Before the 1800s, the world had been dominated by a few powerhouse nations. They held colonies in developing countries and that was generally accepted. Then, something happened and major revolts gained popularity spurring others throughout the world.
Several revolutions were jumpstarted; some were not political but social and technological. The Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution are the major ones. The Industrial Revolution created several new industries including cotton, coal, iron, and several others as pictured below in the map.
The social aspects of life during the nineteenth century were not up to par. They could have been better, but too many people moved to the cities and over population became an issue. The social problems in Europe during this time caused some of the revolts, factoring in to each rebellion regardless.
Nationalism was another cause of rebellion. Leaders coming to power used nationalism to back up their ideas for politics. Napoleon Bonaparte is a good example of this. Following him, Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, and Hitler also used nationalism to their advantage. Nationalism led to imperialism, which led to major conflict.
Imperialistic nations were industrialized early. Their autonomical nations eventually industrialized by example. However, this did not always lead to good as poverty and pollution increased, resulting in higher death rates and lower population.
New ideas also arose such as naturalism and realism. These were connected closely and basically meant that things were taken literally.
Romanticism
Before the late 1790s, there was a single common mindset. This was the same formula for most literature, art, and political ideas. If anyone strayed from this common structure it was a big deal and usually put down as soon as it began. However, a few authors and artists began to focus on emotion and fantasy. This went against the normal system and of course was considered almost radical.
Romanticism is not about being romantic in the way most people view it now, like as being 'in love'. Romanticism is about expressing emotions and fantastical ideas. The authors, such as Emily Dickinson (pictured above) valued feelings and everyday life. They were considered disillusioned. They wrote about society as they saw it. This included writing about the lower classes which was unheard of before this time. These authors focused more on the individual than the population as a whole.
Many times Romantic authors used nature and wildlife for inspiration. In both art and literature, animals were used as metaphors, usually portraying the craziness and/or strength of emotion. The chaos in the wild and nature was not hidden. This helped to ease people into the idea of more fantastical literature. It also eased them into the idea of writing about death or disasters. Horror novels actually came out of this period.
Not only did Romanticism affect literature and art, but it also affected people's attitudes. Because the idea was more accepted, citizens were more apt to portray their true feelings and opinions in public. Individualism was and is a major result of this.