The Birth of Modern Industrial Society: Europe

Introduction  Industrial Revolution, represents the social, cultural and economic changes that mark the transition from a stable agricultural and commercial society to a modern industrial society relying on complex machinery rather than tools.  The Industrial Revolution has changed the face of nations, giving rise to urban centers requiring vast municipal services.

 It created a specialized and interdependent economic life and made the urban worker completely dependent on the will of the employer.  It started when a new source power, steam, was harnessed. Steam was used for pumps in mines, bellows and hammers in iron foundries, engines for spinning and weaving machines in textile mills, and threshing machines to harvest grain in the fields.  This innovation would lead to many more inventions in the decades to come.

A steam engine A steam locomotive

Ploughing Engine

Economic Changes  As economic activities in many communities moved from agriculture to manufacturing, production shifted from its traditional locations in the home and the small workshop to factories.  Large portions of the population relocated from the countryside to the towns and cities where manufacturing centers were found.

 As the agriculture was privatized in 1780s, the market system developed. Canals were built to facilitate transportation, replaced by trains in 1830s-40s. Exotic items imported from places such as China, Japan, India, Canada, United States.  New groups of investors, businesspeople, and managers took financial risks and reaped great rewards.

Paddington Station, London W.P. Frith

 Between , the national income rose by 125%, while the share of the national income derived from industrial production rose 2.3 times.  By the end of the 18 th century, Britain had become the leading maritime nation. British ships carried slaves from Africa to the Americas, sugar from the West Indies to Britain & Europe and superior quality Indian cotton.  Trade with United States continued after their independence. Britain leads the way

Consumer Demand  Demand was outstripping supply, which made the cottage system (working out of home) obsolete. Increased demand, lower price  increased profit, also increased technology, need for new technology  multiplier effect.  More consumers had sufficient income to afford exotic goods such as cotton cloth and china. These were the rising “middle class”  Traders realized that if they could produce goods in greater quantity at a cheaper price, they could find more consumers and make a higher profit.

 The cotton industry become the largest single employer of industrial labour, and cotton cloth became the most valued commodity in Britain’s export trade.

Technology & Society  In the realm of technical innovations and in the number of people employed, the combination of coal, iron, and steam had an even greater effect than the cotton industry.  Impact would become visible in the 1830s and 1840s with the introduction of steam locomotion and the boom in railroad construction.  Britain was producing two-thirds of the world’s coal, one half of its iron and one-half of its cotton cloth.

Industrialization on the Continent It emerged later than in Britain and had political, economical & social effects lasting into the 20 th century. It emerged later than in Britain and had political, economical & social effects lasting into the 20 th century. Population was rapidly increasing in the early 1800s. Europe had lagged in part due to Napoleonic wars (disrupted trade, political, economic disruption due to war). Population was rapidly increasing in the early 1800s. Europe had lagged in part due to Napoleonic wars (disrupted trade, political, economic disruption due to war). Friedrich Engels wrote The Condition of the Working Class in England (1844) which influenced Karl Marx  fathers of communism Friedrich Engels wrote The Condition of the Working Class in England (1844) which influenced Karl Marx  fathers of communism

Political divisions, especially in Germany, hampered trade. The Zollverein, a customs union led by Prussia, facilitated the flow of goods, which opened up the Rhine River as a major transportation route. The construction of the railway changed everything. Following Britain, French and German railway construction helped with the quick and very significant development of all industries.

Social Changes  The Industrial Revolution brought with it an increase in population and urbanization, as well as new social classes.  The bad living conditions in the towns can be traced to lack of good brick, the absence of building codes, and the lack of machinery for public sanitation.  The factory owners' tendency to regard labourers as commodities and not as a group of human beings.

 The Industrial Revolution created a new working class. The new class of industrial workers included all the men, women, and children labouring in the textile mills, pottery works, and mines.  Wages were low, hours were long, and working conditions unpleasant and dangerous.  Women and children regardless of where they worked, had the most exploitative working condition and the lowest rates of pay.

A girl working in the mines.

Conditions in City Life  The European population exploded from 188 million (1800) to 401 million (1900).  People flooded into cities from the country side in hopes of finding jobs.  Exclusive neighborhoods were built for the wealthy bourgeoisie, while the working poor was forced to live in the ghettos.  Working day ranged from 12 to 16 hours  Employers imposed fines and penalties for lateness, for interruptions in work and for absenteeism.

Manchester, England 1840

 As many as 8 to 10 people would share one room which would be the living and sleeping space of families and other people of both genders.  Houses were built in rows or in squares with a common courtyard, in which there might be a water tap and a common toilet.  There was little access to fresh air and little provision for clean water or removal of refuse, including human waste. The death rate exceeded birth rate as disease spread in these conditions.

Densely populated industrial cities

Social structure as a result of Industrial Revolution  Upper middle class: bankers, industrial leaders, large-scale merchants.  Diversified middle class: businessmen, professionals, merchants, doctors and lawyers.  Lower middle class: independent shopkeepers and small traders.

Middle Class Home Around 1850

 Working class: about 80% of population  Many were peasants and hired hands (especially in Eastern Europe)  Highly skilled workers were at the top of working class (about 15% of pop.)  Semi-skilled workers: carpentry, bricklaying, successful factory workers  Unskilled workers and domestic servants were at the bottom.

Rural homes The Rural myth: life in the country was more wholesome, with lots of fresh air and people were healthier and happier than in the city. In reality, most homes consisted of a room that served as kitchen, dining room, bedroom for the whole family, as well as stable and barnyard. The floor could get muddy, as it was made of mud, there was no hygiene, and during a cold night, the chimney could fumigate the house.

Evolution of the family  People married younger and thus started having children earlier, including illegitimate kids (~50% of Parisians were born out of wedlock in early 19 th century)  Romantic love most important reason for marriage by Many people chose not to marry and just lived together.  Among working class, wife beating was a male prerogative as women were prime victims of male violence.

 Code Napoleon had established the absolute authority of the father in most of Continental Europe.  The wife had to obey her husband, had no legal rights, could not even get custody of her own children.  Men had complete control over all family property, including her wages which were paid directly to him (until 1907).

Until 1896, French children under 26 could not marry without the father’s consent. Until 1896, French children under 26 could not marry without the father’s consent. If the child (under 16) was disobedient, s/he could be arrested on the request of the father and held in jail for 1 month; (between 16-26), for 6 months. If the father refused to take back the child, s/he could be held in prison until the age of majority. If the child (under 16) was disobedient, s/he could be arrested on the request of the father and held in jail for 1 month; (between 16-26), for 6 months. If the father refused to take back the child, s/he could be held in prison until the age of majority.

Slow changes for women’s rights  After 1850, the work of most wives increasingly distinct and separate from their husbands.  Middle-class women begin to organize and resist their second-class status to husbands.  Child rearing more child-centered with wife dominating the home domain.

Political Changes  The introduction of liberalism in the 18th century meant a new age in British politics, which continued through the Industrial Revolution. liberalism  Gladstone (Liberal) and Disraeli (Conservative) were two of the most influential political leaders of the late Industrial Revolution  Both advocated reform of social structure; as a result, some of the more productive governments came to power.

Liberalism  Emphasized rationalism, importance of individual happiness (individualism)  Role of state is to protect the freedom and rights of the individual  Believed that human rights would be lost if government intervened  Generally, reflected views of middle class Conservatism  Believed in value of traditional life  Government needed to control society and preserve general order  Generally had a less optimistic view of human nature than liberals  Reflected views of landed upper class

Laissez Faire: No Government Intervention  Laissez faire would optimize economic growth (also known as free market)  Held a very pessimistic view of the possibilities for improvement in the living standards of the poor.  Thomas Malthus ( ) said that population was growing faster than food supply  increased poverty. Government did nothing, even though social realities called for political action.

Social Legislation  In order to receive poor relief, an individual had to enter a workhouse and in order to discourage people from going on relief, conditions in the workhouse were designed to be worse than the conditions outside.  Protesters saw workhouses as prisons and named them “Bastilles”. About 5 percent of the population was dependent on the Poor Law Act of This law remained until 1909.

 The Factory Act of 1833 – prohibited the employment of children under nine and placed limits on working hours of those between the ages of 9 and 18.  Factory Act of 1847 – limited children to 10 hour day. This limit became the standard working day for adults in textile mills.  The Mines Act of 1842 – prohibited the employment of women and of children under 10 years of age, in underground mines.

 With the conditions workers had to endure and the outbreak of killer diseases (cholera), Edwin Chadwick, a physician, helped draft the Public Health Act of 1848, which included a General Board of Health to overseas conditions.  The social legislation redefined the government’s role in social policy.  It established new ways of investigating social problems and created a body of professional civil servants.

Maintaining Political Order Napoleon was finally defeated at Waterloo  Europe was reorganized + restored to pre- revolutionary ways. Soon, everyone realized that the French Revolution’s effects were widespread and permanent. They reverberated throughout Europe, as the authority of the nobility, and kings weakened. No dominant power: liberalism, reaction, democracy + socialism. No country could be allowed to dominate the continent.  no major war until WWI.

Europe in 1815

Metternich & the Congress of Vienna The First Treaty of Paris (May 1814) was generous towards France, with few demands towards it and continued to recognize it as a great power under Louis XVIII.

Prince Klemens von Metternich, the Austrian foreign secretary, sought to redraft European order & secure Austria’s position. He knew that Austria’s interests were best served by the preservation of conservative principles and institutions: absolute monarchy and reaction.

Maintaining Political Stability The Congress initiated the practice of statesmen consulting before going to war. A “concert” of Europe was acceptable to Russia, Prussia, Austria & Great Britain, because they had been concerned by previous French expansionism. A Holy Alliance of the above 4 countries was proposed, but long term problems in restoration of governments (legitimizing overthrown monarchs), not rights of citizens  increased revolutionary forces in Europe.  more Revolutions in 1848.

Britain was the first to leave this Alliance as it did not share the same views as the other 3 (absolutism vs. constitutionalism; no or weak Parliament vs. a strong Parliament; hatred towards the French Revolution vs. commercial profit)

Reaction and Reform, People outside France (Italy, Spain, Germany, etc) may have come to eventually hate the French but with the Revolution and Napoleon came constitutions and enlightened laws. The middle classes in the Low Countries, Spain, Naples and the Rhineland did not necessarily welcome the restoration of absolutism in For others in Central and Eastern Europe (with the very notable exception of Poland), absolutism had never left so it did not matter to them.

Liberalism, Democracy & Nationalism Liberalism was geared to the interests of the middle class, liberty of the individual and was against absolute monarchy. Often teamed with radical democrats. Out of French Revolution & reforms & sovereignty came a new nationalism (pride and love for one’s country, nation) based on the idea that the state belonged to the people, and the government derived its authority from the people.

The Defence of Absolutism 1819: Metternich, fearful of reforming liberalism, persuaded the leading German states (Prussia, Bavaria, etc) to issue the Carlsbad Decrees, which curtailed political meetings, censored press & universities, limited power of legislative assemblies : He intervened in the non-Austrian Italian lands (Naples, Piedmont) to quell revolts. 1820: Ferdinand VII of Spain had to become a constitutional king due to a revolt. 3 years later, France intervened and restored Ferdinand to absolutism.

Greek Independence, For 9 years, the Greeks struggled for independence from the Ottoman Empire. Many Europeans interested in the area. The great powers had different interests in the area: Austria feared Russian influence in the area, Britain did not wish for an unstable Ottoman Empire (weak yes + route to India). Greece Expiring on the Ruins of Missolonghi by Eugene Delacroix (1826)

The Ottoman Empire

Restoration and Reform: France & England, After Napoleon’s defeat, Louis XVIII took power as constitutional monarch. He was a pragmatic politician and decided to keep as many of the past reforms as possible. Important state offices were no longer reserved for the nobility, but were for talented people. The French enjoyed freedom of conscience, religion and expression. Private property obtained after the Revolution was guaranteed.

A bicameral legislature (after the British model): a hereditary upper house (Chamber of Peers) and an elected Chamber of Deputies. Very few eligible to vote: 100,000 in 28 million (0.35%) Yet, his supporters (ultraroyalists) (“Ultras”) wanted to return to absolutism. Louis died in 1824, Charles X took over & became very reactionary. After the election of 1830, he refused to call the legislature and imposed restrictions on the press. He called for a new election with an even more limited electorate.  backlash by people which caused him to flee in The people only wanted him to be constitutional.

Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix (July Revolution, Paris, 1830).

The July Monarchy: Louis Philippe – “King of the French” (son of the Duke of Orléans from Marie Antoinette). Revolutionary tricolour flag returned as flag.

Initially the new régime was liberal. The electorate was doubled, press censorship was abolished and the church and state were separated. After a failed assassination attempt on the king in 1835, the government grew more repressive. Bad harvests and high food prices (1845-’47) caused revolts which eventually led to the Revolution of 1848.

1848: Economic crisis Economic Crisis: poor harvests led to increased price in food  peasants struggling to avoid starvation Irish potato famine killed ~ 1 million. Economic distress  revolt and massive immigration (to the U.S.).

Irish peasants during the Great Famine,

England: Protest & Reaction, After the war with France ended in 1815, the English Depression lasted until 1821  more social conflict & protest. Luddites (those who resist technological innovation) tried to protect jobs being undercut or replaced by machines & technology. They went on a machine wrecking campaign. They were suppressed.

Socialism   Origins of Socialism- Liberalism, democracy & socialism were part of legacy of French Revolution. In first half of 18th century, due to increased population, industrial change, increased disparity, rich vs. poor, many saw the need for a new kind of society.   Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels Communist Manifesto- communism embraced power of new working class. They advocated common ownership of the means of production. Only revolution would bring about the new socialist order.

1848: the Year of Revolutions in Europe Marx wrote Communist Manifesto in 1848 Germany and he concluded with: “workers of the world unite”. In February 1848, the July Monarchy fell. Afterwards, revolutions broke out in many areas of Europe (Sicily, German states, the Habsburg Empire, Switzerland, Poland, the Romanian states, Brazil) but generally very unsuccessful.

In Berlin

1848: Counteroffensive France France February establishment the Republic and universal male suffrage; February establishment the Republic and universal male suffrage; Radical and social reforms were blocked. Most voters were moderate, which displeased the radicals. Radical and social reforms were blocked. Most voters were moderate, which displeased the radicals. The situation calmed with the election of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte- nephew of the Emperor as President. The situation calmed with the election of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte- nephew of the Emperor as President.

1848: Counteroffensive The Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire After the Revolution caused a lot of damage and fear, the repression led by a new, young and able emperor (Franz Joseph) was very effective: first, Bohemia, then northern Italy, then Vienna Afterwards, Austria intervened to restore the Pope then subdued Hungary (with Russia’s help). After the Revolution caused a lot of damage and fear, the repression led by a new, young and able emperor (Franz Joseph) was very effective: first, Bohemia, then northern Italy, then Vienna Afterwards, Austria intervened to restore the Pope then subdued Hungary (with Russia’s help).

Consequences of the 1848 Revolutions Modern states would never be so fragile again when faced with revolts and revolutions. The days of absolutism would be numbered. The constitutional and absolute rulers would now base their support on the middle class, rather than the nobility (including President Bonaparte when he proclaimed himself Emperor).