European Industrial Revolution: Society, Technology, and Ideologies
Item 3: Industrialization of European Societies
1. Population and Agriculture
1.1. The Demographic Revolution
From the mid-eighteenth century, Europe experienced a demographic revolution. Increased food production, hygiene, and medical advancements dramatically decreased mortality, increasing population. Birth rates also rose slightly due to improved health and life expectancy.
1.2. The Agricultural Revolution
Increased population demanded more food, raising agricultural prices. This spurred landowners to improve production. Laws ended feudal land ownership, favoring private (bourgeois) hands. The Norfolk system eliminated fallow land, increasing soil utilization. Gradual mechanization resulted from Industrial Revolution advances.
2. The Rise of Machines
2.1. Machines, Steam, and Factories
Technological innovation was key. Machines replaced traditional systems, initially powered by humans, then water, and finally steam after James Watt’s invention. Mechanization and new energy sources drove the factory system.
2.2. The Textile Industry
Britain’s cotton industry led in mechanization. Innovations like the flying shuttle (1733) sped up weaving. New spinning machines and power looms increased yarn and textile production.
2.3. Coal, Iron, and Steel
The steel industry also pioneered industrialization. Darby’s (1732) use of coke increased blast furnace heat output. Later, the Bessemer converter transformed iron into steel.
3. Revolution in Transport
3.1. Railway and Steamship
Railways, initially used in mines with horse-drawn wagons, evolved. Iron rails and wheels prevented derailment. Stephenson’s locomotive, powered by steam, revolutionized transport. Steam engines were also applied to ships (Fulton), gradually replacing sails.
3.2. Trade Expansion
The Industrial Revolution shifted Europe from an agricultural to a market economy. Increased production, population, and purchasing power fueled trade. Improved transport facilitated domestic and international commerce, especially from the mid-nineteenth century.
4. Industrial Capitalism
4.1. Liberalism and Capitalism
Adam Smith established liberalism’s principles: personal interest and profit maximization drive the economy. The state should not intervene (laissez-faire), allowing free markets to balance supply and demand through price mechanisms.
4.2. Banks and Finance
Banks became intermediaries between savers and manufacturers needing capital. Companies required large investments, leading to corporations with shares traded on the stock market.
4.3. Expansion of Industrial Capitalism
Industrialization spread to France and Belgium in the early nineteenth century, focusing on steel more than textiles. The United States, Russia, Germany, and Japan industrialized later (1850-1870). Southern Europe saw mixed industrial and rural areas. Eastern Europe lagged until the twentieth century.
6. The New Industrial Society
6.1. The Bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie, owning industries and businesses, became dominant. It included wealthy bankers, factory owners, professionals, officials, traders, and shopkeepers.
6.2. Workers
The urban and industrial proletariat provided factory labor. Initially, they faced harsh conditions: long hours (12-14 hours) and insufficient pay due to lack of protective legislation.
6.3. Early Workers’ Associations
Workers initially opposed machinism, blaming machines for low wages and unemployment (Luddism). They formed organizations and unions to defend their interests and develop class consciousness.
7. Marxism, Anarchism, and Internationalism
7.1. Marxism and Socialism
Mid-nineteenth century, Marx and Engels denounced worker exploitation. They advocated for a workers’ revolution to destroy capitalism, private property, social classes, and the state, leading to a communist society with equality and collective ownership after a proletarian dictatorship. Marxists proposed socialist workers’ parties.
7.2. Anarchism
Anarchists emphasized individual freedom, social solidarity, collective property, and rejection of authority (especially the state). They advocated for revolutionary action by workers to create an egalitarian society without gods, nations, or masters.
7.3. Internationalism
Marxists and anarchists sought international working-class unity against capitalism. In 1864, the International Workers’ Association (IWA) was formed, uniting followers of Marx (scientific socialism/communism), anarchists, and trade unionists. After a split with Bakunin and the anarchists, socialists founded the Second International in Paris in 1889.