Europe and America in Social Ferment
Europe and America in Social Ferment
By 1770 a number of social and political revolutions are brewing. The Age of Enlightenment has raised expectations among the intellectuals in Europe. In France, the long reign of Louis XV* (1715-74) is drawing to an end. France has experienced a good deal of economic progress and expansion but no political change. The effective machine of French government is rapidly becoming obsolete.
In America the Seven Year's War* (1754-1761) was played out over control of the Ohio Valley and culminated in the capture in 1758 of the French forts Dusquesne (later Fort Pitt and then Pittsburgh) and Ticonderoga. The French threat disappears from America and the British colonies no longer need British protection. Britain runs a colonial empire that circles the globe but makes the mistake of keeping their English colonies out of representation in Parliament. The Stamp Act (1765) taxes the American colonies and, in response, nine colonies draw up a declaration of rights and liberties. Although many duties (taxes) are repealed in 1770 the one on tea remains in force (remember the Boston Tea Party?). The final straw will come with the Coercive Acts of 1774 (against Massachusetts) and closing the port of Boston. The American colonies will call a Continental Congress* to meet in Philadelphia in 1774. The following year the American Revolution* will break out.
Most of Europe will regard the American effort as a minor ripple on world affairs. France, however, always open for a chance to beat up on the English, will sign the Franco-American alliance, and French ships and troops will help finish the revolution. Holland and Spain will jump on the American side of the Revolution* bandwagon and England will find herself besieged at Gibraltar. (They will also have to defend British interests in India and Africa at the same time.) The idea, and process, of Revolution will spread as the years pass.
In England at this time the social ferment is economic. What with the new use of coal and coke to fuel things there has been a rise in small manufacturing which draws people in to the cities. The need for good transportation is being solved by those canals (see the previous chapter) which supplement the river system and provide the ideal route to move large, heavy loads (like coal.) The first major canal was dug in 1757. At the end of the Seven Year's War* (1763) there is a drop in interest on loans and more capital can be borrowed to build canals. By 1775 a network of canals will connect all the major English ports with all the large coalfields.
The advances in technology, finance and industry are driven by the industrious "Dissenters" or Nonconformists. These are members of the non-Catholic, non-Anglican Christian sects who, as a result of Cromwell and the civil war, are forbidden to hold positions in local government, civil service or at the universities. They are, however, permitted to work in trade and finance. The Dissenters, particularly the Quakers and Unitarians, are strong on education and set up a number of Dissenting Academies with modern, practical curriculum. This education prepares the students for success in industry. By 1770 there are all the ingredients in England for an industrial quantum leap forward.
The final ingredient is cotton, which is flowing in from the colonial empire in India, the Caribbean and America. A new weaving technique has been developed in the 1760's and the spinning jenny in 1767. In 1769 a machine called the water-frame is produced and for the first time all textile workers are put to work under one roof. The only thing delaying a real factory system is the problem of power and that will come along soon. Textile work is beginning to take off.
One other factor is evident in this period. There is enormous population growth. The agricultural advances (noted in the previous chapter) since the 1720's encourage population growth, as do the extensive colonization of resource rich areas (the Americas, Australia, etc.). The world population will almost double in the nineteenth century.