Preview

Comparing the Industrialization of Britain and Japan

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1538 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparing the Industrialization of Britain and Japan
Comparing the industrialization of Britain and Japan

Two ships can arrive at the same destination; however that does not necessarily mean that they used the same route on their journey. Such is the same with the industrialization of Britain and Japan. Both rose to become the two great pioneers of the modern world; however the paths they took to success were different. This paper will compare Japan and Britain, exploring the causes of its industrialization, and how the countries drastically changed because of it. What sets Britain’s industrialization process apart from Japans is that it did not have a role model to base its development on; it was the first industrial nation. Therefore the cause of its industrialization must have much contrast with Japans. Britain’s industrialization must pay tribute to its growing population, political stability and geographical advantage One may question, out of all the other parts of the world, why was it Britain to industrialize first. The main ideal behind Britain’s rise to industrialization in the seventeen hundreds is because the people at the time period had a modern way of thinking; the population was ready to move away from hand labor and agriculture to factory machines and large industrial companies (Sea.ca, 2003). They craved for a more productive and efficient way of getting tasks done. This state of mind was the backbone of the industrial revolution. However Britain had certain advantages that acted as a driving force for the revolution. First of all, in the 1700’s Britain experienced a population growth due to scientific improvements in farming; the increase in crops and healthier livestock improve health and living conditions. The larger the population, the more labor opportunities to work in factories, and the more demand for the products from the factories (Little, n.d.). Another advantage was its political stability. Since England was an isolated island nation, despite participation in the European wars of



References: Christensen, M. (n.d.). The Meiji Era and the Modernization of Japan. The http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw21industrial-revolution-europe-japan.htm Huffman, J. (2008). About Japan: A Teacher’s Resource | The Meiji Restoration Era, 1868-1889 | Japan Society. About Japan: A Teacher’s Resource | Home | Japan Society. Retrieved June 11, 2012, from http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/the_meiji_restoration_era_1868-1889 Hyperhistory.net (2010). HyperHistory.net. Retrieved June 11, 2012, from Samurai Archives Japanese History Page. Retrieved June 11, 2012, from http://www.samurai-archives.com/tme.html Littell, M. (n.d.). The industrial revolution in England. Lahabrahighschool. Retrieved June 12, 2012, from www.lahabrahighschool.net/ourpages/auto/2012/4/17/51220791/10_3_1.pdf Live Science (2012.). How the Steam Engine Changed the World | LiveScience . Science News – Science Articles and Current Events | LiveScience . Retrieved June 11, 2012, from http://www.livescience.com/2612-steam-engine-changed-world.html Sea.ca. (2003). The Industrial Revolution - Causes. The Industrial Revolution. Retrieved June 11, 2012, from http://industrialrevolution.sea.ca/causes.html

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Japan CCOT essay

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Japan’s cultural and political structure changed from being a weak isolated nation to a modern imperialist country. Before Japan westernized, it was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate. This was an agricultural economy with a population of 13 billion. Japan did not associate with any other country because they believed foreign influence was a destabilizing factor. This resulted in overcrowded farms and scarce minerals. In 1853, Commodore Perry came to japan with his big black ships. The technological advancements of the ships shocked the japanese. They ended isolationism and opened trade ports in order to avoid destruction. Failure of success, in 1868 the Tokugawa shogun was overthrown and emperor Meiji had complete power. During this time, Japan was very decentralized. There were several semi-independent feudal lords. The emperor saw how Japan was at a great disadvantage from being in isolation for so many years. He knew that in order to strengthen Japan, change was needed. This resulted in the Meiji Restoration. By 1912…

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    19. Japan's success in modernization has created great interest in why and how it was able to adopt Western political, social, and economic institutions in so short a time. One answer is found in the Meiji Restoration…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Tokugawa bakufu, and the Edo bakufu was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city of Edo, now Tokyo. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo Castle from 1603 until 1868, when it was abolished during the Meiji Restoration.…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain for many reasons. Great Britain’s Geography was one of the best. It had natural harbors and rivers, and it also had natural resources such as water and coal and iron. in (document 1) in order to industrialize, England must have the resources such as coal, iron, water, wool, cotton, tin and lead. Also, in (document 2) the geography of England helped them industrialize by having many…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Another factor is that Britain’s industrialization developed in the early ages, but it was on the global economy so other parts of the world had a role to help contribute in industrialization. The INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION happened at about 1760 and continued for about 100 years with new machines being created fueled by fossil fuels and other organic sources. Capital merchants in Britain used the PUTTING OUT SYSTEM to help accelerate production of raw materials like yarn, wool, cotton and other resources and gave these to families to create goods and then give it back to the employer for money in return. This…

    • 1400 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Britain’s most significant reason to industrialize was the increase in population. Britain was not able to produce food at the same rate the population; due to the facts they had no wars. Britain's population grew so largely that it resulted in more people coming from outside the city to work for wages inside the city. The Industrial Revolution began in Britain because Britain had more advantages than most of the other countries, including huge deposits of coal that could be used to power the new machines. One of Britain's most famous machines was the spinning jenny, a machine used for spinning with more than one spindle at a time. In summary, Britain's main reason to factor was the growth in…

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dbq Japanese Imperialism

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages

    During 1868, Japan was facing the Meiji Restoration and was being impacted by western influences and imperialism. As Japan, didn’t agree on how the influences were affecting countries around, Japan created many reforms. A few of the reforms that Japan was using were militarism, industrialization, and economic changes. Japan had a plan to help support their country to avoid the influences, but as time went on the reforms started not to work, and the changes that were being made began to be western influences. There are reasons that the reforms didn’t stop the influences or the process of entering Imperialism. As well why Japan crave and started to change their ways by the western influences.…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bibliography: Avakian, Monique. The Meiji Restoration and the Rise of Modern Japan. Boston: Silver Burdett, 1991. 38-54.…

    • 2571 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Our textbook addresses that the French and English writers of the 1820s invented the term Industrial Revolution to capture the drama of contemporary change and to draw a parallel with the French Revolution. The chief components of the Industrial Revolution, industrialization and urbanization, are long-term processes that have continued to the present. The Industrial Revolution began in England in the 1770s and 1780s in textile manufacturing and spread from there across the continent. By the end of the 19th century, Great Britain controlled the largest empire in the history of the world—an empire that covered one quarter of the world’s land mass.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although abundant natural resources of Great Britain was the important factor of the Industrial Revolution, it was other economic, agriculture, and political realities that made Britain become first country to industrialize and create today’s modern economic system.…

    • 177 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    1. Britain was home to industrialization because they had a combination of natural, economic and cultural resources throughout their country. Another reason that afforded England’s industrialization was that it was a small island. Because it was an island allowed it to have control of the waterways to reach domestic and foreign markets. Not only were they able to harness their resources, England encompassed many coal and iron mines that were used as the new source of power.…

    • 1583 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Britain and Japan are the two great pioneers of industrialism and therefore of the modern world. Britain was the pioneer industrial nation of the Western, European-dominated world, Japan of the Eastern, non-European and, to many eyes, the hope of the Third World. The countries have always had much in common. Both groups of islands off an initially more civilized and powerful continent, they had to defend themselves from military and cultural conquest and to that end developed a powerful navy and an independence of mind which made them increasingly different from their continental neighbours. Behind their sea defences they were able to pursue their own ideals and ambitions which enabled them in the end to originate changes in industry and society…

    • 178 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Compare political, economic, and social effects of the Industrial Revolution on Britain and Japanese society between 1850 – 1914”…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the early 19th century Russian rulers did anything in their power to keep the "French plague" from infiltrating Russia. The "French Plague" was a gradual move towards freedom and a more influential say in government. Russia avoided the "French Plague" by a period of isolation and oppression of their people. Japan also had a long period of isolation. The Japanese believed in the Mandate of Heaven or that there culture was the best. Because of their ethnocentric culture, only one Japanese port, Nagasaki, was open to traders once a year. During the late 19th century, both Russia and Japan were forced to make reforms and modernize by industrialization. They both had to do so rapidly because of Western interference and the West's increasing power in trade. During the early 20th century, Russia and Japan had managed to reform, industrialize, and make sufficient changes to build powerful nations, although they still couldn't compete with the West's supreme military and technological strength. The industrialization process for both Russia and Japan began during the same time period because of this they both shared many similar industrial responses, but also contrasted in many ways. Both Russia and Japan had some common characteristics, which explained how they kept independent from Western interference for such a long period of time. The two nations both new that learning from outsiders could profit them and not necessarily destroy their culture. Industrialization was easy for them because they followed a system of borrow and improve from other countries. Through Japan's Tokugawa shogunate and Russia's tsarist empire, both nations improved their political success. Instead, they used the state to pay for changes that in the West was backed by private businesses. In both Russia and Japan their rulers received more power. By emancipating the Russian serfs and the peasant class, both nations had a large labor force. Besides similarities there were also many differences in…

    • 1532 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Britain and Japan are two nations that are thousands of miles away from each other, so they are not often seen as similar, but in reality they have many similarities. Both Britain and Japan are islands secluded from their continent, but their location was key to their success with industrialization and imperialism. Britain was known as the origin place for the Industrialization and Japan shocked the world with its rise to power. Both learned how to use their geography to their advantage. Critical geography lead to efficient and effective Industrialization, that later help with Imperialism.…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays