Q. 1A) Before the industrial revolution, there was about 80% of the population who where farmers, these farmers kept the remaining 20% from starving. Today, there is less than 1% farmers in the US. The innovations of “the industrial revolution” were intimately interconnected. Look, for instance at the British textile industry: The invention of the flying shuttle by John Kay in 1733 dramatically increased the speed of weaving, with in turn created demand for yard, which lead to inventions like the spinning Jenny and water frame. Soon these processes were mechanized using waterpower until the steam engine came along to make the flying shuttle “fly”. The most successful steam engine was built by Thomas Newcomen to clear water out of mines. …show more content…
This together with easy access to the sea made it possible for trade to the rest of the world. But at the same time as Britain started their development (early 1800) Many Asian countries, together with many European countries where at “the same level” of development. Take for instance a look at China. China had many inventions like gunpowder, printing, paper and the compass. China had more free enterprises during the Song dynasty than anywhere in the world. They also had easy access to the sea and had good export trades. So in many ways China was at least as primed for an industrial revolution as Britain was. So, why did it not happen? Europeans, especially the Britain’s had one huge advantage. The coal. Cheap British coal created the opportunity to improve the efficiency in production, faster infrastructure (railroads, steamboats) and made it so that Britain had a solid source of income. I chose to focus more on the coal factor in this answer, but having that said, oversea was also a dominant factor of development. We can for instance take a look at Portugal who, because of oversea domination, in the early 1500 became one of the riches countries in the world in a very short time. Oversea trades where very lucrative and countries with the possibility to do so had a huge …show more content…
The contribution of mobile telecommunications infrastructure to economic growth is significantly smaller for low mobile penetration countries (or in fact low income countries) than for high penetration countries. While in high income countries the mobile telecommunications contribution to annual GDP growth is 0.39%, for low income countries this falls to 0.19%.” (Harald Gruber and Pantelis Koutroumpis 2010) Q. 2) To summarize and evaluate the statements in terms of their ability to explain economic growth, then I will first point out their points: Jared Diamond is an American scientist and author. Diamond is also geographer, which is reflected in his argument of why some countries in the world developed faster than others. In his documentary “Guns, germs and steel” he is answering a question asked by Yali, a local in the island of Papa New Guinea. "Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo, but we black people had little cargo of our own?" (Yali 1974) In order to answer this question Diamond did research back in time to search for a “time of equality” when all the people of the world lived in the same
In conclusion to this compelling argument that was displayed throughout the book. Jared Diamonds points that were made in his argumentative book Guns Germs and Steel. I found to be thought Provoking and very informative but, falls short at certain Points to his answer to Yali’s question. Jared Diamond’s explanation I found to be a great explanation but not a complete one. Maybe if certain things that weren’t included in this essay were to be put on the book then Guns Germs and steels answer to the question about equality would seem heaven
Much of Western Europe quickly industrialized after Great Britain. If they did not, they were immediately outclassed by the British in trade and military strength. Industrialization made good use of the natural resources in a state. Some nations industrialized a while after Great Britain and were falling behind. Two of these states were Russia and Japan. These countries experienced change in governments, economic power, and social structure as a result of industrialization. Yet, these states went through their industrializations in very different ways than each other.
The impact of the Industrial Revolution was a positive experience for some, but it was a great difficulty for others. Because of the demands for reform and protection for workers arose, government and unions began to take place. That was how the evils of the Industrial Revolution addressed in England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
“Why is it that you white people developed much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?” (Diamond, page 3)
The Industrial Revolution was the major advancement of technology in the late 18th and early 19th century that began in Britain and spread to America.The national and federal government helped the United States grow into a self reliant nation with improvements in transportation, technology, manufacturing and the growth of the population.
Introduction The industrial revolution took place between 1750 and 1850 all round the world. In this essay it describes the changes made in Middlesbrough in this period and how the managed to cope with the surge of people coming into Middlesbrough. Everything changed in Middlesbrough in the Industrial Revolution like mining, transport, agriculture and even technology. Population grew at great rate as there was plenty of work and cheap labour was readily available.
Larger empires maximized long distance trade due to the demand for raw materials and luxury items. Because of this trade routes developed over land and sea to link various parts of the east. Some of the routes that formed were the Silk Roads, the Trans-Saharan caravan routes, and various sea lanes.
Resources were the main driving force for giving societies the chance to move from a society that was under the limitations of a old biological regime; into a more modern industrialized country. Specifically coal was the resource that was special in this transitional period. Robert Mark who is a history and environmental professor at Whittier college in Southern California states. "The use of coal was a major breakthrough, launching human society out of the biological old regime and into a new one no longer limited by annual solar energy flows"11 Countries that were using wood too burn and heat things were at a major disadvantage to those who had major access to coal. Coal was special because it burnt hotter and longer than wood was able too. Coal would also become the major resource in fueling the industrial revolution. "The replacement-with steam generated by burning coal- of wind, water, and animals for powering industrial machines constitutes the beginning of Industrial Revolution"2 When comparing both China and England during this transition they are going though the same problems.
“History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples ' environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves” (Jared Diamond). In the book Guns Germs and Steel he accounted a conversation with Yali, a New Guinean politician that had asked “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?”. Diamond tries to answer this by describing the difference in use of government throughout history by bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states.
The Industrial Revolution, a notable evolution in production technologies and specialized machineries, became one of the main causes of British imperialism. As the need for more advanced materials grew to support the Industrial Revolution, many nations sought foreign territory which could supply their quickly-growing demand. The Industrial Revolution allowed England to develop better weapons, such breech loading rifles and better ships which helped to conquer different territories. In addition, the British started colonizing and taking control of various countries because they provided new trade opportunities and more income for the mainland. Religion and social Darwinism played another major part in this global force, due to a belief that it was “the white man’s burden” to colonize and “modernize” the rest of the world which they saw as developmentally inferior.
As stated, both authors ' views are dictated by the fields they are experts in. As a result, one would expect the incredibly well-rounded Diamond to have a very nuanced view of the causes behind development of human societies. From his historical training, he recognizes that during the European age of exploration the societies of Europe were far more advanced than that of all other continents, yet in accordance with a more modern perspective, rejects previous racist theories such as difference in intellect. In Guns, Germs, and Steel he essentially identifies three factors that all led to these lopsided states of development, all of which he is somewhat versed in. Two crucial factors; geography and ecology, point to a less
The industrial revolution of 17th and 18th centuries saw the transformation of Britain from a Neolithic nation into an industrious nation. However, this spread quickly throughout the world, introducing the modernisation of agriculture, revolution in power and manufacturing of textile.
The increase in population meant that there were more people in surplus from agricultural jobs and they had to find work in industrial factories, which was the basis of the Industrial Revolution. One of the darker causes for the Industrial Revolution was the slave trade with overseas colonies at the time. For many merchants who saw the easy money to be made from the voyages, the merchants became extremely rich – and as it is in human nature – these rich merchants wanted to become even more rich, the seemingly best way to do this was to invest profits from the slave trade into the new factories that were arising, this is called “Commercial Revolution”. Britain was one of the few countries that was able to bring in profits from other countries and keep profits in their country, aiding them into being the first country to Revolutionise Industrially. The new invention of steam power was one of the great motives for the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, steam was used to power many of the machines, thus with the invention of steam power, the Industrial Revolution was powered onwards.
First, Britain had some tremendous natural attributes. It was naturally endowed with many deposits of coal and iron ore, which were used heavily in the early stages of factory production. In addition, Britain was situated at a critical point for international trade. Its position between the United States and the rest of Europe allowed them to have a serious impact in all matters of trade. Likewise, a multitude of navigable waterways, easy access to the sea, and a mild climate all contributed to the onset of industrialism. Britain's topography was conducive to industrialism because its diversity allowed for the production of many agricultural products, preventing any sort of shortage or famine. Evans remarks, “Each single such advantage could be replicated in other European countries and some could be accentuated, but no other nation enjoyed such a rich combination of natural bounties” (111). Furthermore, the nation was free of many trade tariffs that hampered industry in other European nations while featuring a real opportunity for upward movement in society which provided a great incentive for acquiring wealth. Britain also experienced tremendous population growth which provided a potential workforce as well as an increase in the demand for goods.
The Industrial Revolution was a time of immense changes that occurred in the manufacturing process, transportation means, and economy of the agriculture, textile, and metal industries in England, turning it into “the workshop of the world”