This essay will discuss the reasoning as to why the Industrial Revolution occurred in Europe and not in Africa. There are various causes of the Industrial Revolution mainly being geographical environment, culture and institutions and each one of them had an impact on where the Industrial Revolution would begin.
The Industrial Revolution is defined as the rapid major change in the economy due to rapid technological and economic development where human power was replaced by mechanical power due to the general introduction of power-driven machinery. The period of industrialization was from the mid-18th to the mid-19th centuries. Britain, during the past, was well known for conquering other countries and this gives merit as to why the Industrial Revolution began in Europe and not in Africa. The 17th century saw Northern Europeans becoming important
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The culture that European countries had was a factor. Their economic success could be attributed to the Protestant values that population of these countries had. They were hard working and had a good work ethic which resulted in greater efficiency and productivity. It could be said that mass education and literacy was an important pre-requisite for industrialization. These resulted in knowledge accumulation which had to do with discoveries, innovation, technology and Research and Development which were all largely based in Britain. Britain spent a lot of time and money doing Research and Development and discovered a way to make the use of machinery profitable as the machines they invented increased the use of capital to save labour. Britain had a culture of innovation which really put them ahead of them throughout the world. Britain was also continually extending the world’s technology frontier and all of the occurrences mentioned above showed how Europe would be the likely centre of Industrial Revolution, more so than Africa because it wasn’t known for major developments like Europe
The Industrial Revolution began in England because they had the best natural resources, they had a geographic advantage and they made changes in their agriculture.
During the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain also managed to undergo developments of iron ore and coal power, the latter of which was used to aid railway growth in the country. Railway growth, in turn, gave way to the growth of corporations. (Global Political Economy, 70). The era of industrialization in Great Britain introduced the heyday of the Gold Standard, which helped with the exchange of currency, and more notably renewed imperialism, which took place throughout the world and involved Britain along with many other European superpowers such as Germany and Italy. This expansion of Western powers brought about things such as enlarged empires, new colonies that were used and exploited for economic gain, and, most notably, the scramble for Africa: a race among the European nations to divide and conquer the continent of Africa for reasons such as slave labor, trade, and continuation of
The Industrial Revolution began in England because of their access to many resources along with their location which provided many of the things they needed.
Q6. In my opinion, without the occurrence of the Industrial Revolution, conquering Africa would have been a much harder goal to achieve for the Europeans. The Industrial Revolution brought many new advancements for the Europeans, it gave them an edge over the Africans. I believe that if the Europeans had tried to take over Africa it would've been a much harder and longer process. Many different aspects would be changed without the Industrial Revolution.
Great Britain was the first country to really experience industrialization. A combination of the small country, agricultural improvements, large population growth, increases in national wealth, and access to cheap materials and mineral resources allowed the Industrial Revolution to grow in Britain. Because Britain was such a small area of land, the transport of goods and materials was cheap through roads, rivers, and canals. Agricultural improvements resulted in an increase in the production of food which allowed people more disposable income in which they could purchase manufactured goods. Large population growth supplied abundances of laborers who could be employed in factories. Access to cheap materials from Asia and the Americas and mineral resources increased national wealth which allowed industrialization to continue.
The industrial revolution started in Great Britain due to, their abundant supply of coal and iron. Also, the economic climate in Great Britain permitted them to grow their economy. The England colonies in America also played a significant role, due to the re the settlement provided. Iron and coal were the two most important raw material for sustaining the industrial revolution, and Great Britain had an abundant supply. Also, Great Britain discouraged other countries and colonies from processing the raw material into finished products. Thus providing Great Britain with a monopoly on the market, for their
During the industrial revolution was also a time when imperialism was at its height. Because of all the inventions that were created during the industrial revolution, countries all over the world decided that they not only just needed money to keep their empire at large, they decided that they need more land. And so the countries and empires in Europe set out to conquer the country that was nearest to them, Africa. Not only did Africa had a large amount of people to sell for slaves, it had most of the materials and ingredients Europe needed to invent more inventions. And for this reason Europe was at competition with each other to gain more land and materials for their empire.
In somewhat of an allusion to earlier discussions regarding causation, I’d like to acknowledge that one can only really conjecture as to the reason for Europe to begin experiencing what is referred to as the Industrial Revolution before others. However, one thing that strikes me as being plausibly explanatory is the relatively high cost of labor in places like England at the time. High labor costs provide incentive for automation. High labor costs may also result in disposable income, which could incentivize industrial development in the interest of development or manufacture of product.
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain for several reasons. By the mid-1700's, the country had become the world's leading colonial
Britain enjoyed the significant economic advantages during the early years of the Industrial Revolution for many reasons. The Industrial Revolution built on earlier developments, but took time to progress. It eventually began to help ordinary people in the West to gain a higher standard life of living. Great Britain had more advantages such as natural resources, political stability and favorable geography. According to the textbook, A History of Western Society, “Britain possessed a unique set of possibilities and constraints, such as abundant coal, high wages, a relatively peaceful and centralized government and well developed financial systems…” (622) and the list goes on. Furthermore, agriculture played an important role in the Industrial Revolution in Britain. “English farmers were second only to the Dutch in
The Industrial Revolution happened in Europe specifically Britain as opposed to China as Britain had the foundations such as an advantageous location, political environment and the need for new energy sources. The advantageous location of Britain allowed for it to expand network connections. Britain’s political environment allowed for more freedom and the lack of wood caused Britain to find an alternate energy source. China had a different political environment from Britain as well as different amounts of natural resources. China’s primary goal when the Industrial Revolution was happening in Britain was protection from nomadic tribes around China such as the Mongols.
Industrial revolution might be one of the greatest revolutions to occur in human history. During the era of industrial revolution economic and social lives of people changed and great western cities prospered. Many western nations relied on other nation form raw material they need for their industries. So, western nation and Japan decided to seize control of other nation that has raw materials. Through imperialism, western nations and Japan spread their rule throughout the world. Obviously, no one is never going to freely allow others to take over their nation. So, imperialism was mostly done using force. One area that was deeply affected by imperialism was Africa. While the positive effects of imperialism on Africa was freed from European
England was an ideal place for the Industrial Revolution to begin. It had a great location it was by the water, so it was perfect for employment. It had lots of natural resources; it had a good or rather a wealthy economy and also a large population. Countless people were domesticated workers. The
During the late eighteenth century, most of Europe was preoccupied with war and unrest. However, being separated from the European continent, Britain suffered little in the aftermath of this turmoil. This allowed them to advance their industries and make unprecedented technological progress. By the nineteenth century, most of western Europe began to adopt British innovation, allowing them to later become key players of industrialization. Referred to as the Industrial Revolution, this was a period of change; both technological and social.
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century changed Europe forever. At the front of this change was Great Britain, which used some natural advantages and tremendous thinking and innovation to become the leader of the Industrial Revolution.