Industrialization in Japan and Germany

Olivia Nix

April 14, 2015

5th period

Industrialization is the process of developing machine production of goods which require natural resources. The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain around the 18th century and lasted until nearly the 19th century. It was a transition period which predominatly rural societies in Europe and America became industrial. The transition included going from manual and hands on work to machines, new chemical manufacturing, the development of machine tools and many more. Textiles were the dominant industry of the revolution and was also the first to use modern production methods. It also improved systems of transportation, communication and banking. For some, industrialization brought many manufactured goods and improved living, but for the poor and working class it resulted in cruel employment and living conditions. In its long history, Germany has rarely been united. For most of the two thousand years that Central Europe has been full of German-speaking people, the area now called Germany was divided into hundreds of states. The Peace of Westphalia of 1648 left German-speaking Europe divided into hundreds of states. During the next two centuries, the two largest states, Prussia and Austria, fought for dominance. Following the next half-century, pressures for German unification grew. Scholars, journalists, and businessmen ached for a united Germany that would bring with it uniform laws. Before 1850, Germany struggled behind the industrial leaders Britain, France and Belgium even though Germany managed a high skill labor force, good educational system and a good standard of living. “The first German machines were built, and the town subsequently became a pioneer in engineering” (erih.net) Industry in Germany regions began to unify. They had built railroads that linked manufacturing cities such as Frankfurt to Ruhr Valley. Germany was self-sufficient in meeting the demands of railroad construction, and the railways were a major input for the growth of the new steel industry. By the late 1800s, Germany became an industrial and military giant. Germany was a world leader along with Great Britain and the United States. “The biggest trade that Germany and Britain had was with each other, in the prewar period; I think I'm right in that. Two highly industrialized nations had the most trade with each other, and it wasn't tariff policies alone that made trade relations better for both of them.” (W. Averell Harriman) Germany was in competition with Britain as Europe's dominate industry. Since Germany industrialized later, it was able to model its factories after Britain’s, making more use of its capital. Germany invested more heavily than the British in research, especially in chemistry, motors and electricity. Now by 1900, Germany’s chemical industry dominated the market. Germany was not the only country to experience this industrial period, Japan had success as well. The Tokugawa shogunate, was the last feudal Japanese military government which lasted between 1603 and 1868.The heads of government were the shoguns, and each was a member of the Tokugawa clan. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo Castle. Supposedly it revolved around hierarchy originally made from Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The daimyo was at the top followed by the samurai with the traders and farmers at the bottom. In its early years Meiji Japan was an agrarian society in which farming, forestry and fishing employed more than seventy percent of the working population. Throughout Meiji, Taisho and pre-war Showa, Japan’s top exports were raw silk yarn, tea, and marine products. “In other words, the industrialization of the Meiji Period was a light industrial revolution, which made its way from importing to domestic production and then onto exporting.” (grips.sc.jp)