Connecting Industrialization to Slave Trade and French Rev.

Connections to the French Revolution:

The Industrial Revolution in Europe changed peoples’ way of life. More jobs were available, travel became easier with railroads, and machines could produce goods much faster than humans could. However, not only was people’s way of life changed, but the social order also changed. Though the country as whole suddenly became a lot wealthier, not everyone within the country was wealthy. Owners of big factories found themselves with more money than they had ever had in the past, but the people working for them were poor. However, poor peasants could work hard to come close to the wealthy owners of factories. The Industrial Revolution changed the social order, just as the French Revolution did. The French Revolution provided people who came from the Third Estate with a chance to be powerful (take Napoleon for example). The Industrial Revolution also provided this opportunity. It gave poor people the chance to set about promoting and inventing new ideas, which they could use to gain wealth.

Connections to the African Slave Trade:

The African slave trade was a system of transporting laborers. Because the slave trade was trans-Atlantic, it is a good example of a trend being spread world-wide. Almost everywhere in the world used slaves: Europe, America, even Africa itself. This connects to the Industrial Revolution because that is another example of a trend being spread world-wide. Railroad tracks, and just the idea of industrialization in general spread across the world, even to countries whose leaders swore industrialization was bad, such as India.