Industrialization

How far do the sources support the conclusion that, during the period 1780-1914, the economy and society of Britain was transformed, and with remarkably little conflict?

During the period 1780-1914 Britain witnessed an industrial revolution that put it head and shoulders above other developing countries in Europe as well as the Americas. However, was this transformation the one Karl Marx had predicted, one of a series of steps towards the establishment of the Communist state? If this were true, then the period of 1780-1914 will show transformation with a series of revolutions and wide conflict between the social classes as the growth of the proletariat. However, the liberal view suggests that regardless of all the new innovations and advancements in industry and social structure, there will be little conflict, mostly of opinions only. So how revolutionary was the industrial revolution? This brings us to the subtext of the question, whether this transformation was more liberal or Marxist. Through analysis of the sources, this essay will argue the issue and come to judgement at the end.

Eric J. Svedenstierna, the author of Source 1 describes Manchester as a town at the forefront of the industrial revolution, mainly due to its cotton manufactures and spinning machines. His positive description of the city shows that not only is he impressed with the advancements evident, but is favourable towards the nature of that advancement and therefore can be inferred that his view of the situation was relatively sophisticated and calm. This therefore supports the belief that the transformation was with remarkably little conflict, a contradiction of the Marxist view. However, it can be argued that the revolution was not like the French political revolution in 1789 which took place suddenly, but was a process that took over 50 years. The source is dated at 1802, which was a period that saw relatively slow growth in comparison with the years 1815-1821, where the Corn Laws were introduced and a trade recession created unemployment, poverty and unrest. Marxist historians such as E.J Hobsbawm and Friedrich Engels will argue that it is at this point where revolutionary ideas grow among the workers. Yet Source 1 suggests that there was no conflict of any kind and therefore agrees with the conclusion. Source 2 also takes a more liberal approach in terms of the advancement in industry, describing the mills’ conditions as ‘exceedingly favourable’, and ‘toil is not very great nor is it incessant.