14. The Second Industrial Revolution and the challenges it entailed, 1870s-1914

Rapid economic and social change

the period between 1870-1914 = period of rapid economic and social change across Europe. Various factors contributed to these changes

• demographic surge/ rise

• technological advances since the 1850s (emergence of chemical fertilizers, electricity in the cities, steel industries…)

• railroad networks expanded into the countryside (carrying manufactured goods and returning with agricultural production)

• ocean steamships transporting migrants to the America’s and returning cereals and meat

• increasing urbanisation and the advent of sports and leisure industry

What was the significance of henry Bassemer’s invention in 1856?

→ Bessemer developed a new method of mass- produce high- quality steel at lower costs. This innovation enabled:

• large-scale steel production

• this led to the production of better and more precise machinery of all kinds development of better, more precise machinery

• it contributed as well to the development of steel ships and and other means of transport: steel ships, trains, trams and cars → advance in transport

it marked a major leap forward in the Second Industrial Revolution

Electricity and the electromagnetic telegraphy

• in the middle of 19th c. → electricity made possible the development of the electromagnetic telegraphy

• soon the undersea cable followed suit and in 1876 → the telephone reached private homes => the transformation of news

• until relatively late in the century → electricity remained a curiosity

• especially its production was cumbersome (slow)

• in the last two decades of the 19th c. → electricity entered many urban houses

• on the countryside = considered luxury until well into 20th c.

• in contrast to water power, coal or gas => electricity could be transported with relative ease => once the infrastructure had been developed => factories that depended upon electric power could be constructed everywhere

Chemistry development

• since the 1870s, the development of chemistry brought lasting and unprecedented advances

  • dyes, soaps, pharmaceutical drugs, chemical fertilisers

• Especially Germany was strong in this field: science departments at universities

• Physics would follow suit in the decades around 1900

How did the Second Industrial Revolution change industrial organisation

• it encourages the rise of industrial conglomerates (a business organization formed by acquiring and owning several unrelated companies under one parent company), and cartels (an illegal agreement between two or more competitors not to compete with each other), as modern factories needed high investment. Example include:

  • chemistry: Bayer founded in 1863,

  • lighting and electronic appliances : Philips founded in 1891)

Regional variations

The rise of Germany

• the German GNP more than triple between unification in 1871 and 1914 (investment banks and universities with practical curricula)

Great Britain

• had to cope with the first- mover disadvantage (universities were slow to adopt, lack of tariffs and thus local production undercut imports)

  1) Outdated educational system → British unis (Oxford, Cambridge) emphasised classical studies over technical and scientific education

  • in contrast Germany created modern technical modern universities that trained engineers, chemists and industrial managers - crucial for new industries like chemicals, electricity and steel

  2) Free Trade Policy (No Protective Tariffs)

  • no tariffs to protect new or emerging industries from foreign competition

  • as a result British markets were flooded with cheaper, often better quality goods from Germany or the US - harming domestic industry

Russia

• remained overwhelmingly agricultural country, but more rapid development since the middle of the 1890s → enormous distances as a handicap

France

• persistence of small scale high- quality hadicrafts concentrated in the bigger cities especially Paris and Lyon

Austria- Hungary

• rapid development in Bohemia and Moravia and thus sharp contrast with the rural and small town periphery of the Empire

Italy and Spain

• Italy: concentration in the so-called industrial triangle: Turin, Milan, Genoa

• Spain: regional concentration in the Basque contrary and Cataloni

What were major innovations in transport during the Second Industrial Revolution and what was their impact?

• Inventions: steel ocean steamers (huge ships), Suez Canal (1869) and Panama Canal (1914)

• Impact: Revolutionised long- distance trade, migration and colonial administration

• Growth of major port cities: London, Liverpool, Genoa, Antwerp

How did the automobile evolve from luxury to mass production during the Second Industrial Revolution?

• 1885: Carl Benz invented the internal combustion engine

• Early cars = luxury items for the wealthy

• 1903: Henry Ford opens factory in Detroit

  → introduces assembly line

  → produces 15 million Model T-Fords

• 1911: Louis Renault (first follow this model) visits Ford, copies model

  → over 10 000 cars made by 1913 in France

What infrastructure improrvements supported the Second Industrial Revolution?

• development of better roads to support growing transport needs

• introduction of gas stations as automobiles became common

How did oil become strategically important during the Second Industrial Revolution?

• first European refinery in Romania, 1857

• discovery of major oil fields in Sumatra (1880) and Persia (1908)

• Industrialists and politicians realised oil’s strategic importance for energy and industry

What role did rubber play in the Second Industrial Revolution and when were the human costs?

• Rubber tyre invention boosted transport and automobile industries

• Rubber industry led to ruthless exploitation of the Congo, privately controlled by King Leopold II of Belgium

The Social Change

• between 1870- 1914 → the European population increased by half, rising from 290-435 million people

• by the end of the 19th c, one of every 4 people in the world was a European

• that population growth => entailed further urbanisation and migration

• demographic transition => from high birth rates and high death rates → to low birth rates and low rates of mortality, especially decline of infant mortality

  → especially France = characterised by a low birth rate: worried politicians

• improved standards of living: higher real wages, more varied food that was imported from further afield (American cereals), especially the consumption of meat (which became an ordinary feature of the standard diet) and sugar increased

Migration

• internal migration to the cities

• Overseas migration: in the middle decades of the century most migrants to the Americas had been Irish and Germans → in the last decades of the century especially large numbers of Italians, but also Scandinavians crossed the Atlantic Ocean → followed by Jews and Central - and Eastern- Europe fleeing poverty and anti - semitism

How did the Second Industrial Revolution impact factory work and social structure?

• growth of large factories; more workers employed in firms with more than 20 people (esp. in Germany, Britain Belgium)

• Mechanisation reduced demand for certain skilled trades (e.g. glassworkers)

• rise of new professions like office workers and engineers

• more women entered paid work (often underpaid, in domestic or factory jobs)

• compulsory elementary education (e.g. France from 1880s) delayed child entry into force)

Effects of rapid urban growth during the Second Industrial Revolution

• led to better hygiene (anti-cholera measures like sewerage, clean water)

• Increased social segregation

• Boosted civil pride and urban transformation

  • Paris: Haussmann’s redesign (1850s-60s) (Baron Haussmann transformed Paris under Napoleon III) → created wide boulevards, parks, and modern sewer systems; improved sanitation, traffic flow and military control = order, modernity and imperial grandeur

  • Vienna: Ringstrasse project (1857- 65) → reshaped the imperial capital →the old city walls were replaced by a wide circular boulevard (Ringstrasse), lined with grand public buildings, museums, opera houses and palaces, projected the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s power and cultural sophistication

  • Antwerp and Amsterdam: Experienced a second ‘Golden Age’ → rapid industrial and economic growth brought new infrastructure and civic architecture, revived cultural and commercial prominence reminiscent of their 17th c. Golden Ages

  => these projects reflect how cities used urban redesign to express modernity, hygiene, national pride and imperial economic status

Education

• rapid rise in literacy numbers (although changes came about only at late date in some zones such as Southern Italy, Eastern Europe) and the spread of the standard language thanks to compulsory schooling

• the development of specific schooling for girls trained in domestic schools

• in Western Europe => more people began to attend secondary schools, often boys were trained there into one of new professions

• university → still privilege for a very small minority (even if the number of students rose rapidly everywhere)

• women would only start to attend universities in greater numbers in the course of the 20th c.

• adolescents became to be seen as separate group → youth organisations were founded for them - e.g. youth scouts

• but growing state intervention in the spheres of education and health care

Religion

• revival of the church after the blow that the French Revolution had struck: new congregations, the development of mass pilgrimage (e.g. Lourder)

• gradual decline of religious practice in the last decades of the 19th c., especially amongst the working classes in the big cities. Rerum Novarum by Leo XII as answer to that challenge

• Centralisation of the church as Institution (first Vatican Council in 1870-71)

• but growing state intervention in the spheres of education and health care

Rerum Novarum

• 1891

• encyclical letter by Pope Leo XII, issued in response to the social challenges of the Industrial revolution - especially the decline religious influence among the urban working classes

• Title meaning ‘of new things’ refers to the new social and economic conditions created by industrial capitalism

• Main concern: the plight (hard position) of the industrial working class, who faced exploitation, poor conditions, and secularisation

• Stance:

  • condemned both unregulated capitalism and socialist collectivism

  • defended the right to private property

  • emphasised the moral duty of employers to treat workers justly and pay fair wages

  • supported the right to form trade unions

  • reinforced the church’s role in promoting social justice and defeating the poor

  => market the birth of modern Catholic social teaching

  => encouraged the creating of Christian trade unions and political movements (e.g. → Christian Democracy)

  => aimed to reconnect the Church with working class- people who were drifting especially in industrial cities

The consumer explosion

The Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914) brought mass production, higher wages for some, and urban growth - leading to mass consumer culture and leisure industries

→ Department Stores

• Large- scale retail spaces (e.g. Le Bon Marche in Paris) sold a wide variety of goods under one roof

• symbolised the rise of modern consumerism and middle-class spending power

→ New Leisure Activities

• theatre, cabarets, and early cinema attracted broad audiences

• dance halls and music cafes flourishes

• popular sports (cycling, football) gained momentum among both players and spectators

→ International Events:

• Brussels World Exhibition (1897): Showcased technological and cultural progress, emphasising modern consumer lifestyles

• Cycling World Championships (Antwerp, 1894): Reflected the growing popularity of organised sports and international competitions