The First Great Depression

The Long Depression was a worldwide economic crisis, centered mostly in Europe and the United States. It began with the collapse of the Vienna Stock Exchange on May 8, 1873 and ended in about 1896. At the time, the episode was labeled the Great Depression, and held that title until the Great Depression of the 1930s.

During the Long Depression, there were numerous smaller banking and currency crisis around Europe and the rest of the world such as the Panic of 1873, the Panic of 1884, the Panic of 1890, the Panic of 1893, and the Australian banking crisis of 1893. Of these different panics, the most famous of these was The Panic of 1893 which brought about an end to the American Gilded Age. The Panic of 1893 was an American financial crisis sparked by a railway speculation bubble which led to bank failures.

Many countries combated the Long Depression by returning to the Gold Standard for their currency, protectionism, and eventually colonialism. Protectionism is a policy where free-trade is reduced and strict taxes, or tariffs are put in place for foreign imports. European empires carved up Africa during the scramble for Africa in a search for more resources and new markets to lift them out of this depression.