By Portia Considine & Rishi Garg

Expansion of the Middle Classes

“Century of the middle class”

Many different levels:

Affluent merchants & bankers (elite)

Professionals - lawyers, doctors, government

officials, writers (still important)

Shopkeepers (lower)

The New Middle Class

Decline of AristocracyMiddle class grew in wealth

& populationMore productive than everMiddle class placed in

position of power due to economic growth

Enabled middle class leaders to assert power, take control of government

Middle Class Drive for PowerBritain, France, & Low

Countries:Gained power of

government by 1830-1840

Central Europe:Gained power of

government later in the century

Drive for power was unstoppable, European leaders were forced to recognize middle class

Artisans did not fit into any specific group

Possessed specific traditional skills

Normally worked independently or with other

artisans to create full product

Differed from regular factory workers

Were able to create a full final product, as

opposed to only contributing one step toward a

product

Nonconformity of Artisans

Displacement of ArtisansMany unaffected by

IRSometimes,

industrialization competed with artisans’ skills

Artisans couldn’t always compete with industrial efficiency

Many riots/revolutions were caused by artisans

Mechanization of Everyday Life

In Britain, by 1850, only 20% of population was employed in agriculture

Steady shift of population from countryside to cities

Work schedules were governed by the clockEmployers used strict time-keeping to control

their workersMiddle class employees carried pocket watchesTime itself became standardized – Greenwich

Mean Time (GMT) was adopted as a universal base zone for the world

Rhythm of Work

The Advent of Railways

Europeans had mixed

views about railways

Medical risks?

King Frederick William III

of Prussia was one of the

first major leaders to

begin using railways

regularly

New InventionsThe 1851 Great Exhibition

showcased Britain’s accomplishments

Held in the Crystal Palace: Huge iron and glass building Covered 19 acres Reached a height of 108 feet

at its peakOver 14 months, more than

14,000 exhibitors displayed more than 100,000 objects

More than 6 million visitors attended from all over Europe

Alleviation of Famine Industrialization helped stop

hunger

European countries used to suffer

from famine:

In 1847, Prussia and Germany

Between 1845 and 1851, more serious

in Ireland

Since 1850s, Europe has been

mostly free of famine because of:

Increase in overall prosperity

Improvement of transportation

networks