225
(310,600km) of rail track. The
production of pig iron rose similarly:
in 1810, it was a little less than
100,000 tons a year; in 1850, it was
approaching 700,000 tons; in 1900,
it was over 13 million.The role of steel
By about 1870, in both Europe
and the United States, a second
wave of industrialization began,
in which oil, chemicals, electricity,
and steel became increasingly
important. The production of steel
had been transformed after 1855,
when English engineer Henry
Bessemer devised a way to make
the metal lighter, stronger, and
more versatile; from that point
forward, steel would prove the
linchpin for industry. In 1870,
total world steel production
was 540,000 tons, but within
25 years it had risen to 14 million
tons, and railways, armament
production, and the shipbuilding
industry all benefited from its
ready availability.
While Germany was beginning
to threaten Britain’s industrial
preeminent position in Europe,
quadrupling its industrial output
between 1870 and 1914, the United
States was rapidly becoming the
world’s largest industrial power.
In 1880, Britain was still producing
more steel than the United States,
but by 1900 the United States was
producing more steel than Britain
and Germany together.
At the same time, steam-
powered ships were also being
introduced. Sailing times, no longer
dependent on the vagaries of the
wind, became more controllable,
and journey times were shortened.
The ships were significantly larger,
too. While the largest wooden ships
rarely exceeded 200ft (60m) in
length, the Great Eastern, launched
in 1858, was 689ft (210m) long.Total world steamship tonnage in
1870 was 1.4 million. By 1910, it
had reached 19 million.Winners and losers
The benefits of industrialization
were unevenly spread. Southern
Europe was slow to react to it, and
Russia also struggled to catch up.
The Chinese and Indian empires
proved unwilling or unable to
industrialize, Latin America did so
only intermittently, and Africa
was dominated by technologically
superior powers. By contrast,
after 1868, Japan’s single-minded
pursuit of industrialization made
it a world power.
Industrialization also made
possible a new kind of warfare, one
capable of bringing death on a scaleCHANGING SOCIETIES
never seen before. An enduring
irony of industrialization is that the
nations that benefited most from it
turned it against themselves in two
world wars, deploying weapons of
extraordinarily destructive power.
The Industrial Revolution laid
the foundations for the modern
world. Fueled by an enormous
sense of new possibilities, in
some places it raised living
standards across all sections of
society in ways unimaginable
in earlier ages. However, in the
wealthy West, it also produced
a sense that material superiority
was equivalent to a kind of moral
superiority, one that not merely
made it possible for the West to
dominate the world, but demanded
that it do so. ■The Industrial
Revolution was driven
by several factors, chief
among them science,
agriculture, finance
(cost and reward), and
transport networks.Industrialization
was made possible by
a scientific revolution
that began in the late
1600s and transformed
understanding of the
natural world.Improved crop
yields wiped out
famine in much of
Europe and directly
contributed to the
growing populations.Steam-powered
ships were
bigger and faster,
and they made a
genuinely global
market a reality.Mass production
cost companies less,
and the ability to
produce more goods
also meant higher
potential sales.US_220-225_Stephensons-Rocket.indd 225 15/02/2016 16:43