Industrial Age in Europe

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The Industrialization, a Double-edged Sword The Industrial Revolution is an age where nineteenth century Europe goes through a transformation where nations move from agricultural to industrial powers. One nation which leads the way of industrialization is England, due to its innovation in production and manufacturing of various goods. Many different causes contributed to this phenomenon including the rise in population, technological advances, and greater mobility in transportation of capital. However, prosperity does not last forever. In the early 1840’s, a great depression takes place, causing a downturn in the economy and a deterioration in the quality of life and increase in suffering of the working class. Although the industrial revolution had economic ups and downs, this time period made significant advances in civilization. Many historical texts written by scholars such as Thomas Macaulay and Charles Kingsley held differing opinions and debated on whether the changes that occurred in the economic system with the expense of the people were a blessing or a curse to society during the industrial time period. (Greenblatt) Many blessings came to the industrial revolution which made England a strong economic power. In the turn of the eighteenth century, England and other European powers started changing from an economy based on colonization to a power centered on industrialization. In the mid 1700’s, the creation of the steam engine was the first in a long line of innovations to hasten the already changing economy. James Watt improved the steam engine in 1780s, which allowed the creation of locomotives and railroads, in turn lead to increased demand in iron, coal, other natural resources, and overall manufacturing. This increase in demand for resources created a gap in the labor forces allowing people to move from urban areas to the cities to fill the job
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