6.10 Causation in the Age of Industrialization

Political and social stability combined with an abundance of natural resources led to Great Britain industrializing first. Once they industrialized the textile industry and efficiently utilized the railroads, 🛤️ their industrial dominance was complete.

England then went on to inspire the rest of the world to follow in its footsteps in the First Industrial Revolution.

Industrialization birthed a working-class that consisted of people who were kicked out of agriculture and a middle class that consisted of factory owners. The family structure changed over time due to industrialization. It also completely destroyed the old social order and distribution of where the population lived due to urbanization and rapid population growth.

The end of Napoleon’s empire signaled the beginning of a conservative Europe stuck in the ways of old. This new conservative Europe led to many governments that were considered too overbearing and traditional. The government’s reluctance to strive for progress would lead to new ideologies that sought to fix that reluctance.

Industrialization created problems that the average person could not solve alone. As time passed and demands for reform grew, the government had to change. At first, organizations and individuals led the charge. 📢

Once the government saw how large the demand for change was, they had no choice but to initiate and support movements that responded to problems emphasized by industrialization. This period of innovation and reform would end with the beginning of World War One.