History of Western Civilization Essay

Civilizations of societies started long before the times Jesus in the Middle East especially in the ancient Greek and Roman Empires. In the 18th century most European countries followed the suit and underwent changes from pre- industrialized to industrialized nations characterized by social and economic changes. There were a lot of technological innovations which led to increased energy production and thus large scale production of most products with ease. Industrialization has over the years been linked to some factors which enhance fast changes for instance cheap skilled labor, political stability, presence of raw materials and available markets of the products produced. Industrial revolution was experienced in England to the northwest and the midlands. People used to make their own furniture, clothes and equipments until industrialization took over whereby they could buy goods already made from the industries. History of Western Civilization England underwent several civilizations in which there was increased agricultural output (Agrarian revolution) which led to increased population density and eventually led to the industrial revolution. New techniques were initiated and allowed farmers to produce more yield than there before. As time passed machines and other equipments were produced by skilled personnel who sold them to those who were specialized in agriculture. The business to make machines and other related equipments boomed and led formation of a class of people who worked in the industries as they expanded. These machines were very advantageous because they substituted the human job since it did not involve a lot of work and therefore people did not get tired fast. Those who worked in the industries earned more than those who were specialized on agriculture. Most of these industries were located in the urban centers and they would obtain their raw materials from the farmers in the country side. Industrialization in England led to numerous increases in population leading to less arable land and therefore some of the people migrated to other countries where they introduced the new techniques for agriculture and industry (Landes, 1969). However, most of the skilled personnel were not allowed to immigrate to the England’s new colonies so that England would remain superior in technological advances. Industrialization in England was characterized by many factors which made this country to be first to be industrialized. Agrarian, commercial and cottage revolutions greatly enhanced the fast social and economic changes in this country leading to a lot of extra money which facilitated the improvement of infrastructure. The industries spread all over England and Europe and since the number of workers were reducing as a result of immigration to England colonies, they resulted in taking people from the countries that were still not in the process of social and economic change especially in Africa and made them to work in their farms and industries as slaves. As more and more industries were built the private sector was also changing as money for expansion and setting up of more industries was needed. This led to the emergence of banks and other financial institutions which financed all these industrialization activities. These institutions gave loans to people to expand and introduce more industries and then repay later with the profits obtained. At around this time of industrialization most people used wood as a source of energy for the industries. The number of industries increased enormously and therefore the number of trees reduced drastically and made the people to think of alternative source of energy. They came up with coal which was used in the industries as an alternative and could be even used in homes. The coal mines were usually flooded with water at times and a method of pumping water out of the mines was innovated but the coal would not generate power. This method was not embraced and therefore coal was not a lasting solution and more innovations needed to be initiated for instance in the textile industry. Textile industry in England was the first industry to be mechanized and utilized wool which obtained from large scale sheep farms in the country. Weaving was usually done in cottages by skilled people after which the yarn was taken to the industries where it would be made in to clothes. England by then conquered many colonies where they would grow cotton in addition to importing cotton and used to substitute the wool. At around 1773 John Kay introduced a machine he named the flying shuttle which made it possible for a person to easily weave. In the textile industry machines that utilized water for energy were introduced. This machinery could reduce the cost of production and at the same time increase the rate of production. These measures were taken when the cost of production started to sky rocket reducing the profits of the merchants and the merchants did not want to raise the goods prices in a quest to maintain their customers. Transportation in England was favored by the fact that it had many rivers and natural harbors which greatly reduced transportation costs because rivers covered most areas and therefore goods could be transported to most parts of the country. Canals were also built on rivers which were not naturally navigable and also facilitated easy transportation of raw materials from farms in England and from distant colonies and transportation of finished products from the industries to the consumers. Tram ways which were pulled by horses were also used especially when transporting goods inland until when trains were made and used instead because they relatively faster. Due to the limitation of the road transport some people decided to borrow loans from the financial institutions ton repair them and then use toll fees to repay the loans. This would also ensure easy transportation of goods in areas where the rivers and coastline was far away. Improvement of roads led to introduction of stage coaches which would transport even people from one area to another. Transport was boosted with the introduction and improvement of railway. The first type of railway was wooden and did not last long until when iron plates were put on top of the wood and the railway became more durable. Another factor that facilitated faster industrialization of England is its isolation from the European mainland. This helped this country to evade the wars that were occurring at this time for instance the Napoleon war. They concentrated more on development and industrialization of their country till the wars were over. After the war the British took advantage of selling their products to the other European countries and the Americas at relatively cheap prices thereby making a lot of profits. The private sector with the government support also helped a lot by offering loans to people for expansion and initiation of new industries and for the repair of roads which enhanced faster movement of goods between places. Conclusion Civilization of England in many ways has influenced the modern world with only improvement of the machineries that were made during the period of industrialization. The support from the government and relative stability of the country made it to develop even faster without any worries of attacks during the war of Napoleon in the mainland. Advancements in technology led to improvement and construction of new transport systems and infrastructure which also facilitated movement of raw materials and finished products to the several destinations within England and other countries. Civilization in England led to migration of people to the urban centers where they would be able to obtain jobs in the urban centers. This situation is the same even in the modern days where especially young people move to the towns and cities in search of better jobs in the industries. References Jackson, S. Western Civilization: A Brief History. 4th Edition. Cengage Learning, 2007. Jacob, F. 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