Margaret MacMillan’s book on the causes of World War One appropriately begins with the Paris Exposition of 1900, that triumphant display of western civilization in all its glory. Pavilion after pavilion lavishly displayed the technological achievements, imperial conquests and cultural magnificence of the European and American worlds. Canadian furs, Russian matrioshka dolls, the Palace of Electricity—all were designed to overwhelm viewers with the impression of the wealth and power of the modern West. Lest any visitor fail to understand the message of the exposition, a charming fountain in the Château d’Eau allegorically told the tale of “Humanity led by Progress advancing towards the Future and overthrowing the rather odd couple of Routine and Hatred.”
Looking back at the exposition from the perspective of 1918, or even from our present day, MacMillan argues, “such boasting and such...
Ana Siljak is a professor of Russian and East European history at Queen’s University. Her book Angel of Vengeance: The Girl Assassin, the Governor of St. Petersburg and Russia’s Revolutionary World (St. Martin’s Press, 2008) was shortlisted for the 2009 Charles Taylor Prize.
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