MODERN ERA:
1750 - 1914
DEMOGRAPHY AND THE
ENVIRONMENT IN AN AGE OF
REVOLUTION AND
INDUSTRIALIZATION
DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION
Malthusian Economics
Predicted human population always outpaced food, supplies
Only natural disasters, wars, famine keep population low
Did not figure in technology, inventions, science
Key Characteristics
Population
• Increased from 900 million (1800) to 1.6 billion (1900)
• In Europe, Asia, North America
• Scientific, medical advances
– Increase life span, infant survival rate
– Decrease death rate, death of mother during childbirth
– New hygiene
Food supply increases
• Lightly, uninhabited areas brought under cultivation
• World trade allows for foods to reach areas quicker
• Staples in world trade due to refrigeration, canning, ships
• Agronomy, animal husbandry increase yields, variety, quality
– Fruits of the Columbian Exchange
– Many nations begin to export quantities of wheat, meat
Population Movements
• Internal Migration to unsettled lands, international Migrations
• Urbanization
• End of Slave Trade necessitated labor based migration
GRAPHING MALTHUS &
DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION
2ND AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
In 1750 the world was largely subsistence agriculture
Rhythms of regional agricultural societies based on seasons, surroundings
Small plots, rural villages, no export: exception were Russia, Baltic
Began in England but also occurred in Western Europe, US, Asia
Outgrowth of Columbian Exchange
Outgrowth of the Scientific Revolution
Enclosure Act
Larger landowners begin to enclose lands
• Began with enclosure of public lands
• Done legally to increase yields of large landowners
• Then took smaller farms, plots away from poor farmers
• Done with support of Parliament
Results
• Moved small, inefficient farms into better productivity
• Brought new lands under cultivation
• Freed labor for factories and swelled population in cities
The Revolution
New Foodstuffs planted; new styles of crop rotations
Selected breeds of cattle, dairy cattle, sheep
Technology, science applied to farming
Agricultural Revolution followed European imperialism
Europeans brought their crops, animals with them
Europeans began exploiting cash crops for commercial profit abroad
FROM PEASANTS TO FARMERS
The process, while social, began with technology, science
Agronomy and animal husbandry replaced herding
• Selective breeding, splicing, experimentation
• Crop varieties, fertilizers to enrich soil
Farming machinery introduced
• Thrashers, reapers, seed drills, tractors
• Muscle , animal power replaced by machines
• Barbed wire was a revolution
Transport, preservation made export possible
• Trains, ships with large holds
• Grain silos, refrigerator ships, canning, food processors
Subsistence Agriculture becomes commercial farming
Western Europe, US, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay
Australia, New Zealand, parts of India, China, Japan
On the other hand, in some countries
Peasants went from masters of their own work
To hands for someone else’s work, or someone else’s work hands
Russia, Eastern Europe, Africa, parts of Latin America, SE Asia
COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE
Commercial agriculture was a revolution 1750 – 1914
Cash crops: crops grown for profitable export
Often luxuries or non-necessities with high profit margins
Two bottlenecks (natural hindrance to profitable production)
• Many are labor intensive: solution – slavery, paid agricultural workers
• Many require extensive processing, preservation to be useful: solution – technology
Commercial agriculture is heavily damaging to the environment, soil
First arose during 16th century colonialism
Caribbean, Brazilian, SE Asian plantations
Latin American haciendas, rancheros
First export crops: sugar, hides, wool, spices
Expanded in 18th century
British North American colonies added tobacco, indigo, rice
Asia added tea, coffee, opium, cloves
Americas added cocoa, coffee
Industrial Revolution made additional possible more
Cotton (seeds); rubber, oil (synthesizing)
Beef, mutton, grains, dairy (long-term preservation, get to market on time)
The rest of world, especially Africa enormously effected
Many areas of world taken from feeding people to exporting for profit
POPULATION
GROWTH
The Fruits of Industry
Industrialization raised material standards of living
• Mass production made luxuries into common goods
• Workers received pay and able to buy goods, foods
Better diets and improved sanitation
• Reduced death rate of adults and children
• Reduced deaths due to childbirth
• Increased life span
• Decreased infant mortality
• Declining birthrate in response to declining mortality
• Voluntary birth control through contraception
Impact on Population
• Populations of Europe, America, Asia rose sharply from 1700 to 1900
• Increasing urbanization especially of port cities, industrial cities
World Effects
Change typical of industrialized countries
Change confined to port cities of non-Western nations
DOMESTIC MIGRATION
Industrialization
Drew migrants from countryside to urban centers
By 1900, In Europe and Anglo-North America
• 50 percent of population of industrialized nations lived in towns
• More than 150 cities with over 100,000 people
Urban problems
• Shoddy houses, fouled air, inadequate water
• By late 19th century
– Governments passed legislation to clean up cities
– Passed building codes, built sewer systems
Internal Migration
Settlement of Frontiers by population centers
• Existing populations expand into plains, prairies
• Facilitated by railroads, technology
Examples
• Westward Movement in USA, Canada, Australia
• Settlement of Siberia by Russia
• Great Trek by Afrikaaners
• Chinese settlement of Yangtze, west, Manchuria
• Settlement of Brazilian, Argentine interior plains
TRANSCONTINENTAL IMMIGRATION
Reasons for immigration
Factors pushing people to immigrate
• Failed revolutions, nationalisms led losers, minorities to immigrate
• Severe economic, social conditions, repressions in Italy, Slavic lands
• Overpopulation drove many to immigrate
• Contract labor immigration in India, China, Indonesia
Factors pulling people to immigrate
• Better economic opportunities abroad
• Gold Rushes, free land, recruitment by settler nations
Europe 1800-1920
60 million Europeans migrated
Canada, US, Chile, Brazil, Argentina in the Americas
Settler colonies of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand
Jews, Catholics transformed US through migration
Asian Immigration
Chinese Immigration
• Businessmen allowed to settle in French, British port cities
• Laborers exported across Pacific to do manual labor following abolition of slavery
• Built American railroads in the West
Indian, Southeast Asian laborers
• Migrated to British, French African, Indian Ocean, British Caribbean, Asia-Pacific colonies
• Used for heavy labor, household labor following abolition of slavery
Korean laborers moved around Japanese Empire
MIGRATION TO THE AMERICAS
Industrial migrants to United States and Canada
In 1850s
• 2.3 million Europeans migrated to US, Canada
• Mostly Irish, German, English
• Number increased after from 1870s to 1920s
Immigrant labor replaced slave labor
• Contributed to U.S. industrial expansion
• Provided labor in factories, on railroads
• Union soldiers were 1/5 immigrants
1852-1875
• 200,000 Chinese migrated to California
• Worked in mines and building railroads
• Provided domestic labor in West
1875 – 1920
• S. European: Italians, Greeks to USA
• E. European: Poles, Ukrainians, Czechs, Slovaks, Jews to US, Canada
• N. European: Scandinavians to Canada
Latin American
Migrants mostly worked on agricultural plantations
• Italians migrated to South America
– Changed Chile, Uruguay, Argentina into Neo-Europes
– Profoundly remade Brazil into a multi-racial society (was African)
• Asians migrated to Cuba, Peru and the Caribbean sugar fields
Migration to the cities in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil
MIGRATIONS DUE TO EMPIRE
European migration
Fifty million Europeans migrated 1800-1914, over half to the US
Settler colonies in Canada, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, S. Africa
• Most European migrants became cultivators, herders, skilled laborers
• Led to Dominion Status for Canada, S. Africa, Australia, New Zealand
Britain, Russia
• UK: Canada, Australia, New Zealand
• Russia: Siberia
South Africa
• British acquired South Africa from Dutch in 1815
• Pressure led Boers to migrate to the interior
Indentured labor, contract labor migration
Most from Asia, Africa, and Pacific islands
• 2.5 million indentured laborers during 1820-1914
• Indentured migrants to work on plantations
Example
• Indian laborers to Pacific island and Caribbean plantations
• Japanese laborers to Hawaiian sugar plantations
• Chinese work on building railroads in US
• Chinese provide heavy lifting labor throughout French, British, US empires
Other migrations
Reflected global influence of imperialism
Hindu merchants settled heavily in East Africa, S. Africa, Malaya
Chinese merchants followed contract laborer to Pacific cities
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGREDATION
First era in history when environment seriously threatened by humans
Causes of Environmental Stress
Industrialization
• Pollution increased significantly especially in cities, water
• Ability to destroy land for resources increased due to technology
• Examples: Industrial areas of Western Europe, Eastern USA
Technology
• Iincreased production on land, from resources
• Marginal lands could be settled, exploited
Demographic Stress
• Urbanization, expanding cities destroyed habitats
• High Population Densities supported by food
• Many acres moved to unproductive status
• Examples: Western Europe, Asian/Indian port cities
Environmental Shift
• Farming, ranching changed face of landscape
– Ranch animals introduced new fauna, diseases, threats
– Farming horticulture introduced new flora
– Examples: Americas, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Hawaii
• Switch from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture changed face of environment
• Forests were the most effected by this shift
Extinction, Endangerment of Flora, Fauna
• Overfishing of areas began, overforesting of areas
• Many died out due to competition from domestic flora, fauna
• Many were exterminated due to hunting: Passenger Pigeon, Dodo
• Examples: United States, Australia, New Zealand
ECOLOGICAL IMPERIALISM
Europeans brought flora, fauna to their colonies
Preferred European animals, crops; drove out native species
Ecological imperialism worse in Australia, New Zealand
New crops transformed landscape and society
Westerners converted colonial landscape to export
• Wanted agriculture to be export, profit
• Converted farming land to use for export crops
• Destroyed centuries old farming systems to plant export crops
• Many lands could no longer feed the native population
• Plantations used paid, indentured native labor
Colonial rule
• Transformed traditional production of crops and commodities
• Indian cotton grown to serve British textile industry
• Inexpensive imported textiles undermined Indian production
Examples
• Rain forests of Ceylon converted to tea plantations
• Ceylonese women recruited to harvest tea
• Rubber plantations transformed Malaya and Sumatra
• Americans ran sugar, pineapple plantations in Pacific, Hawaii
• Planted coffee, banana trees in Africa, Americas
• US interests plant hemp in Yucatan for export
• Argentine, Brazilian grains, cattle take over Pampa, Mato Grosso