Episode 001: Age of Empires

"January the 1st, 1901, is the birthday of the twentieth century"

## Introduction

The two most powerful English speaking nations are Britain led by Queen Victoria, who gave her name to a whole era of world history, and the United States, led by President William McKinley. The birth of a new century will also be the end of an old era, and these two countries, both tangled in colonial wars, and mired in poverty will not see their heads of state survive the year.

## Synopsis

This episode lays out the world of 1901. The states in power, the recent history, the technological and cultural backdrop of the times as well.

At the start of the 20th century much of the developed world could communicate nearly instantaneously using the telegraph and a wide infrastructure of telegraph cables. Travel was faster than it was a century earlier due to widespread rail infrastructure and steam ships. Much of the world was powered by coal, via steam engines, though oil was becoming an increasingly popular power source. The automobile and radio were available, though both were infant technologies.

The world of science had a mathematical model of electricity in the form of Maxwell's equations, and unified the seemingly unrelated phenomenon of electricity, magnetism, radio waves, visible light, infrared and ultraviolet radiation. (X-rays were a new discovery at the time, and they were thought to be another form of electromagnetic radiation). Atomic theory was fairly well developed, though a new sub-atomic particle, the electron was newly discovered, and there was an odd property known to belong to some materials called "radioactivity" which had yet to be thoroughly investigated.

According to Lord Kelvin the field of physics had been successful in describing the known world, only a few problems remained. The "black-body problem" and the Michelson-Morley experiment. Both would soon be explained by a bright young German-Jew in Switzerland, but instead of "completing" physics, Einstein's solutions would up-end physical understanding of the universe.

Recorded music could be listened to via phonograph, but live music dominated under the genres of Opera, Classical, ragtime, and Tin Pan Alley.

The ten Great Powers of the day mentioned in this episode are: The British Empire, the United States, the German Empire, the Russian Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, the Third French Republic, China under the Qing Empire, and Japan under the Meiji Emperor.

The British Empire had as head of state the Queen Victoria (although this position was rapidly becoming a figurehead position). The British Empire claimed dominion over 20-25% of the world's population and land area.

The United States had as president the recently re-elected William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt as his vice president. The US had recently come out of a war with Spain over colonial holdings in the Carribean and Pacific.

Germany was declared as a state 30 years prior and was led by Kaiser Wilhelm II, a grandson of Britain's Queen Elizabeth. Willhelm was known for his lack of skill with diplomacy.

Austria-Hungary the dual monarchy had come into being from the old Austrian Empire, after Hungarian agitation in 1867. It was led by Kaiser Franz Josef.

The Russian empire was run by the Emperor Nikolai II. Who intended to rule Russia as an autocrat.

The Ottoman Empire was led by Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Turkey was known as the "sick man of Europe".

France was led by the government of the 3rd French republic, the president was Emile Loube in office since 1899 after then president Felix Faure died while having sex with his mistress. France was in the midst of a cultural golden age known as the "Belle Epoch".

Italy, like Germany was a young nation, declared in the second half of the previous century. The previous King Umberto was assassinated the year before by an anarchist, the new King was Victor Emmanuel III.

Japan was led by the Meiji Emperor, who had taken the island nation from what was essentially a feudal society to a modern state organized along western lines. Japan had just come out of a war with China, in which it won influence over Korea and the Island of Taiwan, and the Liaodong peninsula. Under pressure from western powers Japan returned the peninsula, and later Russia but was now at odds with Russia for influence in the region.

China was nominally led by the Gaunxu Emperor of the Qing dynasty, though in actuality run by the Empress Dowager Cixi, and a number of local warlords. In 1901 the Boxer rebellion was just coming to an end, after intervention by Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. (Every one of the Great Powers but the Ottoman Empire and China itself)

Of these 10 states, 7 can be called Empires led by emperors of one form or another (Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, the Ottomans, China, and Japan). 2 are Republics (France and the United States) while Italy is a kingdom and not an empire. Through the upcoming century many nations will move into and out of the designation of "Empire". Unmentioned in this episode are the colonial holdings of Spain and Portugal which must to some extent constitute an Empire. And other non-great power states, such as Iran have used a title like Emperor or King of Kings from ancient times.

Also through the course of the 20th century "Empire" moves from a positive connotation to a negative one.

## Music Played

* There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight
* Tales from the Vienna Woods
* Spring Blossoms on a Moonlit River
* Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune

## One More Thing

January 1, 1901 marks the "birthday" of Australia

## Mentioned in this episode:

### Politicians or Heads of State

* Queen Victoria
* President William McKinley
* Vice President Theodore Roosevelt
* Kaiser Wilhelm II
* Kaiser Wilhelm I
* Kaiser Friedrich III
* Princess Victoria (daughter of Queen Victoria, mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II)
* Kaiser Franz Josef
* Maximilian (Emperor of Mexico)
* Crown Prince Rudolf
* Kaiserin Elizabeth
* Karl Ludwig
* Archduke Franz Ferdinand
* Archduke Ludwig Victor
* Emperor Nikolai II
* Emperor Alexander III
* Sultan Abdul Hamid II
* President Felix Faure
* President Emile Loubet
* King Umberto
* King Victor Emmanuel III
* Guiseppe Sarocco
* The Guangxu Emperor
* Empress Dowager Cixi
* The Meiji Emperor

### Scientists

* Lord Kelvin
* Albert Einstein

### Artists

* Jules Verne
* Edward Bellamy
* Jack Nicholson
* Paul Gauguin
* Henri Matisse
* Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
* Emile Zola
* Anatole France
* Claude Debussy
* Camille Saint-Saens

### Works of Art

#### Literature

* Around the World in Eighty Days
* Looking Backward

#### Music

* There'll Be a Hot time in the Old Town Tonight
* Tales from the Vienna Wood

Film

* Batman (1989)