Blog Nine 03/24

Module 1:

 How did the Industrial Revolution transform British society? Before the Industrial Revolution, the aristocrats were pretty much at the top. They were the ones who had control over things being the dominant class of Britain. Before the revolution, there were many families, (appox. more than half) who had owned more than half of the land, and they would use a majority of it for people who would farm, which also provided work for others. The change occurred  when it came to the rise of urban wealth. It brought a huge decline to the landowners since they had to make room for all the new things that were coming in like businessmen, manufacturers, and bankers. one of the things that had the biggest effects on them was when the tariffs on the high foreign imports that were protecting the British were abolished. the ones who really owned property, were the ones who had money or were businessmen as opposed to simply having it just from being an aristocrat. They were viewed as the class who were declining but were also provided a ‘cushion’ during the decline. It was all a big change for all. From being some of the people who had the best life, were at the top having things always working in their favor to them to be dropped down for others. 

How did Britain's middle classes change during the 19th century? To begin, the ones who were known for being in the middle class were the ones who had benefited from industrialization. The ones who were known as the “upper level middle class” were wealthy factory/ mine owners, bankers, and merchants. With them being businessmen, they quickly got into the whole grove of the aristocrat life. They went to buying country houses, getting a seat in parliament, sending their sons over to fancy colleges like Cambridge or Oxford, and also getting titles of nobility from Queen Victoria herself. The ones who were required in any industrial society were those who were far more numerous like, smaller businessmen, doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, journalists, scientists and many others. There were some who had a certain tone set on their idea of what a middle class society was like with it’s values and outlooks. When it came to politics, pretty much all were liberals, meaning, they were in favor of the constitutional government, private property, free trade and social reform. The reform bill of 1832 allowed only men in the middle class the right to vote. The middle class culture consisted of ideas of thrift, hard work, rigid morality, and the culture overall being characterized as cleanly as well as respectable. Overall it changed mainly by who was in the middle class originally to who the new middle class consisted of. 

In what ways was Latin America linked to the global economy of the 19th century, and what was the impact of these links?There was a hold in Latin America, while Mexico, Peru, and Argentina had reached a point of greater stability. At that time Latin America became a part of the world economy that was driven by the industrialization of Western Europe and North America. With the new technologies of the steam boat and underwater telegraph which had cut travel time in half and traveled news pretty much instantly. Latin American exports had a rapid growth had needed food production, raw materials, and markets of the new nations. The people of Latin America, such as land owners, businessmen, governments provided what was needed. Mexico produced silver which is what produced the world’s supply. New things were added to the list of things flowing out of Latin America like, copper from Chile, tin from Bolivia, nitrates from Chile, guano from Peru which were both used as fertilizer. Wild rubber from the Amazon was in high demand, as well as sisal from Mexico. Things that were rapidly growing were bananas from Central America, beef from Argentina, cacao from Ecuador, coffee from both Brazil and Guatemala, and sugar from Cuba. in return for these items, Latin America sent out textiles, machinery tools, weapons and luxury goods from Europe and the United States.