The Long Nineteenth Century: A History of Europe Assignment

Assignment Task

Introduction

In the writing of history, we try to find lines, sequences of events that can be connected to each other to make them easier to understand. Historian Eric Hobsbawm coined the term "the long 19th century" and then paired it with "the short 20th century". It sounds a bit strange, a century is 100 years, but when we look at the different events we understand the connection. The long 19th century runs from the French Revolution to the First World War, and everything that happens in between can be seen as continuous. In a way, it will be longer than 100 years, and the short 20th century lasts from the First World War to the fall of the Berlin Wall, thus significantly shorter than 100 years. The reason we don't go further back or further forward is because somewhere we have to draw the line - it's like the Seven Years' War affects the American Revolution which affects the French Revolution, but if we continue like that we end up in the Stone Age.

The factors

In the context of the French Revolution, three factors began to become central to the development of the history of Europe and later the world - the political ideologies, which were born from the process of the French Parliament and its contradictions, nationalism, which was born from the idea of citizenship and the nation as something to rally around instead of being a subject of a king, and imperialism, which through colonization and takeovers placed large parts of the globe under European rule.

The task

Your task is to give an account of the three factors that influenced the 19th century, and in what way, in essay format, with clear headings according to how you choose to structure your text. You must then select one and argue that it is the one that most influenced the course of events. So it's about choosing between three different interpretations and building arguments for the one you think has the most support. To help you, you have my briefings and our history book, and other sources that you can find and use in your argument. The text must be 1000 - 2000 words long and contain two parts, firstly the account of the three different factors and in what ways they controlled development in the 19th century, secondly an analysis/discussion part where you present your argument for one of the interpretations. The text must also have an introduction and a conclusion.

Bonus

For those who want, can, and have time, it is possible to add an extra section to the text. There you can choose one, two or all three of the following discussion questions. Thinking about these questions a little more can also help you with your work on the essay. Here you can write a lot or a little - everything is welcome!

1. If we turn the tables and call the 19th century short and the 20th century long, what could be the start and stop points for the two centuries instead? Argue and explain why you have chosen your points, and explain how the sequence of events can still be connected.

2. An over-refreshed uncle says at the family reunion that "World War II began in 1815". Explain and give reasons why he is right. Then explain and give reasons why he is wrong. Then think about what you think is the earliest reasonable date that World War II could be said to have started, which is not the generally accepted date (ie September 1, 1939.)

3. Apart from everything you have written either in your text about the long 19th century and everything you may have written in question 1 above, how do you think future historians will see the 21st century? Is it long or short? Where does the 21st century actually begin? Where do you think it might end? You can/may give several possible scenarios, but if you do, you must argue for the one you think is most likely.

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