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Bianca Spiegelberg

Industrial VS French
Revolution

Individuals and Societies


GESS Grade 8A

Industrial Revolution VS French Revolution


The Similarities and Differences between the French and the
Industrial Revolution
-Bianca Spiegelberg
Revolutions are the locomotives of history. - Karl Marx. By saying this, he is trying to
express the change revolutions bring about and how they help develop our lives. This is
a highly debated topic amongst historians all around the world; Do revolutions always
improve the quality of life?
In the following essay I will be focusing on the revolutions that are widely-regarded as
two of the most important European ones, in order to evaluate the accuracy of the
statement above. The first one, the Industrial Revolution, was a time of great change in
industry, that occurred between 1760 to 1840 in Britain. The second one is the French
Revolution, a time when people overthrew the monarchy, that lasted from 1789 to 1799
in France.
Social status was a very important part of peoples lives. It basically dictated the quality
of your life. If you were lower-ranking, you had a poor lifestyle, while if you were higher
up on the social ladder, you could afford to live luxuriously.
Before the Industrial Revolution, people were born into their social status, as a member
of the clergy, nobility or as a commoner and remained in these positions for the rest of
their lives. This system was known as feudalism. Thanks to the revolution, they started
being able to move around the social ladder. This allowed people to work their way up
and earn a better lifestyle.
In France, people had been separated into groups even more harshly. They were
known as Estates and were categorized as following: Estate 1: members of the church
(clergy), Estate 2: nobility, Estate 3: commoners and peasants. Members of the Third
Estate had almost no rights and had to pay very high taxes. During the French
Revolution, there was a drastic change in this social order; the feudal system was
destroyed almost completely along with the monarchy, a form of government with the
king as the head. With the help of the Napoleonic Code, a collection of French laws
established under Napoleon, rules were established which declared all men as equals.
In conclusion, social life was impacted immensely during both Revolutions. A form of
feudalism was partly destroyed in each, though Britain still had means of classifying the
people, while in France the systems were almost completely demolished.

Bianca Spiegelberg
Industrial VS French
Revolution

Individuals and Societies


GESS Grade 8A

Population was affected greatly by both Revolutions.


During the Industrial Revolution, the rise in factories and production provided more job
opportunities for many lower class members. This caused people to move from the
country into the city. The cities became overcrowded and overpopulated as more and
more people moved to get a job. There were also many new developments and
achievements in health and machinery, which enabled an increased birth rate and
contributed further to the population growth. In fact, the Industrial Revolution saw a
population rise in the cities from about 6 million in 1700 to around 15.9 million in 1841
(the end of the Industrial Revolution).
During the French Revolution, population in France grew to 30 million (in 1789). This
was an around 10 million person increase from the year 1700. Excluding major cities
such as Paris and Marseille, where the majority of the people lived in the city itself,
around 80% of the people lived in the countryside. They lived off the land and leased
this from wealthy lords under a form known as seigneurialism, though this system was
somewhat demolished as the French Revolution progressed.
Population growth was a significant outcome of the Industrial and French revolution.
The population growth in Britain can mainly be attributed to the new developments.
None of these developments occurred during the French Revolution. Furthermore,
Britain experienced much of the overpopulation in cities and towns, whereas
overcrowding in France mainly happened in the more rural areas of the countryside,
where large families and groups of people shared their plots of land.
Living Conditions were largely impacted by both the French and Industrial Revolution,
though both affected the lifestyle standards in completely different ways.
During the Industrial Revolution, there was a great rise in the amount of factories. This
caused many people of the Lower Class to move to the cities to work there. Due to the
sudden surge of people in the cities, the houses were built in rush and were often too
small and of bad quality. They were also very unsanitary, mainly due to the lack of
proper waste disposal. For the Middle Class on the other hand, the new availability of
goods contributed to an improvement in their lifestyle.
During the French Revolution the abolishment of the feudal system and the monarchy
meant that many people no longer had to live under control of the land-owners and
seigneurs. They were able to buy a small plot of land for their family, though these were
sometimes too small for the large amounts of people. Some people remained living
alongside the feudal lord, though the conditions werent as harsh as they used to be.
People of higher level, such as the nobility continued to live nicely, though not as
lavishly as before, due to the fact that their status was no longer as important as it had
been.
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Bianca Spiegelberg
Industrial VS French
Revolution

Individuals and Societies


GESS Grade 8A

During both revolutions, space was a big issue. People had to share small areas with
large groups of people and this was the cause of many diseases as the bacteria could
spread more quickly. In Britain this was a much larger problem than in France. While
during the Industrial Revolution the people mainly lived in the cities, the people of
France remained in the countryside with more space, and therefore had slightly better
living conditions.
The Economy was a very important aspect of both Revolutions.
During the Industrial Revolution, economic activities were focused on manufacturing. It
became easier and cheaper to produce goods. Traders began selling large amounts of
goods at cheaper prices and earned more money. This way, the economy of Britain
stabilized. There were low, stable prices and people didnt have to worry about their
wages. Even though the lower class didnt earn as much money and couldnt buy as
much, they could still afford a decent living for themselves and their families.
During the French Revolution the economy was very unstable. There was a wage
uncertainty for French workers, meaning they were never sure if, and how much pay
they would receive. People needed to pay higher taxes to the king, nobility and the
clergy. A lot of this money went towards funding wars. Furthermore, the prices of
everyday items, such as bread and milk increased.
In conclusion, the economic stability of both Britain and France was greatly affected by
the revolutions. During both revolutions the lower class members and peasants
sometimes had to cut consumption and work very hard, as their wages were either low
or non-existent. Despite this point, economy during the Industrial Revolution was a lot
better and more stable and impacted the people more positively than during the French,
where many people could hardly afford a living.
Both the Industrial and the French Revolution saw great developments and
achievements which helped mankind.
The main outcome of the Industrial Revolution was the industrialization of the world and
the development of new machinery and techniques. Furthermore, there were great
advances in agriculture and industry. All of these helped enable easier and faster
production of goods, as well as an easier lifestyle.
During the French Revolution, there were many important inventions and developments
that mainly contributed to warfare and knowledge. These included the metric system
and the encyclopedia, as well as the invention of the guillotine, a process where people
are decapitated. Potatoes were also discovered during the French Revolution. Before
this period of time, people had known of the potato, during the revolution however, a
new purpose was discovered; when soldiers left for war, they took potatoes with them,
as these are root-vegetables which are still edible for many months and provide the
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Bianca Spiegelberg
Industrial VS French
Revolution

Individuals and Societies


GESS Grade 8A

body with a lot of vital nutrients. This meant, that war could last longer than just one or
two seasons. Other inventions and discoveries included effective artillery, cheap
printing, and ironworks.
The inventions and developments of the Industrial and French Revolution have greatly
changed the world for the better, by helping us make many tasks a lot easier to
accomplish. Both revolutions affected completely different areas though: The Industrial
Revolution impacted industry and machinery, while the French Revolution mainly
experienced discoveries of techniques and objects that help us with knowledge and in
war.
All in all, this essay has helped me understand that revolutions often do improve the
quality of life. It may not be as apparent when we look at what happened during the
time-periods themselves, but in the long-run, the revolutions have brought about a lot of
changes which have helped make the world a better place. When we look at some of
the short term changes during the Industrial Revolution, we can see that the living and
working conditions of many people, mostly the lower class, were appalling, but the
economics stabilized and social mobility became a lot fairer. During the French
Revolution, the unstable economy and the poor living conditions were countered by a
fairer social system and many new inventions. These side-effects were all part of the
process of reaching the bigger goal: In the Industrial Revolution, there was the
development of industry, which, in the long run, led to an easier production of goods, as
well as an easier lifestyle. The abolishment of the monarchy and strict social order
during the French Revolution, ultimately led to a new and fairer government and ruling
system. In conclusion, I think revolutions help improve our lifestyle.

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