Industrialization Starts - History Lesson (PDF)

# Lesson 1: Industrialization Starts The Industrial Revolution began during the 1760s in Great Britain and took a few years before it spread into other neighboring countries. There were many reasons why Great Britain was the first place for this revolution to start flourishing. * **Reason 1:** B...

# Lesson 1: Industrialization Starts The Industrial Revolution began during the 1760s in Great Britain and took a few years before it spread into other neighboring countries. There were many reasons why Great Britain was the first place for this revolution to start flourishing. * **Reason 1:** Britain was a rich country with enough capital and economic resources to invest in new machines and factories. Many people such as the entrepreneurs were on the hunt for new business opportunities to make more profit. * **Reason 2:** The country had many means of transportation that best served the manufactured goods and met the needs of the supply of the market. Britain at the time had a vast colonial empire and its ships could transport goods to all parts of the world. With the increasing amount of people and the decrease of prices in the homeland, domestic markets increased. A greater demand on cotton cloth worldwide provided the British manufactures with the opportunity to look for ways to increase production. * **Reason 3:** Several conditions, including good weather, expansion of farmland, convenient transportation, and the formation of new crops such as potato increased food supply. The rise of food supply led to the increase in population. After the Parliament passed the enclosure movement laws, landowners fenced off common lands. As a result, peasants were forced to move to towns and form a strong labor force in factories there. # Lesson 2: Nationalism, Instability, and Reformation The 19th century witnessed many changes and evolvements worldwide. Europe's governments tried to maintain their own ruling methods and apply no changes to their current systems. However, Europe could not quite succeed with such an approach, especially since two main forces, liberalism and nationalism, started breaking the chain and indicating that change was soon to replace the old-fashioned order within the continent. * **France:** King Charles X tried to take away the voting rights of the middle class and suppress the press. Liberals reacted to such a move and overthrew him from his position forming a constitutional monarchy under the leadership of Louis Philippe. * **Europe:** Three revolutions that were driven by nationalism also occurred in Europe, namely in Belgium, Italy, and Poland, within the same year of 1830. ## The 1848 Revolutions Even though nationalism and liberalism imposed great power over Europe, Europe's conservatism remained dominant. Yet, the situation took another course with the revolutions of 1848. * **France:** When revolution broke out in France, it sparked revolution in other countries as well. Several factors affected the overall situation in France. The economic conditions started deteriorating especially for the middle class and peasants. The middle class members revolted for their right to vote; however, the government of Louis Phillip refused to grant them such a right, which eventually led to a greater crisis. With the growing opposition, a group of radical republicans overthrew the monarchy in 1848 and set a temporary government instead. The republicans aimed to make France a republic, with a government that consisted of elected leaders. # Lesson 3: Latin America Evolves Several reasons led to a bloody civil war in the United States between 1861 and 1865. Yet, the war was mainly triggered by abolitionism, a movement to end slavery. With all the different phases of that war, America remained to be united as one nation, and a strong sense of nationalism could maintain its strength worldwide. The success of the American Revolution showed that foreign rule could outrun. The French Revolution proved that an unjust monarch could be overthrown. These two revolutions inspired Latin America to rebel against the Spanish, Portuguese, and French colonialists and gain independence between 1807 and 1825. ## Mexico * **The origins of Mexican Independence:** The old centers of Spanish power were in Mexico and Peru. By 1810, revolution started in Mexico, and it soon gained its independence from Spain. The first leader of the revolution was Miguel Hidalgo, a priest, who raised his voice in demand of freedom. He gathered all his people and set a speech that became known as the "el Grito de Dolores"- the cry of Dolores. In his speech, he called upon Mexicans to fight for their independence. Local Native Americans and mestizos, people of mixed European and Native American descent, started their rebellion under Hidalgo's leadership. * **The impact of the Spanish:** At first, some creoles supported the revolt. However, they soon withdrew their support, rejected the ending of slavery, and they feared that his policies would cost them their power. After a year of limited successes, Hidalgo was executed and his followers were scattered. September 16, 1810, the day that marked the beginning of the rebellion was declared as Mexico's Independence Day. * **The Spanish response:** The Spanish gained back their power with the backup of the conservative creoles who soon demanded liberal reforms in the colonies and an independent nation ruled by a monarch. The leader of the revolts was Agustin de Iturbide, a military leader, who first fought Mexican revolutionaries, and later joined the creoles, mestizos, and the Native Americans to overthrow the Spanish viceroy. In 1822, Mexico declared its independence from Spain and became a republic. ## Revolution Ignites South America South America was not in any way different from Latin America. The waves of revolution reached the countries there and forces were led by two creoles, Jose de San Martin of Argentina and Simon Bolivar of Venezuela. Both leaders began the journey of victory and attained independence in both countries. Bolivar after that revolted in New Granada and Ecuador. By 1819, these countries had formed Gran Colombia. Other victories followed. Bolivar, known as "The Liberator," had succeeded in freeing Caracas, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The second creole, San Martin surprised the Spanish in Chile and gained independence. After that, San to have it as San Martin continued his victories in Lima, Peru, the center of Spanish authority. San Martin turned his command over to Bolivar in 1822 which allowed him to win the final victories against in 1824. # Lesson 4: Romanticism and Realism * **The origins of Romanticism:** An intellectual movement known as Romanticism arose with the changes enforced by the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment. During the 1700s, the Enlightenment brought ideas whereby people believed that reason is at the core of discovering the truth. Romanticists opposed that trend of thought and believed that it is not by reason but by the power of human emotions, feelings, and imagination that people survive. They highly favored individuality and the importance of every human being as an individual. Men who followed Romanticism grew long hair and beards. In fact, both genders wore abstract outfits to express their individuality. * **Art and Music:** Romantic artists stressed on reviving the past in their artwork. Architects designed castles, parliamentary buildings, and even railway stations to reflect the Middle Ages. Their style was known as the neo-Gothic. Romantic artists expressed their arts in various unique ways. Their work reflected their inner feelings rather than classical reasoning. Each piece of work and every stroke of color had to convey the artist's individual vision of the world around. Several artists were famous for adopting Romanticism as an approach for their work. Francisco Goya, one of the most famous Spanish romantic artists, was known for his splendid creative mind. He believed that the success of the artist is based on the feelings involved in the art. Imagination and emotion were also considered key factors in such a success. Amongst his most famous paintings is "The Third of May," an art piece that portrayed the resistance of the Spanish to Napoleon's armies. In the first half of the 19th century, music dominated almost everything. There were many great composers. One of those most famous was Ludwig Van Beethoven. His productions were within the classical category. Yet, Romanticism was clearly reflected in his Third Symphony which included powerful melodies and deep meanings. In addition, like any other romantic, inner feelings were at the core of his music compositions. * **Literature for the Romantics:** Literature was not so different from music and art during the Romantic period. Romantics were very cautious of their deep feelings and the nurturing of their emotions. Their writings were meaningful, and they reflected the past. Authors, during that time chose topics related to the Medieval Ages since that age stressed a lot on nationalism. Later, authors shifted towards Gothic literature and chose more exotic topics. One of the most famous authors, still known for his greatness up to date, was Edgar Allan Poe who wrote many short horror stories. Romantics found in poetry a transparent pathway to a person's soul. Through their poetry, they could contemplate with one of the most important features of Romanticism, which is the love of nature. They believed that nature is the reflection of the ability or people to nurture and grow. # Lesson 5: The Industrial Revolution * **Global Industrialization:** By the 19th century, Great Britain became the world's wealthiest nation, and its cotton industry in specific was more popular worldwide than those of all other European countries combined. It therefore ranked first in terms of the Industrial Revolution and was the first country to spread that revolution to many other countries. In fact, Britain owned and supplied half of the world's coal and manufactured goods. The early spread of industrialization in Europe started in Belgium, France, and Germany where the governments supported and encouraged the shift. They, therefore, worked on strengthening their infrastructure by building roads, canals, and rails. * **The Industrial Revolution in the US:** In the first half of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution spread in the United Nations of America. In the 1800s, the total population in the US was estimated to about 5 million people, and most of these worked as farmers. As time passed, the population increased to 30 million 50% of whom were farmers. With the increase in population came the need to industrialize and transport goods. Transportation of these goods depended, to a great extent, on roads, canals, and steamboats. Yet, the most important means of transportation remained to be the railroads. By the year 1860, 48,270 km of railroad track covered the United States. One of the greatest benefits of the railroads was that it turned the country into a single, expanded market for the goods manufactured in the Northeast. * **The Social Impact of Industrialization:** The revolution that started in Britain and shifted to many countries worldwide changed society massively. By the beginning of the 19th century, two new social classes emerged as a result of the growing cities. These included the industrial middle and working classes. Those who worked in businesses formed the industrial middle while the working class was mainly responsible for the manual industrial work. * **Population Increase:** Europe was populated with 140 million people in the year 1750. The number doubled by 1860 to 226 million people since people could better survive their daily life conditions. Food supply was sufficient enough to match the needs of people; death rate decreased, and epidemic diseases were under control. In the 1800s, Great Britain's population amounted to one million in its main city, London. The other remaining cities had about 500 to a 100 thousand people. 50 years later, the population increased to about 2.5 millions. The population increased in many other cities as well and reached the brink of 100,000 and more. These people lived in towns and cities. With the fast pace of growing cities, the living conditions required several interventions to meet the needs of the increasing populations. Urban reformers requested local governments to take the necessary steps that would best secure appropriate standards for people to survive. As such, the second half of the 19th century focused more on the necessary reforms. * **The Uprising of Social Classes:** Since trade became essential during the Middle Ages, a new economic system, industrial capitalism flourished and depended on industrial production. This new system led to the production of a new industrial middle class. Bourgeois was another name for the middle class people. They included the town dwellers, merchants, artists, officials, and lawyers. Later in the Industrial Revolution, this class included people who built factories and brought in machines. With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, another class, the working class emerged as well. Workers who belonged to this class worked from 12 to 16 hours a day. They worked for six days a week with no clear lines that protected their employment or provided them with the right wages for the effort exerted and the work completed. * **The Beginning of Socialism:** Because of the wretched conditions caused by the early Industrial Revolution, a new movement known as the socialism movement emerged. Based on this system, the government owned and controlled some means of production such as factories. The idea of this movement was mainly imposed by the intellectuals. The early reform socialists were known as the "reform of utopian socialists." One of the most important utopian socialists was Robert Owen. # Lesson 6: Production and Industry Advances * **Production of Cotton Advances:** During the 18th century, Great Britain was far ahead than any other country in the production of inexpensive cotton goods. Manufacturing cotton cloth required a two-step process, and such processes were held in rural houses during the 18th century. The first stage of production depended on spinners that transformed raw materials into soft cotton. During the second stage, weavers would take the cotton thread and weave it into cloths on looms. This method of cotton production was known as the cottage industry. As time evolved, making cotton became easier. Technology was a change factor that made production of cotton time efficient. Several people contributed to the developments of these technologies. In 1764, James Hargreaves, invented a machine known as the "Spinning Jenny". This machine helped with the spinning methods of making cotton cloth. Later in 1787, Edmund Cartwright invented a water-powered loom, a solution for boosting the weaver to catch up with the spinning of threads. The cotton industry evolved even more when an inventor called James Watt could, in the year 1782, improve the steam engines. One of the improvements was that he made the engine drive machinery, a task it could not do before. Steam engines could also weave and spin cotton, making the process time-efficient. Steam engines were powered by coal meaning they didn't need to be located near streams or rivers to function. Cotton cloth production became amongst the most valuable in Britain, and about 366 million pounds of raw cotton were imported each year by 1840. Factories played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution. Factory owners would always want the machines to keep working and that made the labor force work in shifts to keep the production process steady. * **Coal and Iron Industry Advances:** In the Industrial Revolution, steam engines played a huge role, and they led to the growth of the coal industry. When steam engines became really beneficial and successful, the need for coal increased which in its turn led to the transformation of a new industry, the iron industry. Britain's natural resources included iron-ore. During the 1780s, a man named Henry Cort invented a process that derived coke from coal and used it to burn away impurities in crude iron and instead, produce an iron of great quality. This process was known as puddling. Statistics proved how great of an impact this process had. In 1740, Britain used to produce 17,000 tons of iron; however, after the implementation of this new, advanced method, iron production increased to about 70,000 tons. Cort's invention paved the way to building new means of transportation, such as the train. In the 18th century, the construction of railroads became one of the Industrial Revolution's greatest successes. An English man, Richard Trevithick, built the very first steam locomotive which ran as a transport vehicle on the industrial rail lines in Britain. It carried 70 people and moved 5 miles every hour. During the following years, locomotive production advanced further and could move at a speed of 50 miles per hour. One of the most famous locomotives that became public in the year 1830 was "The Rocket." Railroads gave out endless benefits. They were a major source of jobs for peasants and farm laborers. Railroads limited the expenses on transportation which in itself led to the decrease of prices of goods and helped in expanding markets. With the increase in sales, business owners reinvested the money they gained in buying new equipment that added to the growth of the economic conditions. As the economic growth expanded rapidly, a more stable industrial economy developed. # Italian Unification * The Italian peninsula was controlled by Austria. After the failure of the revolution, Italy headed forward for its unification. Economic growth, building a large army, and an alliance with the French, were factors that led to the defeat of the Austrians in the war of 1859. In southern Italy, an Italian patriot and soldier, Giuseppe Garibaldi, built a strong army and conquered most Italian territories. After the French withdrew their forces from Rome, the Italian army could gain back control of Venetia in the north. Italy could annex Rome in 1870. Rome was declared as its capital city. # German Unification * Germans looked to Prussia for leadership in terms of the German unification. Prussia was an authoritarian state known for its militarism, the reliance on military strength. Under the leadership of Count Otto von Bismarck, Prussia won a series of European wars that united the German states. William I of Prussia was proclaimed Kaiser or emperor of the Second German Empire in January 1871. The Prussian monarchy and army had achieved German unity. Germany became the strongest European country among all. # Think and Respond 1. What factors paved the way for revolts to occur in Europe? 2. Explain what went on in France's outbreak of 1848. 3. What led to the failure of Germany's 1848 revolts? 4. Why could Britain avoid any revolts on its territories? 5. Could Italy and Germany overcome the revolts of 1848? What happened there?