Economic Revolutions and Nation Building Economic Revolutions and Nation Building Introduction There began in the late 18th and early 19th century, three economic revolutions.
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Transcript Economic Revolutions and Nation Building Economic Revolutions and Nation Building Introduction There began in the late 18th and early 19th century, three economic revolutions.
Economic Revolutions
and Nation Building
Economic Revolutions and Nation Building
Introduction
There began in the late 18th and early 19th
century, three economic revolutions whose
long-term consequences arguably would
affect ordinary people worldwide far more
than the political revolutions occurring
around the same time
Market Revolution: the transition of people
from self-sufficiency and local exchange
networks to producing articles for cash
sale in regional, national, and international
exchange networks
Industrial Revolution: change in methods
of production aimed at rationalizing
production—making it more efficient
Transportation Revolution: the rapid
expansion in the network of wagon roads,
canals, railroads, and steamboats, which
made transportation faster and cheaper
The railroad was by far the most
revolutionary transportation improvement—
the first truly cheap means of overland
transportation
Economic Revolutions and Nation Building
Basic Concepts
Division of Labor
Specialization
Most uniquely American
contribution
Pioneered in firearms assembly at
the Springfield and Harper’s Ferry
national armories
Corporations
Replaced “Putting Out”
Mechanization
Standardized Parts
Having particular workers do only
part of a productive process
Centralization of Production
Production process broken down
into simpler individualized tasks
Helped raise capital and spread risk
“limited liability”
Insurance companies
By assuming risk, further allowed
businesses to limit risk
Economic Revolutions and Nation Building
Why Was Great Britain First?
One of the classic debates among
historians of the economic revolution
is why was Britain first?
What occurred there starting in the
late 1700s was unprecedented
Studying Britain not only unlocks
what factors were responsible, but
also helps in understanding why the
similar processes repeatedly occurred
elsewhere
So why was Britain first?
High agricultural productivity
Access to raw materials and markets
A byproduct of Britain’s naval
supremacy
Britain’s status as an island nation
The fact that Britain was in many
ways the home of the transportation
revolution
Highly advanced credit and banking
institutions
Crystal Palace Exhibition
Launched in 1851 to celebrate
Britain’s industrial accomplishments
Economic Revolutions and Nation Building
Human Impact of the Economic Revolution
The economic revolution had a
tremendous impact on the societies
where it occurred
Effects
Urbanization
Spurred the growth of the middle
class and an urban working class
Transformed the way people worked
and the physical environments in
which they lived
No longer did people live in small,
isolated villages working in the fields,
but instead worked in factories in large,
crowded cities
Certain facts suggest the difficulty of
this transition
Poor conditions
Dickens, Hard Times (1854)
Higher rates of suicide, insanity,
crime, divorce, and illegitimate birth
Economic Revolutions and Nation Building
Impact on Work Patterns
Just as fundamentally, the economic
revolution changed not only how
people lived, but also how they
worked
The biggest change was that
ordinary workers lost much of their
power to influence the circumstances
of their work
Pre-industrial Work
“St. Monday”
Problems with industrial work
Tended to be more boring
Employers decided when work
started and ended, and machines set
the pace of work
“Speed Up”
Unskilled workers easily replaced
No social safety net
Economic Revolutions and Nation Building
Nation Building: Introduction
Nation building refers to a long
process of building nations out of
areas colonized by Europeans once
those areas were able to assert their
independence
This process began in North America
in what would become the United
States, before moving further south
in the Americas
Independence in the vast American
domains of Spain was encouraged by
the invasion and occupation of the
country by France during the
Napoleonic Wars
Spanish subjects in America could
not agree whether to obey the Junta
Central (directing resistance to the
French) or use the opportunity to
assert their independence
Independence Leaders: (clockwise)
George Washington, Padre Hidalgo,
Pedro I, and Simon Bolivar
Economic Revolutions and Nation Building
Independence in South America
The independence movement in
South America began in the north, in
the Viceroyalty of New Granada
The wars of independence, which
would last fourteen years, pitted
Creoles eager for independence
against Spanish authorities and their
Creole allies who still believed in
Spanish rule
Reasons for ultimate victory of
independence forces:
Military leadership of Simon Bolivar
The decision to enlist English
veterans of the Napoleonic Wars,
who helped to improve the quality of
Bolivar’s army
1820 revolt in Spain against the
restored Spanish king, Ferdinand VII
Economic Revolutions and Nation Building
Independence in Mexico
Mexico’s war for independence
against Spain began in 1810, as
much a revolt of the poor against the
wealthy as a war for independence
Father Hidalgo famously spurred a
revolt that spread through Mexico, but
was put down as wealthy Mexicans,
who while often sympathetic to
independence, backed Spanish
authorities against Hidalgo’s army of
the poor
The struggle continued under Jose
Maria Morales, but he too was
captured in 1815 (a guerilla war
continued thereafter)
Conservative Mexicans favoring
independence rose up sin 1821
Spanish troops withdrew in 1823
Economic Revolutions and Nation Building
Independence in Brazil
Portugal too was invaded by France
during the Napoleonic Wars
The Portuguese royal family fled to
Brazil
After John VI returned to Portugal in
1821, he left his son, Pedro I, in
Brazil as regent
By this time, independence
sentiment was growing in Brazil
Pedro sympathized with and wished
to lead this sentiment forward to
advance progressive policies
Declared Brazil independent in 1822
Pedro I forced to abdicate in favor of
his son in 1831 after a failed war to
gain control of Uruguay.
Pedro II reigned until his overthrow in
1889, making Brazil a republic
Pedro I leads Brazilians
in celebrating independence
Sept. 7, 1822
Economic Revolutions and Nation Building
Independence in Canada
In contrast to the United States and
Spanish America, Canada like Brazil
achieved its independence relatively
peacefully in 1867
While Anglo-Canadians wished to
assert greater control of their own
affairs by the 1830s, desire for
independence tempered by U.S.
expansionism and Quebec separatist
sentiments
Rebellions of 1837
Lord Durham’s Report (1838)
Act of Union (1840)
Confederation (1867)
Canadian leaders negotiate terms of
the new nation in 1864
British North American Act (1867)
“Fathers of Confederation”
Looks familiar?