One century after Britain had under gone the first Industrial Revolution, a second begun. Industry made its way across continental Europe. It was this Second Industrial Revolution that would change Europe and the rest of the world forever. Along with technological advances the Second Industrial Revolution would bring many social consequences that would all have an effect on the world, as we knew it.
The Industrial Revolution was first a technological Revolution. The most important aspect of the revolution was the way it changed the production and transportation of goods, It was the year 1750, when the British Phenomena of the Power Engine was discovered. The discovery of unlimited energy from resources such as coal was more efficient. Before this discovery the type of energy which was used up to this time was that of human and animal power. It is this discovery in which allowed Britain to start mass production, which increased their output with same input.
There are many reasons why the Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain. The first was the endless amount of raw material they received by the many colonies. These raw materials were things like cotton, silk, and tobacco. This is why at first that the industrial revolution just started in the textiles industry with machines that where able to produce such items as clothing very cheaply. Great Britain had sole control over the market with its supply of raw materials, and the new technology. However as communication increase it spread across to continental Europe as well as other industries, besides textiles. By the year 1850 the rest of Europe began to follow Great Britain in industrialization however they could not compete. In order to compete with Britain European countries were forced to placed high tariffs on British goods in order to protect their own industries. Britain could not undersell in Europe.
It dramatically changes the practices of agriculture. With many farmers leaving the countryside for jobs in the factories there were less farmers cultivating the land. This was not a problem due to the new technology which used, the application of energy obtain from inorganic materials to machines, which was more faster and easier than human and animal labor. Now these machines allowed less farmers to supply a surplus of crops. Other technological advances in agriculture were chemical fertilizers, which helped protect the crops from insects.
It was also during this time in which the industrialization moved from textiles to steel. The movement to steel gave rise to mechanized transportation. The amount of railroad increased from 300klm to 300,000km from 1830 to 1870. Steel also gave rise for bigger ships. Not only could countries be able to ship products but also they could employ soldiers quicker. Traveling was no longer a high-risk adventure like it was in the previous century and solely for trade proposes. As technology increased coal and iron gave way to new sources of energy which involved electrify and internal combustion. However the raw materials in which these new means used, like copper and rubber, were found in overseas. Now these discoveries made most European countries get interested over seas
From 1870 up to the First World War, there was a new wave of Imperialism. This age of imperialism was driven by industrialization. It was made possible by the new technology in ship building, made easier by the implementations of canals and railroads, and made safer by the new medical discoveries, however it was due to the need of raw materials that forced Europeans to look elsewhere.
One of the places they looked was Africa. During the previous era of imperialism Africa was unconquerable by Europeans due to diseases like that of Malaria in which Europeans were susceptible to. This was the opposite of the other areas in which were targets of the first stage of imperialism like that of the Americas, where it was the natives whom where killed by European disease. The development of quinine opened up Africa. Quinine was a medical advancement in which protected Europeans from Malaria. Africa was very attractive to the Europeans due to its rich supply of raw materials. Africa and all it's rich land was spilt between the European countries. Most of the continent went to Britain and France. Belgium acquired the very rich land of the Congo. Germany and Italy were late comers and were forced to take parts that were not as profitable
As far as Europeans were concerned the colonies helped their economies, and therefore even though the treatment of the native inhabitants went against their cultural belief and fight for democracy they sought new ideologies in order to support their actions overseas. One of the ideologies was that of Social Darwinism, which is the belief that Europeans were superior due to biological means. The other ideology behind the new age of imperialism was "The White Mans ...