Ch. 8 Vocab Terms

Industrialization: a transformation away from an agricultural- or resource-based economy, toward an economy based on mechanized manufacturing

Factory system: a system that emerged during the IR; represents a shift from artisanal production and home-based industries to centralized manufacturing facilities where workers used machinery to produce goods on a larger scale

Specialization of labor: the process where individuals or groups focus on specific tasks or roles in production, leading to increased efficiency and productivity

Global manufacturing: the interconnected process of producing goods across various countries and regions, leveraging international supply chains to optimize production efficiency and reduce costs

Steam engine: The great breakthrough of the Industrial Revolution, the coal-fired steam engine provided an almost limitless source of power and could be used to drive any number of machines as well as locomotives and ships; the introduction of the steam engine allowed a hitherto unimagined increase in productivity and made the Industrial Revolution possible.

Railroad/Steamships

• railroad: mode of transportation that travels over the ground by use of parallel steel rails that act as a track for wheeled locomotives (p. 133)

• steamship: mode of transportation that cut the sailing time between Britain and Argentina almost in half

Urbanization: Sustained demand for food products grown on land owned by aristocrats. 

Private property: The legal right of individuals or organizations to own and control assets such as land, buildings, and resources, allowing them exclusive use and the ability to transfer ownership

Middle-class society: British social stratum developed in the nineteenth century, composed of small businessmen, doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, and other professionals required in an industrial society; politically liberal, they favored constitutional government, private property, free trade, and social reform within limits; had ideas of thrift, hard work, rigid morality, “respectability,” and cleanliness.

Industrial Working class: The group of laborers who worked in factories and mines during the Industrial Revolution, often facing long hours, low wages, and poor working conditions; they played a crucial role in the economic growth of industrialized nations and were significant in the rise of labor movements seeking better rights and conditions.

Wage-earning jobs: Positions that provide individuals with a salary or hourly pay in exchange for their labor

Ideology of domesticity: A set of ideas and values that defined the ideal role of middle-class women in nineteenth-century Europe, focusing their activity on homemaking, child rearing, charitable endeavors, and “refined” activities as the proper sphere for women.

Laboring classes: The majority of Britain’s nineteenth-century population, which included manual workers in the mines, ports, factories, construction sites, workshops, and farms of Britain’s industrializing and urbanizing society; this class suffered the most and at least initially gained the least from the transformations of the Industrial Revolution.

Progressives: Followers of an American political movement (progressivism) in the period around 1900 that advocated reform measures such as wages-and-hours legislation to correct the ills of industrialization.

Caudillos: Military strongmen who seized control of a government in nineteenth-century Latin America, and were frequently replaced.

Dependent development: Term used to describe Latin America’s economic growth in the nineteenth century, which was largely financed by foreign capital and dependent on European and North American prosperity and decisions; also viewed as a new form of colonialism.

Capitalism:  An economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit, where investments and production are determined by private decision rather than state control.

Laissez-Faire economics/free markets: markets in which individuals have the liberty to do with their wealth and their lives as they please without government intervention

Transnational businesses/corporations: Global businesses that produce goods or deliver services simultaneously in many countries; growing in number since the 1960s, some have more assets and power than many countries.

Standard of living: Moreover, the country’s remarkable economic growth generated on average a higher standard of living for American workers than their European counterparts experienced. Land was cheaper, and homeownership was more available

Consumer goods: Products produced for direct use by consumers, which became widely available during the Industrial Revolution due to mass manufacturing, leading to lower prices and greater variety.

Communism: An ideology advocating for a classless society with collective ownership of property and means of production to ensure equality and prevent exploitation.

Socialism: An economic and political system advocating for collective or governmental ownership of the means of production, aiming to distribute wealth more evenly and reduce inequality.

Telegraph: system for long-distance communication using coded signals transmitted via electrical impulses over wires. It significantly enhanced communication speed and reliability during the Industrial Revolution.

Financial Instruments: Stock Markets, Limited-Liability Corporations: these financial instruments facilitated the growth of large-scale industrial enterprises by allowing them to access necessary capital and spreading financial risk among many investors

• stock markets: Platforms where shares of publicly traded companies are bought and sold, providing a means for businesses to raise capital by tapping into public investment.

• limited-liability corporations: Business structures that limit the financial liability of owners to their investment in the company, encouraging more individuals to invest in enterprises without risk to personal assets.

Economic modernization: the shift from agrarian to industrial economies, characterized by mechanized manufacturing, increased productivity, and factory systems. It included the expansion of financial markets and global trade networks, reshaping societies through infrastructure improvements and urbanization.

Social hierarchies: the division of classes into upper, middle, industrial working, laboring, progressives, and caudillos; each holding different levels of power, wealth, and influence within society, often dictating access to resources and opportunities.

Public health crisis: numerous health problems arose during the Industrial Revolution such as the spread of diseases and poor working conditions, extraction of natural resources and burning of fossil fuels also led to pollution and poisoning of river waters

Infrastructure: During the Industrial Revolution, infrastructure expanded to support industrial growth and urbanization, including railways and roads for transportation, telegraphs for communication, and improved water and sewage systems

*“Banana Republic”: states that the US-owned United Fruit Company in Central America exploited by allying with large landowners and compliant politicians

*“Anthropocene era” - Age of Man: A recently coined term denoting the “age of man,” in general since the Industrial Revolution and more specifically since the mid-twentieth century. It refers to the unprecedented and enduring impact of human activity on the atmosphere, the geosphere, and the biosphere.

*”Social Democracy”: approach to socialism that rejected the class struggle and revolutionary emphasis of classical Marxism; it was especially prominent in Germany during the late nineteenth century and spread more widely in the twentieth century when it came into conflict with the more violent and revolutionary movements calling themselves “communist

Karl Marx: The most influential proponent of socialism, Marx was a German expatriate in England who predicted working-class revolution as the key to creating an ideal communist future.

Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill a new set of ideas, now known as “classical liberalism,” provided the ideological underpinnings of industrial capitalism

Muhammad Ali (Cotton textile industry in Egypt): an Ottoman subject who established factories to process cotton into cloth and to manufacture modern weapons in a supposedly independent Egypt

Eli Whitney: (1765-1825) an American inventor, mechanical engineer, and manufacturer who invented the cotton gin in 1793 and developed the concept of mass production

Robert Owen (1771 -1858) a wealthy British cotton textile manufacturer, urged the creation of small industrial communities where workers and their families would be well treated. He established one such community, with a ten-hour workday, spacious housing, decent wages, and education for children, at his mill in New Lanark in Scotland

Porfirio Diaz: Mexican military leader and political figure who served as president of Mexico for over three decades, known for his authoritarian regime and efforts to modernize the country, led to his overthrow during the Mexican Revolution

Benjamin Disraeli: wrote Sybil which was published in 1845 and described the two ends of the social spectrum  in England as “two nations between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones or inhabitants of different planets.”

John Rockefeller: (1839-1937) an American industrialist and “philanthropist,” founder of the Standard Oil Companyalong with Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie, he was a self-made American industrialist of fabulous wealth that became a cultural hero

Andrew Carnegie-

Carnegie’s Homestead steel plant near Pittsburgh, employees worked every day except Christmas and the Fourth of July, often for twelve hours a day; along with Henry Ford and John Rockefeller, he was a self-made American industrialist of fabulous wealth that became a cultural hero

Industrial Revolution: A transformative period beginning in the late 18th century characterized by a shift from agrarian economies to industrialized ones, marked by mechanized manufacturing, the rise of factories, and advancements in technology, leading to significant social, economic, and environmental changes.

Abandonment of Mercantilism: The economic theory that governments served their countries’ economic interests best by encouraging exports and accumulating bullion. This theory was eventually replaced by more modern economic practices that focused on free trade and the principles of capitalism.

Russian Revolution of 1905: Spontaneous rebellion that erupted in Russia after the country’s defeat at the hands of Japan in 1905; the revolution was suppressed, but it forced the government to make substantial reforms.

Latin American export boom: Large-scale increase in Latin American exports (mostly raw materials and foodstuffs) to industrializing countries in the second half of the nineteenth century, made possible by major improvements in shipping; the boom mostly benefited the upper and middle classes.

Mexican Revolution: Long and bloody war (1910–1920) in which Mexican reformers from the middle class joined with workers and peasants to overthrow the dictator Porfirio Díaz and create a new, much more democratic political order.

Second Industrial Revolution: an era that focused on chemicals, electricity, precision machinery, the telegraph and telephone, rubber, printing, and much more in the late 1800s

“Fossil fuel revolution”: The Industrial Revolution came to rely on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, which supplemented and largely replaced the earlier energy sources of wind, water, wood, and the muscle power of people and animals that had long sustained humankind

Meiji Restoration/Meiji Era: the political change in Japan starting in 1868 that took over the Tokugawa, leading to the modernization and industrialization of the nation as it embraced Western technologies and ideas, ultimately transforming Japan into a major world power.

*English Luddites - Rebellion: 

• Luddites: well-organized bands of skilled artisans that carried out warnings of destroying offending machines (efficient machines that threatened the jobs and livelihoods of workers), burning buildings, and on occasion attacking employers; they took their name from a mythical Robin Hood-like figure, Ned Ludd

• The Luddite uprisings were so widespread and serious that the British government sent 12,000 troops to suppress it, more than it was then devoting to the struggle against Napoleon in continental Europe

• Parliament passed a law in 1812 making those who destroyed mechanized looms subject to the death penalty, causing sixty to seventy alleged Luddites to be hanged, and sometimes beheaded as well, for machine breaking

• Luddism: widely regarded as blind protest, an outrageous, unthinking, and futile resistance to progress; in more recent times, an insult applied to those who resist or reject technological innovation

Wealth of Nations: Adam Smith's 1776 work that established principles of modern economics and capitalism; highlighted the advantages of free markets, specialization, and labor division

The Communist Manifest: written by Karl Marx, outlines communism ideas and sets communist ideology foundation, advocating for class struggle and revolution to achieve a classless society with collective ownership of production; it critiques capitalism and argues for the working class to rise against the bourgeoisie to eliminate social inequalities.

Das Kapital: Karl Marx’s critical analysis of political economy, focusing on how capitalism exploits labor and generates inequality, part of the foundation for community ideology

British Textile Industry: The site of the initial technological breakthroughs of the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth-century Britain, where multiple innovations transformed cotton textile production, resulting in an enormous increase in output.

Labour Party: British working-class political party established in the 1890s and dedicated to reforms and a peaceful transition to socialism, in time providing a viable alternative to the revolutionary emphasis of Marxism.

Socialism in the United States: Fairly minor political movement in the United States; at its height in 1912, it gained 6 percent of the vote for its presidential candidate.

Shipbuilding in India & Southeast Asia: During the Industrial Revolution, this advanced significantly, incorporating Western technologies to enhance production. This allowed the region to play a vital role in maritime trade, supporting the export of raw materials to industrialized nations.

Iron Works in India: iron works in India underwent modernization, incorporating new technologies and techniques to increase production capacity; contributed to the supply of iron for various industrial applications, supporting infrastructure growth and the emerging demand for industrial goods in both local markets and for export.

Textile Production in India and Egypt: During the Industrial Revolution, textile production in India and Egypt advanced significantly through mechanization and Western technologies. India enhanced traditional handcraft methods with machinery, while Egypt, under Muhammad Ali, established modern cotton textile factories to meet both domestic and global demands.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC): The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), founded in 1865, aimed to facilitate trade between Europe and Asia, focusing on Hong Kong and Shanghai's growing economic activities. It has evolved into one of the world's largest banking organizations, providing services ranging from retail banking to corporate finance.

Unilever operations in British West Africa and Belgian Congo: A multinational consumer goods company based in England and the Netherlands, played a significant role in the production and distribution of food, beverages, cleaning agents, and personal care products, adapting its strategies to local markets and contributing to economic development in these regions during this time period