Berlin v' Dinshawai

1
Berlin v. Dinshawai

• -Epitomes of the Two Poles of Experience in the
  European-Dominated World System

2
The Two Poles

• Represent the European opposites superior and
  inferior
• People in the world found themselves on a power
  spectrum
• Many European societies were slow to change
• Berlin The European Capital
• Dinshawai Colonial Village

3
Berlin A European Metropolis

• Capital of the new German Empire (Prussia)
• Recently achieved worldwide dominance
• City was perpetually growing
• 1914 4th largest city

• Reflected the consolidation of a national state
  via war
• Extreme nationalism
• People were beginning to believe in their state,
  no matter the social background

4
Berlin A Crucible of Change

• Had become a laboratory and workplace for an
  innovative society
• The common people composed Berlins dignity
• Berliners were freer than their rural ancestors
• A child was expected to attend school
• Newspaper was eminent

• Lived in a world of strangers
• Tourism was a powerful method of growth in Berlin
• Berlin was an industrial world leader
• Kaiser supported research institutes
• Berlin had become a world leader in science and
  medicine

5
Berlins Social Classes

• Each social class differed sharply from the ones
  above and below it in
• Income, Lifestyle, Appearance
• Aristocrats 1 Middle 40
• Middle class were the company leaders
• Also, Middle had doctors, senior civil servants,
  and university professors
• Technology was very widely used among the middle
  classes. i.e. telephone, fashion

6
The Social Classes (continued)

• The working class made up 60 of Berlins
  population
• Lived a simple life
• Landlords were harsh, evictions frequent
• Labor 8 hrs a day/ 6 days a week
• Were protected by their nation state
• Were all socialists
• Trying to wean workers from Marxism

7
Germany in the Age of Mass Politics

• Trended towards socialism as 5 out of the 6
  members of the Reichstag were from the Socialist
  party
• The typical Berlin Socialist was not completely
  committed to Socialism
• Marxs ideas still made sense in a modern society
• Despite universal manhood suffrage, Germany was
  not a real democracy in 1914

8
Berlin and the Coming Century

• The industrial economy was entrusted to a
  backward political system
• Schooling was an important aspect
• Practice of religion was dwindling
• Only a quarter of the babies were baptized
• It would soon have a great influence in World War
  I
• Domination of masses would soon aid the power of
  Adolf Hitler

9
DinshawaiAn Egyptian Village

• Dinshawai resembled colonial villages all around
  the world
• A marked event in its history was the Dinshawai
  Incident of 1906
• British guards went pigeon hunting, yet
  accidentally started fire and killed a villager.
  Riots followed and many villagers were tried and
  killed
• A devastating moment in Egyptian history
• Incident was criticized by many in France and
  England

10
The Rustic Village Setting of Dinshawai

• Few opportunities of occupational specialization
• Lacked streets
• Crowded, flat-roofed houses
• Houses lit by oil lamps
• House heated by brazier

• Hot, dry climate
• Little access to contemporary technology
• Houses filled with both animals and humans
• Intimate association of human and natural worlds

11
Village Society

• The kin group was all important
• Individual was not worth much
• Death claimed more than ¼ of infants
• Sex and age were the only differentiations
• Women did the housework men worked
• Marriage during teen years

• Extended household
• Feelings of solidarity were strong
• Very religious (Muslim)
• Elders (males) ran the kin group/village
• Big house was the place where the kin group
  performed its celebrations
• Few civil servants to solve problems of inter-kin
  group problems

12
The Kinship Society and the World Outside

• The religious bond among Muslims kept the village
  together
• Social system was self-contained
• Politics concerned marriage and irrigation or
  feuds
• Ruled by British, khedive in Cairo, and sultan in
  Istanbul
• No relation other than to collect taxes, labor,
  and implement soldiers
• Villagers tended to be submissive but evasive
• Officials treated the villagers like brutes

13
Economic Life of the Village

• Agriculture reigned supreme
• Tilling was virtually the only occupation
• A new economic order had come into existence,
  closer to the European capitalist-norms
• Egypt wanted to take advantage of it productivity
• Tax increased
• Govt introduced new crops

• Exporting had a much greater influence
• With the collapse of cotton, village families
  fell into debt
• The lost their lands
• Colonial subordination was growing
• Europe had greater influences such as the
  introduction of tea into Egypt
• Today, the same goes for Coca-Cola

14
The Life of the Spirit

• Religion varied from Islam to customary religious
  practices (everyone had something)
• 5 daily prayers and fasting during Ramadan
• People were drawn to the natural world inhabited
  by both bad and good spirits
• Took for granted their spiritual lives
• Bolstered the familial system in Dinshawai

15
Conclusion Berlin and Dinshawai

• Wholly give the portrayal of the range of
  variation between the great powers and the
  colonial world
• Berlin was the crucible of change, while
  Dinshawai progressed slowly
• Berlin was modern Dinshawai relied on its past
• However, both cities were economically connected
  via the Nile Delta
• Mud-brick houses of Dinshawai still stand today
  by 1945, Berlin was in ruins