18th-Century Spain: Reforms, Society & Art
18th-Century Spain: Reforms and Society
Significant changes took place in the 18th century due to social reforms introduced by enlightened monarchs.
Economic Changes
- Agriculture: Harvests improved due to crop rotation and agricultural machinery, increasing productivity. Repopulation also increased production, and new crops were introduced.
- Craftsmanship: Population growth led to increased demand for goods. The domestic system of production (especially textiles) became more important. Royal manufactures
Natural Resources: Renewable and Non-Renewable
Natural resources are assets that humanity obtains from the physical environment to meet their biological or social needs.
- Renewable resources are those that regenerate naturally at a rate equal to or greater than the pace at which they are exploited by society.
- Non-renewable resources are generated in nature so slowly that, for practical reasons, they are considered to exist in finite quantities.
Fossil Fuels
The three main fossil fuels:
Oil: Accounts for 40% of global energy. The process of oil consumption
Read MoreRelocation Impact and Global Trade Dynamics
Impact of Industrial Relocation
The impact of relocation varies between countries. In developed economies, industrial relocation has had two main consequences:
- Loss of direct and indirect jobs, precariousness of working conditions, and closure of some plants.
- Companies have lowered the price of their manufactured products, making them more competitive.
Developing economies have received transplanted industries and activities, leading to:
- Positive effects: Job creation and increased income.
- Negative effects:
Key Economic and Industrial Terms
Economic Concepts
- Economy: System that organizes the use of a country’s resources.
- Economic System: Way a society organizes its economy.
- Economic Agent: Person, group, or institution that activates the economy.
- Globalization: A process of integration that affects economic, political, and cultural systems across geographical boundaries.
- Resource: Thing a person or country has that can be used for economic benefit.
- Goods: Objects that have a use or value for the person who possesses them.
- Factor of Production:
Environmental Challenges and Urban Development
Environmental Challenges
Air Pollution: Primarily caused by industrial emissions, air pollution has several consequences:
- Global warming, due to increased CO2 and other greenhouse gases.
- Thinning of the ozone layer, caused by Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
- Urban air pollution, resulting from human activities, traffic, and industries.
Water Exploitation:
- Excessive water consumption.
- Freshwater pollution from untreated agricultural and urban discharges.
- Ocean and sea pollution from oil spills and ship activities.
Romanization of Hispania: Urbanization, Military & Roads
The Romanization of Hispania: Key Factors
1. Urban Development
The Roman people were primarily urban dwellers. They lived on estates, a population model exported throughout the Empire. Civilization, as they understood it, thrived in cities. Those who settled in the provinces (veterans, migrants from Rome, Italy) did so in cities, often created expressly for them (the colonies). From the first, Italica, founded by Scipio in 26 BC, the creation of this kind of new town or near town centers incumbent
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