ESSAY CEMETERY

Video 1: The Second Industrial Revolution The period between 1890-1914 is the most dynamic period in history: politically, socially, economically. There's a giant advance in all of these. The first Industrial Revolution was characterized by the steam engine. Now new technologies include electricity, the combustion engine, petroleum as fuel, cars, chemistry, and chemical products. Everything is accelerating more quickly than ever before: a situation causes a problem which leads to a technological solution and so on. We have machines that make machines. In addition, more raw materials than ever have to be sourced and imported. Chemistry evolves and the field of physics emerges. There are lots of advances in medicines: aspirin for instance. German universities were considered the best in the world and many medicinal advances are invented. Breakfast cereals emerge.  Coca-cola breaks as a consumer product. It is sold for the first time in thousands of locations. This means the productio

Video 1: The Age of Imperialism In the 1860s-70s, there is a movement away from global imperial expansion. But in the late 1870s into the turn of the 19th century, there is imperial growth again. History is not linear! Why this ebb and rise? Gladstone in England thought that imperialism clashed with liberal ideals. During this period, Australian, Canada, and eventually South Africa and New Zealand are increasingly given independence. They only remain strong in India. France had significant holdings like in Vietnam. In the beginning of the 1870s France has suffered significant defeats in Mexico, and turmoil at home. In Germany, Bismarck tries to maintain balance at home rather than expanding outwards. So why does a big wave of imperialism begin in the 1870s? More military power -- a "second" military evolution Better rifles Artillery Chemical explosives Steam-powered iron warships -- Navalism Machine guns Advances in communication: telegraphs rather than messengers The gap bet

Video 1: To Build a Nation In the traditional world, nation states didn't exist. Instead, life was very local and people didn't travel far. People based their identities on their family, the crops they grew and their local communities and languages. Many of these languages no longer exist. There may have been a distant lord that owned their lands, but that was the only connection to the outside world. In the mid-1800s, communities started breaking apart when people began migrating to the cities for jobs. Everywhere an enlarged sense of community began emerging because news traveled faster thanks to technological advances. People began asking what they had in common, and the answer was the nation. Some aspects of national culture and language arose naturally but there were also deliberate efforts to create a national identity. The above painting depicts lots of different nations together each flying their own flag. The hope was that rather than different princes bickering over t