The Industrial Revolution refers to past changes from agrarian and manual labor systems of production to mechanization. Britain was the first nation in the world to experience the transformation which started in the 18th century. The trend then spread to other nations around the world. The historian Arnold Toynbee popularized the term after he used it extensively in his lectures compiled in the book Lectures on the Industrial Revolution in England.
The book was published posthumously in 1884. Today, the term is used to refer to the major historical industrialization changes that occurred following the introduction of mechanized production processes in different countries. In regions such as India and China, rapid developments did not begin until the 20th century, while in regions such as Western Europe and the United States, the changes had begun by the late 19th century.
How Did the Industrial Revolution Take Shape in China?
Unlike the industrial revolution in Great Britain, which was one continuous process, the industrial revolution in China was rather a series of phases. The first industrialization attempts in China began in the 1860s following the humiliation of the Qing Dynasty in the Opium Wars (1839 to 1842). The wars exposed the nation’s military and industrial inferiority. After the wars, Qing leaders resolved to boost the country’s economy and military with an aim to resist future invasions.
A collective of industrialization projects were started after some Qing leaders raised concerns about the nation’s poor use of its own natural resources. Feng Guifen, one of the leaders of the Self-Strengthening Movement observed that western countries were more proficient at drawing and utilizing resources from China than the nation itself. To overcome the problem, he suggested that authorities strengthen China by improving its technical efficiency. This was with an aim to improve the use of the nation’s raw materials and prevent domination by western powers.
Soon, some Qing leaders started to create enterprises involved in the transport and manufacturing industries. They also brought in machinery from overseas powered by steam to increase efficiency. At the time, steam engines were able to transform the railroad transport sector.
Soon, Chinese elites bought and utilized machines for a wide range of tasks ranging from the spinning and weaving of fabrics to manufacturing. And from then on, the concept of using machinery to optimize the utilization of China’s natural materials continued to influence economic changes in the country.
That said, industrialization at scale in China didn’t begin until much later. In fact, it is widely considered to have accelerated significantly following China’s economic reforms of 1978. The reforms led to the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) which in turn ramped up local manufacturing.
How Did the Industrial Revolution Emerge in Japan?
The Industrial Revolution in Japan began around 1870 after the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Among the most distinctive elements of Japan’s industrialization were its powerful military and the rise of a different social order. They played a significant role in the country’s industrialization following the enactment of the Meiji Constitution in 1889, which assigned ultimate authority to the Emperor. The constitution introduced a mandatory education and draft system, and strengthened nascent industries by encouraging the importation of manufacturing technologies from advanced Western nations.
The growth of vast maritime transport and railway systems followed. The systems helped to interconnect domestic markets. The robust banking and transport network further accelerated the progress of industries such as the mining and textile industries.
Following the onset of World War I, Japanese industries experienced a phase of increased manufacturing output due to an increase in demand for military equipment. Some of the sectors that benefited the most included those involved in weapons manufacturing, communication, finance, and metallurgy.
The industrial revolution as well as military strength helped Japan to create a colonial dominion by 1940 that included Manchuria, Korea, and Taiwan. The economic system was resilient enough to resist Western forces for a long time and project its influence in regions such as northern China, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
When Was the Industrial Revolution in India?
Throughout the Industrial Revolution period in Europe, which was between 1760 and the 1880s, some regions of India were under the control of the East India Company. That said, the Industrial Revolution in the country began in the early 1800s and was spurred by the development of the first railways in the country in 1853. Subsequently in 1854, the first steam-run cotton factory in the country was started in Bombay. The installation had a domino effect that led to the technological advancement of cotton factories in the Asian nation throughout the 1870s and 80s.
It is important to note that throughout this period, India was under colonial rule. At the same time, it was a period of deindustrialization as the British government largely reduced India to a raw material production country while simultaneously flooding the Indian market with cheap British manufactured goods. The strategy deliberately stymied local manufacturing.
It was only after it gained its independence in 1947 that India started to implement robust industrialization regulations.
