The Industrial revolution was the precursor to many things that we now see as commonplace in our modern, globalized economy. In the western world, commodity prices plummeted while profits rose, and production and real wages climbed hand in hand. While many have decried the industrial revolution for exploiting the working class, citing grotesque accounts of childhood labor as well as strenuous and long working hours, empirical data shows us today that is a rather unfounded notion when discussing the West. However, many eastern nations did not enjoy the same objective and sociological advances, such as a rise in incomes and longer life expectancies. In fact, one could say that the Industrial Revolution, the engine of the rise of the West, played
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Also, this essay will show that the Industrial revolution, one way or another, revolutionized the entire world. It is safe to say that the genesis of the Industrial revolution occurred in Britain. This is largely attributed to a few factors. For one, Britain itself had major coal reserves that proved integral to industrialization. Additionally, Britain could use its colonies to extract other raw materials. While at this time America had successfully won the Revolutionary war and gained sovereignty from Britain, Britain was still the world’s strongest empire and largest colonial power. At the same time, these colonies also provided Britain with an ample marketplace to sell the goods they were producing while simultaneously being able to somewhat control over who it’s colonists could and could not buy from. Not least importantly, Britain was one of relatively few countries that enjoyed a politically stable society. One cannot look past naval advantages of Britain either. A country with easily navigable waterways and an abundance of coastline is bound to be among the first country’s to etch out trade routes and ultimately be a major player …show more content…
France, a country that had advantages in production that would rival those of Britain, made large economic gains as a result of industrialization, but not to the degree achieved by its northern neighbor. France had an agreeable climate and many natural resources, as well as a population nearly three times the size of Britain’s, which of course could have served the country well in terms of their production base. However, France trailed Britain’s prominence throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. This is due in part to the political climate in post-revolutionary France at the time. It is worth noting that the French Revolution came about by way of extreme economic inequality, so its citizens were understandably skeptical of anything intrinsically capitalistic. Additionally, France had recently lost the Napoleonic Wars. This meant parts of the country were torn apart by battle and thus were in no condition to house engines of industry such as large-scale factories. The war also took a hefty financial toll on France, and there was a shortage of investable capital necessary to fund large-scale production facilities. And, rather obviously, many of the nations able-bodied men had been lost in war, further inhibiting the possibility of France taking full advantage of all of the recent industrial advances.
Also, this essay will show that the Industrial revolution, one way or another, revolutionized the entire world. It is safe to say that the genesis of the Industrial revolution occurred in Britain. This is largely attributed to a few factors. For one, Britain itself had major coal reserves that proved integral to industrialization. Additionally, Britain could use its colonies to extract other raw materials. While at this time America had successfully won the Revolutionary war and gained sovereignty from Britain, Britain was still the world’s strongest empire and largest colonial power. At the same time, these colonies also provided Britain with an ample marketplace to sell the goods they were producing while simultaneously being able to somewhat control over who it’s colonists could and could not buy from. Not least importantly, Britain was one of relatively few countries that enjoyed a politically stable society. One cannot look past naval advantages of Britain either. A country with easily navigable waterways and an abundance of coastline is bound to be among the first country’s to etch out trade routes and ultimately be a major player …show more content…
France, a country that had advantages in production that would rival those of Britain, made large economic gains as a result of industrialization, but not to the degree achieved by its northern neighbor. France had an agreeable climate and many natural resources, as well as a population nearly three times the size of Britain’s, which of course could have served the country well in terms of their production base. However, France trailed Britain’s prominence throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. This is due in part to the political climate in post-revolutionary France at the time. It is worth noting that the French Revolution came about by way of extreme economic inequality, so its citizens were understandably skeptical of anything intrinsically capitalistic. Additionally, France had recently lost the Napoleonic Wars. This meant parts of the country were torn apart by battle and thus were in no condition to house engines of industry such as large-scale factories. The war also took a hefty financial toll on France, and there was a shortage of investable capital necessary to fund large-scale production facilities. And, rather obviously, many of the nations able-bodied men had been lost in war, further inhibiting the possibility of France taking full advantage of all of the recent industrial advances.