Unit 6 Scientific and Economic Revolution
Free Enterprise – freedom of private business to organize and operate for profit in a competitive system
without interference by government beyond regulation necessary to protect public interest and keep the
national economy in balance
Laissez-faire economics – free market unregulated by the government. Free trade leads to prosperity.
Industrialization – the process that involves building and operating factories and businesses in a city,
region, country, etc.
Inventiveness – the quality of being adept or prolific at producing inventions
Communism – all factors of production would be owned by the people with no private property existing
CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF IMPORTANT TURNING POINTS IN WORLD HISTORY FROM 1750 TO 1914
Scientific Revolution
Challenges how people view the universe. Scholars began to use observation, experimentation, and
scientific reasoning to gather knowledge and draw conclusions about the physical world
Causes – New knowledge gained from translated works of Muslim scholars and classical manuscripts
published new theories about astronomy which were spread by the printing press, Age of Exploration and
the emphasis on navigation lead to greater research in mathematics and science
People
Copernicus-Heliocentric theory wrote the book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres
Kepler- Proved the Heliocentric theory
Galilio-Law of the Pendulum, Laws of Motion, Telescope
Newton- Law of Gravity
Marie Curie- radioactivity
Industrial Revolution and impact on modern economic systems
Capitalism
Adam Smith The Wealth of Nations: economic liberty leads to economic progress without need of
government interference the thought that free markets are more productive and beneficial and effective
Malthus and Ricardo: believed that as population grew, most people would be poor. In a market system,
there would be many workers and abundant resources that could be obtained cheaply. Wages forced down
as population grew.
Laissez-faire thinkers opposed government efforts to help poor workers. Creating minimum wage laws and
better working conditions upsets the free market system lowers profits, and undermines the production of
wealth.
Socialism
Governments should intervene so that the wealthy and the government should take action to improve
people’s lives
Factors of production are owned by the public and operate for the welfare of all (Charles Fourier & SaintSimon)
Belief in progress and concern for social justice
Government should actively plan the economy as to abolish poverty and promote equality
Unitarianism: Jeremy Bentham – government should promote the greatest good for the greatest number of
people; John Stuart Mill: policies that would lead to a more equal division of profits
Utopian movements: improvement of working conditions; Robert Owen - low-rent housing for workers,
children under ten not allowed to work in his mills
Marxism: bourgeoisie (“haves”) and proletariats (‘”have-nots”); conflict resulted because the
wealthy controlled factors of production while workers did all the hard labor
Marx and Engels in The Communist Manifesto it was the working class that was exploited by capitalism
Capitalism would destroy itself after workers controlled the government and a classless society would
develop (communism)
Economic and Social Reforms
a. Union movement with collective bargaining and strikes
b. Reform Laws in Britain that addressed child labor and number of hours that could be
worked
c.
Abolition of slavery – William Wilberforce in Great Britain (1807); 13th Amendment in the
U.S.
d. Women’s Rights movements develop in Great Britain and the United States
EFFECTS OF FREE ENTERPRISE IN THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Challenges to mercantilist theory by David Hume and Adam Smith that wealth does not remain constant and
does not have to involve acquisition at another country’s expense
Merchant class replaced by industrialists as the dominant economic group in Britain and other industrial
nations
Decline in traditional artisan skills by artisans, journeymen, and guilds
Increase in commercial agriculture leads to mechanization of agricultural production
Development of factory system with a complex division of labor and routine work tasks
Abandonment of protectionist policies that were part of mercantilism
Manchester School in Britain: movement to lower tariffs
Repeal of Navigation Acts and Corn Laws in Britain (1840s) that less protectionism in the economy
Abandonment of quotas and tariffs to support Adam Smith and David Ricardo’s support of free trade
17th AND 18th CENTURY EUROPEAN SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENTS LED TO THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Agricultural Revolution – enclosure system
Increased use of mineral resources like coal
that allowed for cultivation of larger fields,
Jethro Tull’s seed drill, crop rotation, new
Factory system that is used for the housing
methods of breeding livestock – all lead to a
population increase, less labor-intensive,
and land displacement of smaller farmers
who move to cities and begin working in
of large machinery
Steam engine as a source of power – James
Watt
factories
Steamboat makes water transportation
easier – Robert Fulton (American)
New inventions in the textile industry –
Improvement of roads in England – turnpikes
flying shuttle, spinning jenny, spinning mule,
and tollgates for profit; macadam roads of
crushed rock that make transportation easier
water frame – modernize the cotton and
textile industry
Development of iron-making industries
Railroads
HOW THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION LED TO POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL CHANGES IN EUROPE
Political
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New laws to reform industrialization
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Extension of suffrage to larger number of people
Growth of nationalism in industrialized nations led to desires for expansion both through war and
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imperialism
Establishment of colonies in Africa and Asia to obtain sources of raw materials and markets for the
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sale of manufactured goods, governments had more involvement in and more world wide power
Women demanding reforms for labor polices
Economic $$$
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Creation of the factory system that led to mass production of goods
Reduction of tariffs to promote trade (Corn Laws, etc.)
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Spread of free enterprise, as well as responses to free enterprise through socialist and communist
philosophies
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Social
Child labor was cheap which helped increase wealth for the factory owners
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Increase in population and life expectancy due to improvements in food production and health care
Long work hours, low wages, and dangerous working conditions for industrial workers
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Class tensions between the upper/middle classes and the working classes
Increase in child labor which later led to child labor reform laws
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Poor housing conditions for workers that result in poor sanitary conditions and health epidemics
Urbanization of industrial areas in Europe and the United States
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Destruction of factories and machinery by the Luddites in response to the demise of cottage
industries
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Beginnings of labor unions that result in better working and housing conditions for workers
People have access to public parks, education, and transportation
MAJOR POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL MOTIVATIONS THAT INFLUENCED EUROPEAN
IMPERIALISM
Political – nationalism leads to a desire for overseas colonies. The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 divides
Africa between 14 European nations.
Economic – Industrial Revolution led for a search for new markets and raw materials; rubber, palm oil, and
cocoa become cash crops in European colonies; mining in diamonds, copper, gold, and tin provide
Europeans with great wealth
Social – Social Darwinism promotes the ideas that the fittest for survival enjoy wealth and success and
superior to others; Christian missionaries wanted to “civilize” non-westerners
MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS AND IMPACT OF EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM
Forms of colonial control

Colony – governed internally by a foreign power
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Protectorate – country with its own internal government, but controlled by an outside power
Sphere of influence – (China) area claimed by an outside power for exclusive investment and

trading
Economic Imperialism – independent countries controlled by private interests (e.g., the Dole Fruit
Company in Hawaii)
Patterns of management

Indirect control – local government officials with limited self-rule; laws based both on European
styles and local rules

Direct control – exclusive use of foreign officials with no self-rule; laws based only on European
law; policies of assimilation to absorb local cultures into European culture

Resistance movements from native cultures, (e.g. Zulu Wars in South Africa, Algerian resistance
movement, Sepoy Rebellion in India, Ho Chi Minh in French Indochina, Emilio Aguinaldo in the
Philippines)
European imperialism Causes
Political – Nationalism leads to a desire for overseas colonies. The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 divides
Africa between 14 European nations.
Economic – Industrial Revolution led for a search for new markets and raw materials; rubber, palm oil and
cocoa become cash crops in European colonies; mining in diamonds, copper, gold, and tin provide
Europeans with great wealth.
Social – Advancements in technology lead Europeans to develop racist attitudes as they see they are
superior to others; Social Darwinism promotes the ideas that the fittest for survival enjoy wealth and
success and superior to others; Christian missionaries wanted to “civilize” non-westerners.
Negative consequences of imperialism
Native people lose control of their lands and
Problems of identity as westerners
independence
contemptuously view native cultures
New diseases like smallpox reduce native
populations
Areas stripped of natural resources (The Congo
under Belgian rule)
Resistance movements, famines resulting from
Artificial boundaries either combine rival groups
shifts to cash crop production, and harsh working
conditions also reduce native populations
or divide kinship groups that continue to create
political problems in former colonies
Positive consequences of imperialism
Improved literacy & life expectancy
Railroads and improved infrastructure
European military presence reduces local warfare
Humanitarian efforts improve sanitation and education that leads to growth in life expectancy and literacy
Colonial lands equipped with infrastructure to aid in economic growth
Products from colonies valued in the international market
British Imperialism
Queen Victoria will reign for over 63 years and during her reign The British Empire will expand into include
areas in North and South America, Africa, area in the Middle East, India (known as the brightest jewel in the
crown), and Australia. During the Victorian Age the British were able to maintain control of its empire
because of their strong naval power
EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL AND HUMAN GEOGRAPHIC FACTORS
Opening of the Suez Canal (1869):
Connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea to expand international trade between European countries
and their colonies in Asia and Africa
Modernizes Egypt but expenses used to maintain communication networks and irrigation projects enable
Britain to oversee the canal’s financial affairs and then occupy Egypt
Becomes Britain’s “Lifeline of the Empire” as it brings quicker access to its colonies in Africa and Asia
Quicker access to trade
Opening of the Panama Canal (1914)
Creates a worldwide network of trade by connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Latin America becomes a crossroads of world trade
Malaria and yellow fever are controlled
United States maintains a political and economic presence in Latin America by controlling the canal until
1977
Quicker access to trade