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British Industrial Revolution
During this period of time, Britain's economy underwent fundamental changes. As more middle class citizens could afford luxury goods, more efficient production was needed to satisfy them. As new technologies were introduced, the multiplier effect set in. By the 1830s, England had become the world's leading industrial power. -
Marriage act
This British act tried to promote marriage by making it easier to marry illegally (people used to live together out of wedlock). Nevertheless, these laws were not very effective. In the early 19th century, it is common for rural couples to evade the formality of a wedding, and colonies such as Australia and South Africa did not even enforce the laws. -
Spinning Jenny invented
Thread production became much more efficient, providing the raw materials to feed future advancements in weaving. -
Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations introduced the idea that money can be used to make money. It mentioned specialization of labour as a tool to make production more efficient. This work is the basis of modern Western economy. -
Power loom invented
Power looms greatly increased production of cloth, and is the basis of textile factories. The cotton industry became the single largest employer of industrial labor and cotton cloth became the most valued commodity in Britain's export trade. -
French Revolution
The French Revolution overthrew the Ancien Regime, and marked the start of an era of awakening, in which the common people demanded rights, freedoms, and a voice. Unfortunately, the massive bloodshed caused by the French Revolution and the successes of Napoleon on the battlefield caused neighbouring European countries to adopt a reactionary view. Nevertheless, the French revolution started a trend that would overthrow absolutism in the 19th century. -
Thomas Malthus oublishes his Essay on Population
Malthus, after studying population growth and poverty increase, concluded that the population grew faster than the food supply. Even if living conditions improved, the poor would simply have more children and poverty will return. -
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna reaffirmed many aspects of absolutism, and produced many anti-revolutionary measures. Although only Austria, England, France, Prussia and Russia had any say in the decision making, all of Europe was affected. Russia, Prussia, and Austria formed the Holy alliance, promising to protect absolutism in the member nations. -
Battle of Waterloo
This historical battle fought by Napoleon against the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard von Blücher commanding forces of the Seventh Coalition. Napoleon was defeated, and was removed from power. France was turned over to the Bourbon monarchy, albeit a constitutional one. With Napoleon's defeat, revolutionary expansionism has been halted. Reactionism would dominate governments for the next decades. -
David Ricardo publishes The Principles of Political Economy
Ricardo linked Adam Smith's ideas about free economy with Malthus's theory of population, concluding that population growth and diminishing profit margins will never allow wages to increase. Therefore, he believed little could be done to raise living standards. This gave powerful support to the laissez-faire policies, even when in reality, the working class suffered greatly. -
Karl Marx born in Prussia
Karl Marx would become one of the most influential figures in the world. He and Engels saw the suffering of the workers and produced communism. He wrote that throughout history, class conflict has always been central, between oppressors and those they oppress. -
Peterloo Massacre in Britain
Sixty thousand gathered at St. Peter's Field, near Manchester to hear an orator speak about revolutionary ideas, when a local calvary militia charged the crowd killing 11 and wounding over 400. This became a symbol of the government's oppression over popular rights. -
Carlsbad Decrees issued
Metternich called an assembly to issue these anti-revolutionary decrees, which censored the presses, universities, political meetings, and limited power of legislative assemblies. -
Revolution in France against Charles X
Charles X attempted to go back to the ways of the ancien regime. The people, however, were still instilled with leftover ideas from the French Revolution. In July 1830, riots and demostrations occured in Paris, and Charles fled France. Louis Phillipe took the throne as "King of the French People" -
Britain opens first steam locomotive line
Steam locomotives drastically changed transportation because now, huge amounts of cargo, as well as people, can be moved across land efficiently and rapidly. Trains also contributed to the multiplier effect because the need of railways also contributed to the need of iron, coal, and related technologies and industries. -
Reform Act passed in Britain
Though this act drew controversy at the time, the reform act increased seats for industrial cities and eliminated seats in some rural areas, balancing power in the parliament. The number of voters increased to 65200, or about 18% adult males. -
Bentham's death
Though Bentham died, his ideas lived on. Bentham advocated utilitarianism, which, though argued against government intervention in the economy, did not rule it out. Following his philosophy, Bnethamites throughout the 1830s and 40s shaped new social legislation. -
Factory Act
This act attempted to protect workers, with measures such as limiting hours of work for children and giving workers the right to certain holidays off. Employment of children 8 or younger was prohibited alltogether. . This act proved to be effective because it used the Benthamite principle of a central authority with an inspectorate. -
New Poor Amendment Act passed in England
This law gave relief to the poor. However, they had to enroll in workhouses to get the aid. Workhouses often had conditions far harsher than the factories. Designed to address the abuses in rural areas, it was pointless in industrial cities because factory jobs were preferable, and because there were periods of mass unemployment. Consequently, there were protests against this law. -
September Laws passed in France
While France hoped for more freedom and democracy with Louis Phillipe, they did not get it. Faced with growing discontent and challenges to rule by property owners, epitomized by an attempted assasination on the king, the government passed Septermber Laws, which restricted radical political organizations and censored the press. Revolution broke out once again. -
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Potato Famine of Europe
This great famine across Europe sowed greater discontent amongst the commoners, as food became scarce and governments were unwilling to help. This led to the rebellions in 1848 throughout Europe. -
Communist Manifesto published
Only 23 pages in its first edition, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published this work to advise German workers how to respond to the economic depression at the time. According to Marx, class struggle will always lead to revolution. The Communnist manifesto had a profound intellectual influence on all fields, from humanities, to natural sciences. -
July Monarchy collapses
Finally, after many years of revolutions, Louis Phillip was forced to abdicate. The success met in Paris was not echoed in other copycat revolutions, however. Those were crushed. In December, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was elected as President of France. -
Crimean War ends with peace congress in Paris
Napoleon the third fought to resist Russian expansion beyond the Black Sea and into the Balkans and eastern Mediterranean. The Russians lost politically, and Paris was restored as the diplomatic center of Europe. -
The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection published
This groundbreaking work by Charles Darwin completely undermined the biblical view of creation and changed the way we think about humanity. His ideas of survival of the fittest, however, was perverted into social Darwinism, many ideas of which were at odds with Darwin's actual works. -
The Subjection of Women published
This work by John Stuart Mill argued that women required freedom to achieve happiness.Married women of the era had few rights. The Code Napoleon, for example, mandated that the wife is obliged to obey the husband. Men controlled all property of the family, as well as the wife's wages. As a result, unfaithful men got away free, since women couldn't afford to divorce their husbands. Family violence was common amongthe working class people. Mill tried to address these problems.
