Industrial Revolution example essay topic

The Napoleonic wars did have a large impact on industrialization in Europe as a result of realizations and actions taken to better their countries after the Napoleonic wars. Although the Industrial Revolution began in Britain during the 1700's it was boosted in the early 1800's after the Napoleonic wars because of reform that was needed. Industrialization then started spreading throughout Europe and into North America in the early 1800's. By the mid-1800's industrialization was widespread. This was all a result, somewhat indirectly of the Napoleonic wars.

The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain for several reasons. By the mid-1700's, the country had become the world's leading colonial power. Great Britain's colonies not only provided raw materials, but also provided markets for manufactured products. These colonial markets helped stimulate the textile and iron industries, which were probably the two most important industries during the Industrial Revolution. The demand for British goods grew rapidly during the late 1700's both in Britain and in other countries. This demand forced businesses to compete with each other for the limited supply of labor and raw materials, which raised production costs.

The rising costs began to cut into profits. Further demand could not be satisfied until Britain enlarged its capacity to produce goods inexpensively. British merchants did not want to raise the prices of their goods and discourage demand. So, they sought more economical and efficient ways of using money and labor so the amount each worker produced would increase faster than the cost of production. The merchants achieved their goal through the development of factories, machines, and technical skills, thus, industrialization. The French Revolution began in 1789, after the start of industrialization.

At first, many British approved the revolution as a triumph of liberty for the French people. But they changed their mind after the revolution grew more violent. Britain's foreign policy was based on keeping the balance of power in Europe so that no country could gain control of another. This led them to form alliances with weak countries when they were in need. Therefore, when the new French government seized Belgium and threatened the Netherlands Britain protested and in 1793 they went to war. Napoleon Bonaparte led the French beginning in 1799.

In 1803 he began to plan to invade Britain, but his naval power was crushed in the Battle of Trafalgar. He then tried to defeat them by ordering all of the countries under his command to close their markets off to Britain. But, once again, Britain struck back and Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815 at the battle of Waterloo. When the Napoleonic wars ended the British people were finally fed up with waiting for the much-needed social, economic, and political reform. Their demands were so strong that parliament finally had to act. In the time after this they went through a period of great reform including work laws, changes in criminal laws, and the passing of a reform law into parliament.

1837 marks the beginning of the Victorian Age and even greater industrialization. During this time the British Empire reached its height. It included about a quarter of the world's land and about a quarter of the world's population. The demand for products from Britain was great and as a result industry flourished and Britain was called the "workshop of the world". The Industrial Revolution spread to the United States and throughout Europe from Britain during the mid-1700's, but after the Napoleonic wars and the drastic reform in Britain industrialization made it grow even more. The Industrial Revolution created an enormous increase in the production of many kinds of goods.

Some of this increase in production resulted from the introduction of power-driven machinery and the development of factory organization. This then led to a large influx of people into the cities. Also, as a result of the demands that the British were making the Americans demanded more in their own country. Before the Industrial Revolution some industry existed in Europe, but on a much smaller scale. As industrialization spread throughout Europe so did other things that made for better living conditions. Before industrialization many families worked at home and barely made enough to get by.

But after industrialization there were more opportunities for outside work and money. Also, the monarch no longer ruled them and they had a stronger voice in the government. In Conclusion, I think that the Industrial Revolution would have taken place whether or not the Napoleonic wars occurred. However, I think that the Napoleonic wars led to a greater sense of the world that people were living in and it led them to demand more of their lives. Therefore, the Napoleonic wars sped up the process of industrialization, but did not cause it.