Western
Europe
1750-1900
By Matt Maldonado
Political: The first major political event to take place in Europe during this period was the French revolution. It began in 1789 and sent shockwaves throughout Europe, and across the globe. It led to the first major European monarchy to be toppled and opened the door for radical views to rise through the young, educated populations. From this also came Nationalism, the belief or loyalty to one’s nation. For centuries nations of people have been stuck in larger empires, such as the Holy Roman or Ottoman empires. Nationalism gave the people reason to rise up, and opposition to foreign rule could be found in Greece, Ireland, Poland, and Belgium, among other places. A massive and complicated entanglement of alliances soon arose, and this set the stage for the First World War.
1750-1900
By Matt Maldonado
Political: The first major political event to take place in Europe during this period was the French revolution. It began in 1789 and sent shockwaves throughout Europe, and across the globe. It led to the first major European monarchy to be toppled and opened the door for radical views to rise through the young, educated populations. From this also came Nationalism, the belief or loyalty to one’s nation. For centuries nations of people have been stuck in larger empires, such as the Holy Roman or Ottoman empires. Nationalism gave the people reason to rise up, and opposition to foreign rule could be found in Greece, Ireland, Poland, and Belgium, among other places. A massive and complicated entanglement of alliances soon arose, and this set the stage for the First World War.
Economy: By far the largest economic impact in
Western Europe was made by the explosion of industrialization. Up until this
point in history, agriculture was the main economic medium of the day. Raw
materials could be process, but on a very small scale. The first industry to
arise would be Britain’s textile industry. In 1800, 52 million pounds of cotton
were processed (mainly hand-woven). In 1850, 588 million pounds were used. This
sudden rise is all due to industrialization. This led to shrinkage in jobs in
the agricultural sector and a boom in mining, manufacturing, and services
sectors. Industrialization put nations on the fast track for western
modernization and is still used to judge nations today, with the most recently
industrialized at the bottom.
Religion: During the French revolution of 1789, the Catholic
Church saw fierce opposition from the revolutionaries. The church had been given
representation as the second estate, while the third and largest were the poor
masses. At this point people’s view of religion began to change. After the rise
of industrialization, economists and social philosophers began taking shots at
the church, deeming it a distraction to keep the laborers distracted from how horrible
their lives were. Ever since then the church was seen as being on a similar
level to the aristocracy.
Society: The industrial revolution gave birth to a
new social class, the working class or proletariat. They were manual workers in
the mines, factories, ports, workshops, and farms. It was this class that suffered the most and
benefitted the least from industrialization. One of the conditions that led to
a shortened lifespan of these laborers was rapid urbanization. Factories would
spring up around rivers and housing would just be assembled near bye. This led
to huge amounts of pollution and unsanitary conditions. Diseases like cholera
would spread from unsanitary drinking water.
Innovations: industrialization fueled the need for
new technologies. The spinning jenny was invented to process cotton and wool
into textiles. The steam engine was first invented to remove water from mines,
and then modified to power machines. An example would be trains. A method of
developing photos was developed in the 1820s in France. With this new
technology raw scenes could be captured and shared with the world.
Arts and architecture: the industrial revolution
generally led to the simplicity of architecture. Buildings were no longer made
with sleek looks in mind. To buildings were made to serve a purpose
effectively. New building materials such as cast iron and steel were not at the
disposal of architects because of industrialization. One of the art forms to
grip Europe during the industrial revolution was romanticism. It depicted emotion,
violence, and passion and went hand in hand with nationalism.
Near Geographic: By far the largest impacts industrialization
had on the environment was the depletion of its natural resources. For thousands
and thousands of years, humans have been using inexhaustible resources such as
wind and water to fuel their machines. During industrialization a shift to non-renewable
resources such as coal, oil, and gas occurred. On several occasions energy crises
have occurred due to lack of resources.
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http://bookponderings.blogspot.com/2010/09/ponderin-pastin-industrial-revolution.html
http://www.weavingthepast.com/the-pyramid-of-capitalist-system/
http://www.victorianlondon.org/houses/slums.htm
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http://www.musee-les-mineurs.fr/en/educational-activities/secondary-school-activities/
http://history10c.wikispaces.com/Slums+%26Tenements
http://bookponderings.blogspot.com/2010/09/ponderin-pastin-industrial-revolution.html
http://www.weavingthepast.com/the-pyramid-of-capitalist-system/
http://www.victorianlondon.org/houses/slums.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/5-industrial-revolution-inventions.htm#page=4
http://www.concisewesternciv.com/arth/ar11.html
http://www.musee-les-mineurs.fr/en/educational-activities/secondary-school-activities/
http://history10c.wikispaces.com/Slums+%26Tenements