Revision - June Exam, 2022

Topic: The Making of Modern Europe in the 19th century to 1914

Use the PowerPoints, handouts, and the overview of the main subject matter below to help you prepare for
the exam.

1. To what extent did the Industrial Revolution transform European society?

Why were there different levels of industrial development in Europe by 1914?

It depended on the social, political, economic, and cultural situation of each country as to whether they
could become industrialised. If your country had the aspects below, they were more likely to be
industrialised (UK, Belgium, France), if they lacked these, they were less likely (Ireland, Spain, Greece, and
Italy).

Why did the Industrial Revolution begin in Britain?

 G.M.M.P.P.P.

 Geography – England has large natural deposits of coal and iron, a necessity for steam power. It also
had several well-established ports/harbours necessary for trade.
 Migration - rural to urban - new technologies in the countryside (tractors etc) caused unemployment so
many moved to the cities to look for work.
 Manufacturing inventions – innovation was encouraged (e.g. steam power) – this led to new Inventions
and new technologies which in turn led to significant improvements in the speed of production within
the textile, coal and steel industries.
 Population increases – new technologies in the countryside improved their diet, this led to longer life
expectancy and therefore a larger work force.
 Profits from trade – expansion of the British empire and new colonies gave them access to raw
materials and new markets to sell goods.
 Political stability – Britain enjoyed years of strong and stable government which allowed them to focus
on economic growth – this encouraged spirit of risk taking.
While the Industrial Revolution was born in the U.K, other powers in Europe soon followed…

France

France was a major industrial competitor.

French manufacturers concentrated on finished products. These were often luxury goods like woven silk,
China, and leather goods.

Such traditional trades were the first to be mechanised and this explains why the first major strikes happened
in the silk-processing industries.

Skilled workers in Lyons took industrial action in the 1830s to force the introduction of minimum wages.

Belgium

Belgium, one of the first industrialised countries, had rich resources of iron ore and coal and a strong tradition
of textile manufacturing.

For this reason, industrial development ran along similar lines to that in Great Britain.

Germany

In Germany new methods of production developed very late because the country was divided up into so many
small states.

Nevertheless, after the customs union of 1834, The Zollverein, productive heavy industries developed in the
mining regions of upper Silesia, in the Saarland and the Ruhrgebiet.

The Exceptions…

By contrast to those above, the countries on the edge of the continent, Spain, Greece and the Balkan countries,
concentrated their exports on agrarian products and raw materials,

They remained behind in industrial production into the 19th century.

 How far did working and living conditions change because of the Industrial Revolution?

The Industrial Revolution was a major turning point in history which was marked by a shift in the world
from an agricultural and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing-
the factory system.

Checklist 
a. Why was the agricultural revolution so important to industrial change
 Farming had changed little since the Middle Ages
 New farming methods
 Growing population in Britain; more food needed
 Britain’s population rise by 1750
 Urbanisation - the rise of cities was one of the defining and most lasting features of the Industrial
Revolution
 Move from cottage industry/domestic system to factories

b. What role did the Transport Revolution play in industrialisation?

 Development of roads; Telford and McAdam
 The turnpike
 Development of railways
 1850 Britain had 10,000km of track
 Social and economic effects of the railways
 European Rail Network

c. Impact of industrial revolution on Britain:

 Industrial economy - The rise of capitalism – the economic system based upon private ownership of the
means of production and individual profit.
 Development of iron and steel
 Steam power
 Coal industry
 Textile industry
 Pollution and environmental damage were the obvious consequences of the industrialised world and
the consumerism that followed it.
 Rise of Consumerism - Feeding on the basic human desire to have more, a cycle of more consumption
and more production was fired up which led to rise of materialism and consumerism.

d. Social Impact of the Industrial Revolution:

 Urbanisation; led to overcrowding, poor housing, awful living conditions in towns and cities
 New social classes; emergence of bourgeoise and proletariat
 New ways of working; lack of health and safety, driven by profit, injuries and illness
 Child labour
 Exploitation of the working class but a very gradual rise of the middle class in the cities (factory owners
etc.) mostly towards the end of the 19th century, who benefited from the Industrial Revolution.

e. Cultural impact of the Industrial Revolution:

 Impact of the railways on culture; holidays, travel open to poorer people
 Birth of the weekend
 Growth of organised sport
 Rise in literacy
 1880 Act of Parliament; mandatory education until aged 10
 Improvements in health; 1875 Public Health Act

f. Did working conditions improve during the 19th century?

  Work in 1750 vs 1850
 Increase in towns (135 towns in 1600 vs 8,900 towns in 1871)
 Labour Unions
 Reform Movements: The Labour movement, Suffrage Movement
 Changing labour laws (knowing some examples of these will be helpful for the exam – see the table
below)

Act What did it aim to do? Was it successful? Success?

A maximum 12-hour day. The Act was not enforced.

Factory Act (1819) NO
No child under the age of 9 to work.
No child under the age of nine to work. Four inspectors were employed to
Children between 9 and 13 years make sure that the law was
Factory Act (1833) old could only work a 48-hour week obeyed. YES
and must go to school part-time.
No child under the age of ten to work. Many inspectors employed to
Mines Act (1842) No woman or child under 15 to report conditions. YES
work underground.

Ten Hours No worker was to work more than The Act was not enforced.
NO
Act (1847) ten hours a day.
Local authorities made responsible for a Each local authority was overseen
range of public health issues including by a medical officer. Also vaccines
Public Health Act
sewage, drainage, clean drinking water, were developed YES
(1875)
waste disposal, public works and
lighting.
Women cannot work more than The Act applied to all factories
Factory
60 hours a week. and inspectors made sure it was
and Workshops Act YES
No child under ten to work.Factories obeyed.
(1878)
were be made much safer.
To win the right to vote for all adult In 1918 women above the age of
women in all national and local 30 who owned property or were
The People’s Act elections. married to someone who owned
(Women’s Suffrage property were given the right to YES
Movement) vote. This changed in 1928 when
equal suffrage was given to all
women over the age of 21.