The Interaction of Economic Growth and Technological Advance - Essay Example

[your teacher’s of the The interaction of economic growth and technological advance to drive the rise of Western Civilization through 1500 The link between the rise of Western power in the 1500s and the economic growth and technological advanced was very much apparent. The West, previously had been the most backward society, lagging behind the Chinese Empire and the Islamic Empire, had been able to regain its significant foothold in world politics with the success of industrialisation and capitalism. Economic advancement and technological growth, especially during the early and late Middle Ages had helped the Western society to rise beyond its rival societies. Economic growth, fueled by technological advancement had prompted for the start of the Age of Discovery, which lead to the start of the rising power of the Western European region. The start of economic growth in the Western European region was when the status of private property rights was changed and given more emphasis in line with the Protestant work ethic. According to Robert Higgs in his article "The Rise of the West," this change in the status had provided people more incentive to accumulate capital, hence the development of capitalism and start of economic progress followed: "Fundamental to that sustained dynamism was the gradually improving status of private property rights. So long as people cannot count on a reasonable prospect of reaping the fruits of their efforts and investments, they have little or no incentive to work hard or to accumulate physical, human, and intellectual capital. And without such accumulation, no ongoing economic progress is possible. More reliable private property rights did not just drop from heaven, however. For the most part, the merchants acquired the protection of such rights by paying off the robber barons and aspiring kings who constituted the fragmented ruling stratum of Western Europe (Higgs 2002)." As the status of private property rights changed, accumulation of intellectual capital had been rewarded in relation to trade. New technological advancements had enabled agriculture to flourish in the region. The significant inventions such as water mills and new farming techniques had enabled better and more plenty production of agricultural goods. According to the "Technology in the Middle Ages" page of San Jose State University website, "In addition to the redesign of the plow, the way the crops were grown changed in Medieval Europe when farmers changed from a two-field crop rotation to a three-field crop rotation beginning in the 8th century (SJSU.edu 2009)." Two other significant agricultural technologies had helped grow the production of crops in Europe. According to the "Medieval Technology Pages" of New York University, the invention of horse harness and whippletree had both enabled people to benefit from horses physical pulling power, the significant improvement of plows and carts which contributed to the productivity during those times (NYU.edu 2002). Apart from agriculture, a minor industry back in the late Middle Ages was weaving and the textile industry. During those times, cloth-making was very prevalent and was done by hand. Due to improvement in technology, hand spinning was replaced by horizontal looms, which, according to the “Technology in the Middle Ages” page of San Jose State University, “these looms most likely were adaptations of earlier silk looms developed by the Chinese and transferred through traders (SJSU.edu 2009).” The development in technology as regards the textile industry had enabled manufacture of different types of textile, which included linen, wool, cotton and silk. The increased production in the textile industry enabled the Europeans to have more trade activities with the Moslems and the Chinese. Even with looms, the textile industry had been slower in production as cloth-weaving was really difficult during those times. As economic growth continued and incentive for private property rights become more secured, development of new innovations had enabled the textile industry to move forward. The introduction of spinning wheel had played a role to the advancement of the industry, as according to the “Technology in the Middle Ages” page of San Jose State University, “Another key innovation in the 13th century was the introduction into Europe of the spinning wheel (SJSU.edu 2009).” As mentioned in the website, Hill in his book “Richard Arkwright and Cotton Spinning. Pioneer of Science and Discovery” noted, "The Great or Jersey wheel, introduced around 1350, was the first improvement made in the process of cotton spinning. Thread could be spun faster on the wheel than with the traditional distaff (Hills 1973, 15)." As population grew in the later Middle Ages, resources became scarcer which lead to mass starvation. Along with this mass starvation was the occurrence of the Black Plague which had decreased the population of Europe significantly. These decrease in population in Europe then had an impact on the economic and technological advancement in the region, as noted in the “Technology in the Middle Ages” page of San Jose State University: “First, because of the decrease in population, land became cheaper. And cheaper land caused a shift to more sheep farming, especially in England. (Remember that the English dominated the market for wool during the Medieval Age.) This led to the development of a new form of textile production in England where ‘the sheep-owning landowner established production on his own manor, outside the jurisdiction of both city and guild regulations’ (Gies & Gies, 1994, p. 269). In Western Europe, the "putting out" system was ending and was being replaced by a factory-like production of textiles. At first, the workers usually worked out of their own houses while being visited by inspectors. Later, the workers were moved to a centralized ‘factory’ or workshop where the length of the day and the amount of work was regulated. In any case, by the end of the Medieval Age, the stage was set fir the total industrialization of the textile industry during the Industrial Revolution (SJSU.edu 2009).” Production increased during those times due to the continuous improvements in technology that promoted innovation to increase the productivity especially in agriculture and mining. As the security in private property rights continued its status, opportunities abroad had been spotted by merchants. This increase in trade through navigational expeditions had been the start of the Age of Discovery and founding of the colonial empires in the 1500s. According to Bo Gramfors in his book "World Facts," "The Great Age of European Discovery was born out of the demands of European businessmen. During the 15th century, land routes to the east grew expensive and it became imperative to find a sea route to sustain the lucrative markets in spices and other exotic goods. (Gramfors 2000, 38)." These navigations in order to address the demands of commercial pursuits had been made possible by the existing state of technology during that time. This included the invention of astronomical equipment such as astrolabe and compass, along with improvements in crafts in building ships had made these navigations possible. As expeditions had reached farther lands, the wealth of the empires continued to grow. The increase in trade activities had prompted for a larger industrialisation among the trade network the Europeans had made along their expeditions. As the late middle Ages had been on the verge of transformation from manual techniques of production to more mechanized means, it was being set for the later Industrial Revolution, where technological advancement continued that gave rise to further economic growth within the region. Due to the more elaborate trade network that the expeditions had set and more mechanized production of food and goods—the rise of capitalism, it had been able to provide more for its growing population and surpass the Malthusian catastrophe, which made it leave its other rival civilizations behind. The Western civilization had risen with the rise of capitalism and economic growth, and propelled by technological advancement in the Middle Ages. Works Cited Gans, Paul J. “The Medieval Technology Pages: The Horse Harness.” NYU.edu. 25 January 2009. Gans, Paul J. “The Medieval Technology Pages: The Whippletree.” NYU.edu. 25 January 2009. < http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/whippletree.html> Gies, F., & Gies, J. Cathedral, forge, and waterwheel. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Gramfors, Bo. Pocket World Facts. Oxford: AA Publishing, 2000. Higgs, Robert. “The Rise of the West.” Independent.org. 1 July 2002. 30 January 2009. < http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=37> Hills, R. L. Richard Arkwright and Cotton Spinning. Pioneers of Science and Discovery. London: Priory Press Ltd, 1973. San Jose State University. “Technology in the Middle Ages.” SJSU.edu. 2009. 25 January 2009. < http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/pabacker/history/middle.htm> Read More