2Notas sur le historia del seculo XX, Parte 1
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Notes on the history of the Twentieth Century, Part 1
During the last third of the Nineteenth Century Europe exploded into strong and rapid economic development because of the continuing Industrial Revolution, which kept on going until the first years of the Twentieth Century. This economic progress occurred irregularly with alternating periods of acceleration and economic depression (boom and bust). It is convenient to divide this unique period in the history of human civilization into the first and second industrial revolutions. The first industrial revolution originated in England in the Eighteenth Century with the mechanization of the textile industry and the invention of the steam engine, and afterwards it was extended to the other parts of Europe and America, principally the United States. With the evolution of techniques of mechanization, a growing number of products previously made by artisans were now made more cheaply by industrial processes, and the artisans who had previously made them found themselves without work. Both they and the surrounding rural population then had to work in industrial factories, which appeared to offer them a more secure way of making a living. During the second industrial revolution these tendencies increased. Other idustries started evolving, especially the chemical industry, developed principally by Germany. Another important factor was the development of new forms of mechanical energy, such as electric motors and internal combustion engines. The use of electricity, which could be produced only with batteries in the first part of the Nineteenth Century, had been limited to the telegraph. But with the invention of the dynamo by Gramme in the last part of the Nineteenth Century it was possible to use electric motors for every industrial machine and eliminate the need for complicated and inefficient systems of mechanical transmission to operate them. Progress in the chemical industry also produced improvements in the production of steel and of other metallic alloys. The construction of railroads was also a very powerful factor in the economic development of the second industrial revolution. In the last part of the Nineteenth Century, the principal European countries had completed their railroad networks. The construction of tunnels extended these networks, providing France, Switzerland, and Italy with a rapid and unified system of transportation. There were also some very spectacular projects, such as the completion in Russia of the Transiberian Railroad, a line some 9.900 kilometers long that reached Vladivistok in 1902. The application of steam and afterward diesel engines to the propulsion of ships accelerated progress in maritime navigation, which became safer with the invention of radiotelegraphy by Marconi. During this period, 79% (seventy-nine percent) of the tonnage transported was from European and 12% (twelve percent) from American sources. The perfection of internal-combustion engines made practical the use of automobiles as a medium of transportation, and with them came the expansion of a new system of roads, which provided even denser transportation networks for the industrialized countries. The invention of the telephone made much easier instant electric communication, producing denser commercial communication networks, which facilitated the consolidation of commercial enterprises. European industry found new consumers in colonial territories annexed to Europe during the second half of the Nineteenth Century. Among these empires, the biggest was the British Empire. Because of all these activiites, the value of international commerce doubled in the first part of the Twentieth Century. During this period, European countries dominated international commerce. When the First World War started in 1914 (nineteen fourteen) 65% (sixty-five percent) of the total value of world exports originated in European countries. But American commerce expanded from 12% (twelve percent) of the world total to 39% (thirty-nine percent). This commerce started with condiments and products of the European colonies and of Europe itself. But when the Twentieth Century started, importing minerals and other raw materials became more important. During the first period of the Industrial Revolution, the European countries exported principally articles for consumption. But afterwards the exportation of machinery for the construction of railroads and factories in other industrializing countries became more important. The Great Economic Powers: England, which started the first industrial revolution, was the greatest power in the world during the Nineteenth Century. But when the Twentieth Century started, the English had three important competitors: Germany, France, and the United States. The American Civil War provoked in the United States great economic progress, which grew slowly but accelerated during the last ten years of the Nineteenth Century, laying the foundation of world-wide American hegemony after the Second World War. England, Germany and France were the most powerful countries of Europe, and they dominated the other European countries whose industry was still at its beginning stages and whose agricultural production was low and badly planned. Between 1890 and 1913 the annual gross-national-product growth rate was 3.9 (three point nine) in the United States, 2.9 (two point nine) in Germany, 1.7 (one point seven) in England, and 1.4 (one point four) in France. These figures allow us to verify, on the one hand, the spectacular progress of the United States and, on the other hand, the growing development of Germany, which became the largest among the great European industrial powers because of its production of really good steel, industrial machinery, and a wide variety of chemicals, relegating England to and France to third place. Despite the industrial leadership of Germany, London continued its economic pre-eminence because of the world dominance of the pound sterling. Outside the Euro-Atlantic area, there was only one country that had industrialized enough to be able to compete with the Euro-American powers: Japan, which a half century earlier emerged from its feudal system and started an aggressive program of occidentalization and industrialization. Japan did not have much capital or many natural resources, but its population was very skilled and intelligent. The Japanese became industrialized in the sectors manufacturing arms, marine shipping, heavy industry, and textile and architectural technology, imitating occidental models of production. The central government levied heavy taxes on its rural sector and invested them in new factories, which quickly produced spectacular economic results. In 1894 Japan declared war against China and conquered it. Both Japan and Russia wanted to occupy Manchuria. To resolve this conflict, Japan declared war against Russia and defeated the Russians in a naval battle. This war reduced the power of the Russian Czar and indirectly contributed to the Bolshevik revolution. The Euro-Atlantic countries now realized that they had a new competitor in the Orient whose power was constantly growing. Prosperity and Misery among the Industrialized States: The economic system that accompanied the Industrial Revolution, capitalism, continued concentrating wealth into the hands of the owners of commercial and industrial enterprises. This tendency grew gradually in the Nineteenth Century and accelerated during the Twentieth Century. The proprietors of these enterprises wanted to increase their profits as much as possible and paid their workers only enough to keep them alive in miserable circumstances. Their economic condition often did not give them access to even the most basic food and hygiene products. Their shifts at work weakened them physically to the point of illness. They did not have any access to education. And if they had it, the physical demands of their hours at work would not enable them to apply themselves to their studies. Even women and children of the less privileged classes had to work to the point of physical exhaustion to maintain their familes in these miserable circumstances. Because of these problems, the workers of the industrial countries tried to defend their interests by establishing labor unions, which gradually united and organized large demonstrations starting in 1905 (nineteen-oh-five). These unions were not able to establish themselves in the economic sectors where working conditions were at their worst, and they had to limit their political action to sectors where industrialization was most heavily concentrated. In England and Germany these unions had some 4,000,000 (four million) members, a much higher number than in France, where only about 1,000,000 (one million) were able to organize themselves into unions. The Development of Socialism: Along with the organization of labor unions, ideologies for reorganizing industrial society kept on gradually growing. The most important current of European socialism had its inspiration in the doctrine of Karl Marx, who, together with Friedrich Engels, published in 1848 the "Communist Manifesto," which urged the workers of Europe to liberate themselves with the command, "Workers of the world unite!" In its form of social democracy, Marxism became strong enough to elect a solid number of representatives to the principal European parliaments--20% (twenty percent) in Germany, 25% (twenty-five percent) in in Norway, 20% (twenty percent) in Belgium, and 15% (fifteen percent) in France. In England the Labor Party drew 42% (forty-two percent) of the popular vote in 1910. In Russia the socialdemocratic parties, founded in 1898 (eighteen ninety-eight) split up into Menshevik and Bolshevik factions in (1903 [nineteen-oh-three]). The Bolsheviks organized a rebellion in 1905, which, together with the Russo-Japonese War, weakened the Czarist government. In 1917 (nineteen seventeen) they established in Russia the first socialist regime in the world. Anarchism, a more radical political movement, wanted to eliminate all authoritarian organizations, including governments in any form. They had their greatest influence in Russia, France, Italy, and Spain. The anarchists organized some violent attacks of historical importance in the first part of the Twentieth Century. Nationalism and Imperialism: During the last part of the Nineteenth Century, the great European powers, driven by their economic ambitions, competed among themselves to enlarge their markets and obtain secure sources of raw materials. Fortified by the nationalist ideology of the European countries, they divided among themselves all of Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The division of Africa into European colonies was accomplished completely without paying attention to the interests of the colonized populations and without regard to ethnic, cultural, or historic differences among them. Often the geographic divisions of the European colonies produced artificial borders marked by arbitrary parallels and meridians on political maps. Here are the colonial divisions among the great powers before the First World War: ENGLAND, a country with a territory of only 245,000 (two hundred forty-five thousand) square kilometers, had in 1914 an empire of 33,000,000 (thirty-three million) square kilometers spread througout the five continents--in other words 126 (one hundred twenty-six) times the size of England itself. Its princpal area of expansion was Africa and the Indian subcontinent. FRANCE controlled an empire of some 10,000,000 (ten million) square kilometers, twenty times larger than its national territory, with 55,000,000 (fifty-five million) inhabitants, principally in Africa but also in Indochina and the Pacific islands. GERMANY, which had started its colonial expansion rather late because Bismark wanted to conquer only European territories around Germany, undertook with Wilhelm II a policy of colonial conquest throughout the world. At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, Germany had colonies in Africa, Asia, and Oceania with a territory of 2,000,000 (two million) square kilometers and 8,000,000 (eight million) inhabitants. HOLLAND, after occupying the Indonesian archipelago, extended its reach to Sumatra and other island territories, attaining an empire about sixty times larger than its metropolitan territory. PORTUGAL maintained its African colonies, Angola and Mozambique. Portugal wanted to unite both territories, one at the east and the other at the west, but England frustrated this ambition. BELGIUM did not develop its empire by collective national initiatives but through the personal ambitions of its king, Leopold II, who created the ironically named "Free State of the Congo" independent of Belgium but under his personal control. Though the king assured everyone that his ambitions were scientific and humanitarian, his exploitation of this immense territory of 2,500,000 (two million five hundred thousand) square kilometers was inhumane and diabolic. Because of international criticism, he transferred this territory to his country in 1908 (nineteen-oh-eight). SPAIN controlled a very extensive territory but also had colonial ambitions in certain parts of Asia, which conflicted with the ones held by other European countries, which frustrated many of these ambitions. RUSSIA had conquered an immense territory surrounding Moscow but also had colonial ambitions in the south of Asia up to the borders of Afghanistan and Iran. Russia also wanted to control Mongolia, Manchuria, Korea, and China. These ambitions conflicted with those of other European countries. JAPAN, the only Asian nation with imperialist ambitions, opposed the penetration of the Russians into Manchuria and weakened the Czarist government after its war with Russia (1904-1905 [from ninteen-oh-four to ninteen-oh-five]), providing a big surprise to the European governments. After establishing its dominance over Korea and some islands in the Pacific, the Japanese were able to satisfy their colonial ambitions up to the Second World War. THE UNITED STATES, which had conquered all its territory on the American continent toward 1890 (eighteen ninety), started a policy of expansion and militaristic colonialism during the McKinley administration (1897-1901 [from eighteen ninety-seven to nineteen-oh-one]), invading Cuba and leading Spain into a war that the Americans easily won. Because of this war, the United States exercised a sort of protectorate over Cuba and annexed Puerto Rico and the Philippines. The American government also conquered Guam, a part of Samoa, and the Hawaiian Islands, which eventually became the fiftieth state of the United States. To construct the Panama Canal and control the territory on its sides, the United States divided Colombia into two parts, artificially creating a new state, Panama, which submitted completely to American ambitions to control the new canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. |
Notas sur le historia del seculo XX, Parte 1
Durante le ultime tertie del seculo XIX Europa explodeva con un forte e rapide disveloppamento economic a causa del continuation Revolution Industrial, que sequeva su curso usque le prime annos del seculo XX. Iste progresso economic occurreva irregularmente con alternante periodos de acceleration e depression economic. Il es conveniente divider iste disveloppamento in le historia del civilisation a in le prime e le secunde Revolutiones Industrial. Le prime revolution industrial originava in Anglaterra in le seculo XVIII con le mechanisation del industria textile e le invention del machina de vapor, e postea iste revolution se extendeva al altere paises de Europa e de America, principalmente le Statos Unite. Con le evolution de technicas de mechanisation, un crescente numero de productos antea facite per artisanos nunc se faceva a melior mercato per processos industrial, e le artisanos qui anteriormente los habeva facite se trovava sin empleo. E illes e le population rural circumferente tunc debeva laborar in fabricas industrial, que apparentemente offereva a illes un medio plus secur de ganiar se le vita. Durante le secunde revolution industrial, iste tendentias augmentava. Altere industrias comenciava lor evolution, specialmente le industria chimic, disveloppate principalmente per Germania. Un altere factor importante esseva le disveloppamento de nove formas de energia mechanic, como motores electric e motores de explosion. Le uso del electricitate, que on poteva producer solmente per accumulatores electric in le prime parte del seculo XIX, se limitava al telegrapho. Ma con le invention del dynamo per Gramme in le ultime parte del seculo XIX, on poteva usar motores electric pro cata machina industrial, eliminante le necessitate de complicate e inefficiente systemas de transmission mechanic pro operar los. Le progresso del industria chimic anque produceva meliorationes in le production de aciero e de altere alligatos metallic. Le construction de ferrovias anque esseva un factor potentissime in le disveloppamento economic del secunde revolution industrial. In le ultime parte del seculo XIX, le principal paises europee habeva completate lor retes ferroviari. Le construction de tunnels extendeva iste rete, providente a Francia Switza, e Italia un systema de transportation rapide e unificate. Il anque habeva unes projectos spectacularissime, como le completion in Russia del ferrovia transiberian, un linea de unes 9.900 kilometros que attingeva Vladivostok in 1902. Le application del machina de vapor e postea del motor Diesel al propulsion de naves accelerava le progresso del navigation maritime, que deveniva plus secur con le invention del radiotelegraphia de Marconi. Durante iste periodo, 79% (septanta nove pro cento) del tonnage de transporte esseva de fontes europee e 12% (dece-duo pro cento) de fontes american. Le perfection de motores de explosion faceva practic le uso de automobiles como medio de transportation, e con illos veniva le expansion de un nove systema de autostratas, que faceva plus dense le rete de transportes in le paises industrialisate. Le invention del telephono faceva multo plus facile le communication instante electric, producente plus dense retes de communication commercial, le quales facilitava le consolidation de interprisas commercial. Le industria europee trovava nove consumitores in territorios colonial annexate a Europa durante le secunde medietate del seculo XIX. Inter iste imperios, le plus grande esseva le Imperio Britannic. A causa de omne iste activitates, le valor del commercio international se duplicava in le prime parte del seculo XX. Durante iste periodo, le paises europee dominava le commercio international. Quando le Prime Guerra Mundial comenciava in 1914 (mille nove centos dece quatro), 65% (sexanta cinque pro cento) del valor total del exportationes mundial originava in paises europee. Ma le commercio american expandeva de 12% (dece duo pro cento) del total mundial a 39% (trenta nove pro cento). Iste commercio comenciava con condimentos e productos del colonias europee e de Europa mesme. Ma quando le seculo XX comenciava, le importation de minerales e altere materias prime deveniva plus importante. Durante le prime periodo del Revolution Industrial, le paises europee exportava principalmente articulos de consumption. Ma postea deveniva plus importante le exportation de machineria pro le construction de ferrovias e de fabricas in altere paises que se industrialisava. Le Grande Potentias Economic: Anglaterra, que comenciava le prime revolution industrial, esseva le potentia le plus grande durante le seculo XIX. Ma quando le seculo XX comenciava, le angleses habeva tres competitores importante: Germania, Francia, e le Statos Unite. Le Guerra Civil american provocava in le Statos Unite grande progresso economic e industrial, le qual cresceva lentemente ma accelerava durante le ultime decennio del seculo XIX, continuante su curso de acceleration constante durante le seculo XX, formante le base del hegemonia mundial del Statos Unite que comenciava post le Secunde Guerra Mundial. Anglaterra, Germania, e Francia esseva le paises le plus potente de Europa, e illos dominava le altere paises europee cuje industria esseva ancora incipiente e cuje production agricole esseva basse e mal planificate. Inter 1890 e 1913 le taxa annual de crescimento brute medie esseva 3,9 in le Statos Untie, 2,9 in Germania, 1,7 in Anglaterra, e 1,4 in Francia. Iste datos nos permitte verificar, de un parte, le progresso spectacular del Statos Unite e, del altere parte, le crescente disveloppamento de Germania, que deveniva le plus grande inter le potentias industrial europee a causa de su production de bonissime aciero, machinas industrial, e un grande varietate de chimicas, relegante Anglaterra al secunde e Francia al tertie position. In despecto del hegemonia industrial de Germania, London continuava su preeminentia economic a causa del prepotentia international del libra sterling. Foras del area euroatlantic, il habeva solmente un pais que se habeva industrialisate bastante pro competer contra le potentias euroamerican: Japon, que ante un medie seculo emergeva de su systema feudal e comenciava un aggressive programma de occidentalisation e industrialisation. Japon non habeva multe capital e ressources natural, ma su population esseva habil- e inteligentissime. Le japoneses se industrialisava in le sectores de armas, transporte maritime, industria pesante, e technologia textile e architectural, imitante le modelos occidental de production. Lor governamento central imponeva forte impostos a su sector rural e los investiva in nove fabricas, que rapidemente produceva resultatos economic spectacular. In 1894 Japon declarava un guerra contra China e lo vinceva. E Japon e Russia voleva occupar Manchuria. Pro resolver iste conflicto, Japon declarava le guerra contra Russia e vinceva le russos in un battalia naval. Iste guerra reduceva le poter del czar russe e indirectemente facilitava le revolution bolshevic. Le paises euroatlantic nunc comprendeva que illos habeva un nove competitor in le Oriente cuje potentia cresceva constantemente. Prosperitate e Miseria inter le Paises Industrialisate: Le systema economic que accompaniava le Revolution Industrial, le capitalismo, continuava le concentration de richessa a in le manos del proprietarios del interprisas commercial e industrial. Iste tendentia cresceva gradualmente in le seculo XIX e accelerava durante le seculo XX. Le proprietarios de iste interprisas voleva augmentar lor profitos al maximo possibile e pagava lor obreros solmente bastante pro mantener les vive in circumstantias miserabile. Lor condition economic sovente non dava a illes accesso al medios de nutrition e hygiene le plus basic. Lor tornos diurnal de labor les debilitava physicamente usque le maladia. Illes non habeva ulle accesso al education. E si illes lo habeva, le demandas physic de lor horas de labor non les permitterea applicar se a lor studios. Mesmo le feminas e le infantes del classes minus privilegiate debeva laborar usque le exhaustion physic pro mantener lor familias in iste circumstantias miserabile. A causa de iste problemas, le obreros del paises industrial essayava defender lor interesses establiente organisationes syndical, que gradualmente se consolidava e organisava grande agitationes social desde 1905. Iste syndicatos non poteva establir se in le sectores economic ubi le conditiones de vita del obreros esseva le pejor, e illes debeva limitar lor actiones politic a sectores ubi le industrialisation esseva le plus concentrate. In Anglaterra e Germania iste syndicatos habeva unes 4.000.000 (quatro million) obreros, un taxa multo superior a illo de Francia, ubi solmente unes 1.000.000 (un million) poteva organisar se in syndicatos. Le Developpamento del Socialismo: Con le organisation syndicatos de obreros, le ideologias pro reorganisar le societate industrial gradualmente cresceva. Le currente le plus importante del socialismo europee habeva su inspiration in le doctrina de Karl Marx, qui, conjunctemente con Friedrich Engels, publicava in 1848 le "Manifesto communiste", que exhortava al obreros de Europa a liberar se con le commando, "Proletarios de omne le mundo, uni vos." In su forma de democracia social, le marxismo deveniva bastante forte pro eliger un solide numero de representantes al parlamentos principal europee--20% (vinti pro cento) in Germania, 25% (vinti cinque pro cento) in Norvega, 20% (vinti pro cento) in Belgio, e 15% (dece-cinque pro cento) in Francia. In Anglaterra le partito laboriste obtineva in 1910 42% (quaranta duo pro cento) del votos popular. In Russia le partito socialdemocrate, fundate in 1898, se divideva in sectores menchevic e bolchevic (1903). Le bolchevicos fomentava un rebellion in 1905, que, conjuncte con le guerra russojaponese, debilitava le governamento czariste. In 1917 (mille nove centos dece septe) illes establiva in Russia le prime regime socialiste del mundo. Le anarchismo, un movimento politic plus radical, voleva eliminar omne organisationes authoritari, includente governamentos de ulle forma. Illes habeva su major influentia in Russia, Francia, Italia, e Espania. Le anarchistas fomentava unes attaccos violente de transcendentia historic in le prime parte del seculo XX. Nationalismo e Imperialismo: Durante le ultime parte del seculo XIX le grande potentias europee, impulsate per lor ambitiones economic, contendeva inter se pro ampliar lor mercatos e procurar fontes secur de materias prime. Fortificate per le ideologia nationaliste del paises europee, illos divideva inter se omne Africa, Asia, e Oceania. Le division de Africa in colonias europee se faceva completemente sin prestar attention al interesses del populationes colonisate e sin considerar differentias ethnic, cultural, o historic inter illos. Multe vices le divisiones geographic del colonias europee produceva frontieras artificial marcate per parallelos e meridianos arbitrari in mappas politic. Ecce le divisiones colonial inter le grande potentias ante le Prime Guerra Mundial: ANGLATERRA, un pais con un territorio de 245.000 (duo centos quaranta cinque mille) kilometros quadrate, habeva in 1914 un imperio de 33.000.000 (trenta tres million) kilometros quadrate diffundite per le cinque continentes, o sia 126 (cento vinti sex) vices plus grande que Anglaterra mesme. Su principal area de expansion esseva Africa e le subcontinente hindustanic. FRANCIA dominava un imperio de unes 10.000.000 (dece million) kilometros quadrate, 20 (vinti) vices plus grande que su territorio national, con 55.000.000 (cinquanta cinque million) habitantes diffundite principalmente in Africa ma anque in Indochina e le insulas del Pacifico. GERMANIA, que habeva comenciate assatis tardivemente a conquerir su proprie colonias proque su cancellero Bismark voleva conquerir solmente territorios europee apud Germania, interprendeva con Wilhelm II un programma mundial de conquesta colonial. Quando comenciava le sexulo XX, Germania habeva colonias in Africa, Asia, e Oceania con un territorio de 2.000.000 (duo million) kilometros quadrate e 8.000.000 (octo milllion) habitantes. HOLLANDA, post occupar le archipelago indonesian, extendeva su dominio a Sumatra e altere territorios insular, attingente un imperio unes 60 (sexanta) vices plus grande que su territorio metropolitan. PORTUGAL manteneva su colonias african, Angola e Moçambique. Portugal voleva unificar ambe territorios, un al este e le altere al west, ma Anglaterra frustrava iste ambition. BELGIO non formava su imperio per initiativas collective national ma per le ambitiones personal de su rege, Leopoldo II, qui creava le ironicamente nominate "Stato Libere del Congo" independente de Belgio ma sub su dominio personal. Ben que le rege assecurava omnes que su intentiones esseva scientific e humanitari, su exploitation de iste territorio immense de 2.500.000 (duo million cinque mille) kilometros quadrate esseva inhuman e diabolic. A causa de criticas international e domestic, ille transfereva iste territorio a su pais in 1908. ESPANIA controlava un territorio extensissime ma anque habeva ambitiones colonial in certe partes de Asia, le quales confligeva con illos de altere paises europee, le quales frustrava multes ex iste ambitiones. RUSSIA habeva conquerite un territorio immense circumferente Moscova ma anque habeva ambitiones colonial in le sud de Asia usque le frontieras de Afghanistan e Iran. Russia anque voleva le dominio de Mongolia, Manchuria, Corea, e China. Iste ambitiones confligeva con illos de altere paises europee. JAPON, le sol nation asian con ambitiones imperialiste, opponeva le penetration del russos a in Manchuria e debilitava le governamento czariste post su guerra con Russia (1904-1905), providente un grande surprisa al governamentos europee. Post establir su dominio sur Corea e qualque insulas in le Pacific, le japoneses poteva satisfacer lor ambitiones colonial usque le Secunde Guerra Mundial. LE STATOS UNITE, que habeva conquerite omne su territorio in le continente nordamerican verso 1890, comenciava un politica de expansion e colonialismo militariste durante le administration de su presidente McKinley (1897-1901), invadente Cuba e provocante con Espania un guerra que le Statos Unite ganiava facilemente. A causa de iste guerra, le Statos Unite exercitava un specie de protectorato sur Cuba e annexava Puerto Rico e le Philippinas. Le governamento statounitese anque conquireva Guam, un parte de Samoa, e le insulas de Hawaii, que eventualmente deveniva le cinquantessime stato del Statos Unites. Pro construer le canal de Panama e controlar le territorio a su latere, le Statos Unite divideva Colombia in duo partes, creante artificialmente un nove stato, Panama, que se submitteva completemente al ambitiones statounitese pro controlar le nove canal inter le oceanos Atlantic e Pacific.
ENGLISH: Notes on the history of the Twentieth Century, Part 1 |
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