The Industrial Revolution and what came of it is the reason that the world and economy is at the spot it is today. Before the industrial revolution the world looked pretty much the same all throughout history. During and after the revolution the world looked very different. The industrial revolution not only changed the dynamics in family life and work life but also shifted the power between countries, it also caused the world to be the polluted place it is. Studying the Industrial Revolution helps us understand how humans got to where they are today. Understanding this time can help find the answer to how racism started, how the inequality between men and women began and how Europe and America gained so much power. The most impactful parts …show more content…
Advanced technology made Europe hold the power after years of having less power than other places. That further explains the argument and helps set up evidence: In the past Europe did not have the most power and wars between them and anyone else would be mostly fair. Once having more advanced technology Europe would become the most powerful. An african veteran of the Nedele Rebellion against British advances in southern Africa in 1896. Kumalo says“But for the white men’s machine guns, it would have been different”. He is indirectly talking about how the industrial revolution made Europe win wars (Kumalo document 4). When machine guns were brought into the European military it was a reflection on the industrial revolution because it showed what Europe had on the rest of the world at the time. The Republic Empire by Tyler Stovall document explains how the new technology worked the way it did. “Machine guns gave imperial forces overwhelming military superiority”. The document explains how Europe gained power then used advanced technology like machine guns that made gaining power possible (Stovall 63). Europe gaining power was a very significant time in history because it changed the course of how people live to this day and what made Europe gain power was the new technology they used. An example of how the machine guns would work to make Europe one of the most powerful places was the opium wars. Opium is an illegal drug and only some people in china could get some and it was very uncommon for a normal person to use or be addicted to it. Opium and Global capitalism document by Robert Marks explains the significance of why Britain won the opium war. Europe wanted to be even with China trading wise and the way they got that point was by giving inosinate people opium an addictive drug. Once China figured things out they wanted to stop it but when going to war europe
During this time, these great countries believed that their greatness was measured by the amount of colonies that most owned. They believed that power was impossible without colonies as part of European imperialism. Different inventions such as the machine gun supported this belief as it made it possible for Europeans to easily conquer other nations. It also made it possible for these countries to manipulate their colonies to increase their national prestige.
European powers continued to claim overseas empires to exploit their resources for their own benefit. Following the Industrial Revolution in the mid-nineteenth century, Europe had advanced tremendously. Technological advances and the development of a capitalist economy called for support from overseas markets and resources. Jules Ferry claims that “imperialism involved the aggressive search for, and international conflict over territory or spheres of influence providing markets and outlets for investment”. The European powers were highly concerned with increasing their capital.
Steam engines and Industrialization provided Europeans with vastly superior transportation: steamships, railroads, superior communications: telegraph and superior military power. The uneven power relationship that so favored Europeans made imperialism possible and hard to resist. (Lecture notes 21st October) However, by the 19th century, Europe’s dominance almost came to its end. Many factors contributed but in my opinion, it can be argued that mostly due to the competitive system and bit of industrialization, Europe’s dominance came to a decline.
Introduction Once the systems created by the Industrial Revolution began to stabilize, Europeans started to look to other continents for resources as theirs had depleted. African and Asian nations had their own systems and an abundance of resources which Europeans saw as motivation to invade the continents. Local militaries and populations in the areas targeted by Europeans resisted but eventually fell victim to more advanced weaponry such as machine guns that Europeans now possessed. This resulted in devastating political and economic consequences in Asia and Africa and large shifts in local cultures that have lasted until present day.
While invention was only part of the story, empire was central. It enabled the accumulation of capital for rapid expansion and controlled markets, and it ensured a supply of cotton. Beckert argues that slavery and the expropriation of native lands was fueled by European capital and combined to feed raw materials relentlessly into Europe’s core industry. European capitalists and rulers altered global networks through multiple means. The muscle of armed trade enabled the creation of a complex, Eurocentric maritime trade web and the forging of a military-fiscal state allowed for the projection of power into the far-flung corners of the world.
Africa had an abundance of natural resources at this time and was easy to imperialize as it was not industrialized meaning that it lacked proper weaponry in order to defend itself. The European imperialism of Africa was fueled by the industrialism and market force in the 1800’s as the Europeans gained the motivation and tools necessary to imperialize Africa so they would not have to worry about whether or not Africa would let it set up spheres of influence. . Spheres of influence were areas in Africa that in which Europeans controlled the resources and trade in the area. The motivation to imperialize Africa for the Europeans was that the nation with the most raw materials would become the most industrialized and therefore, the most powerful. The industrial revolution also provided the Europeans with far more advanced weaponry over the Africans as new and improved weapons were easier and cheaper for Europeans to manufacture.
During the 16th and 17th century, Europeans were a force to be reckoned with. Starting with Columbus, a movement was sparked in which claiming the most land was the goal of many European powers. With their guns, germs and steel, European countries worked towards establishing a foothold in many parts of Asia, Africa, and the New World. Strategically having established colonies and trading ports in areas vital to commerce, Europeans were able to create a global trade, connecting many part of the world. In the 16th and 17th century Europeans were a driving force in the globalization, modernization and connections made in the ever-changing and power hungry world they dominated.
Technology was a massive impact on European imperialism because unlike the Africans who had bows and spears. The Europeans have already developed the first machine gun. The mechanism of the Maxim gun employed one of the earliest recoil operated firing systems in history. The electric telegraph was also a big factor to European
During the age of imperialism Europe had a lot of advantages that lead to the success of the continent. Imperialism is when a country’s power is extended. The age of Imperialism was when new colonies were developed and expanded, this occurred during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Europe wasn’t only a more advanced area but there were also many geographic advantages. The Europeans were very capable of conquering most of the known world during the this time in history because of geographic luck also the animals that were in the continent and the weapons they had caused Europe to have a great advantage.
It is the Europeans who find success with gunpowder. The Europeans develop gunpowder to the point that it becomes the central feature of European overseas expansion. Although the European’s usage of gunpowder played a significant role in conquering land
In centuries previous to colonial rule, Europe began to increase economic capacity rapidly due to the Industrial Revolution, while Africa on the contrary appeared to remain static in economic development. Large economic disparity existed between industrial nations such as Great Britain, Germany, France and Africa, Latin America, and Asia nations that were known to lack in economic ranking. The European nations sought economic power; Christian converts, as well as military power to enrich its own countries and individual prestige. The opportunities for international trade were limitless. However, such benefits of exploration lasted only a century and made these developing nations despise their conquerors.
Europe during this period of vast change began to move away from the absolute dominance seen by the Monarchies during much of the Middle Ages. The people of Europe began to rebel against the status quo that had been in place for centuries. Critical thinking and logical reasoning began to be practised by the citizens of Europe and this led to a cultural revolution, in which the early seeds of the democracies we now see were planted. Western Europe became the home of many of the world’s major superpowers and began to dominate proceedings on the world stage. Western Europe entered an era of almost unmatched economic and technological supremacy, and started the colonial era, colonising vast unconquered portions of the globe.
After the devastating loss of the Opium War, the Qing Emperor created factories and dockyards to create modern weapons and ships. The failure of Ancient Chinese technology against modern technology of the Europeans showed the Chinese that they needed to industrialize and reform. These technologies would later help the Chinese fight off the Japanese during WWII and later battle each other for power. European influence can be seen today. Even though China was not colonized by European powers, its relationship had the exploitative elements of imperialism.
The scramble for Africa continues to be one of the most famous examples of European imperialism. Africa was underdeveloped and countries like Britain used this to their advantage. Their plans did not include helping or supporting the country, but included plans used only for strategic interests for money. Industrialization gave European countries wealth, technology, and motivation to look beyond their homelands.
For the first cause, technologies and resources were advanced in Europe such as vehicles, weapons and building techniques at the start of the twentieth century. All countries in Europe started to try gaining more power, more land and more business than others since then; especially Britain, France and Germany, they competed against each other. Later, the Germans started to build modern factories so Britain got nervous while France was having more colonies, money and power. These three countries got