Industrial Revolution in Europe - Essay Example

Industrial revolution in Europe Nineteenth century is probably the remarkable century to have ever happened that turned the world upside down. The lives of everyone will not be the same as it is now if not for the industrial revolution which started in the nineteenth century. The history of Europe in 19th century was phenomenal and the role of British was so imminent in the historical events that happened after that. Their quest to conquer the world led to the radical changes in all industries from road to railways and air travel. It helped them greatly in their road to glory and in turn increased the potent of threat from other countries. They tried to follow the same path of the British and hence raising the border tensions that are still prevailing even today. (Richard and Gianni 1991, 2) The industrial revolution in the nineteenth century brought technological developments in all fields. Apart from that, it also played a great part in breaking the shackles of several barriers which were destroying the lives of several people for more than two centuries. Poverty, caste bias, financial depression, unemployment, ignorance all were crumbled down with the growth of new technologies and innovations from several people. (Richard and Gianni 1991, 2) It all started in Britain and continued to spread to other European countries with the economy prospering like never before and with unbelievable progress in science and technology. It started during the end of 18th century and reached impeccable heights during the 19th century. The changes cascaded to other fields too starting from manufacturing, transport and even to agriculture. Britain first brought out a change in the animal like work load placed on the humans by machinating every production and thereby increasing the employment rather than workload. This was followed with building of roadways, railways and canals. The birth of power fuelled by coal and other power generating materials doubled the rate at which the economy was growing and continued to spread across Europe and other parts of the world. (Richard and Gianni 1991, 2) Impact on 19th century history: As one could expect, the industrial revolution had enormous impact on the events happened in the society and as a result became an integral part of what the history of 19th century has turned out to be. Autocracy was brought down slowly and democracy came into existence. Market economy was brought into everyone's attention and surged to be biggest head turner. The revolution started slowly but steadily and gathered momentum as it progressed, finally turning to be an irreversible one. It entirely changed how people lived, their way of work and most of all, brought in a sense of security into everyone's life. (Richard and Gianni 1991, 2) Just like any action having both positive and negative to it, the nationalism and race of people grew together along with the industries. In fact, these two paradigms had such an impact that they too grew to become the basis for all the wars, humanitarian depressions and the sheet of barrier that stood up for so many years between the different countries of Europe. Since the revolution happened in stages and at different times in different countries of Europe, it further fuelled the cold war between the nations that were already separated by caste, creed, culture and language. (Richard and Gianni 1991, 2) A sense of whom being the superior rose in the minds of several countries leaders leading to damage the uniform development which was happening throughout the world, especially in Europe. This resulted in some countries becoming superior compared to others leaving them in a negligible state, offering themselves to be conquered. Though the current conditions are not so the way it was at that time, the leaders of that era failed to recognize this long term transformation leading to the several economic disasters and mind boggling wars, destroying lives all over the world. What, where, when, how and why industrial revolution happened The term 'industrial revolution' was brought into existence in the early 1840's when several nations underwent transformation socially as well as economically. What it meant was the change that occurred in growth of population, mechanizing the productivity and equivalent distribution of wealth between the capitalists and worker population. It led to change in the relation between owners and employers as an equally respected citizens rather than master slave relationship. (Hudson 1996, 11) Industrial revolution involved development in all categories including workforce, supply of food and the colonization of human life. But the heart of it still remains to be the technological advancements that took place. Though its origin is a debatable topic, the innovation that marked its beginning was the development of steam engine. Also, the recognition by the then government for scientists and innovators urged more and more people contribute to the society. (Hudson 1996, 11) The place where it all started was in Britain which had high aspirations of conquering the world. Britain was greatly ahead of other countries with its slave trade policies in Africa and eastern countries. Thos trades helped Britain invest large amount of money in industrialization and promote economic growth. Apart from this, their trade base helped them to expand their utilization of the technological developments more aptly then other countries like China. The other reasons for why it started first in Britain was that it had a proper governance and regulations were followed. Also, they had huge population willing to strive to achieve the best out of everything. They were more proactive to change and the system of slavery was completely absent. The rich people were willing to investing new inventions and the flow of capital was streamlined. These reasons played a major role in starting the industrial revolution in Britain. (Gerald and James 2000) What are the historians' views Historians are constantly rewriting their view on industrial revolution, coming up with new facts and research data every time a theory is established. Hence they do not settle with a single view and historians' from different fields have different views on it. Many of the historians believe that the exact truth can never be achieved but as more and more facts are revealed, the truth gets approximated more closely. One of the historians, Harold Perkins believes that industrial revolution is an access for people for different ways of living in such a way that they are unharmed by their own fears. As for the historians, much of the history of Europe in 19th century rests heavily on the topic of industrial revolution. Every description of social history has its fundamentals backed by the industrial revolution. (Lenard 1992, xi) The experts of history believe that both industry and demographic revolutions led to the overall development of the economy. They posted this with the backing of the fact that the European population grew to 260 million by 1850, an approximate 100 million increase when compared to a century before. It is laid as a substantial backing for their theory and as a result only very few are there who could oppose this concept. Also, the labor revolutionists believe that the labor movement played a major role in deciding the politics of the world and thereby in development of every society within a country. Similarly, the historians could impose fully on the relation between Britain and urban growth but they are not able to do the same with respect to other countries. That is, they are not able to submit a standard model that epitomizes the cause and effect of industrial revolution for all countries. (Lenard 1992, xiv) My personal view on industrial revolution: On my personal point of view, industrial revolution remains to be the pillars of whatever had happened and whatever is happening and going to happen. Irrespective of how, why and where it all began, the consequences of it on the late nineteenth and early twentieth century is both fruitful and dreadful. Fruitful that it led to the most mind boggling innovations and improvisations without which none could have imagined our current way of life. The most amazing structures, machines, multimedia and so many that have made our life so much enjoyable. Dreadful that it led to the most devastating wars which resulted in millions of people losing their life and infinite number of resources getting damaged just for leading the pack of all countries. In my view, the race for supremacy by different countries was developed only because of this industrial revolution. The development of nuclear weapons was the most horrible discovery of the entire human era. Apart from these reasons, the revolution was so specific in improving the economy that they hurt the earth and its natural resources like never before. Natural calamities like earth quakes, volcanic eruptions are all considered to be side effects of the revolution. The global environment has changed and it has become a cause for concern for future generation that needs to be taken care of with immediate effect. But, considering that the advantages overweigh the disadvantages, the revolution is the main source for us to look back at the European history of the 19th century and remains to be the lesson for future too. Conclusion: What should everyone know about industrial revolution Industrial revolution is the lesson to be learnt by every future industrialist, economist and any other diplomat who wishes to revolutionize the world. Everyone should get to know how the English used up every opportunity they got and capitalized on it. The industrial revolution and its impact on the political events all over the world are considered to be crucial in shaping up the current generation. Young people should know about it in order to motivate themselves and harness their thought process. They need to know how the stronger societies worked their way over weaker societies and how each of the weaker society fought their way back to attain a position of equality. They need to lay paths for the future generation by understanding the advantages and disadvantages of that era and work towards a common goal of peace. What is its legacy When industrial revolution is viewed in comparison with democratic revolutions, it brings us a positive energy and an unusual feel of being in heaven. It had such an effect. We are living now in its legacy. The world we are in now is its legacy. At the same time, the problems we face now is also is its legacy. And going by the predictions, we have used up our nature one too many times that it is in the wake of abolition. The ultimate legacy of the revolution is that life has become for a man as money, money and more money. It is up to us to wake up to the crisis and use up both the legacy of the revolution and our natural resources in an effective way. References Berlanstein, Lenard. The Industrial Revolution and work in nineteenth-century Europe. London: Routledge publications, 1992. Sylla, Richard, and Toniolo, Gianni. Patterns of European industrialization: the nineteenth century. London: Taylor and Francis publications, 1991. Hudson, Pat. The Industrial Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press US, 1996. Meier, Gerald, and Rauch, James. Leading issues in economic development. London: Oxford University press, 2000. Was slavery the engine of economic growth, 2006-2009. Digital History. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/con_economic.cfm (accessed Apr., 28, 2009) Read More