Early Modern Period and Industrial Revolution - Essay Example

EARLY MODERN PERIOD AND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION The early modern period, which is conventionally understood to be the period between c. 1450 to c. 1750, has been a vital concern of historical studies in many universities the world over. This according to the History of Tripos in the 19th century. The perception of early modern’ was by a Cambridge historian William Johnson, a colleague of King’s College, in 1869. His descendant, the economic historian J.H. Clapham, was influential in bringing the category into proficient historical discourse. The Industrial Revolution, which took place during that century, was a period of predominant agrarian. In Europe and America the rural societies became industrial and urban. Aforementioned to the Industrial Revolution, which started in Britain in the late 1700s, people manufactured in their homes, through the use of basic machines or hand tools. The Industrialization marked a change into powered, special purpose machinery, accumulative production and factories. The development of the steam engine and other metals played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, which also saw improved systems of communication, transport as well as banking. Industrialization brought about an enhancement in the volume and multiplicity of manufactured goods as well as better living standards for some. However, it resulted in employment and constant living conditions in residences of the poor in society. This paper, therefore, is going to handle the essay topics one being the early modern period of world history from the time which was the beginning of the “Rise of the West”, a period when according to traditional narratives, Europeans began a process of economic and political development that would ultimately give them a dominant position in the world by the 19th century. The other being the Industrial Revolution, which began in England in the late 18th century, which is always seen as one of the most important events in the history of the world, and set in motion a chain of events that both changed the nature of human society and set Europe and the West into a position of world dominance that has not yet fully ended. Topic 1. The first topic is about the early modern period and it asks this question. How central was the role played by the Europeans in this early modern period, and what distinguished Europe’s place in the global economy from that of other parts of the world? Firstly we can see the timeline of the early modern Europe that stands at ca. 1500-1650 representing the Reformation period then there was the ca. 1650-1800 showing the Enlightenment period. Below are two tables showing and/or giving a description of the early modern history. 1. Age of growing religious conflict Ca. 1500-1618 2. Thirty years of war Ca. 1618-1648 3. Early enlightenment Ca. 1648-1715 4. Late enlightenment Ca. 1715-1800 5. English revolution Ca. 1640-60 6. French revolution Ca.1789-9 During this period, the world witnessed a ascending of Western Europe to global political, technological as well as economic dominance. This ascent occurred in a gradual manner towards the death of early modern age. The main rivals of the Europeans were in the Middle, South and East Asia. The immense expansion in economy and territory of the early modern age was a force that was both for bad and good. On the disadvantageous side, the scale of war between the Western powers (in terms of troops, resources and geographic extent) came into being in a steady manner. On the advantageous side, the early modern age witnessed the rising of the middle class that was large, for example, the artisans, merchants and officials. This strengthened the spread of the literate and the scholarships. The role played by the Europeans was central during this period and time in that they invented most of the things that started coming into existence during that time. This is when the gunpowder, printing press and the magnetic compass were invented by the Europeans, making them the first to own them hence making them advantageous over the rest of the world when it came to those. During these periods, we see them do a series of activities and events that make them try and conquer the rest of the other parts of the world, as well. Some of the activities were the Portuguese explorations, the Zheng He voyages, discovery of America, the Columbian exchange and the Las Casas and the Indians. They also built their gunpowder empires making them superior to the other parts of the world when it came to them going to war or whenever they wanted to use force to obtain some things from people who were not willing to surrender them at will. In this era, the nomads invaded and took over civilized lands from other people; they also became civilized and decadent themselves. The new nomads once again overrun the civilized lands. Then another way showing how central the role of the Europeans was in the early modern period was how they used the mandate of heaven rule. In this rule, they stated that the ruling dynasty was granted the right to rule by heaven. And the only way that the dynasty could be lost was through tyranny or when there was poor government, only at that point was the mandate granted to a new dynasty. We can see how the Europeans were at the centre of the early modern period again through the feudal Japan, the French in North America, and The Dutch in North America. During these times, there was the Dutch west India Company, how they were conquered by the English in the 1664, the English civil war in between the 1642-1649, and the glorious revolution in the 1688. The role of Europe in the economic system then was a very key role as without them there would not be any economic activity taking place at all; hence this would result into no revolution and industrialization as early as then. The Europeans were making the trade of items that even included slaves from Africa so that the economic process of industrialization and revolution would occur in a steady manner hence putting them in a central role, in all these developments. Topic 2. The second part of the essay that is dealing with the industrial revolution posed the question, should European industrialization be seen as primarily the result of the favorable conjunction of the “coal and colonies”, or were there other factors equally important in bringing out the industrial revolution? The European Industrialization should boast the result of the favorable conjunction more than the other factor. This is simply because of the more than one reasons that are there to support the fact. Firstly we can see the economic and social change that there was during the 18th century, and the table below shows the population growth rate during the time. 1700 1750 1800 Europe 110 million 140 million 190 million France 21.4 million 25 million 29 million England and Wales 5.4 million 6.1 million 9.2 million Germany 15million 17 million 24.5 million There was a debate whether this population growth rate was either good or bad for the industrial revolution. There was the traditional view which stated that the population growth was good in that population growth is necessary for both economic prosperity and physical security. Malthus, on the other hand, had a different opinion towards the population growing at a high rate. His theory was that the population is unsustainable and will only lead to misery through famine and death. Britain is the birthplace of an industrial revolution. Before the coming of the industrial revolution, many people lived in small rural communities where their lives revolved around farming. This way the life of an average person was very difficult as the income was very small; also diseases and undernourishment was very common. Quite a number of factors then contributed to Britain’s role as being a place where industrial revolution was born. For one, it had a great deal in terms of deposits of coal and iron ore, which in turn proved very essential for the revolution of industrialization. To add to that, Britain was a politically stable society, over and above being the world’s leading colonial power, which simply meant its colonies could provide raw materials, in addition to the market place for the manufactured goods. As the demand for the British goods increased, the merchants required more cost-effective methods of producing the products, this lead to a rise in mechanization and the factory system. A particular industry that benefited from the industrialization process was the textile industry which used to produce textiles mostly from people’s homes with the merchants providing them with the raw materials then picking up the finished products. Developments in the iron industry played an important role in the Industrial revolution. This is because as observed, both steel and iron became very essential materials in making almost everything, from machines and tools, appliances to buildings, ships, and infrastructure. The steam engine also proved to be an integral part in the industrialization since it went to on to power machinery, ships and even locomotives during the Industrial Revolution. Another reason to see the European industrialization as primarily the result of the favorable conjunction of coal and colonies was the significant transformation that the transport industry underwent in Britain. Before the steam engine, the raw materials and finished goods were somewhat hauled using horse-drawn wagons and through boats using rivers and canals. Communication and banking in the industrial revolution also became easier in this era with the invention of things such as the telegraph. Revolution, on the other hand, witnessed the rise of banks and industrial financiers. And so did the factory system become dependent on owners and managers. The creation of a stock exchange market was also seen in the 1770s, in London. The quality of life also became better, in that the industrialization brought about a variety of factory produced goods raising the living standards of the people in particular the middle and upper class. It was after all these transformations in Britain did the industrial revolution move beyond Britain, with Belgium, France and Germany, then finally to the United States of America. Only till the middle of the 19th century did the industrialization become well-established in the western part of Europe and America’s north eastern region. Though by the early 20th century, the United States of America had become the world’s leading industrial nation. Therefore, the European industrial revolution should be seen as the result of the favorable conjunction of the coal and colonies. This is the case as they were the beginning of all of industrialization especially Britain playing the biggest in the invention of almost everything. From the agricultural revolution, England, the early industrial revolution, and eventually to the later developments. The how it eventually moved out of England, moving on to urbanization, political responses. In conclusion, the role that the Europeans played in the early modern period has proved to be very central and the explanation why their place in the global economy was very distinguished. This is because they were key to global economic system more than any other party since they were the beginning of almost all the modernization of facilities back then. And to add to that, the European industrialization is to be seen as the primary result of the favorable conjunction of the coal and colonies, though there was another factor, but they were not that important in bringing about the industrial revolution. That concludes the paper as it has handled all the two topics to the last detail with respect to the relevant sources of information provided for reference. Work cited. Woolf, Daniel R. Reading History in Early Modern England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print. Read More