Were the Social Changes That Came About as a Result of Revolutions, Industrialization, Colonization, Modernization, and Nationalism Positive for All Levels of Society and Regions?

Green

Were the social changes that came about as a result of revolutions, industrialization, colonization, modernization, and nationalism positive for all levels of society and regions?

Social changes as a result of revolutions, industrialization, colonization, modernization, and nationalism were not positive for all levels of society. Laboring classes of societies were the most negatively affected by these social changes as the textbook states, “These cities were vastly overcrowded and smokey, with wholly insufficient sanitation, periodic epidemics, endless row houses and warehouses, few public services or open spaces, and inadequate and often-polluted water supplies.” (Strayer & Nelson, 750). Together with the long work hours and terrible working conditions the laboring class in Europe suffered greatly and even experienced shorter life expectancies than in previous years. Upper classes and the emerging middle class benefited greatly from these changes as they caused more jobs, that don’t require manual labor, to develop. This allowed both men and women to work for a decent wage.

Were the governments during this period 1750-1914 responding to the changing times or being forcibly altered by the dramatic changes?

Governments were changing in response to the dramatic changes happening around the world between the years 1750 and 1914. Many societies around the world began “defensive modernization” in efforts stay independent from the growing power of the West. “The leadership of the Ottoman Empire recognized many of its problems and during the nineteenth century mounted increasingly ambitious programs of ‘defensive modernization’ that were earlier , more sustained, and far more vigorous than the timid halfhearted measures of self-strengthening in China.” (Strayer & Nelson, 846). This shows how many empires, after seeing China succumb to the West acknowledged problems and changed the ways they governed in efforts to remain independent from the growing domination of Europe. This system of “defensive modernization” was also evident in Japan, where it proved to be successful and led Japan to become a great world power. On page 855 of the textbook it says, “Thus they launched a cascading wave of dramatic changes that rolled over the country in the last three decades of the nineteenth century … Japanese modernizing efforts were defensive, based on fears that Japanese independence was in grave danger.” Both of these examples show how governments changed overtime due to the changing conditions around them, and not forcibly.

Yellow

Was the period good for cultures because of the globalized contact, blending and exchange or was this just a major time and example of the loss of arts, language, and religions?

Although good for

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