CHAPTER 21

Demographic and Environmental Developments

IN THIS CHAPTER

Summary: The Industrial Revolution brought a number of changes in the environments of
industrialized nations. A population increase in the West, China, and Japan during the eighteenth
century provided the labor force needed by the factory system but also added new challenges.
Industrial pollution plagued urban areas. Migration between the Eastern and Western hemispheres
enriched the cultural makeup of the Americas.

Key Terms

Maori
pogrom
quantum physics
romanticism*
theory of natural selection
theory of relativity

Population Revolution in the West

In the middle of the eighteenth century, the population of Western Europe increased dramatically.
Among the causes of this increase were the end of episodes of epidemic disease and the improved
diets resulting from increased consumption of potatoes. Infant mortality rates decreased, whereas
larger numbers of healthy adults resulted in a higher birth rate. Larger populations provided a ready
labor supply for the new factories.
Industrialization also contributed to patterns of migration. Substantial numbers of people,
especially young adults, migrated from the country to the city in search of employment in factories,
upsetting the makeup of the traditional Western family. Another pattern of migration involved the