Europe in a Revolutionary Age: Industrial Growth and Urbanization

This essay delves into the transformative effects of the Industrial Revolution on Europe, with a specific focus on the growth and industrialization of urban centers. It begins by establishing the historical link between industrialization and urbanization, highlighting how the creation of job opportunities and economic development drew populations to cities, fueled by the establishment of factories and related businesses. The essay then explores the shift from factories to technology-industry hubs in the modern era, drawing parallels in their impact on urbanization. It examines how the Industrial Revolution altered material production, labor patterns, and wealth distribution, emphasizing the drastic changes in city life compared to rural communities. The essay also discusses the rise of reform movements due to poor working conditions and child labor. It then presents a case study of Prussia, arguing for the importance of formal education in technological adoption and economic advancement during the Industrial Revolution. The study analyzes regional industrialization patterns in 19th-century Prussia, using historical data to support the hypothesis that education played a vital role in industrialization, particularly during its initial phase. The essay also examines the Prussian reforms, including the expansion of education, and measures industrialization through the share of the population employed in industrial production. Finally, the essay establishes the causal relationship between education and industrialization, considering factors such as child labor, the rise in living standards, and the impact of education on technological adoption across various sectors. It further explores the significance of education in non-textile industries, where technological changes were more disruptive, and the impact of primary education on fostering independent thinking and adaptability.

Running head: EUROPE IN A REVOLUTIONARY AGE
Europe in a revolutionary age
Name of the student:
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Author Note

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Thesis statement:
Topic:
“Examining growth and industrialization of any major urban center in Europe during Industrial
Revolution”
Claims:
 The industrialization has led towards urbanization historically through generating job
opportunities and economic development. This has been drawing the people towards the
cities.
 Moreover, the urbanization has started as different factories are been established at that
sector. In this way a high demand is created for the labors of factories (Lehmann-Hasemeyer,
Sibylle and Fabian).
 Here, other business like service providers, retailers and building manufacturers have been
following the factories. This is meet the demand of product of the workers. It has giving rise
to more jobs. Besides, more demands are generating regarding housing and establishment of
urban area.
 In the modern era, manufacturing facilities like factories are often replaced by technology-
industry hubs. These technological hubs draw workers from other areas in the same way
factories used to, contributing to urbanization. The industrial revolution has altered the
material production, labor patterns, population distribution and wealth (Cinnirella, Francesco
and Jochen).
 Though various rural sectors have been staying as the communities of farming at that time,
people’s lives at the cities has been changing drastically. This latest industrial labor scopes

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has resulted in shift of population from countryside towards the cities. This new factory has
given rise to the necessity for strong system related to factory of discipline (Wahl).
 At that time, the unsecured conditions of working and child labor rampant at different
factories has given rise to the reform movements. Then, the movement of population has
been resulted by individuals staying are small communities of farming moving to cities. The
prospective labors has been searching for the wage labor at various newly developed cities.
Rationale of the stance:
 The Industrial Revolution originated from the British. This is the reason why British
evidences has been setting the gained wisdom and understanding on Industrial Revolution.
As a result of that, the retrieved wisdom within studies is that unlike financial growth at
twentieth century the formal education comprised of no such role in economic development
at the time of revolution.
 Though the developments at England has been promoted through different factors or also
been accidental, they were somehow different over the continent of Europe (Becker et al.).
As the work processes and new machines has been present at England, there were other
nations who has been copying them.
 Therefore, this adoption of English machines and techniques has been vital to catch-up to
that frontier of technology.
 Nonetheless, the pre-conditions has been same for everyone. There were some sectors having
little level of education for quick adoption (Edwards). The literature till far has provided little
attention to the role of education in catching up the technological follower countries as the
Industrial revolution goes on. In the following study, the case of Prussia, being the education
world leader has been catching up the industrial revolution is demonstrated.

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 There has been the argument that formal education is required for adopting the new
technologies and proving vital for financial catch-up of nations who are follower of
technology. The empirical evidence lies on the basis of regional patterns of industrialization
during 19th century land of Prussia supporting the hypothesis. The arguments begins from the
notion of theoretical models.
 The model proposes the fact that education is the primary element for absorbing the latest
technologies and then adapt to that change (Edwards). For examining that whether it was
actually the situation as the Industrial Revolution, the benefits can be taken from the reality
that Prussians has been meticulous gatherers of data.
 Furthermore, the Prussian statistical office has been seen to be conducting the string of
overall population, occupation, and factory and school census during 19th century. Through
descending to various archives, the historically distinct micro-regional panel dataset has been
complied. This comprised of 334 Prussian nations who were spanning from the year 1816
prior this revolution began at Prussia. This has company put across middle of 1830 like Tilly
1996 (Moch).
 Till the ending of initial phase of industrialization during 1849 and the further phase during
1882. The outcomes proved the fact that education has been a vital role regarding
industrialization at the initial phase of the revolution. This reacted to be more successful for
the scopes generated from the outside technological changes occurring at Britain. Here,
significance of education has raised from initial to further phase.
 Despite the great average attainment of education the industrial employment has been at the
third least place during the initial phase at Prussia. Possibly this has been also lower as the
second phase was going on (Matzerath).

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Prussian reform:
Lecce, Giampaolo, and Laura Ogliari. "Institutional transplant and cultural proximity: evidence from
nineteenth-century Prussia." The Journal of Economic History 79, no. 4 (2019): 1060-1093.
The above study shows that Prussia began to make reform between the defeat from the army
of Napoleon during 1806 and rearrangement of the borders of Europe during 1815. This is to
propose much amount of freedom to people. The farmers has gone from serf to the subject and was
able to have their individual land, affect the guilds that were trimmed and the occupational scopes
turned to be free. Besides, the internal tariffs has been abolished successively (Lecce, Giampaolo
and Laura). Nonetheless, the industrial has been a regional type of phenomenon and the various
regional differences at industrialization could never been evaluated through reforms applicable to the
entire nation. It is reason why the evidence of the research from the country-level data of Prussia.
From the early time of 1763, a regulation has been published by Fredrick that consisted of explicit
common invitation for every Prussian citizens for attending the school. Till 1816, the nation turned
the leader in terms of primary schooling having average enrolment of fifty eight percent per country
among the individuals of six to fourteen year (Hollenbach). However, there a strong regional
variation as there in the rates of enrolments. Here, the nation having the least enrolment just sent
about three percent of their children to school during 1816 as that has been ninety five percent in the
nation at the another end of distribution. During 1948, the enrolment rates of Prussia as reached the
average of eighty percent. During 1871, subsequently it is seen that the average literacy of eight four
percent in population of adults. The industrialization can be measured as per the share of population
deployed under the industrial production. At the ending of initial base of industrial revolution during
1849, the production of factory has been unusual. The distinct Prussian census has been
categorization about hundred and nineteen kinds of factories. Here, at an average of 1.8% of the

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entire population of the nation has been employed (Johansen). However, there has been nations such
as Iserlohn that has been popular for the huge-scale factories of metalworking. Here, 16.5% of
overall population as been already employed in the factories. Overall. The textile factories apart
from the hand driven looms deployed one sixth of the workers of the factory on the average, the
metal factories with ne third and additional factories like the generating wood, rubber, paper and
food has been one half in amount. At the ending of the further phase of industrial revolution during
1882, the manufacturing reached the average employment of twelve percent of the overall
population having 5% in other industries, 3% in metals and 4% in textiles (Paret).
Figure 1: “Rates of school enrolment across various countries of Prussia in 1816”
(Source: Reckendrees et al. pp. 37-75)
Establishing causality:
Mokyr, Joel. The British industrial revolution: an economic perspective. Routledge, 2018.
While assessing role of education in Industrial revolution, direction of the causation has
never been straight cut. The reason is that the production of factory has raised demand for various

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child-labor ad low-skilled employed. Thus the children are kept out of the school. Again, the rise in
the standards of living have made the education to be more affordable for wide masses such that
more number of children have been sent to the school (Mokyr). Here, both the instances indicate that
the result may be running from the industrialization towards schooling. For accounting for the
possibility, the research has put focus that this has been level of the education of re-industrial vital
for the adoption of technology. This never meant the rise of education as the industrial revolution
took place. Hence, an empirical strategy is devised making utilizing just that part of educational
variation witnessed as the two phases of industrial revolution is traced back to educational variation
seen already during 1816 (Hielscher, Stefan and Bryan). It has been the actual beginning of
industrial evolution that took place at Prussia. Various historical instances are also used for arguing
that the education level seen prior the industrialization’s onset has come out of the idiosyncrasies of
history. Nonetheless, it is worrying that industrialization might be facilitated though pre-industrial
development level such that more developed nations can gain the great rates of enrolment and
successful to industrialize for the similar cause. Thus one must consider the level of pre-industry for
the nations. It should also be ensured that the outcomes are never driven through difference at the
pre-industrial endowments like the geography, landownership, religion, public infrastructure,
agricultural orientation, demography, urbanisation, proto-industrial techniques and natural resources
(Schueler). Further, the outcomes are supported as the three times 1816. 1849 and 1882 are
considered under the longitudinal assessment ignoring the differences at various levels around
different nations. Here, the other approach is to determine the corroborates of findings using distance
for Wittenberg as alternative origin of educational variation and then exploiting the reality that 16th
century concentric spread of the idea of Protestantism at the nation lead o development of
educational variation. Moreover, owing to the urge of Luther every Christian must be reading Bible
(Guettel).

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Sector and educational differences:
Ross, Anna. Beyond the Barricades: Government and State-building in Post-revolutionary Prussia,
1848-1858. Oxford University Press, 2018.
The above study explains that the aggregate outcome of the significance of education related
to industrialization has been concealing vital difference of sectors. This has made the factors at the
textile sector, the place where innovation has been less disruptive in nature and the labor of child has
been more prevalent in nature, the education influences no effect at any stage of industrialization. It
is often confirmed by literature that textile development has been distinct in nature. This is due to the
fact of huge suck costs, child labor and path dependence (Ross). The industrial development at
various non-textile area has been experiencing much more radial type of change and also evolved
every new, relying on availability on educated population prior aware of productive efficient of
latest technologies and much more able to adjust the changing scenarios. Moreover, the common
primary education deployed from the end of Humboldt at the nation aimed to generate the
independent type of rational thinking along with self-responsible activities among wide people and
turn vita for learning the way to follow and understand new technologies developments (Harris).
Along that line, notable impacts of primary education are seen and never for the higher education
and upper-secondary.
Evidence of logical organization of the ideas:
Evans, Chris, and Göran Rydén, eds. The industrial revolution in iron: the impact of British coal
technology in nineteenth-century Europe. Taylor & Francis, 2017.
In the above article it is seen that, while testing the fact whether the better-educated sector of
the nation from the initial stage has caught up quicker to the technological leader of the country of
England, evidences are seen that the formal education has been facilitating the industrialization. In

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this way while looking back to British Industrial Revolution towards the industrial catch-up of the
follower nations of technological, the overall word except the nation of Britain and beyond the
textile industry from where the maximum of evidence of British has come from, the education has
proved to be the leading factor for the financial development (Evans, Chris and Göran Rydén).
Again, the different terms of adoption of the new technologies instead of the subsequent usage at
production as they have turned to be standard, the skills of human beings were complement to new
technologies and it has not just from early 20 century as seen through evidences and also earlier.
Thus education has been laying greater role for the initial and second phase of industrial revolution
external to Britain that maxim of analyses on the basis of present state of the empirical roves that is
to be proposed (Schissler). At the end, this can be said to be coincidence at the country of Prussia
that is also education, word leader during that time has been specifically successful in catching-up
the industrialization phase.
The empirical model:
For the basic setup needs specifications where level instead of the education or change
influences industrialization. Thus the primary model has been expressing the industrialization IND
for the ending of the initial phase of Industrial Revolution during 1849. This is as per the function of
the education level EDU and additional explanatory factors denoted by X:
Here ε can be considered as the error term and on the hand β can be considered to the
coefficient of the interest. Thus one must make the estimation of the model through the cross-section
of the nations of Prussia exploiting the analysis that Industrial revolution has been regional
phenomenon. Additionally, for utilizing the indicators the overall industry is dependent variables and

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cam perform assessment for the 3 distinct industries the metals. Textile and group of every industries
external to those areas. Apart from the case of 1849, the level of industrialization can also be
measured at the further stage while the second phase of 1882’s industrial revolution (Ji-cheng).
Again is there is the evidence to obtain exogenous educational variation from levels of pre-
industry. For addressing the worry to the fact that education is endogenous to the industrialization an
instrumental-variable measure can be suggested. It is the pace where the levels of education is seen
prior the industrialization is seen to serve the as the tool for the levels of education as the
industrialization goes on. Hence, in the above equation the education EDU is instrumented during
1849 prior the industrial revolution that took place during 1816.
The initial step permits to make isolation of the part of that variation in education during
1849 that can be seen to the pre-industrial variations for education. This type of approach can ne
enabled through the distinct panel dataset including the education information prior the industrial
revolution take place. Thus one can follow the similar Prussian nation as the two phase of the
revolution is going on (Schueler).
It is seen that all the present evidences, mainly from the industries of British textile, has been
rejecting the significance of the formal education for industrial revolution. Thus, new evidences are
provided from the area of Prussia that has been the technological follower. Here, the reforms of early
19th century has generated the situations for adopting the new technologies that has been emerging
exogenously. The perspective that the formal education is never plan the significant role for
emerging new industries during the well establishment of British Industrial Revolution. Besides,
surprisingly small attention is paid to the role of the education at the industrial catch-up of the

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follower nations of technology of the entire world apart from the Britain. Apart from that it also
argues that education is vital for transferring technological leadership from the Britain to the
Germany towards leading areas till the end of 19th century. Again the Prussian system of school that
came out at the beginning of 19th century is specifically able to deliver the capabilities productive to
the setting. The educational ideal of the education is aimed towards delivering the wide masses with
competency for thinking in rational manner and act in independent manner similar to human.
Though the industrial revolution has been creating the demand initially for the uneducated labor and
also the child labor, this is to perform the daily activities at few sectors, it is seen from the evidences
that the prior arguments of the education’s role to generate the capability the capability in adjusting
the changes in conditions. This is of resounding importance at the phases of Prussia’s industrial
revolution.

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