1913: In Search of the World Before the Great WarToday, 1913 is inevitably viewed through the lens of 1914: as the last year before a war that would shatter the global economic order and tear Europe apart, undermining its global pre-eminence. Our perspectives narrowed by hindsight, the world of that year is reduced to its most frivolous features—last summers in grand aristocratic residences—or its most destructive ones: the unresolved rivalries of the great European powers, the fear of revolution, violence in the Balkans. In this illuminating history, Charles Emmerson liberates the world of 1913 from this “prelude to war” narrative, and explores it as it was, in all its richness and complexity. Traveling from Europe’s capitals, then at the height of their global reach, to the emerging metropolises of Canada and the United States, the imperial cities of Asia and Africa, and the boomtowns of Australia and South America, he provides a panoramic view of a world crackling with possibilities, its future still undecided, its outlook still open. The world in 1913 was more modern than we remember, more similar to our own times than we expect, more globalized than ever before. The Gold Standard underpinned global flows of goods and money, while mass migration reshaped the world’s human geography. Steamships and sub-sea cables encircled the earth, along with new technologies and new ideas. Ford’s first assembly line cranked to life in 1913 in Detroit. The Woolworth Building went up in New York. While Mexico was in the midst of bloody revolution, Winnipeg and Buenos Aires boomed. An era of petro-geopolitics opened in Iran. China appeared to be awaking from its imperial slumber. Paris celebrated itself as the city of light—Berlin as the city of electricity. Full of fascinating characters, stories, and insights, 1913: In Search of the World before the Great War brings a lost world vividly back to life, with provocative implications for how we understand our past and how we think about our future. |
Contents
Section 1 | 3 |
Section 2 | 11 |
Section 3 | 15 |
Section 4 | 25 |
Section 5 | 27 |
Section 6 | 37 |
Section 7 | 40 |
Section 8 | 55 |
Section 25 | 216 |
Section 26 | 225 |
Section 27 | 230 |
Section 28 | 240 |
Section 29 | 252 |
Section 30 | 267 |
Section 31 | 280 |
Section 32 | 309 |
Section 9 | 59 |
Section 10 | 73 |
Section 11 | 78 |
Section 12 | 87 |
Section 13 | 97 |
Section 14 | 103 |
Section 15 | 110 |
Section 16 | 123 |
Section 17 | 135 |
Section 18 | 144 |
Section 19 | 161 |
Section 20 | 182 |
Section 21 | 194 |
Section 22 | 195 |
Section 23 | 199 |
Section 24 | 206 |
Section 33 | 322 |
Section 34 | 325 |
Section 35 | 349 |
Section 36 | 358 |
Section 37 | 381 |
Section 38 | 399 |
Section 39 | 411 |
Section 40 | 417 |
Section 41 | 421 |
Section 42 | 431 |
Section 43 | 450 |
Section 44 | 458 |
Section 45 | 495 |
Section 46 | 503 |
Section 47 | 505 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Algerian Algiers American amongst Angeles Arab Argentina army Australia Austria-Hungary Austro-Hungarian Austro-Hungarian Empire Balkans become Berlin Bombay Britain British Empire Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Herald building Canada capital celebrated centre China Chinese Christian city’s civilisation colonial Constantinople country’s culture economic elected Emperor empire’s English Europe Europe’s European force foreign France France’s French future German global Habsburg House Ibid immigration imperial Indian industrial Italian Italy Japan Japanese Jerusalem Jewish Jews Kaiser land lived London Melbourne Mexican Mexico military million modern Muslim Natal nationalists newspaper one’s Ottoman Empire ough palace Paris parliament peace Peking perhaps Persia political population President Qing Qing dynasty railway reform Russian Russian Empire Shanghai South Africa St Petersburg streets Tehran tion Tokyo Tsar twentieth century United Vienna Viennese visitors Washington Western Wilson Winnipeg women wrote York Young Turks Yuan Shikai