Advent of Industrialization

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The advent of industrialization in the early nineteenth-century had wide reaching impacts on economics, politics, society and demographics. The transition from an agrarian and feudal system of production to an industrial and capitalistic system brought about many changes to the lives of Europeans. Some of these changes include gender issues, immigration, medicine, the rise of liberal and socialist politics, and the rise of some famous political movements. In the following essay I will expand upon some of the many ramifications that industrialization brought to fruition. Before the advent of industrialization much of European production was focused on agriculture for practical reasons. A nation must produce enough food to feed its citizens. Skilled labor was organized around guilds and the apprentice system. The birth of industrialization changed these core systems. The development of steam power and the introduction of the factory into European society had vast consequences. First was a surge of population in urban communities. With the development and implementation of the factory, a new demand was created for labor. Instead of working as a farm laborer or other unskilled job, many individuals found a new source of employment as a factory worker. The surge of population into the urban centers of Europe created its own set of social problems. Among these problems was the creation of new social castes in European society. During this time period we see the emergence of new social classes, the working class and the middle class. The working class was comprised of the less skilled factory and day laborers, while the middle class included lawyers, doctors, merchants and business owners. I use the phrase “working prof... ... middle of paper ... ...engines were created this technology allowed the major European powers to create large armies, navies, and caches of arms. Once one nation would begin to stockpile munitions and create a large standing army other nations in the region would follow suit. This snowball effect would then continue, as one country would develop a fleet of massive battleships another country would try to eclipse it. We see then that the advances made by industrialization also played a part in creating tensions by fueling the arms race preceding World War One. The effects of industrialization were far reaching and permeated nearly every aspect of life for Europeans in the nineteenth-century. From politics, social issues and medicine to economics and lifestyle; the myriad of effects on life that industrialization had are remembered by the history books and are why we study them today.

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