ABSTRACT

This chapter deals with new regional and comparative issues during the “long” 19th century, parallel to the global contacts. Western society was deeply affected by a wave of revolutions and nationalism, and then later socialism and feminism. Several settler societies extended Western patterns. In Latin America, new independence and cultural expression combined with social divisions and Western economic influence. Russia attempted to combine major reforms with a more traditional social and political system, leading to growing unrest. The imperialist impact on Africa and South and Southeast Asia produced varied reactions, including the rise of nationalism. A series of crises in China and the Ottoman Empire contrasted with Japan’s distinctive path to reform and industrialization. Overall, a number of comparative regional features were substantially redefined. The chapter also covers the tensions that would lead to world war.