what factors contributed to the industraial revolution in the 1700s?

Question

West-Central Europe

Answer 1

Introduction
Continental European leaders carefully studied Britain's Industrial Revolution as a model for economic development, but the development of industrialization on the Continent followed patterns dictated by local conditions. The technology of the revolution could be exported, but the conditions that called the inventions forth could not. The industrialization of the Continent was a slower process.

Industrialization Without Revolution
The industrialization of France was typified by slow growth keyed to local luxury demand rather than export markets. Two factors—population growth and the French Revolution—determined the nature of French industrialization. Famine and conscious limitation of family size restricted the rate of population growth in France. As a result, France did not experience the same pressures on the traditional agricultural economy as either Britain or Germany. The French Revolution was a disruptive force in the French economy. The commercial fleet was decimated. The urban guilds responsible for organization of crafts were abolished. The agricultural system fell into the hands of the peasantry who destroyed the open-field system but who did not have the capital for intensive improvements. The conservative agricultural system fed the population, but did not release large numbers of people to supply industrial labor. Until the nineteenth century, the French economy remained regionalized. The state was unable to create a centralized system through subsidies to national transportation networks or through development of banking schemes. Capital formation for investment was thus limited. Only in the mid-nineteenth century did the state finally initiate the construction of a national railroad network. Construction of railroads necessarily produced industrialization of the processes involved in the production of iron. Prohibitive tariff walls protected domestic French industries, which remained uncompetitive in international markets. There were some benefits to slow growth. French industrialization preserved the security of rural society. Urbanization proceeded without the severe problems encountered in the British Industrial Revolution.

Industrialization and Union
The political fragmentation of Germany retarded industrialization. Different currencies, regional tariffs, tolls, and laws localized the economy. The traditional agricultural system continued in many parts of central Europe. In the eastern countries, serfdom still prevailed. In general, the peasantry became more free the farther west in Germany they were located. Even by 1800, eighty percent of the German population was engaged in agriculture. Germany also lacked a commercial foundation for industrialization. The Hanseatic cities had declined as international trade centers. The mechanization of German industries lagged far behind Britain into the middle of the nineteenth century. Prussia mounted the most successful attempt to overcome the impediments to industrialization. The government created a trade union, the Zollverein, composed of countries willing to adopt the lenient Prussian customs policies. The Zollverein was the first step in German political unification. Industrialization that followed the creation of the Zollverein was slavishly modeled after Britain. States invested heavily in the creation of railroads, particularly in Prussia. The Germans eventually developed proficient domestic centers of production for iron and engines.

The Lands That Time Forgot
The Netherlands, Austria, Russia, Spain, and the states of the Italian peninsula failed to develop industrial economies. Some lacked natural resources, others lacked transportation networks and the capital to produce them, and others were limited by geographical determinants (lack of waterways, mountains, etc.). All the countries that failed to industrialize featured traditional agricultural systems that were unable to increase their productivity to release surplus labor or to supply sufficient food to feed an industrial labor force. In some cases, serfdom was maintained with the active support of the state. Tariff systems protected inefficient local industries and isolated regional markets. In Austria-Hungary and Italy, some regions were favored for industrial development at the expense of others. Hungary, for example, was forced to retain a traditional agricultural system in order to foster the industrialization of Austria.

Answer 2

The textile mills and canals in Lowell Massachusetts were the first inspiration of the industrial revolution. There are some fun museams and tours there if you're ever in the area.

Answer 3

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