“Reason over Revelation”. This tagline associated with The Enlightenment, which means that people began looking to humans, rather than a deity [God], to solve their problems. This is a change from medieval Europe. And out of 'reason' emerges new political ideas about people, natural rights, the function of government and actual power of people (not just Kings). One famous philosopher was John Locke who said all people are born with a tabula rasa (“blank slate”), meaning everyone is born equal. For natural rights, Locke discussed three natural rights that all people have at birth: life, liberty, and property. He said this was the human rights that a government cannot take away and must always protect. This new idea will lead directly to revolution; most especially in France. As one could imagine, notions of equality, natural rights, and the government receiving its authority from people (and not a deity), influenced some people on the margins of society to see those ideas applied to their life. Enslaved, women, and serfs all wanted equality from those Enlightenment and religious ideas. In addition, Enlightenment philosophers and religious leaders did not necessarily agree on various issues. Many Enlightenment philosophers followed Deism, which involves believing in a creator that does not upset the natural order.

The Enlightenment ideas of natural rights, separation of powers in government, tabula rasa, and social contract influenced oppressed people to fight for equality. These people formed alliances with one another based on a variety of commonalities, such as language, religion, social standing, and territory. During 1750-1900, people from around the world challenged established government structures, and this led to a great deal of political, economic, and social change. For many of the following Revolutions, Enlightenment ideas directly influenced their advent. Some important political revolutions during this period was the American Revolution, the French Revolution and Haitian Revolution. In addition, Spanish colonial social hierarchy made many unhappy in the New World. Within this context, Simon Bolivar guided this diverse independence movement, including war, through Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is important to note, unlike the American, French, and Haitian revolutions, the Latin American revolutions did not coalesce into a single country afterwards but many independent nations.

The environment did provide necessary elements for the start of the Industrial Revolution. First, agricultural productivity increased in the 1700s with new techniques such as crop rotation, seed drill, and using the potato as a major calories source. Second, coal, iron, and timber provided places with necessary natural resources to utilize for the creation and sustainability of factories. Third, close proximity to waterways provided factories with sources of power, transportation, and places to discharge waste. In addition, other factors for the start of the Industrial Revolution include urbanization, legal protection of private property, and wealth from colonies. Lastly, nations that industrialized benefited from their colonies by extracting wealth and resources from them for a long time, resulting in accumulation of capital and resources. All of these factors were found in Great Britain allowing to be the first industrialized place. he factory involved having labor and production taking place in a single location. As factories started, people moved in large numbers to cities, and this process intensified with more factories, thus more people moving to cities which were always near waterways. Also, as part of a desire for efficiency, workers concentrated on one specific skill or task in the factory. This specialization of labor, like an assembly line, saw workers focus on one thing in order to maximize production.

Countries noticed the benefits, both economically and politically, of industrialization that first occurred in Great Britain. The United States, France, Belgium, followed by Russia, and Japan copied England’s industrializing. In the U.S. population grew through immigration throughout the 1800s, so they had a large labor source, although the Americans were also using enslaved labors. This translated into the U.S. being a leading industrial power by 1900. Russia, however, used government-led industrialization, focusing on transportation, such as the construction of the Trans-Siberian railroads. Japan, on the other hand, industrialized for defensive purposes in order to protect their traditions and quickly adopted all aspects of Westernization. Europe & the US led in steam-powered technology and greatly increased their global manufacturing output. This had a negative impact on the Middle East and Asia as they were unable to keep up with industrialized countries. For example, Shipbuilding in India and Southeast Asia, iron works in India, and textile production in India and Egypt all declined in comparison to the amount of industrialized countries production. Lastly, Innovations in technology, such as harnessing energy from fossil fuels, shifts economic global dominance from East Asia to Europe.

The steam engine and internal combustion engine were the most significant and transforming technological innovations of the time. They could harness power [energy] from fossil fuels, like coal and oil, which could power boats and trains. The Second Industrial Revolution, starting in the late 1800s, saw the use of chemicals, steel, precision machinery, and electricity leading to even more increased production. Oil & petroleum eventually will allow for automobiles and steel allowed for taller buildings--skyscrapers--furthering the reach of urbanization. Additionally, electricity allowed factories to work more, including during night time (helped with the light bulb). The railroad and steamship improved access to untouched interior lands. But the invention of the telegraph improved communication not seen since the Mongols with their horse system. Now, America and Europe are literally connected.

Throughout the 1700s &1800s countries industrialized in diverse ways. The Ottoman Empire, for example, attempted to industrialize with the Tanzimat Reforms, but their government leaders had other ideas. But in Egypt, Muhammad Ali led a modernized effort in education, taxes, and develop the cotton textile industry. Japan had self-imposed isolation for approximately 200 years (from roughly 1650-1850) because they valued their own traditions over foreign influence. But in1853, U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry, with the power of industrialization behind him, sailed to Japan and demanded trading rights. In response, Japan quickly modernized to protect against future threats. This started the Meiji Restoration, which involved the modernizing and industrializing of Japan; such as abolishing the feudal system and implementing Western standards of law and economics. This rapid industrialization of Japan allows them to not be bullied by European nations and the United States.

From c. 1500-1750, Western European nations utilized mercantilism as their dominant economic philosophy where their governments controlled the trade that occurred within their borders. But, in 1776, Adam Smith published a book, The Wealth of Nations (1776), in which explained his theory of laissez-faire capitalism and free markets; an opposing system to mercantilism. Smith's belief is rooted in the idea that the free market is guided by the law of supply and demand but only works if government grants absolute economic freedom (laissez-faire) to the citizens. This ideas was slowly adopted throughout the industrialized world. Equipped with free trade government policies, businesses developed new approaches along with new practices in banking. The Stock Market allowed for individuals to buy and sell stocks or shares, thus becoming part owners of companies. Some corporations operated in more than one country, referred to as transnational businesses. One example of this business is HSBC bank, which is a British financial institution that conducted a lot of its business in China. Finally, industrialization resulted in a massive gap between the rich (factory owners) and everyone else. With people becoming wealthier, including a middle class developing, people spent money on products they did not need to survive. This describes consumerism, and is just one part having a higher standard of living, which some enjoyed. Along with more money, some also begin to have leisure time; biking, swimming, and sports were all emerging at this time.

The Industrial Revolution produced major problems for workers. In addition to income inequality between factory workers and factory owners, workers were placed in dangerous working conditions and they were asked to work long hours. In response, workers organized labor unions to collectively demand better pay, safer working conditions, and less working hours. However, this period saw other reforms, such as the establishing of parks in urban areas, expanded suffrage for not as wealthy males (not women), and insurance. Germany, in the late 1800s, for example, established state healthcare for the working class. Great Britain and the U.S. both expanded suffrage to non-land owning males in the 1800s. However, one of the most important response came from Karl Marx. Who wrote the Communist Manifesto, which explains how capitalism would always lead to class warfare. According to Marx, all of history is a struggle between the upper class (Bourgeoise) and the working class (Proletariat). Marx, continued that the only way out is to overthrow the upper class and have no more class distinctions. But there other states, such as the Ottoman Empire and the Qing Dynasty, who did not industrialize immediately or pay much attention to Marx at the time. The Ottoman Empire reformed the military and tax collections, built roads, and created a postal service. The Ottomans attempted more reforms, which came to be known as the Tanzimat Reforms--with varying degrees of success. Meanwhile, the Qing Dynasty experienced a great deal of internal and external pressure from Europe. This all led China to look for reforms and decided on the 'Self-Strengthening movement', which sought to modernize China. However, some in China did not like the new emphasis on reform and the increasing foreign influence within China. The lead to the 'Boxer Rebellion' (1900), which was an uprising against all things foreign in China, especially foreign religion and customs.

Everyday life changed dramatically for everyone in this time. Families were separated during the day, and children of the working class often had jobs in factories or coal mines because the family needed more income, although some laws would later outlaw child labor. Working life, however, in a factory would be very dangerous. Those in the working class would easily have 12-14 hour shifts, and even then, they still couldn’t afford luxury or leisure time while living in tenement apartments (slums). Industrialization made class distinctions more pronounced and obvious. There were essentially three different classes that emerged as a result of industrialization: the working class, the middle class, and the super wealthy. The working class were the factory workers and they were the poorest at the bottom of the class structure. They are sometimes associated with low-skilled jobs. Next , are the middle class, which are typically the managers, business owners, and those with skilled jobs. Lastly, the super wealthy (top 1%), actually owned the large corporations. It became extremely difficult to move from one social/economic class to another. Women, however, in different social and economic classes experienced life radically different. Working class women faced hardships in factories with less pay than their male counterparts. Meanwhile, middle class women often had to stay home, conduct household duties, and focus on raising children. Along with issues regarding poverty, crime, public health, and housing shortages, urbanization increased pollution and the destruction of the environment to a great extent. Air pollution was caused by continual coal burning, and this only increases from the 1800s into the modern age.