by Michael Hicks

Created on: March 01, 2007   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

The Industrial Revolution, occurring first in England and spreading first to Germany and then to the rest of Europe by the conclusion of the nineteenth century, made an indelible mark not only upon the landscape of Europe, but also that of her holdings all over the world. The new found abilities which the factory gave to governments seeking power and hegemony, both military and economic, were to forever change nearly every aspect of daily life for millions of Europeans. Textiles, consumer goods, and weapons were produced at rates never before dreamed of, and, in addition to this, colonies in far away lands provided raw materials and guaranteed markets for the final products. These factors served to affect several significant changes.

First, because the colonies provided basic foodstuffs and cash crops such as tobacco, indigo, cinnamon, sugar, et cetera, the need for farmers on the continent dropped dramatically. The peasant class, for centuries responsible for the production of food, found itself, quite suddenly, outmoded and unnecessary. This event, corresponding with the rise of the factory and a demand for unskilled labor in the cities, triggered a mass migration from rural Europe to her urban industrial areas, such as London in England, the Ruhr Valley in Germany and the Alsace-Lorraine in France.
Second, because this newfound industrial strength allowed the creation of weapons and machines of war in numbers and sophistication never before seen, the theory and practical nature of warfare was irreversibly changed. Whereas before the Industrial Revolution soldiers had mostly been professionals or mercenaries, the invention of the breech-loading (and later bolt action) rifle allowed the rawest recruit to effectively kill a hardened veteran will little training, and new standardized calibers for both small arms and artillery allowed the production of munitions on a massive scale.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, because the demand for the peasant had been all but eliminated, so too was the landed nobility- primarily because the economic power, for centuries derived from owning farmland, was now to be found in the cities. Some nobles used their wealth wisely and successfully transitioned to an industrial, capitalistic economy, but many suffered financial setbacks. Power, however, was still consolidated in the fists of Europe's crowned heads of state, however, and something was going to have to be done if they were to relinquish it. That something was the First

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