Age of Edward VII

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Edward VII

The age of Edward VII. ( English Edwardian era , therefore also sporadically in German Edwardian epoch ) describes in British cultural historiography the time from the accession of Edward VII to the throne in 1901 to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Historically, the age of Edward is an echo of the Victorian Age . In France , the age of Edward VII corresponds roughly to the Belle Époque ; in terms of art history , this period is primarily equated with Art Nouveau in large parts of Central Europe ( German Empire , Austria-Hungary ) . In the USA, from a political and economic point of view, this period coincides primarily with the Progressive Era and the end of the Gilded Age . It is the last epoch in the history of Great Britain to be named after a monarch.

Events

The transition from the Victorian era to the Edwardian era is fluid. The second phase of the Second Boer War in South Africa , when the Boers abandoned their previous tactics in favor of a guerrilla war after British successes , can be regarded as a milestone in the history of events . The war divided English society into supporters and sharp opponents of the war, the spokesman for which was the pacifist liberal David Lloyd George . The 1906 general election resulted in a landslide victory for the Liberals. This began a predominance of the Liberals, which lasted until after the First World War.

In terms of foreign policy, the competition between Great Britain and the German Empire began to intensify. As early as 1902, Great Britain had formed an alliance with Japan, giving up its splendid isolation . Above all, the German Emperor Wilhelm II was not ready to negotiate the fleet building program. This led to the conclusion of the Entente cordiale between France and Great Britain in 1904 , which Russia also joined in 1907 . In 1906 a new class of warships, the dreadnought class, was put into service, which led to an arms race among the other great powers. In 1907 the British government was able to agree with Russia on the division of the spheres of interest in Central Asia, with the southern part of Persia and all of Afghanistan being assigned to British influence. As early as 1904, a British expedition against Tibet under Francis Younghusband had partially opened up this country and led to a treaty with the Chinese Empire.

Domestically, the establishment of a welfare state began under Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George. In 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), a radical bourgeois party of the women's rights movement . A major concern of the women's movement before World War I was the introduction of women's suffrage , which in Great Britain was not restricted until 1919 and fully granted in 1928.

The arts

Art Nouveau could not establish itself in architecture and design. There was a historicizing recourse, with which the Edwardian Baroque emerged, which is preserved in representative buildings such as the Port of Liverpool Building .

In literature, HG Wells , George Bernard Shaw and Joseph Conrad can be assigned to the Edwardian era. Wells was popular at the time with the War of the Worlds , published in 1898, and Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness became very topical in the first decade of the 20th century when the British journalist and human rights activist Edmund Dene Morel uncovered the Congo atrocities.

In music , Edward Elgar, knighted in 1904, should be mentioned in particular , who composed numerous patriotic works that are still very well known today and are generally regarded as "typically English", such as the march Land of Hope and Glory .

Everyday culture

Rise of the Music Industry: His Master's Voice

The fourth Summer Olympics took place in London in 1908, and sporting activity was the first to be found in all strata of society, with sailing and tennis being the classic sports of the upper class, but football being popular among the masses. The Edwardian era coincided with the heyday of the British Music Hall and the rise of the music industry with the proliferation of gramophones and shellac records . In this way, the marching song It's a Long Way to Tipperary (1914), performed in the Music Halls, became a popular hit and accompanied the British soldiers on the battlefields in northern France.

literature

  • Philipp Blom : The tumbling continent. Europe 1900 - 1914. Munich 2009
  • Franz-Josef Brüggermeier: History of Great Britain in the 20th Century. Munich 2010
  • Roy Hattersley : The Edwardians: Biography of the Edwardian Age . Little Brown Book Group, London, 2006

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