Eu rope in the Nineteenth Century 29banker for the continent and, in the twentieth century, for the world. Industrializa-
tion spread through virtually all areas of western Eu rope as the masses flocked to the
cities and entrepreneurs and middlemen scrambled for economic advantage. In addi-
tion, more than any other factor, industrialization led the middle classes to capture
po liti cal power at the expense of the aristocratic classes. Unlike the aristocratic classes,
the middle classes did not depend on land for wealth and power; their ability to invent,
use, and improve industrial machines and pro cesses gave them power. As machine
power became indispensable to the security (think artillery, battleships) and prosper-
ity (think merchant ships and railroads) of states, the middle classes began to seek more
po liti cal power to match their contributions.
The population of Europe soared and commerce surged as transportation corridors
across Europe and the globe were strengthened. Po liti cal changes were dramatic: Italy
was unified in 1870; Germany was formed out of 39 dif er ent fragments in 1871; the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands was divided into the Netherlands and Belgium
in the 1830s; and the Ottoman Empire gradually disintegrated, leading to in de pen dence
for Greece in 1829 and for Moldavia and Wallachia (Romania) in 1856. With suchKINGDOM OF
NORWAY AND SWEDENKINGDOM OF
IRELAND DENMARKHUNGARY
SWISS
CONFED.KINGDOM
OF
SPAINKINGDOM
OF
POR TUGALMOROCCO ALGERIA TUNISIAKINGDOM OF
THE TWO
SICILIESMONTENEGRO
OTT
OM
AN
EMPI
RESTATESPAPALPARMALOMBARDY-VENETIAENGLANDSCOTLANDKINGDOMOF
NETHER-LANDS
HESSE SAXONY
BAVARIAHANOVERHOLSTEINSCHLESWIGWURTTEM-BURGAtlantic
OceanMedi
t er
ran
ean
SeaLUCCAWALLACHIAMO
LD
AV
IAREPUBLIC
OF CRACOWAustrian EmpireRussian EmpireFrance
Prussia
United Kingdom
of Great Britain
and IrelandBoundary ofthe German
ConfederationAUSTRIAN EMPIREPRUSSIAMECK-
LENBURGBADENMODENA
TUSCANYRUSSIAN
EMPIRE
POLANDLUXEMBOURG
KINGDOM
OF
FRANCE
KI
NG
DO
M
OF
SA
RD
INI
AEu rope, c. 1815ESSIR7_CH02_020_069_11P.indd 29 6/14/16 10:01 AM