Historical Connections
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Historical Connections:
Another useful thing about this topic, and one that was made abundantly clear throughout the summer seminar, is the way in which it relates to literally every other major historical topic as well as providing limitless opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. The more ways in which a student can engage with the more material, the more likely they are to understand and remember it. Below are some suggestions for connections to other topics in history and other subjects of study.
Plague: According to Robert Allen, the Plague is where the story of the Industrial Revolution begins, and is also key to explaining why it began it Britain. First, the Plague reduced the population, thus increasing opportunities for wealth accumulation among those left behind, while also destroying the feudal system that tied serfs to the land. It was also a start of a long trend of urbanization that was especially marked in London. Allen also argues that British sheep benefited from so much land reverting to pasture, and that a better diet led to longer wool which made the British textile industry possible. Allen also demonstrates that England’s population recovered much slower than in Europe, which led to the high English wages that he sees as the key to explaining why the Industrial Revolution first happened in Britain. Of course, this theory neglects to address why the plague started in the first place – the “global” trade between East and West that brought the plague into Europe via Italian merchants.
Reformation: Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is one of the greatest works of ideological history, but has also been called into question by modern (mostly economic) historians. Nonetheless, textbooks still emphasize Methodism and the Protestant work ethic as contributing to England’s success during this time, and most modern historians have acknowledged the role of dissenters in advancing early forms of business and industry, as they were locked out of many other areas of society.
Renaissance: The rise of early forms of banking can provide a link as well as a contrast to the development of the banking and insurance during the Industrial Revolution. There is also a comparison to be made between the ways in which science was funded during these two time periods. Another useful point of comparison is Thomas More’s vision of utopia with that of the social utopians of the 19th century. Of course, the Renaissance is often linked to the Scientific Revolution (and contemporaneous with the “Age of Exploration”, and the connections of that topic to the industrial revolution are explored directly below.
Exploration/ Colonization: Much as been said about the connection between industry and empire, (especially by Hobsbawm). While the exact nature of Britain’s early “empire” can be debated and debunked, it is clear that Britain’s success in colonizing the world and establishing trade dominance gave it both the supplies of raw materials and markets for finished goods that added fuel to the fire of industrialization. Of course, slavery played a large part in making this intercontinental trade profitable. Moreover, while the idea that profits from the slave trade funded the industrial revolution in Britain has been disproven, the sugar plantation can be seen as the first prototype for the factory system as it contained a series of processes taking place in one location and carried out by a series or workers who each were responsible for one stage of the processing . This is also an opportunity to explore the differences between mercantilism and capitalism.
Scientific Revolution: The links between the Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution are explored in detail in Allen’s work. He addresses the argument of whether the Newtonian mindset actually influenced the development of industrial technology in England, although he eventually concludes that it was only because these developments were profitable in England that explains why they were first invented there. Allen does, however, acknowledge the direct link between 17th century experimentation with 18th century technological developments, especially regarding ideas such as atmospheric weight and pressure and the laws of motion, which were applied to machines during the Industrial Revolution.
Enlightenment: Again it is Allen who investigates the links between the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, as he analyzes Mokyr’s notion of the “Industrial Enlightenment.” While Allen is ultimately pessimistic about the links between Enlightenment thought and the Industrial Revolution, it is clear that there are at least some linkages, whether through scientific societies (such as the Lunar Society of Birmingham) or direct mentoring experiences (such as Watt’s potential link with Enlightenment thinkers at the University of Glasgow).
Nationalism: The rise of nationalism can be traced back to the rise of class consciousness and then national class consciousness during the Industrial Revolution. The rise of nationalism also dashed Marx’s hopes for an international working class consciousness.
Imperialism and WWI: The steam engine and the Maxim gun helped spread the tidal wave of the European imperialism that swept across Africa and the world in the latter part of the 19th century. The technologies of the Industrial Revolution opened up new horizons of conquest and led to the European competition for dominance, which is often seen as one of the main causes of the outbreak of World War I.
Plague: According to Robert Allen, the Plague is where the story of the Industrial Revolution begins, and is also key to explaining why it began it Britain. First, the Plague reduced the population, thus increasing opportunities for wealth accumulation among those left behind, while also destroying the feudal system that tied serfs to the land. It was also a start of a long trend of urbanization that was especially marked in London. Allen also argues that British sheep benefited from so much land reverting to pasture, and that a better diet led to longer wool which made the British textile industry possible. Allen also demonstrates that England’s population recovered much slower than in Europe, which led to the high English wages that he sees as the key to explaining why the Industrial Revolution first happened in Britain. Of course, this theory neglects to address why the plague started in the first place – the “global” trade between East and West that brought the plague into Europe via Italian merchants.
Reformation: Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is one of the greatest works of ideological history, but has also been called into question by modern (mostly economic) historians. Nonetheless, textbooks still emphasize Methodism and the Protestant work ethic as contributing to England’s success during this time, and most modern historians have acknowledged the role of dissenters in advancing early forms of business and industry, as they were locked out of many other areas of society.
Renaissance: The rise of early forms of banking can provide a link as well as a contrast to the development of the banking and insurance during the Industrial Revolution. There is also a comparison to be made between the ways in which science was funded during these two time periods. Another useful point of comparison is Thomas More’s vision of utopia with that of the social utopians of the 19th century. Of course, the Renaissance is often linked to the Scientific Revolution (and contemporaneous with the “Age of Exploration”, and the connections of that topic to the industrial revolution are explored directly below.
Exploration/ Colonization: Much as been said about the connection between industry and empire, (especially by Hobsbawm). While the exact nature of Britain’s early “empire” can be debated and debunked, it is clear that Britain’s success in colonizing the world and establishing trade dominance gave it both the supplies of raw materials and markets for finished goods that added fuel to the fire of industrialization. Of course, slavery played a large part in making this intercontinental trade profitable. Moreover, while the idea that profits from the slave trade funded the industrial revolution in Britain has been disproven, the sugar plantation can be seen as the first prototype for the factory system as it contained a series of processes taking place in one location and carried out by a series or workers who each were responsible for one stage of the processing . This is also an opportunity to explore the differences between mercantilism and capitalism.
Scientific Revolution: The links between the Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution are explored in detail in Allen’s work. He addresses the argument of whether the Newtonian mindset actually influenced the development of industrial technology in England, although he eventually concludes that it was only because these developments were profitable in England that explains why they were first invented there. Allen does, however, acknowledge the direct link between 17th century experimentation with 18th century technological developments, especially regarding ideas such as atmospheric weight and pressure and the laws of motion, which were applied to machines during the Industrial Revolution.
Enlightenment: Again it is Allen who investigates the links between the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, as he analyzes Mokyr’s notion of the “Industrial Enlightenment.” While Allen is ultimately pessimistic about the links between Enlightenment thought and the Industrial Revolution, it is clear that there are at least some linkages, whether through scientific societies (such as the Lunar Society of Birmingham) or direct mentoring experiences (such as Watt’s potential link with Enlightenment thinkers at the University of Glasgow).
Nationalism: The rise of nationalism can be traced back to the rise of class consciousness and then national class consciousness during the Industrial Revolution. The rise of nationalism also dashed Marx’s hopes for an international working class consciousness.
Imperialism and WWI: The steam engine and the Maxim gun helped spread the tidal wave of the European imperialism that swept across Africa and the world in the latter part of the 19th century. The technologies of the Industrial Revolution opened up new horizons of conquest and led to the European competition for dominance, which is often seen as one of the main causes of the outbreak of World War I.