Not every history trip sends you back hundreds and hundreds of years. Some of these events may have even occurred in your lifetime!
Every period has its fair share of war and battles, and this one is no different, but now we see a new kind of Revolution emerge: Industrial! I tend to think of early Victorian 1800’s as the heyday of the Industrial revolution, with giant smokestacks rising above London and those poor Dickensian orphans cleaning chimneys and begging for scraps. However, it took a few decades for all of that infrastructure to build up, so that’s where this section begins.
In the meantime, the United States, France and Ireland all went through political revolutions of their own, some more successful than others.
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England by this period had cut down much of its ancient forests for fuel and building materials and people needed something else to burn. In addition, all of the new machinery and equipment (think: steam engines) needed a significant – and cheap – energy source. Coal as fuel had been known for thousands of years but now it was in significant demand AND soon enough there emerged the kind of digging and pumping equipment required to excavate deep mines and keep them dry.
Over in the Americas, Great Britain and France were embroiled in the Seven Years’ War (what we call the French & Indian War in the US) from 1754-1763 AD as each fought to expand their territories. British Lieutenant Colonel George Washington led the colonial forces trying to push the French from the upper Ohio Valley but was defeated. At one point the Spanish got involved when Spanish King Charles III allied with his cousin, France’s King Louis XV. Ultimately it led to Great Britain also declaring war on Spain and eventually securing Spanish Florida as part of the Treaty of Paris when they won the war.
Great Britain emerged victorious, but the expenses of paying for the war and protection they needed to provide the colonists was a source of serious tension. Taxes upon taxes were levied on the colonies to pay for the war and protests followed. The American Revolution didn’t start with the goal to form a new nation, but once it was clear Great Britain wasn’t amenable to the grievances of the colonies they felt separation was the only choice and the Declaration of Independence was created in 1776 AD.
Meanwhile in England, James Watt had invented his steam engine, which quickly led to developing industry and railroads. As much as Great Britain tried to keep the technology a secret, other countries figured it out and began their own industrialization in the first half of the 19th century. In 1851 AD, Prince Albert (consort to Queen Victoria) famously held the Great Exhibition, often regarded as the first international World’s Fair to showcase the modern marvels of the age.
The United States caught up quickly coming out of the Revolution, and our own industry and railroads were booming in the 19th century. The American Civil War was fought from 1861 – 1865 AD. The urbanized and factory-based Northern states won the war and industrialization exploded following the war. By 1900 AD the United States had taken over Britain in manufacturing. Nearly a quarter of the world’s output of goods were coming from the US at this time!
All of these factories needed raw materials and manpower, which fueled even more colonization. As the world became more connected, countries vied for power and in 1914 AD the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Serbia was the match that lit the power keg that became World War One. At the time it was called “The Great War” since, surely, there could never be something as awful as this ever again… But in 1939 AD Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began in Europe.
This is about where I’m going to leave this period. I may post some places that are post-WWII but for the most part, this is where my time travel ends.
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