Kolano 1 Jasmine Kolano Mr.

Gillette World History AP 16 January 2012

The Industrial Revolution: A Good Thing or a Bad Thing? The times were changing, especially in eighteenth century Europe as the world was becoming more and more advanced. In examining Europe, British England can be taken as a great example of the power of trade. Before, when Britain had been an agricultural country, its main exports were wool and woolen cloth (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 6). English population then remained at a little less than five million, with the total population of the U.K. being only eight million (Langford, 427). However, with the start of the Industrial Revolution, technology was progressing faster than it had ever before, allowing many regions of England and Europe to begin and specialize in making and producing particular products (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 8). Though Britain was late in engaging in trade practices and establishing colonies overseas, Britain was able to become the leading world power by 1750 (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 7). This was the result of trade, as it influenced Britain into gaining increased power and wealth, changing Britain into the worlds first industrial nation (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 8). With trade playing such a powerful role in the welfare of British economy, changes in British society were inevitable. One of the most obvious effects of the Industrial Revolution on Europe, and especially Britain, was population growth. The population of Britain was already soaring beginning 1720, and by 1750 had grown by almost one million (Langford, 427). In 1770,

Kolano 2 British population was at a whopping 6.4 million, increasing to almost eight million at the end of 1790 (Langford, 427). According to these figures, there was approximately three million more people in England at the end of the eighteenth century as compared to the early 1700s. There were both positive and negative side effects to such instant population growth in Britain. When naming positive effects, one can observe that cities were beginning to expand for the very first time in both population and development, with thirty percent more people living in cities rather than in the countryside (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 15). Many mining villages were also formed as a result of the Industrial Revolution (Coiley, 38). In addition, newer towns (London, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds) were beginning to replace the older, unsanitary Tudor towns countryside (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 17). In addition, a fast growing population meant great improvements in the areas of farming technology and encouraged farmers to improve in order to make larger profits (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 9,12). At the end of the eighteenth century, only a third of the labor force (the most highly populated and productive part of Britain) in England was engaged in agricultural practices (Coiley, 38). Advantages of the Industrial Revolution did not necessarily help lower working classes. Unfortunately when looking at the negative consequences of population growth, there were one too many. One of the biggest problems created was the lack of jobs in Britain and a great part of Europe. Not only was there a huge population that needed work, but also rich employers often moved out from the countryside, leaving his employees jobless (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 22). Moreover, bigger populations meant that there was an increased demand for produce and living quarters, leading to rising prices of both food and rent (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 14). Rapid population growth and

Kolano 3 mechanical innovation kept wages low (Langford, 432). With prices increasing faster than wages, poorer families who were already struggling to survive were devastated to a greater extent. During the frequent years of poor weather and bad harvests, the prices of bread, the staple food, could double or even triple in a very short amount of time (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 22). Because of the insufficiency of wages to supply for basic needs, most people were in severe debt (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 22). In Wales, 33% to 50% of the population lived at the subsistence level, and most Britons were very poor (Coiley, 33). In the eighteenth century alone, France faced sixteen nation wide famines, not to mention local famines that occurred almost every year (Coiley, 37). As there was less food, especially during times of war, diseases like Typhus struck large populations, which also badly affected trade (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 22). Tens of thousands of British vagrants traveled throughout the country looking for any kind of paying employment (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 23). Only after a series of rioting and hunger did the British government set up a relief system in helping the poor through property taxes that paid for apprenticeships, jobs, and necessities for the lame, impotent, old, blind, and jobless (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 25). A rise in population meant that more goods were being manufactured in order to meet the demands of that population. With increased manufacturers, the guild systems were the first to break down and eventually and cease all together. Many artisan masters found themselves in a place of financial ruin and were forced to live penurious lifestyles (See, 95). A final result was polarized society separated into two distinct groups of people: people who owned businesses, and workers who earned wages (Hepplewhite and Tonge, 19). Additionally, increased mobility and general improvements in literacy and communications made comparisons of the rich and poor more obvious (Langford, 431).

Kolano 4 Though social classes were becoming vastly different than they were in the Anglo-Saxon age, when it was the nobility and those who worked in government sectors that were at the top, England remained very much a plutocratic society (Langford, 439). In both the Middle Ages and during the era of the Industrial Revolution, the power of the elite derived from their wealth. During the eighteenth century, the social classes of Britain could be described in this manner: city bosses with great mercantile fortunes were at the very top. The next level under them was the ever-expanding middle class. This class included all workers whose labor accounted for bringing economic stability. Below them was a shrinking class of small tradesmen or craftsmen. Their work was no longer as important as it was years before, due to the new factories that could produce the same kind of work on a larger scale in a shorter amount of time. Finally, the last and final class of people were the countrymen; tenant farmers. Even though many people were leaving the countryside in order to seek industrial labor, it was the farmers who supplied food to the rising populations (Langford, 440). These different social classes interacted the most in terms of business, since all social levels had to support each other in order to survive. However, the distinction of a person by his social class was no longer in place as much as it had been in earlier centuries. With the up and rising Industrial Revolution firmly in place, people began focusing their energies towards their own individual careers and how they could make more profit instead of depending so much on their social class. As a result, the once prevalent social class of the day began to dwindle (Langford, 441). Having now an approximate idea of the economy and life in Britain and Europe, a discussion of Dr. Jonathan Swifts Modest Proposal is most appropriate. Swift, who composed the well-known satirical piece, wrote about Industrial Europe society in his day and the growing problem of the poor in Ireland. In his own opinion, he believed that

Kolano 5 the population of the poverty-stricken was increasing much too rapidly for Irelands good. This is why he states, I think it is agreed by all parties, that this prodigious number of children in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom, a very great additional grievance . . . (Swift, 1) What Swift was stating was an absolute fact. The population of Dublin had multiplied four times in the eighteenth century alone (Allan, 15). Furthermore, the rate of growth was the highest among landless peasants. This was because the poor married early, being that they could not have been worse off than they already were. They went on to have large families, as children were a couples only hope of support in old age (Allan, 14). This is why in Swifts Modest Proposal, he proposes a scheme to rid Ireland of poor children from being a burden on their parents or country, . . . making them beneficial to the publick (Swift, 1). Swifts plan in achieving this is to take these children at infancy and sell them as food to the wealthy: A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends, and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt, will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter (Swift, 2). In doing this, Swift, believes that the number of poor would be significantly reduced. Though written jokingly, it is obvious that Swift, who is probably of high social ranking, considers the poor a nuisance and strain on Irelands already slumping resources. From the provided facts of life during Industrial Europe, it is evident that Swift is indeed addressing a widespread problem that needs to be solved of the growing number of poor in Europe.

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