History of Europe: Difference between revisions

By the mid-19th century, the [[Ottoman Empire]] had declined enough to become a target for other global powers (see [[History of the Balkans]]). This instigated the [[Crimean War]] in 1854 and began a tenser period of minor clashes among the globe-spanning empires of Europe that eventually set the stage for the [[First World War]]. In the second half of the 19th century, the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] and the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] carried out a series of wars that resulted in the creation of [[Italy]] and [[Germany]] as nation-states, significantly changing the balance of power in Europe. From 1870, [[Otto von Bismarck]] engineered a German hegemony of Europe that put France in a critical situation. It slowly rebuilt its relationships, seeking alliances with Russia and Britain to control the growing power of Germany. In this way, two opposing sides—the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance of 1882]] (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy) and the [[Triple Entente|Triple Entente of 1907]] (Britain, France and Russia)—formed in Europe, improving their military forces and alliances year-by-year.

 

{{See also|International relations of the Great Powers (1814–1919)|20th century}}

[[File:Map Europe alliances 1914-en.svg|thumb|320px|right|Military alliances leading to World War; Triple Entente in green; Central Powers in brown]]

[[File:Colonization 1945.png|thumb|right|330px|Western European colonial empires in [[Asia]] and [[Africa]] disintegrated after World War II]]

 

{{Main article|Cold War|NATO|Marshall Plan| Economic Community}}

[[File:Berlin Wall 1961-11-20.jpg|thumb|200px|East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 20 November 1961]]