The European Industrial Revolution

 

The European Industrial Revolution

During the European Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, a number of developments occurred about the same time, which allowed the cities to grow larger. These included:

• The Agricultural Revolution
• Inventions of industrial processes that led to factory development
• New forms of power, for example coal, concentrating the industry in mining
• Improving transport systems, including canals, railways and motorways
• Gradual improvements in medicine, hygiene and public health 

The loss of farming jobs during the agricultural revolution (as people were replaced by machinery) led to large numbers of rural poor, and migration to towns from rural areas outstripped the demand for labour. It also produced a swollen workforce and depressed wage rates, negative effects of mass urbanisation. 

The changes in the UK were fueled by its capitalist economy. Widespread credit, business corporations, investments and large-scale stock markets all became common, and meanwhile, manufactiring, businesses and the number of labourers increased radically. This was accompanied by a social transformation, where population boomed and the demographics shifted, creating pressure for political changes to take place.¹

Cities

Until the middle of the 20th century, the biggest cities in the world were located in the most developed countries. London and New York were the largest, and are now World Cities, considered to be very important for the health of the global economy. 

The present era demonstrates an economic shift, similar in impact to the shift from an agrarian to industrial economy in the 18th and 19th centuries (see London Docklands and Park Hill case studies).  Globalisation has led to a shift of manufacturing from its traditional centres in the developed world (in cities such as Manchester, England) to lower-wage economies in China and India. As production disperses, services concentrate into a few trading centres that are major financial centres for accountancy, advertising, public relations, legal services, and commercial law. This attracts business tourism, with effects on transport, communication, personal services and entertainment. 

An example of a world financial centre is London, the largest city in Europe. Before 1914, thirty foreign banks had established themselves in London. Between 1914 and the end of 1985, the number of foreign banks in London grew more than 14-fold, to 434. London now has more foreign than domestic banks (see Canary Wharf, the location of HSBC's headquarters). Much of the population growth in London over the past 10 years is due to international migration. The population has increased by nearly 2 million in the past 25 years, and 44% of the city’s population are of black or other ethnic origin. The population has now exceeded 8.6 million, and covers an area of 1572km², with a population density of 5197 per km². 

Immigration  

An article written by Leo McKinstry for The Sunday Express states that "unrestricted immigration is highly damaging to the economy. It drives down wages, lowers living standards, places an intolerable strain on the civic infrastructure and puts millions of indigenous workers on the scrapheap".² However, there are positives to immigration, including the filling of job vacancies and skill gaps and cultural diversity enrichment. According to a study by an Oxford Economics researcher, migrant workers has helped maintain an adequate labour supply, and fuelled the 2004–2008 economic boom in the UK.³ The statistics given by Leo McKinstry oppose this, and state that only 29% of Somalis and 465 of Bangladeshis are economically active in the UK, and in total 370,000 foreign nationals were on out-of-work benefits in 2012, costing the government more than £2 billion. Around 10% of the entire social housing stock is assigned to foreigners, with the proportion in London rising by 20%. Immigration is often regulated by global groupings, such as the European Union. 

Since 1999, the EU has been developing a common immigration policy for Europe. EU countries have agreed that the EU should have common, or EU-wide, immigration and visa rules that will be valid all across the EU, and these are set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (2009). They include rules regarding:

• Entry and residence conditions for migrants;
• Procedures for issuing long-term visas and residence permits;
• The rights of migrants living legally in an EU country;
• Tackling irregular immigration and unauthorised residence;
• The fight against human trafficking;
• Agreements on the readmission of citizens returning to their own countries;
• Incentives and support for EU countries to promote the integration of migrants.⁴

¹ Bibliography: LLC, S. (2016) Europe (1815-1848). Available at: http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/1848/section1.rhtml (Accessed: 19 April 2016). In-line Citation: (LLC, 2016)

² Bibliography: McKinstry, L. (2013) Mid-life crisis for Osborne? Available at: http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/leo-mckinstry/395471/Immigration-The-British-public-is-close-to-despair (Accessed: 19 April 2016). In-line Citation: (McKinstry, 2013)

³ Bibliography: CreativeTags (2006) The pros and cons of migration. Available at: https://www.embraceni.org/migration/the-pros-and-cons-of-migration/ (Accessed: 19 April 2016). In-line Citation: (CreativeTags, 2006)

⁴ Bibliography: COMM (2016) EU immigration portal - rules - European commission. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/immigration/who-does-what/more-information/explaining-the-rules-why-are-there-eu-rules-and-national-rules_en (Accessed: 19 April 2016). In-line Citation: (COMM, 2016)