Did Europe's Ability To Transcend The Constraints Of Economic Growth?

Though Jan de Vries praises Pomeranz and his ability to question the divergence that instigates much historical deliberation, de Vries find many gaps in Pomeranz’s theory. The main issue de Vries call attention to is that this so called “divergence” Pomeranz illustrates didn’t begin in the 1800s, rather prior to the 1800’s. The Industrial Revolution, according to de Vries, has an abundant “history” of “industrial, commercial, financial, and agricultural development” (de Vries 2011, 15) . This “history” of the Industrial

The introduction of many new crops like corn, tomatoes and potatoes to Europe from the Americas previously had all but eliminated wide-spread famine in the region. These new food sources had also made Europeans healthier resulting in generally increased lifespans and more offspring generating a significant population increase in the region, thus creating more demand for the products and goods consumed by every growing society. The increased population also provided for an abundant labor pool of workers to man the factories which were to become the engines of the emerging industrial society of the west. Favorable environmental factors were important too. The availability of an abundance of ports and waterways and large coal and iron deposits fueled the early surge of the industrial revolution in the west.

Before the Industrial Revolution some industry existed in Europe, but on a much smaller scale. As industrialization spread throughout Europe so did other things that made for better living conditions. Before industrialization many families worked at home and barely made enough to get by. But after industrialization there were more opportunities for outside work and money. Also, the monarch no longer ruled them and they had a stronger voice in the government.

The industrial revolution had several effects on Europe including: increased population, urbanization, increased wealth, consumerism and new roles for women. Increased productivity in agriculture, as well as advances in medical science, led to a population boom throughout Europe, and this, in part lead to the urbanization European cities. The industrial revolution also affected social classes and wealth. An overall improvement in wages and standards of living could be seen across economic levels by second half of the nineteenth century. Perhaps one of the biggest transformations among social classes were

As Europe became so much more industrialized, major problems started to rise and make itself known. Unemployment and lack of money for the people were two of the major problems (Doc R). Europe’s solution to this was to colonize parts of Africa and send all of the extra people there. This allowed the overflow of people to be minimized because of the new acquired space they now had. It also helped their economy because as European people were being pushed out to Africa, new factories and businesses were put up so they could work in them. Also, the inventions of the cannon based on the “gunpowder empires” in Africa and Europe allowed them to get ahead of their competitors (Doc H). This new artillery invention allowed Europe to take down African and Asian armies that were larger than theirs. Since the cannon was a necessity for Europe to take down their enemies, and was generally ahead in the military aspects, the factories had to make and model these in the most efficient way possible. This heavy demand for weaponry placed a big load of work on the factories to produce the cannon and send it out to the troops the fastest they could. This increase in workload in factories provided more jobs and strengthen the economy for Europe. Also, the gunpowder industry began as a result of the industrial revolution. This revolution was so popular in Europe that it paved the way for Europe to overall strive in many aspects such as the production of gunpowder. The new overseas technological advances and transportation gave Europe an extra layer of protection to their already great military (Doc H). The industrial revolution in Europe was were steamships and the transporting of goods originally started. This laid a foundation for the factories in improve the ships and put Europe ahead. Having effective and efficient

Industrialization in the late 19th century was commencing across the globe. Japan's industrialization was a fast one, completing what took Europe a century, in a single decade. With a highly advanced military and government stability, Japan to control of territory in modern day Korea. Russia was one of the countries that began to industrialize after losing to Japan in a war. The embarrassment Russia held for losing to what they considered an inferior country, sparked the government to industrialize, to avoid further humiliation. Impeding industrialization in both areas, took a toll on the lower class, and forced ex-farmers to become factory workers. This caused urbanization, as people were required to live near factories, located in cities. Although Japan and Russia differed in their sources of income for the process

The world would have been a better place if Western Europe had not come to dominate the world economy. The rivalry between countries caused so much destruction that was completely unnecessary. Negative effects from the unbalanced world economy and discovery of the Americas far outweigh the positive. Europe itself did advance and develop due to the discovery, as well as helping some of the rest of the world develop, but so many lives were lost and cultures destroyed that it was not truly worth it. Only a few of the documents, including Documents 2, 12, 14, 16, and 19, showed the positive effects of either the discovery of the New World or Europe's domination of trade.

One of the ways the Industrial Revolution transformed European Society was by making cities busier, one way that happened was the cities got bigger. “87% of people lived in cities after the 1900’s before only 13% of people lived in the cities (Doc F).” Before the industrial revolution began a

The industrial revolution that swept across Europe in the 19th century was vital to both the economic and social advancements that Continental Europe was able to achieve. Starting in the United Kingdom with small textile mills run by hard labor quickly transitioned to larger factories using unskilled workers. With the progression of the 19th century, the Great Britain no longer was the only nation going through a period of industrialization. Soon after, Britain’s breakthrough, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy began their own periods of industrialization. Throughout Prussia and the other small German states, the creation of factories and the move away from farming created problems. For many factory owners, they found replication to be all

Humanism and the growth of trade affected the Europeans greatly. The growth of trade made the growth of cities and the reemergence of a strong merchant class. They opened new roads. Humanism stressed the study of classical subjects. New ways of thinking and the growth of trade made a nice era to live in.

In contrast to Russia and Japan, Great Britain’s industrialization occurred differently. England was actually the first to industrialize and industrial Great Britain served as a model for Japan’s and Russia’s later on. Industrialization was a slow, organic process in England started after feudalism but did cause much of the populace to leave their farms and migrate to urban centers, causing the creation of tenements. However, England’s industrialization was privately incentivized. Rather than the government creating economic incentives to modernize, England’s few natural resources and therefore ambition to take the resources of others caused private capitalists to invest money into building factories and growing industries. And like Japan, England’s industrialization was very successful, as the technological advancements and new innovation allowed their superior military to overcome other countries and imperialize, take over new regions. Thus, even though industrialization in different countries around the world did have differences, industrialization as a process that countries go through have similar characteristics. It causes massive social changes and the growth of urban centers, development and innovations in not just the military but also

The Industrial Revolution occurred from the 1750s to the early 1900s was a importance movement transforming Europe and America from Agrarian and rural societies to the industrial and urban systems . This was an important movement brought multiple changes of the advances in technology, transportations, trades and manufactures . For thousand of years, China had been ahead with many technological marvels, but it did not take the lead in the Industrial Revolution due to some factors, including the great impacts of Confucius philosophy and the failure of political, diplomatic and economic policies .

The Great Divergence is term used to portray the gradual shift of dominance that Europe gained by establishing itself as the most powerful world civilization by the 19th century. While a case could be made that the Great Divergence occurred because of the pre-eminence of Europe and Britain, as well as their supposed superiority in invention and innovation above anywhere else in the world, this argument is flawed. A more compelling argument would be to state that it was rather through the geographical advantages that Europe obtained that lead it into eventually becoming the most powerful civilization after 1500 A.D., as this essay will strive to demonstrate.

Impacts of Industrialization Industrialization is the system in which a country goes from a primarily agricultural state into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services. Industrialization began its immense impact during the 18th century in Europe, where it was first introduced. Rapid industrialization brought plentiful jobs and new products and services, but also created problems that were harmful to the people. With the rise of industrialization, the society was able to rise to its standard of living. However, the expansion of cities and factories did not have such a great effect.

Not many could have anticipated the rapid rise of the European industry that was realized from industrial revolution. As a note, dominance in wage labor, rapid growth of cities and evolution of industries mostly from steel and iron factories were perhaps the greatest changes that were experienced. In economic changes, manifestations were evident through the increased rates of immigration to better places, rapid growth of cities as centers of trade and changes in the type of work and working structures. Socially, reorganization of family was experienced as well as changes in ownership of jobs, rural to urban migration as well as where and when to work (Lynn et al. 413-414). Politics also played a great role in