5.1 The Enlightenment Ideology
Intellectuals in the 17th and 18th centuries began emphasizing reason over tradition and individualism over community values. These ideas, known as the Enlightenment, directly challenged the traditional roles of monarchs and religious authorities.
John Locke
Argued for Natural Rights (life, liberty, and property) and the Social Contract. If a government fails to protect these rights, the people have the right to overthrow it.
Baron de Montesquieu
Advocated for the Separation of Powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches to prevent tyranny through a system of checks and balances.
Voltaire & Rousseau
Voltaire campaigned fiercely for religious toleration and freedom of speech. Rousseau expanded on the Social Contract, arguing that the "General Will" of the people should dictate the government.
Impact on Social Structures
Enlightenment ideas influenced various reform movements, contributing to the expansion of rights, as seen in expanded suffrage, the abolition of slavery, and the end of serfdom. It also inspired the early feminist movements (e.g., Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and the Seneca Falls Convention in the US).
5.2 Nationalism and Revolutions in the Period from 1750 to 1900
People around the world developed a new sense of commonality based on language, religion, social customs, and territory. This was Nationalism. Combined with Enlightenment ideals, it sparked a wave of revolutions across the Atlantic world.
| Revolution | Key Figures & Documents | Causes & Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| American Revolution | George Washington, Thomas Jefferson Declaration of Independence |
Cause: "No taxation without representation"; mercantilist policies. Outcome: A successful democratic republic was formed, inspiring others globally. |
| French Revolution | Robespierre, Louis XVI Declaration of the Rights of Man |
Cause: Massive debt, social inequality (the Three Estates), food shortages. Outcome: Abolition of the monarchy, Reign of Terror, and eventually the rise of Napoleon. |
| Haitian Revolution | Toussaint L'Ouverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines | Cause: Brutal slave system on sugar plantations, inspired by French Revolution ideals. Outcome: The first and only completely successful slave revolt in history; established the independent nation of Haiti. |
| Latin American Revolutions | Simón Bolívar Jamaica Letter |
Cause: Creole elites resented the peninsulares' monopoly on political power. Outcome: Independence for Gran Colombia, Mexico, and others, though social hierarchies often remained intact. |
5.3 Industrial Revolution Begins Origins
The transition from a human- and animal-powered agrarian economy to a machine-driven manufacturing economy profoundly changed human history. But why did it begin in Great Britain?
Factors Leading to British Industrialization
- Geographical Advantages: Proximity to waterways, abundant access to rivers/canals, and massive deposits of coal and iron.
- Agricultural Revolution: Innovations like crop rotation and the seed drill increased food production, leading to population growth. The Enclosure Movement forced peasants off the land, creating a large, urbanized workforce.
- Capital & Resources: Wealth generated from the British Empire (mercantilism, slave trade) provided the capital to invest in new factories, while colonies provided raw materials like cotton.
- Legal Protection: Strong protection of private property rights and patents encouraged innovation.
5.4 Industrialization Spreads in the Period from 1750 to 1900
The rapid development of steam-powered industrial production in European countries and the U.S. contributed to the increase in these regions' share of global manufacturing. Meanwhile, Middle Eastern and Asian countries continued to produce manufactured goods, but their share globally declined.
United States
Industrialized rapidly after the Civil War, utilizing vast natural resources and immigrant labor. Built the Transcontinental Railroad, heavily linking the industrial East with agricultural/mining resources in the West.
Russia
State-sponsored industrialization (focused heavily on heavy industry, coal, iron, and steel). Constructed the Trans-Siberian Railroad, which facilitated trade with East Asia and connected the vast empire.
Japan
Following the arrival of Matthew Perry (US), Japan underwent the Meiji Restoration. They rapidly and deliberately industrialized to protect themselves from Western imperialism, blending Western technology with Japanese culture.
Decline of Asian Manufacturing: Due to the rapid mechanization in Europe, traditional artisanal manufacturing in places like India (textiles) and Egypt experienced a severe decline as they could not compete with cheap British goods.
5.5 Technology of the Industrial Age
The development of machines significantly increased output. We typically divide this into two distinct waves of innovation.
| First Industrial Revolution (Late 18th - Early 19th Century) |
Second Industrial Revolution (Late 19th - Early 20th Century) |
|---|---|
| Focused on Textiles, Coal, Iron, and Steam. | Focused on Steel, Chemicals, Electricity, and Precision Machinery. |
| Key invention: The Steam Engine (improved by James Watt), which powered factories and eventually locomotives and steamships. | Key invention: The Internal Combustion Engine and the harnessing of electrical power, leading to lighting, telephones, and radios. |
5.6 Industrialization: Government's Role from 1750 to 1900
As the West industrialized, non-Western states faced severe pressure. Some governments actively promoted state-sponsored industrialization to survive.
- Ottoman Empire: Undertook the Tanzimat Reforms (reorganizing the military, updating the legal system, secularizing schools) to combat internal decline and Western pressure, but these reforms were often met with resistance by religious conservatives (the Ulama).
- Qing China: Initiated the Self-Strengthening Movement to modernize the military and industry while attempting to maintain traditional Confucian values. It largely failed due to government corruption and intense foreign interference.
- Japan (Meiji Restoration): The most successful example. The government abolished the feudal system, restructured the army, and subsidized industries (creating powerful *zaibatsu* monopolies) to quickly become a world power.
5.7 Economic Developments and Innovations in the Industrial Age
Western European countries began abandoning mercantilism and adopting free trade policies, heavily influenced by Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, which advocated for laissez-faire (hands-off) capitalism.
Transnational Businesses
The global nature of trade and production contributed to the proliferation of large-scale transnational businesses that relied on new practices in banking and finance.
- Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC): Established by the British to finance the growing trade between Europe, India, and China (including the opium trade).
- Unilever: A British-Dutch corporation focused on consumer goods like soap, heavily relying on palm oil plantations in West Africa and the Belgian Congo.
Financial Instruments: The era saw the vast expansion of stock markets and the creation of Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs), which protected investors from personal bankruptcy and encouraged risk-taking.
5.8 Reactions to the Industrial Economy from 1750 to 1900 Resistance
In response to the social and economic changes brought about by industrial capitalism, some governments, organizations, and individuals promoted various types of political, social, educational, and urban reforms.
Labor Unions
Workers organized to demand better working conditions, shorter hours, and higher pay. They used strikes as leverage, eventually winning improved lives and the expansion of voting rights.
Karl Marx
Wrote the Communist Manifesto. He argued that capitalism was inherently exploitative, dividing society into the Bourgeoisie (owners) and the Proletariat (workers). He predicted a violent workers' revolution to establish Communism.
5.9 Society and the Industrial Age
New social classes, including the middle class and the industrial working class, developed. Family dynamics, gender roles, and demographics completely shifted.
- Urbanization: People migrated rapidly from rural areas to cities looking for factory work. This resulted in horrible living conditions, pollution, disease (cholera), and cramped tenements.
- Working Class: Women and children were highly sought after for factory and mine labor because they could be paid a fraction of a man's wage. Family life fractured as work moved out of the home and into the factory.
- Middle Class: A new class of managers, accountants, and professionals emerged. For middle-class women, the Cult of Domesticity idealized them as homemakers, completely removing them from the economic sphere as a status symbol.
★ 5.10 Continuity and Change in the Industrial Age
To master Unit 5, you must synthesize how the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution radically changed the political and economic landscape of the globe.