The Enlightenment & Atlantic Revolutions
The Enlightenment led to increased literacy amoung the masses. Reading books and becoming educated on a variety of theoretical and practical topics such as political sciences became popular and people spent their leisure time in salons and cafes for intelligent discussion.
As time progressed, the people became increasingly frustrated with the political and social establishments, which eventually led to social unrest in the form of petitions and protesting.
Therefore, it can be said that increased literacy had a direct impact as a cause of the Atlantic Revolutions.
The Atlantic Revolutions included:
The American Revolution- led by British colonists in a revolt against unfair taxation without representation
The French Revolution- led by the 3rd estate in a rebellion against the 1st and 2nd estates’ class privilege (including their exemption from paying taxes)
The Haitian Revolution- led by current and former (freed) slaves in a rebellion against French colonialism
The Latin American Revolution- a series of wars led by Spanish and Portuguese colonists to gain freedom as independent nations
1st Industrial Revolution
Because Britain had large natural deposits of coal that were close to the surface for easy extraction, and waterways that allowed transportation of materials, it became the birthplace of the 1st Industrial Revolution.
Coal was used for the production of steam, which powered the first engines.
2nd Industrial Revolution
The Bessemer Process modifies the carbon content of iron to produce steel.
Many entrepreneurs were wildly successful during this time period. Andrew Carnegie's success was due to vertical integration- which is a buisness model of owning every aspect of production from the mines to the factories to the products they produce.
Communication technologies began with the invention of Morse Code- transmitting information over long distances using a code system of long and short spaces transmitting the alphabet.
Factories became more productive with the invention of the light bulb by Thomas Edison, allowing factory shifts to continue well into the night hours.
Petroleum was eventually refined into gasoline, which fueled the first internal combustible engines- leading to the invention of the automobile.