Chapter 17 - Revolutions of Industrialization (1750-1914)
"In broad terms, the Industrial Revolution marks a human response to that dilemmas as nonrenewable fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas replaces the endlessly renewable energy sources of wind, water, wood, and the muscle power of people and animals. It was a breakthrough of unprecedented proportions that made available for human use, at least temporarily, immensely greater quantities of energy."
The Industrial Revolution was again another European event. But it's truly amazing to see all the change that was brought because of this one event. One change that happened because the Industrial Revolution was having Industrial Societies. Britain became the first industrialized society due to the fact that it was the most commercialized country in Europe at the time. This brought lots of changes, and as Strayer puts it, "not everyone was affected the same way."
"The social transformation of the Industrial Revolution destroyed their old ways of living and left them free to discover or make for themselves new ones, if they could and knew how.
What I found most interesting about this section in the textbook is the way it affected the different classes in society. For instance, The British Aristocracy these people didn't loose much in terms on property as a few thousand owned 1/2 of the cultivated land in Britain. But the change that they phased was the fact that the British aristocracy declined as a result of the Industrial Revolution. They had to make room for the up-and-coming businessmen, manufacturers, and bankers that would be newly enriched due to the Industrial Revolution.
It makes me wonder how The British Aristocrats felt knowing this event would in a way end aristocracy and make "normal people" wealthy? I'd imagine it's something they weren't thrilled about, having others that weren't born in this society finally make their way into it.
While the aristocrats were declining, they had to make room for the middle class which were the people who benefited the most from industrialization. The middle class included people like wealthy factory and mine owners, bankers, and merchants. These people were finally going to get a taste of the "good life." They started to get a taste of the aristocratic life, were able to buy country houses, and some even obtaining seats in Parliament. While it included wealthy business owners, it did also included smaller businessmen, doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, journalists, scientists, and many other professionals who didn't have it as great at the more wealthier professionals.
The saddest part of the entire Industrial Revolution in my opinion was that the "rich were getting richer, and the poor were poorer." During this time period over 70% of the population were neither aristocrats nor members of the middle class, they were in what they call the laboring class. The laboring class were manual workers, who worked in places like mines, ports, factories, construction sites, workshops, and farms of an industrializing Britain. It was this class as stayers says, "suffered most and benefited least from the epic transformations of the Industrial Revolution."
These people lived in horrible conditions, they lived in cities that were vastly overcrowded and polluted. They worked extremely long hours, in unsafe working environments. Child labor was something that was common for the poor. The textbook says that by 1850, the average life expectancy in England was only 39.5 years. That is truly just crazy to think about!
It was that part in this chapter that really just breaks my heart to read that the poor had to live through these conditions. And although it makes me sad, in a way it also makes me mad that I know people who still live through this today. My family comes from El Salvador, which is a small country in Central America. I have had the opportunity to visit, and see where my parents come from, and how they lived. I have family there and the conditions in which they work aren't any different than the ones talked about in this chapter. There are kids over there who at very young ages have to work to help provide an income to their families. Just the other day I was talking to my cousin who mentioned she works all day, and gets payed $9/day. It's extremely frustrating to know there are still places on this earth with people who live in these kinds of situations.
The Industrial Revolution was again another European event. But it's truly amazing to see all the change that was brought because of this one event. One change that happened because the Industrial Revolution was having Industrial Societies. Britain became the first industrialized society due to the fact that it was the most commercialized country in Europe at the time. This brought lots of changes, and as Strayer puts it, "not everyone was affected the same way."
"The social transformation of the Industrial Revolution destroyed their old ways of living and left them free to discover or make for themselves new ones, if they could and knew how.
What I found most interesting about this section in the textbook is the way it affected the different classes in society. For instance, The British Aristocracy these people didn't loose much in terms on property as a few thousand owned 1/2 of the cultivated land in Britain. But the change that they phased was the fact that the British aristocracy declined as a result of the Industrial Revolution. They had to make room for the up-and-coming businessmen, manufacturers, and bankers that would be newly enriched due to the Industrial Revolution.
It makes me wonder how The British Aristocrats felt knowing this event would in a way end aristocracy and make "normal people" wealthy? I'd imagine it's something they weren't thrilled about, having others that weren't born in this society finally make their way into it.
While the aristocrats were declining, they had to make room for the middle class which were the people who benefited the most from industrialization. The middle class included people like wealthy factory and mine owners, bankers, and merchants. These people were finally going to get a taste of the "good life." They started to get a taste of the aristocratic life, were able to buy country houses, and some even obtaining seats in Parliament. While it included wealthy business owners, it did also included smaller businessmen, doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, journalists, scientists, and many other professionals who didn't have it as great at the more wealthier professionals.
The saddest part of the entire Industrial Revolution in my opinion was that the "rich were getting richer, and the poor were poorer." During this time period over 70% of the population were neither aristocrats nor members of the middle class, they were in what they call the laboring class. The laboring class were manual workers, who worked in places like mines, ports, factories, construction sites, workshops, and farms of an industrializing Britain. It was this class as stayers says, "suffered most and benefited least from the epic transformations of the Industrial Revolution."
These people lived in horrible conditions, they lived in cities that were vastly overcrowded and polluted. They worked extremely long hours, in unsafe working environments. Child labor was something that was common for the poor. The textbook says that by 1850, the average life expectancy in England was only 39.5 years. That is truly just crazy to think about!
It was that part in this chapter that really just breaks my heart to read that the poor had to live through these conditions. And although it makes me sad, in a way it also makes me mad that I know people who still live through this today. My family comes from El Salvador, which is a small country in Central America. I have had the opportunity to visit, and see where my parents come from, and how they lived. I have family there and the conditions in which they work aren't any different than the ones talked about in this chapter. There are kids over there who at very young ages have to work to help provide an income to their families. Just the other day I was talking to my cousin who mentioned she works all day, and gets payed $9/day. It's extremely frustrating to know there are still places on this earth with people who live in these kinds of situations.
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