The Industrial Revolution and the Oil Crisis - Assignment Example

Name Course Institution Instructor Date 1. The industrial Revolution a. What was it, why did it occur? The industrial revolution was a socioeconomic transformation that began in the late 18th century in Britain and later on spread to other parts of Europe. This period was majorly marked by introduction of machinery in both agricultural and industrial production to increase the overall output. Industrial revolution began in Britain and spread to other European countries. During this period, countries began mechanizing agriculture and other industrial productions. It occurred as a result of realization by various countries on the importance of specialization and division of labor through industrial technology, and increase trade opportunities by moving beyond the borders. Additionally, increasing innovative activities at that time resulted to industrial revolution. Needless to say, rapid population increase was also another crucial push factor of industrial revolution. Increased population led to increased demand for food and other goods. It was therefore important to modernize production. Other factors that caused industrial revolution were increase in incomes and international trade. b. What was the role of technology? Technology was crucial in industrial revolution because it assisted in increasing production. Search for markets outside geographical boundaries was dependent on effectiveness and efficiency of method of production used. As a matter of fact, when many countries are unable to produce a certain product, trade will increase at a faster rate. Technology involves innovative activities which help in reducing the cost of production; thus it affects the final cost of the good. To increase foreign trade, it is necessary to provide cheaper machine-made goods and survive in the market. Additionally, technology results to emergence of new kinds of manufactured goods. In essence, technology was necessary during the period of industrial revolution because it helped in increasing production for foreign market and at the same time reducing the cost of production. c. Why did it occur first in Britain? Industrial revolution began in Britain mainly because it had enough resources. Industrialization involves heavy use of power. Coal was present in Britain in plenty. As a result, new industries coming up had no problem of power. Coal is a powerful source of energy when compared to other sources. Additionally, coal mines in Britain were located near carriage points i.e. seas. Therefore, transportation was not a problem for this case. As a substitute, wood was also there in plenty and it was mainly used for small productions. Its political stability during that time also contributed towards being an advent of industrial revolution. Other factors that helped in making Britain initiate industrial revolution were the policies present at that time which allowed for innovative activities and the intellectual status. d. What was the role of the British Empire in the industrial revolution? British Empire provided capital necessary for revolution. Capital was obtained from slave trade proceeds and exploitation of slaves from its colonies. Additionally, British Empire colonized other nations and acquired cheap raw materials and at the same time these colonies provided markets for their processed goods. British Empire was vast and it extended across a number of countries in the world. As a result, through the formation of empires, Britain was able to conduct international trade. British Empire therefore contributed immensely towards industrial revolution by facilitating the push factors such as labor and international trade. e. How did the industrial revolution change the economic order in Britain and other industrializing countries? Industrial revolution had enormous impacts on the economic order of both Britain and other industrialized nations. To begin with, technological innovations led to increased production. As a result, it helped in enhancing international trade between nations due to production of surplus goods and the improvement on communication technology. New cheaper transport means emerged due to technological innovations. Roads network in Britain improved to a great extent making it possible for the transportation of goods produced. At the same time, the goods produced were much cheaper than before due to the use of technology in production. The increase in economic freedom resulted to the growth of international economy. Capital exporting nations such as Britain began reaping the benefits of foreign direct investments and most of their proceeds were used to finance its colonies in form of loans. On the other hand, nations which benefited from these loans saw an immense growth in their economies. Generally, economic development was evident in all nations of the world. f. How did it change the social order? Industrial revolution created more job opportunities in industrializing nations thus increasing the income among citizens. As a result, the lifestyles of working population changed. Good lifestyles resulted to decreased mortality rates thus increasing population in the rural agricultural areas. Many people were pushed to urban areas by job opportunities available in urban areas. Additionally, trade activities provided job opportunities to many people. Immense urbanization was accompanied by problems related to it such as rise in crime rate. It also resulted to a society divided into different classes. 2. International migration before WWI. a. Why was there such a movement of people from the old world to the new before WWI? This period saw massive intercontinental migration of people in search for a better living in the developed economies (Oceania and America). The rapid economic performance of these areas attracted many Europeans in large numbers ever experienced in European nations. The unprecedented growth in the economies of these regions was as a result of increased trading and technological developments. Technological advancements in the transport sector bolstered migration to a great extent. In fact, transportation costs had declined from the past. Unlike in the past, movement was no longer a problem. b. What were the main factors affecting the movement of Asian people during this period? There were main factors which affected movement of people during this period of migration. They included removal of barriers on movement of individuals to other countries and also within their own countries. There were also some controls on financial transactions restrictions which were being removed gradually during this period. Freedom of trade which was granted during migration period affected many other areas apart from financial transactions and cross-border movements. c. What were the main push factors, pull factors and opportunity factors? Migration during the period of 1820 to 1914 can be attributed to several factors and they vary based on regions. They were push, pull or opportunity factors. For example, immense emigration from European region between 1815 and 1870 was as a result of revolutions which were changing both the economic and social life of people in western part of Europe. People were being pushed by population explosion. Land had been subdivided into small portions which were unable to support the increasing population. Emigration in Ireland between 1845 and 1847 was due to hunger and diseases which had caused a loss of about a fifth of the entire population. On the other hand, an example of a pull factor was employment opportunities in the urban regions. People moved to urban areas where industries were located in search for employment opportunities. Immigrants were being motivated by the large wage difference between native countries and destination countries. Therefore, they migrated to other countries for these opportunities. This can be regarded as an opportunity factor. 3. The oil crisis. a. Why did oil crisis occur? Oil crises occurred because the United States and other western countries funded Israel in their Yom Kippur war which saw the defeat of Arab nations such as Egypt, Jordan and Syria. As a way of getting back on Israel, the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to cut their supply of oil to the United States and other western nations. The Arab Nations were aiming at putting pressure on the United States and other western countries to demand that Israel withdrew their forces from territories of Arab nations they had taken in 1967. This embargo was used as both a political and economic weapon. b. Why did it have such a large impact on the world economy? The impact of Oil crisis was felt globally basically because the United States was the major consumer of Arab nation’s oil. At the same time, the United States was a major exported of manufactured goods. The costs of production went up because industries used alternatives sources of energy which were more expensive. In addition to this, the volume of production reduced by a great extent thus small volumes of surplus goods were produced. c. What were the consequences for the developed world and the developing world? Both the developed and developing world faced the consequences of the same magnitude. Developed nations such as the United States relied heavily on oil supplied by Arab nations in their industrial sector. The embargo saw the reduction in production and economic slump. Developing nations were affected mainly because they relied on goods exported by developed nations. The cost of production had affected the cost of goods thus resulting to inflation. The consequences of oil crisis were felt by both developing and developed nations in the same magnitude. Read More