can ask any real estate agent about that.
What was supposed to be a source of stability for the Revolutionary government became a huge source of instability.
So, what does this have to do with today? Lots. Empires fell during this time. Not all, but some. More fell at the end of World War I. But this was the start. The map of Europe was redrawn for the better part of a century by the outcome of this period and set up Europe for another century of warfare, which in turn set up Europe for another half century of warfare.
Politically the United States tried as hard as possible to stay out of European wars but didn't entirely succeed. No troops were sent, but this period strongly influenced American politics and the economy, such as the Embargo during the War of 1812 that killed New England's trade with Britain. Jefferson's audacious Louisiana purchase in 1803 was brokered because Napoleonic France was broke. We were influenced by European politics and warfare in a way that we don't even know.
Next we'll look at the Industrial Revolution. After that, the advances in communication, slavery, the Civil War, and anything else that comes to mind. Put your hat on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!
No comments:
Post a Comment