Imagine a place of vast transformation and new discoveries. One would probably be thinking of an era flying vehicles and moveable sidewalks. No, we’re not talking about a skit from the Jetsons cartoon, but rather the society in Europe during the industrialization era. The year is 1900 and Europe has changed significantly from the age of exploration in the 17th century. To most people during this time period believed that this was future, a revolutionary feat that would change the world forever. European countries are thriving off the industrial factories and enormous amounts of trade. British, French, German, and Belgium states are all producing massive factories to support a growing desire for new industrial goods. Railroads and steam powered boats increase the transportation of goods across vast distances, while large work forces drive the industrial era to its limits. How did Europeans push toward such a serious transformation? The answer can be seen in the mid-18th century when dramatic changes started become more prevalent. European states saw significant changes politically and economically during the 18th and 19th centuries. By incorporating new methods of factories and protective tariffs, states prospered very well during this time period. European states also used the previous ideas from the Enlightenment period to reject traditional methods, for new revolutionary ideas that applied to all aspects of society. Not only did Europe change politically and economically, but it created new ideals that changed the social system in Europe forever. The emerging middle class and labor classes were a direct correlation to the economic system in Europe. Despite being their own different identities, they all played a role in the form...
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...o centuries ago, people were placed into a class system by birth. In the 1880’s people were able to move social up and down the class system, which sparked social reform and protests by socialist supports. Men, women, and children found themselves working in factories for the first time in human history. Families reduced in size and started to value an education. Political speaking, the European states introduced relief forms for the poor and enforced child labor laws. In order to protect their economies states also produce protective tariffs in order to keep foreign competitors at bay. Western Europe changed dramatically from the beginning of the 17th century; therefore, the entire world was altered by such a revolutionary impact of transformation.
Works Cited
Bentley, Ziegler, Traditions and Connections, 669
Stearns, Industrial Revolution in World History, 89
The time period from 1860 to 1914 is defined by the surfacing of the "mass societies." The social order practically ignored the industrial proletariat and the foundation for a reform was laid. The industrial proletariat refers to all the workers who desperately depended on their wages. These people had absolutely no role in politics or in society in general. Even as late as 1860, the workers had to depend on themselves only to improve their social conditions. During the Industrial Revolution, as the number of machines mu...
Starting in the mid 1700s and continuing to the late 1850s, arguably still ongoing today, industrialization is centered on the development of machinery and urbanization. This new era found its roots in Great Britain, and later in the entirety of Western Europe once the French Revolution and the Congress of Vienna were resolved. Development was essential in Great Britain simply because it was not connected to continental Europe and Britain had the resources, like coal, to fuel the industrial revolution. Once the idea of industrialization was sparked, it burned like wildfire and spread to the rest of Europe. Results of industrialization were exceptional and robust; calling for others to join. Industrialization was a time for growth, both economically and politically, wide
In the late 1700s the cottage industry was the main source of income for almost all Europeans. In the late eighteenth century the demand for production was increasing rapidly, but before the Europeans found new innovated ways to manufacture goods, they were having a hard time keeping up with the productivity. The transition from tools to machines was an astonishing advancement for the European countries. Europeans were the first to find more efficient ways to use their resources. With the breakthroughs in technology and the new inventions the European countries were even more powerful than they we...
Although the Industrial Revolution contributed to life in Great Britain in both positive and negative ways, the origin of the industrialized society bestowed the foundation for the modern world. Contributing to life in Britain by making products and goods more affordable to common citizens and boosting the national economy, the growth of industrialization had an overall upbeat effect on the historical past. Equally, the renovated social class divisions altered the existing layout of ancient civilizations. Seeing that industrialization was benefiting Great Britain, many other countries soon began to replicate the prosperous routine. Industrial developments in the United States and continental Europe were inspired by the booming success of industrialization in relationship to Great Britain’s economy, political state, and social class divisions.
When Europe began to industrialize, it brought about a lot of change within the different nations.
In 1877, a young man wrote an impassioned treatise to his colleagues at Oxford.“I contend that we are the finest race in the world and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race,” wrote Cecil Rhodes, only 24 years old at the time. “Just fancy those parts that are at present inhabited by the most despicable specimens of human beings” he mused, “what an alteration there would be if they were brought under Anglo-Saxon influence.” Like many other Britons of his day, Rhodes was a staunch imperialist. The document cited, his famous “Confession of Faith,” was an unbridled expression of his belief in British racial superiority.
The European expansion during the 15th and 16th centuries lead to major economic expansion throughout Europe and the newly established European colonies throughout the world. This economic growth, also called the commercial revolution, helped to fuel the industrial revolution of the eighteenth century by “Providing large and expanding markets for European industries” (p. 409) The commercial revolution created the need for new technology to meet the demands of the new and ever changing markets created by the European expansion. The commercial revolution also “Contributed the large amounts of capital necessary to finance the construction of factories and machines for the industrial revolution.” (p. 409)
The Industrial Revolution was a time in western cultures when the production of goods became urbanized. Spreading from Great Britain, industrialization had become widespread in Western Europe by the mid-1800’s. France, in particular, progressed in the industrialization process from about 1830 to 1850. Industrialization created an enormous increase in th...
The economy of many nations was grounded on the putting-out system and the cottage-industry, prior the arrival of the Industrial Revolution. Nevertheless following the 17th century, the innovation of the steam engine revolutionized the energy possibility of man. Europe’s cities experienced an upsurge of growth due to this machine. In addition, laissez-fare capitalism was introduced and started to be implemented by numerous governments. As a response of this technical progression and economic revolution, particular altercations occurred fundamentally, and played a negative effect on the criteria of life for the urban and rural working classes. The negative effects caused by these fundamental changes on both working classes played out economically, socially, as well as on the workplace conditions.
In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s big business began to boom. For the first time companies were developing large factories to manufacture their goods. Due to the new mechanics and cheap labor, factory owners could now produce their goods at a cheaper rate. As big businesses brought wealth and capitalism, it also widened the gap between the wealthy elite and the poor. One class in particular was horribly affected by the growth of big factories. This class was the poor working class. According to the article “Child Labor in the United States” written by Robert Whaples, a big proportion of the labour work force was made up of children: “In 1820 children aged 15 and under made up 23 percent of the manufacturing labor force of the industrializing
No development in modern history has altered European society more than the Industrial Revolution. The onset of this revolution not only dramatically increased the efficiency of production, but it altered European’s wealth and urban populations while creating numerous jobs. A new, complex social system resulted that created composed of two different phases. At the onset of the revolution, a wealthy middle class overpowered a large urban working class that comprised of men, women, and children. However, as the revolution furthered, the once united working class was further divided between skilled and unskilled workers. Also, the spheres of men and women no longer intertwined and females were to remain at home and tend to family matters. The Industrial Revolution ultimately changed the social hierarchy of European workers remarkably.
happening in the world, with more and more people just accepting the new social classes and not protesting their unfairness. This source not only helps us understand the living conditions of the time but also the change in society that occurred during the Industrial
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Industrial Revolution in Europe had a significant influence on society. There were many changes in social classes and equality. The rise of the middle class had a momentous effect on the population of Europe and was a catalyst for many changes in the social makeup of the region. The influence of technology and electricity changed many aspects of social interaction and created a new class system. The migration of workers and the separation of the classes had political and social repercussions throughout Europe. Labor unions and political parties provided protection and a voice to many of the working class, and urbanization provided the stage for reformers to push for modernized cities. Women in this era also had distinct differences in their treatment and standing regardless of their social class. Two of the key social concerns of this new industrial era in Europe mainly revolved around the emerging social classes and the equality of women.
The Industrial Revolution was a period from 1750 to 1850 where agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and technology went through a period of significant change. These changes had a profound impact on the social and cultural conditions of the time, beginning in the Untied Kingdom and spreading throughout Western Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. The Industrial Revolution, considered a major turning point in history, effected almost every aspect of daily life; through new discoveries in technology came new jobs; through new jobs came new working conditions; through new working conditions came new laws and new politics, the repercussions of which extend to today. As Crump emphasizes: ‘The world as we have come to know it in the twenty-first century is impossible to understand without looking at the foundations laid – mainly in the English-speaking world of the eighteenth century – in the course of what is now known, but not then, as the ‘Industrial Revolution’ .
The story of Europe is a story that is worth telling for the simple fact that without the background of Europe, people will not understand the complexities in the creation of the Europe of yesterday and creation of the Europe today. This rich history cannot be ignored because of the close ties to the creation of the nations and the supranational institutions that have become the European Union and its trade partners. Without the background on the history of Europe the creation of this larger organization or supranational organization would be nearly impossible to understand the complexities of the current political, social and economic qualities within the EU. The history of a country, state or organization also helps us to understand the some aspects of the future of the EU.