Modernization of the 19th Century Essay

Modernization of the 19th Century:

Modernization can be described as the period characterized by rapid industrialization and urban growth across several countries in the globe. In addition to expanding the scope of interaction and activity, industrialization changes the society into being predominantly urban from being agrarian. Actually, the industrialization period has been widely known as the Second Industrial Revolution or era by many historians since it was characterized by the expansion of industrial process from the production of textiles to new industries. One of the major factors that contributed to this era or revolution is technological advancements that resulted in the development of railways and use of electricity and petroleum more than coal. The political and economic modernization of the 19th Century was negatively impacted by World War I that seemingly destroyed the optimism surrounding this period.

World War I and Modernization:

Modernization basically refers to the model of evolutionary change from a traditional to a contemporary society. According to historians, modernization is widely linked with the industrialization, urbanization, and increase in education. Through this process, an individual becomes the fundamental unit of the society when there is an increase of modernization within the community. In the 19th Century, there was optimism regarding modernization because it was associated with the creation of positive development across the globe. Many countries, especially in Europe were optimistic of the process because of the numerous benefits it provided to them. This contributed to the consideration of modernization as a kind of westernization because of the expansion of the western culture and institutions.World War I had a huge impact on Germany and other European countries as well as other areas like Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific Islands (Nosotro, n.d.). The First World War seemingly destroyed the optimism about the 19th Century modernization because it had numerous negative effects on several countries. Its apparent destruction of the optimism of the process emanate from its impact on relationships between countries and continents. For instance, the war resulted in the emergence of a crucial change in the relationship between Europe and Africa. The apparent impact of World War I on modernization, which focuses on development, is its negative impact on trade and development in several countries. As a result of this war, there was an increase in the price of every commodity, decline in economic growth, and worsening poverty rate. Actually, the war caused trading between many countries to cease resulting in a great impact on modernization. Moreover, the main reason that the war seemed to change everything was its impact on relationships between countries and the devastating effects that questioned several ideas of superiority based on technology.

Second Industrial Revolution:

The Second Industrial Revolution, which is also known as the Technological Revolution, occurred between 1870 and 1914. This period was mainly characterized by rapid rate of inventions in energy, medicine, chemicals, and materials that had a huge impact on production (Mokyr & Strotz, 1998). This….....