Campaigns 1859-71.
THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE
EUROPEAN NATIONS
1870-1914
BY
J. HOLLAND ROSE LITT.D.
FELLOW OF CHRIST'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
AUTHOR OF 'THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON,' 'THE LIFE OF WILLIAM PITT,'
'THE ORIGINS OF THE WAR,' ETC.
FIFTH EDITION, WITH A NEW PREFACE AND THREE SUPPLEMENTARYCHAPTERS
1915
| First Edition | October 1905. |
| Second " | November 1905. |
| Third " | December 1911. |
| Fourth " | November 1914. |
| Fifth " | October 1915. |
MY WIFE
WITHOUT WHOSE HELP
THIS WORK
COULD NOT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED
PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION
In this Edition are included three new chapters (Nos.XXI.-XXIII.), in which I seek to describe the most important andbest-ascertained facts of the period 1900-14. Necessarily, thenarrative is tentative at many points; and it is impossible toattain impartiality; but I have sought to view events from theGerman as well as the British standpoint, and to sum up theevidence fairly. The addition of these chapters has necessitatedthe omission of the former Epilogue and Appendices. I regret thesacrifice of the Epilogue, for it emphasised two importantconsiderations, (1) the tendency of British foreign policy towardsundue complaisance, which by other Powers is often interpreted asweakness; (2) the danger arising from the keen competition inarmaments. No one can review recent events without perceiving thesignificance of these considerations. Perhaps they may prove to beamong the chief causes producing the terrible finale of July-August1914. I desire to express my acknowledgments and thanks forvaluable advice given by Mr. J.W. Headlam, M.A., Mr. A.B. Hinds,M.A., and Dr. R.W. Seton-Watson, D. Litt.
J.H.R.
CAMBRIDGE,
September 5, 1915.
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
The outbreak of war in Europe is an event too momentous to betreated fully in this Preface. But I may point out that thecatastrophe resulted from the two causes of unrest described inthis volume, namely, the Alsace-Lorraine Question and the EasternQuestion. Those disputes have dragged on without any attempt atsettlement by the Great Powers. The Zabern incident inflamed publicopinion in Alsace-Lorraine, and illustrated the overbearingdemeanour of the German military caste; while the insidiousattempts of Austria in 1913 to incite Bulgaria against Serviamarked out the Hapsburg Empire as the chief enemy of the Slavpeoples of the Balkan Peninsula after the collapse of Turkish powerin 1912. The internal troubles of the United Kingdom, France, andRussia in July 1914 furnished the opportunity so long sought by theforward party at Berlin and Vienna; and the Austro-German Alliance,which, in its origin, wa