Effects of Industrialization in 1700 - 1850 Essay -- American European

Effects of Industrialization in 1700 - 1850 Industrialization occurred in many countries, each taking a different approach to the implementation of new machinery and technology. The most notable for leading the way in industrialization is Britain. Industrialization not only made dramatic changes in the economic structure of countries but also in the social and political areas of countries. Industrialization led to much upheaval, especially socially since the whole way of life was changing. The emergence of the working class and the growing divide between classes also meant that a new political and economic structure was developed: capitalism. Industrialization began in Britain since there was a large supply of coal and steel and it was seen as one of the greatest colonial powers, thus allowing it to gain the capital and market needed to industrialize. Since Britain led the way for industrialization, it could be seen to epitomise the effects that it had on countries. One of the social effects that industrialization had was that the ‘rhythm of life changed’ . Pre-industrialization, people were based mainly in rural areas. However, when the enclosure of land became popular in the 1760’s, farmers who were tenants began to be pushed of the land. This along with the establishment of new urban towns and cities meant that people started to move away resulting in ‘English peasant villages being destroyed’ . Land enclosure was only one reason why people moved to the new urban areas. The other was the fact that new machinery was making families handicrafts of little commercial value, meaning that they were not able to survive on the money they made. This meant that the promise of a rise in wages appealed to a great many people in the rural areas, resulting in yet more change for the population With industrialization came a new family structure, the nuclear family. This was in complete contrast to the previous way people interacted with each other, but fitted perfectly into the nameless society, which had developed. The pre-industrial villages were very close knit since most of the textile and agricultural industry revolved around the home, with everyone participating in some way to the production of consumer goods. The nuclear family was very unlike this... ...freedom from agriculture, meaning that more people could undertake ‘professional’ jobs such as doctors and lawyers. This was unlike that of the time pre-industrial, because then the basis of society was the worker and owner, now society had the employer, the employee, and the professional. Industrialization also changed the world economic system because places like China and India who, previous to industrialization, had been one of the main manufactures for the world were now being left behind since they could not produce goods as cheaply as industrialized countries. Bibliography J.M. Roberts, The Pelican History Of The World, Pelican, 1986 T.S. Ashton, The Industrial Revolution 1760-1830, Oxford University Press, 1970 P. Gregg, A Social and Economic History of Britain, Harrap, 1971 G. Rude, Revolutionary Europe 1783-1815, Fontana/Collins, 1980 P. Mathias, The First Industrial Nation, Methuen&Co Ltd, 1972 M.J. Daunton, Progress and Poverty, Oxford University Press, 1995 P. Lane, Documents on British Economic and Social History 1750-1870, 1972 G. Warner, Marten and Muir, The New Groundwork of British History, Balckie&son, 1968