An Industrial Survey
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At the Turn of the 20 Century
By the eve of World War I, Germany’s industrial output
had caught up with Britain, while France and Russia
lagged far behind.
Evidence
 Second Industrial Revolution
 Bessemer process
 Andrew Carnegie
 Solway process
 Gottlieb Daimler
 Henry Ford
 John Rockefeller
 Standard Oil
 British Shell Oil
 Royal Dutch Oil
 unemployment
 Crystal Palace
 W. H. Smith
 Krupp Family
 petit bourgeoisie
Britain
 By 1850, after a century of the Industrial Revolution,
more British workers were employed in factories than
on farms
 British manufactures produced vast quantities of
textiles, shoes, cutlery, and tools for sale in domestic
and foreign markets
 19th century Britain experienced great economic
prosperity as the “workshop of the world.”
France
 After 1815 the Industrial Revolution penetrated more deeply into
France
 French built railroads, mined coal and iron, and constructed
factories.
 However, French industries retained much handicraft labor and
concentrated on such luxury items as laces, silks, wines, perfumes,
and jewelry
 In the 19th century France did not industrialize thoroughly because
the country lacked:
 Political stability (new governments in 1815, 1830, 1848, 1852, 1871)
 Sufficient coal resources, especially after the loss of Alsace-Lorraine
 An adequate labor supply because France’s small independent
landowners preferred farming to factory life
Germany
 After unification in 1871 Germany industrialized
rapidly, aided by:
 Extensive coal and iron resources
 Skilled workers
 Talented scientists who created new industries such as
dyes and chemicals
 Efficient water and rail transportation
 Favorable government policies
 By 1914 German iron, steel, textile, and chemical
products were world famous
Russia
 Before 1914 Russia was overwhelmingly agricultural.
 Russian industry was limited chiefly to several iron and
steel mills and some railroad construction
 The Czarist regime emphasis on maintaining the old
regime deterred industrial development
 After of the revolution of 1917, Soviet rulers drove
Russia toward industrialization