The Benefits of Industrialization in Continental Europe

Industrialization in general terms means technological innovations which are an alternate way to use a machine for human skills. During 1871, a lot of progress happened in the economy and it grew at a stagnant rate. The industries started growing and the industrialization focused more on steel, machine tools, and chemicals. Invention and rapid development in the areas of railways, steamships, electric production and transportation took place. Some of the reasons for the success of industrialization was its dependency on mass production, cheap production, and efficient production. Moreover, industrialization proved to be beneficial for every single citizen in various forms.

By the 1870’s Europe was still under Britain as Britain was its industrial leader, though other parts of European nations were rapidly closing the gap. Continental Europe includes all states excluding all the islands. Industrialization had taken place between the time period of 1871 to 1914 in many parts of Europe such as Germany, Belgium, and France. Growth in industrialization happened when there was a rise in liberalism and when internal markets were created. After 1815, Continental European nations had certain advantages due to development in industrialization are:

1. British counterparts were used as an idea for continental capitalists so that they would not suffer slow development which was going in Britain and even that they did not have to undergo the trial and error method.
2. Continental European nations had been easy due to the development of industrialization to survive and adapt to the changing market.

Germany was transformed to a technological and industrial empire and its per capita was even higher than that of France during 1870 to 1917, and then it started to grow rapidly. Because of the war between Prussia, France, and Austria, Germany was not able to grow much before 1870. Moreover, by 1871 Germany had unified and new confederation was formed. The economy had started to flourish during that period of time and there was an increase in the population and even the industrialization has started to grow after 1871. However, the rise in wages of those employees in the industrial sector also occurred during that period of time. There was a greater size of production in output which was due to the Labor productivity which had increased by 1.5 percent each year. In addition, with the beginning of the railway investment, the economic boom had begun with the annual rate of growth being 4.6 percent in 1870 to 1874. During 1870 especially, the railway rate had completed 1500 kilometers when it had reached to its highest peak in 1874 but after that, it decreased in the next year. Until 1880, the net domestic product stayed at the same level and had increased thereafter at an average rate of 2.5 percent. Moreover, the investment into the industry between the time periods of 1870 to 1875 was 10.6 percent, while being much higher during the year 1880’s being 41.4 percent. As there was a rise in exports, the country had started to recover. From the year 1907 to 1913, German exports were higher than that of French by 60 percent. Coal, sugar, potatoes, and steel were the most important product of exports during 1890’s. As the money supply had risen rapidly there was a decline in the interest rates. From 1892 to 1913, net domestic product went up to 3.3 percent. Hence, the greatest economic prosperity took place between the time periods of 1896 to 1899, when 1129 new stock companies were then founded.

Both the steel production and iron production had risen between the time period of 1879 and 1882. At that period of time, the steel production then had doubled and iron production had risen about 50%. When they had compared the annual average output of steel of Germany to that of Britain, Germany was 75,000 tons and Britain was 40,000 tons. We can say that Germany grew more rapidly than that of Britain overall. Even in the electric power sector, Germany was more ahead of Britain as in 1913. One of the most important points noted at that period of time was even the education sector. Even in the chemical industries where the education system was the basis for the extension of these industries. All the technological innovation, the improvements in the education system and the rapid rise in population to produce more and to export and influence the market. The success in industrialization had basically taken in the raw material sector like steel, coal, heavy chemicals and engineering products.

French industry was also one of the most important in the development of industrialization. In the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century, France was the most industrialized country in Europe but later the situation was changed and it had faced a period of “retardation”. After 1870, economic development started to rise to a steady state. There was a small increase in population, raw materials, Labor force. People over there mainly focused on the quality without considering the costs of production which was the main causes in the economic development. The population started to increase slowly, the population had then increased by 10 percent and the average rate of growth of output was that it was different from other countries during 1871 and 1911. Textiles, clothing and metal production until 1914 was the most popular and dominant products of the industrial sector. After 1890, there appeared a sign of prosperity and it increased in the production of almost 200 percent. The average rate of output then rose from 1.6 percent in 1870 to 1896 and 2.4 percent in 1896 to 1913.

In the nineteenth century, one of the chief forces which had changed during that period of time was an industrial revolution; an industrial revolution had led to western civilization in the modern world. New American had ensured its growth and was also dominated by the western world. During the industrial and scientific, revolution the human beings were able to dominate the nature and even they were rationally manipulating the environment for their own benefit. From using the environment in their best possible way people used to create material prosperity and were able to produce machines which they could have never imagined, which made their work easier and getting their work done in a short period of time. In the seventeenth century, the industrial revolution had proved to Europeans the fundamental assumption of the scientific revolution. Peoples over there they never thought that they would be able to produce machines and at that period of time, they created new levels of material prosperity (the material’s which helped them to earn money). Peoples who were then lost in the excitement of the Industrial Revolution were the voices that had pointed to the dehumanization of the workforce and the alienation from one’s work, one’s associates, one’s self, and the natural world. Industrialization had eventually helped the social world of Europe to transform. The transformation was the good change that had happened. It had changed the way people used to work and think.