Key Historical Terms and Events: 19th and 20th Centuries

Colonialism and its Impact

• Colonialism: The domination of a country or territory by a foreign power.
• Exploitation Colonies: Colonies primarily used for economic exploitation by the mother country.
• Motivations for Colonialism:
  • Economically: The desire to find new markets and acquire raw materials at low cost.
  • Demographically: Europe experienced a population surplus, leading to a lack of jobs.
  • Politically: European borders stabilized in the late 19th century, prompting territorial expansion outside of Europe. Major European powers engaged in military, economic, and strategic competition.
  • Ideologically: Conservative nationalism promoted the idea of European superiority over other races.
• Anti-colonialist Movements: Movements that emerged to denounce the brutality and excesses of economic expansion and defend the right of colonized peoples to self-determination. These movements were often led by intellectuals, trade unionists, and political leaders.

The Russian Revolution and the Soviet Union

• Gulag: A Russian acronym meaning "Main Administration of Labor Camps," designating the labor camps in the Stalinist Soviet regime that recruited dissidents.
• Peace of Brest-Litovsk: A peace treaty signed in 1918 between Germany and Russia, unilaterally ending Russia's involvement in World War I. Russia, immersed in an internal revolution, ceded border regions to Germany.
• Soviets: Councils of workers, peasants, and soldiers who demanded the Tsar's withdrawal from the war and an end to autocracy. The population organized into Soviets during the February Revolution, and during October, the Bolsheviks aimed to form a government of Soviets.
• Civil War (1918-1921): A conflict between the White Army (Tsarists, privileged individuals, and wealthy peasants) and the Red Army (Bolsheviks led by Trotsky).
• Formation of the USSR: In 1918, the Bolshevik Party became the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). In 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was created as a federal state. The Soviet Union was governed by a Parliament, consisting of the Supreme Soviets and the CPSU, in a totalitarian, non-democratic system.
• Lenin's Death and Succession: Vladimir Lenin, the revolutionary leader, died in 1924. A power struggle ensued between Joseph Stalin, who advocated for building socialism in one country as the core of future revolutions, and Leon Trotsky, who wanted to export the revolution.
• Stalin's Rise to Power: Stalin became General Secretary of the CPSU and initiated a period of repression against dissidents, including Trotsky, who was assassinated in 1940.

World War I and its Aftermath

• A New Kind of Conflict: World War I was characterized by the massive use of resources, including national armies, powerful technical means, the conversion of industries, and modern propaganda techniques.
• Key Events:
  • In 1917, Russia, undergoing a revolution, signed the Peace of Brest-Litovsk with Germany.
  • Germany's submarine blockade of Great Britain led to the sinking of a U.S. ship, prompting the United States to enter the war on the side of the Triple Entente.
  • In 1918, Austria and Turkey sought peace, while Germany continued fighting in the West.
  • Growing discontent and revolt within Germany against the war led to the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918, and the establishment of a republic.

The New Deal

• New Deal: A program of economic and political reforms implemented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt following the 1929 stock market crash in New York. Its goals were economic recovery and social improvement for the population.