Why England First?

1
Why England First?

• Why Not China?

2
Relative size of England
3
Who had more coal?
4
A closer look at England
5
Population of England

• Between 1791 and 1831 the population of England
  and Wales nearly doubled from about 7.7 million
  to 13.2 million
• It doubled again to around 25 million by the
  1860s.

6
18th agricultural output England

7
Population

• In 1762 China had a population of more than
  200,000,000, and by 1834 the population had
  doubled to 400 million
• During this period there was no increase in the
  amount of cultivable land. Land hunger became a
  growing problem and food production could not
  keep up.
• http//www.britannica.com/eb/article-70991

8

• Only about 11 of Chinas land is suitable for
  farming, even today. Reliance on intensive,
  garden-style, highly productive agriculture
  methods
• Every bit of available land was intensely farmed

9

• China had just about reached the limit of what
  could be produced agriculturally using human
  labor and the basic available technology. To be
  more productive, and thus wealthier as a society,
  a technological leapthat is to say,
  mechanizationwas necessary, but in a situation
  where there was always a surplus of cheap labor,
  there never was a strong incentive for
  technological innovation and development. Because
  of its large population and (ironically) because
  of its early and considerable economic success,
  China stalled just short of modern
  industrialization and could not break through, as
  the West did.
• http//continuinged.ku.edu/is/previews/hist640/les
  son2.html

10
Confucian social order

• Privileged Classes
• Emperor and his family
• Scholars/Bureaucrats
• Gentry (landowners)
• Working Classes
• Peasant farmers
• Artisans or workers
• Merchants
• Lower Classes
• Military members
• Slaves, indentured servants, entertainers,
  prostitutes, beggars

11
Confucianism

• Confucian principles regarded peasants (farmers)
  as the most honorable of the three working
  classes since they performed honest labor and
  provided the food that supported the entire
  population.
• Merchants were lower than farmers

12
Why were merchants considered lower working class?

• Confucianism did not have a very positive view of
  commerce and the world of business, precisely,
  because the competition of traders could be
  disruptive to the equilibrium of society and
  because the amorality of the market could
  undermine the cultured morals of the Confucian
  gentleman.

13
Confucianism

• promises stability and order
• polite and gentle social interactions
• peace and harmony throughout one's personal life
  and the entire culture

14
From the Analects of Confucius

• 15 Confucius said "If you would govern a
  state of a thousand chariots (a
  small-to-middle-size state), you must pay strict
  attention to business, be true to your word, be
  economical in expenditure and love the people.
  You should use them according to the seasons."
• Comment "Usage of the people according to the
  seasons" is extremely important in an
  agriculture-based society, where planting,
  cultivating, or harvesting a certain crop during
  a certain few-day period can be critical. During
  the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods
  in China, selfish and aggressive warlords
  frequently pulled farmers off their land at
  important farming times, to use them for public
  works projects, or have them fight in the ruler's
  personal wars.

15
Chinese Government policy reflected the Confucian
social order

• Their principal concern, was to preserve the
  stability of a large agrarian society, not to
  promote rapid economic development through trade.
  Thus, unlike some of their European counterparts,
  Chinese authorities did not adopt policies
  designed to strengthen both merchants and the
  state by authorizing merchants to pursue their
  efforts aggressively in the larger world.
  (Bentley Ziegler p.738)

16
16th-18th century trade centers
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How could this be if trading was looked down upon
in China?

• Landed gentry and sometimes bureaucrats were
  silent supporters of merchants.
• They provided financial backing behind the
  scenes

18
Britain was king of trade in the 18th century

• Strong fleet of the most modern and capable ships
• Government policies that supported trade
• Military might that supported trade and enforced
  government policies
• Entrepreneurship, capitalism, merchants were
  viewed favorably
• Had the resources and transportation system to
  engage in trade/industrialization