Causes and Consequences of Development of London City, England in 1850s - Research Paper Example

Lecturer: Causes and Consequences of Development of London England in 1850s Introduction London is among largest cities in the United Kingdom. It is the central city of England, and one of the cities with strong financial security. The roots of 1western civilization can be traced back to the age of revolution during the introduction of the industrial revolution that contributed to varied development. Europe has been a farming society, and many of the cities in this country are ruled by families of kingdoms. Many of the cities are under British colonization, and many have not yet become independent states (Spielvogel 2011, p. 132). Industrial and French Revolutions steered the expansion of the city. The paper traces the development of London City, England in 1850s and the way it altered the social, economic and political system of the London City, England. Causes that Led to Development of the London City Developed in London City, England can be traced from the period of 1750 to 1850s during the industrial and French Revolution when different changes in agriculture, transportation, social and economic changes took place. Industrial Revolution is among the major causes behind the development of London City. Gordon, Tony and Christine (2007, 56) reveal that Industrial Revolution was the main cause behind varied changes in the agricultural sector, manufacturing industries, transportation network system in England. Industrial Revolution led to increased trading activities within the city and outside the neighborhood. Industrialization and expansion for trading activities necessitated increased commercial trading activities. The London City developed as a business centre beginning from the Roman era. London City emerged as a metropolitan for foreigners, but it continued to develop as a government town whose resident authority impressed native British custom. The construction of transport and network communications such as the railway line became the economic stimulus that steered development. The development of the railway line connecting from the courtside to the city contributed to effective development activities in the city. The increased railways stations enabled passengers travel effectively. It also enabled people from the countryside to transport their commodities in the market effectively. The city started developing because of easy and cheap transportation of manufactured products and raw materials through rail shipments. This made transportation of commodities especially to large areas to become cheaper because each city has a connecting trunk line. The railway line contributed to increased immigrants into the City of London; contributing to increased population in the city. London City is the powerful financial city, and the ports construction necessitated development. Many investment companies established their headquarters in the city because of the industrialization process. The financial investment activities became the main sources for employment in London. The city exports produced commodities and imports other raw materials such as timber, petroleum and other products (Havinden and Meredith 2002, p. 34). Industries started producing varied commodities such as jewelry and clothes and consumer commodities. This made the city develop faster because it was easy for the people in the City of London to carry out their business activities effectively.2 Many changes took place especially the development of industries; thus, the city started moving from being agricultural to an industrial economy. England is one of the countries, which are well known for being among the agricultural economy in Europe. However, due to the development process, many changes took place because of the industrialization process. These changes had a profound effect in social, economic and political of the London city. The industrial revolution that began during the Great Britain in United Kingdom and spread to the Western Europe and other parts across the globe led to many changes. Havinden and Meredith (2002 p. 36) assert “Industrial Revolution is a radical turn point for development” changes in England city. It led to changes in agriculture system and many cities started becoming industrialized states; however, the development was associated with varied consequences. Consequences of Development in the City of London, England Development activities are always associated with the negative social, economic and political consequences. The development of the London City in England started to expand but with various associated consequences. Increased level of migration to London City that contributed to other consequences linked with immigration issues. The London City is often being depicted as an international metropolitan, and it evolved as a global city because of increased developments. It was named the 3“global city” because of the concentration of numerous “command and control function” for an increasingly integrated economy (Gordon and Tony 2007, p. 9). This migration process led to increased population in the city. This population expanded, and some of the migrants were not part of the British Empire; thus contributed to political issues. Moreover, political conflicts arose because of various ethnicity groups in the London City. The issue of political power is one of the consequences that are often linked with development issues. Many people travelled to London City during the industrial revolution for various reasons. Some wanted to seek for employment, refuge and other personal development issues. The city experienced large waves of immigration into the city; hence affecting the London metropolitan. The issues of political power arose because of the three monarchs that came from Europe. Many immigrants intermarried and created strong bonds with the king and noble families. The political influence had implications on the London economy. The Napoleonic wars stimulated the increased development of the London City (Wills, Jon, Kavita, Yara, Joanna and Cathy 2009, p.257). Migrations into the city of London led to various political issues. The evolutionary events did not accomplish to stabilize the government. This is because the revolutionary government eroded the power on the wave of liberal enthusiasm. Not even the conservatives could utilize nationalism for their own benefits. The French Revolution and Industrial Revolution had significant social issues, but legitimate leaders made efforts to suppress nationalism. Decolonization is one of the political issues that created consequences in respect to migration. Decolonization contributed to immigration issues because many officials in the city state returned to their mother countries. After the Second World War, the dominant colonial kingdom, which was established by the western powers, began to fall. This is because of various reasons one of them including the devastation of the European economies. This was contributed by the World War II; thus forced the government to use a lot of finance in making deals in order to improve the colonial administrations of London, England. However, this was difficult to manage because the city was impacted severely by the WWII. LaFreniere (2007, 28) argues that decolonization impact the economy because it is associated with negative consequences such as political problems. Industrialization process led to intense social implications within the city. One of the social impacts is that industrialization led to the growth of the innovative divisions of hostile business entrepreneurs.4 This led to capitalism where the rich wanted to get richer than their counterparts. A large working class category emerged due to growing industries, and this contributed to the labor movement. The mounting issues were about the social challenges between the liberals and conservatives. Capitalism contributed to wealth distribution issues and contributed to income inequities. The social problem became the key issue that impacted successful business activities. The increased development of London City started experiencing various issues including poor sanitation and increased crime rates. The poverty levels led to increased crimes of all sorts in the city. Heavy depend on coal as a source of energy contributed to environmental pollution with its associated consequences (LaFreniere 2007, p. 101). This led to other increased associated consequences such as pollution of the environment within the city; thus contributing to the increased cost of living. Some reformers of the city linked poor sanitation with high incident rates of diseases such as increased diseases outbreak such as typhoid and cholera took place in 1850s. However, the city began improving their drinking water, and this led to introduction of the Water Act of 1852. Moreover, the increased environmental pollution started impacting people in the city. This took place because of increased industries and other development activities; hence contributing to air pollution and water pollution. The growth of London City had serious impacts on the environment including pollution; thus contributing to global climatic change. Rivers that cut across the metropolitan areas carried out human waste products down to the rivers; thus causing disastrous consequences. Therefore, this poor sanitation necessitated the call for public health services movement that involved the sewage installation lines in order to wash out pollution. Urban planning activities started in order to reduce congestion in the urban environment. However, urban improvement continued to the 19th century because of technological advancement; thus offering new opportunities to the residents. Lastly, immigration led to the economic catastrophe in the London city. Migrations pose economic threat including increased employment level and the strain of the government to meet the social demands of the increasing population. Tilly (2011, 675) argues that the economic crisis, which is associated with international migration, contributed to economic consequences. The economic issues led swift and substantial renovation in the city. The ancient models of development contributed to some economic crisis. However, the government introduced policies to control the economic issues affecting citizens in the city of London. Conclusion Development of London City led to different changes in the social, economic and political system of England in varied ways. Industrial Revolution is the main cause behind the development of London City. The construction of transport and network communications such as the railway line became the economic stimulus that steered development. London is among the powerful financial city, and the construction of the ports necessitated development. Many changes took place; thus, the city started emerging from being agricultural economy to an industrial economy. However, the development of the London City started to expand but with various associated consequences. This includes poor sanitation, air and water pollution; thus contributed to climatic changes. Social, economic and political crisis also arose because of rampart migration into the city. Works Cited Gordon, Ian, Tony Travers, and Christine Whitehead. The Impact of Recent Immigration on the London Economy. London: City of London, 2007. Print. Web. November 26, 2012. Havinden, Michael A, and David Meredith. Colonialism and Development: Britain and Its Tropical Colonies, 1850-1960. London: Routledge, 2002. Print. LaFreniere, Gilbert F. The Decline of Nature: Environmental History and the Western Worldview. Bethesda, MD: Academica Press, 2007. Print. Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization: Since 1300. Wadsworth Pub Co, 2011. Print. Tilly, Chris. "The Impact of the Economic Crisis on International Migration: a Review." Work, Employment and Society. 25.4 (2011): 675-692. Print Wills, Jane, Jon May, Kavita Datta, Yara Evans, Joanna Herbert, and Cathy McIlwaine. Keeping London Working: Global Cities, the British State and London's New Migrant Division of Labour." Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 32.2 (2007): 151-167. Print.Web. Read More