Introduction
Change and discovery shape history, and the 19. stoljeće has certainly been one of the most important centuries with its events that have transformed the course of history. The 19. stoljeće has come to be known as the century of the world’s first major industrial and political revolutions and scientific, cultural and social innovations and advances affecting the contemporary world.
The world was entering the 19. stoljeće at a time when the world’s traditional societies were beginning to adjust to the new communications, factories, technologies, systems of economic and political thought, and the new ideas of rights and governance that became the legacy of the century.
This guide examines the history and events of the 19. stoljeće, and its major innovations and cultural transformations.
Historical Overview of 19. stoljeće
The early years of the 19. stoljeće were marked by political and social disturbances and a good deal of uncertainty in most countries on the changes that would take place in government systems, international relations, and the new economies.
Much of Europe was still coping with the aftermath of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Franco-Napoleonic Wars changed the political map of Europe and revolutionized relationships between European countries.
In the years following Napoleon’s defeat, most countries of Europe tried to re-establish the political systems that existed prior to the Napoleonic era; however, the ideas of nationalism, democracy and rights of the individual continued to expand.
The era facilitated innovation by allowing contemporary ideas to integrate with historical customs.
The Industrial Revolution and Technology
The 19. century’s Industrial Revolution expansion marked a key period in history.
Goods began to be produced in factories with the help of machines and new methods of production. The workforce moved into the growing urban centers.
The Industrial Revolution was characterized by:
Steam in machines
Mass production
Expansion of the railroads
Expansion of large scale mining
Agricultural improvements
The Industrial Revolution both expanded new economic opportunities and new problems: overcrowding of cities and poor working conditions.
Innovations in Transportation
The 19. century marked the beginning of an era in transportation.
Hailed among the most important inventions of the century, railroads connected cities, improved trade, and provided the means to travel fast.
There were also:
Steamships to cross oceans
Improved roads
The first automobiles
Such inventions improved communication and a new, more integrated, world began to form.
Rapid Advancements in Scientific Discoveries and Inventions
The Scientific Revolution continued into the 19. century.
Lifetime altering inventions and discoveries were made.
Examples include:
The First Developments of Electricity
The understanding of electricity began.
Improvements in medicine
Research of diseases, hygiene, and treatment improved medicine.
The Invention of the Telegraph
Long distance travel was possible with the invention of the telegraph which allowed for swift travel of messages.
Such discoveries and inventions began to provide the groundwork for current technologies.
The 19th Century was packed with various events and activity linked to political protests and revolutions.
Countless factions and organizations were on the move to achieve goals and objectives such as, but not limited to, increased participation and representation in government as well as independence and liberation of their nation and the people.
Some of the significant events are as follows, but not limited to:
European Nationalistic Movements
Democratically Political Reforms
International Independence Movements
Expansion and Liberalization of Suffrage
The Revolutions of 1848 were marked by uprisings against the old order and challenged the status quo, leading to the establishment of new governments in most countries.
The 19th Century was the years of drastic and significant changes to the structure of society and its composition.
The Industrial Revolution and its associated means of production and industrialization created new classes of society, including a new middle class comprised of business owners, trade professionals, and skilled members of the workforce.
While all of that was happening, the working class, the proletariat, began to unionize and fight for their rights with organized demands and protests for:
Higher Pay
Safer Work Environments
Shorter Work Days
Better Living Standards
During the 19th Century, there were also many debates and discussions about access to education, the rights of women, gender, racial and ethnic equality, and social justice.
The 19th Century brought about many new styles of literature and new ideas in literature and new movements in the arts, as well as new styles in music and visual arts.
There were several significant and important new cultural movements during this period.
Romanticism
Romanticism celebrated feeling and emotion, the imagination, nature, and individualism. Artists and writers of this movement focused on personal experiences.
Realism
Realism shows the tendency of artists to portray social issues and everyday events and experiences with accuracy and detail.
Expansion and liberalization of society
After the revolutions, liberal ideas of progress and social justice and the newly created welfare states began to take hold in the world.
During all of that, there was much trade, the beginning of globalization as we recognize it today, and European countries began to exert their influence over rest of the world.
The period saw the following phenomena:
Colonial expansion
Growth in international trade
Cultural exchange
Global migration
These processes interconnected the global system and resulted in conflicts and inequalities that were consequential in shaping the rest of history.
Education and Knowledge
The 19. century was the period when education became of utmost importance.
More resources were allocated to construction of schools and development of public education.
The rise in literacy provided access to:
Books
Newspapers
Science
Political Ideas
With these new resources, knowledge became the vehicle of social and cultural change.
The 19. century
The impact of the 19 century is visible even today.
Many of the systems and social constructs that were developed at the time are the foundations we built the world on:
Styles of Industrial Production
Systems of Transportation
Systems of Communication
Political Ideologies
Because of the positive and the negative impact of the century, it is one of the most important periods of history.
Conclusion
The 19 century was a period of rapid and far reaching of transformations.
The Industrial Revolution, Scientific Revolution, Political and Social Revolutions, and Cultural Revolutions changed every aspect of existence.
Innovation and Ideas were both the foundations and the consequences of the challenges of the period. The 19 century continues to be a relevant case study of the greatest potential of civilization
