What if the Industrial Revolution Never Happened? (Ft. List 25)

think about this ever since people discovered farming and add those scary wolves can become floppy-eared puppies millenia ago humans practically live the same day-to-day life up until two hundred years ago food was farmed for the local population skillsets like creating clothing and tools were limited to within the local town and most people lived a rural lifestyle a child would grow up in a world practically identical to that of his father and his father and his father and you get the point nations change borders technology certainly improved but this was never enough to transform the basic lifestyle of a common that all changed at the turn of the 19th century coal production skyrocketed new inventions were born to harness the potential power and other innovations rapidly changed the face of the European continent after being farmers for generations people left their agricultural lives for new jobs within booming cities economics transformed media medicine transportation every aspect of how people conduct themselves was not just changed it was reinvented this was the Industrial Revolution hey Cody oh whoa hey it's Mike from list 25 sorry for crashing your video we saw you were talking about the Industrial Revolution and thought we'd surprise you and help you out actually we've been planning this collaboration extensively for weeks so haha they don't they don't need to know that data I'm talking to you through the World Wide Web an innovation that is 25 years old 25 this is only possible by the technology boom brought on by the revolution say I drove to the market and bought a banana most bananas have had to travel thousands of miles from Central America and other tropical regions all the way to my market place so a task and fruit we find mundane today would not even be possible two centuries ago so this Spurs the question what if the Industrial Revolution had never happened what if the events which led to our modern lives of today didn't occur how would this change what human civilization is well here's one scenario but first some context when did the Industrial Revolution happen well it didn't just happen all at one time at least for the people living during the time the change occurred gradually over decades it began in the United Kingdom around the 1760s why in the UK why not a russia or china the factors for an industrial transformation came together perfectly for Britain in the 18th century there were two big events which set it up to prosper number one agriculture allowed more food to be produced with less work and so population increased as more could be sustained on the island number two economic political and financial leniency allowed new entrepreneurs of Britain to venture forth with new ideas it was the cusp of a new age of capitalism extremely high wages for the common Brit meant people had more money to spend on things that weren't food or tools a market for goods was created one which would be beneficial for some and not so much for others in 1712 Thomas Newcomen invented the new Cummins steam engine whose design went on to be improved by James Watt the James Watt steam engine allowed miners to pump water out of coal lines a major problem which stalled production by doing this coal production increased and the Dominos just began to fall into line this steam engine design was used to power machines that supported faster production of goods like textile Steel's natural resources and even coal remember those old water mills by the rivers with the invention in the steam engine factories were not limited to just the Riverside to spin their engines factories could be built anywhere steam engines on trains and ships transported the new goods produced by these factories across Britain's vast colonial empire before then the fastest you could go was by horse and buggy railroads needed steel iron was produced faster due to a new innovation of adding cork this new iron discovery meant more machines powered by steam which were fueled by coal which could be mined more because steam power allowed for more production see where I'm going with this as more abandon their agricultural lifestyle the city's boomed and the population of Britain became urbanized this was the first Industrial Revolution which spanned from 1760 to 1870 after Britain became industrialized the technological revolution spread across mainland Europe and into the Americas the second revolution would oversee the effects of urbanization and new growth of populations electricity new weapons of war and other various new inventions sent Europe into the dominant power across the globe so there you go hopefully this gives you a rough idea of how society changed so quickly in such a quick amount of time thanks Mike from list 25 who has over two million subscribers they upload a brand new video every day on a wide range of fascinating subjects yes thank you for that very indiscreet plug Cody no problem Mike from was 25 who has industrialization redefined civilization every aspect of your life is a product of that industrialization now imagine an alternate world where none of that existed cars computers even that pop I'm from Ohio we say pop that you might be drinking right now is never invented so what if this industrialization never happened oh well time to find out kiddies in this alternate timeline that first British industrialization just doesn't happen not in the UK not in Europe not anywhere how it doesn't happen is it important we don't need to focus on that what is important is the result from that but wait you say eyes twitching about your mouth pulsating an anticipation at the clever retort you shall unleash was it industrialization inevitable what if machines be built eventually of course Billy technology progressed from the Middle Ages to the 17th century so in a realistic setting eventually machines would have been built even if it was just a few centuries down the line this is a scenario if the Industrial Revolution never happened the machines from the 18th century onward just never invented people just don't got it Billy technology can change the course of history and so removing early industrial inventions from the timeline you shift the events of practically everything from the 18th century onwards politics economics social ideas national borders you get the idea what invention which changed everything was the steam engine as mentioned earlier in this alternate timeline it's never invented without the steam engine factories are left dependent on rivers to turn the turbines like barbarians no factories make their way to the center of cities or across the country because of this there is never a rise of mass manufacturing without factories the industrial economies of Europe are never created ok simple enough industrialization meant that the worker could now produce far more goods than previous generations by creating a faster way to produce goods the economic advantage went to Europe and economics dictate the power of Nations with inventions like the spinning jenny and later steam engine europe in our timeline had the economic balance shift into their favor this wasn't just because industrialization gave them new guns and bombs though that helped don't get me wrong what truly led to European domination was that they could make Goods faster better and cheaper than in China with the creation of factories the economies of Europe switched from being agricultural to industrial well yeah but that means the economy is no longer about supporting the people to survive but instead supporting the nation to prosper in other areas trade technology resources a cycle of invention economic boom because of said invention and do inventions encouraged by that economic boom a path falling down the rabbit hole until you find yourself claiming the Zulu nation for the British crown in this alternate scenario all of that is gone the world in the 18th 19th and 20th century is perceived as larger there are no trains or steam-powered vehicles to transport people across great distances there is no telegraph or phones the economy is mostly based on agriculture and resources factories are Mills goods are produced locally by locals for locals the Agricultural Revolution of the 18th century helped create more food with less work but it was nothing compared to how industrialization revolutionised farming yes those huge combines certainly when it exists today but even advancements in metallurgy and capitalism in the 19th century made agriculture far easier in 1880 3% of Americans for farmers by 1860 it was 50% today it's just 2% this alternate world would see food be locally produced locally grown but for more work and with far less of it industrialization wasn't just about machines and tools it was about changing how people exist in much less people what exists world population reached 1 billion in 1800 today it's 7 billion it will be 8 billion by 2025 much of this growth is developing countries where families have three to six kids in this alternate timeline this isn't possible advancements in modern medicine do not exist there are enough resources to go around and diseased place a far greater effect on people's lives infant mortality plagues common diseases keep the population low smallpox is never even eradicated I'd imagine the world population in this alternate 21st century wouldn't even reach two or three billion not only would less people be around to talk to but would be much more difficult to take the trip to see any friends if you have them in this alternate timeline transportation when it have progressed past the horse and buggy or boat so the distances we simply Traverse in our daily commute would be day-long trucks in this alternate timeline just communication in commerce but also how we fight wars to put this in perspective say I'm a general and I have an army Michigan and Ohio are at war for some reason fastest way on land is by pony and fastest way I can travel is with a boat however there is no main river systems and walking is the only option Michigan is invading the northern border I'm in southern Ohio it will take three and a half days to traverse by foot not counting delays weather terrain so realistically five days to travel one state today that distance takes five hours going the speed limit in a Kia Sorrento in this alternate timeline a state in the US would be perceived as much larger in our timeline we see States before the Industrial Revolution as smaller and have more identity the Carolinas Virginia New York Pennsylvania all have unique cultures shaped because in their infancy they had less communication people referred to themselves as New Yorkers or Virginia's before Americans as technology progressed states got larger cultures more broad and individual identity began to disappear by the Industrial Revolution trains allowed for faster travel Telegraph and phones made communication easier and so new states were simply Squares parts of a bigger region and with not that much difference as a whole the civil war wasn't the only event which made the United States United industrialization did without it the US and this alternate timeline would be truly just States that are you the government in Washington DC and even neighbors states would be much farther away in the minds of the average American citizen each state would have much more unique identities histories economies and even dialects because it's harder to travel the Russian Empire in this alternate timeline would have trouble maintaining that Empire the trans-siberian railroad was created so Russians could hold on to that wilderness in Siberia in a world where the fastest communication is via notes on horses any news of rebellion enemy invasion and civil unrest on the other side of the country would take weeks to reach the capital in months to cross on foot sea travel would remain the only viable option for trade more canals would be built in populations across the globe are tied to any water source even more than today this brings in a world with entirely alternate political effects so much so I can't even predict it what I can say is that Europe would not have colonized Africa disease and the vastness of the continent kept Europeans from being able to take the land in this alternate 21st century we would see a world even more divided by regions than in our own we would see entirely alternate political ideologies no communism no fascism no ideas created directly from the modernization of Europe democratic monarchies remain the most prominent form of government as the middle class is small and most of the population remains farmers this however is just one scenario there are an infinite amount of possibilities and there is no true way to know what could have been but it's always fun to theorize what do you think would have happened had the Industrial Revolution well never happened say in the comments this is coding of the alternate history hub hello alternate historians if you enjoyed hearing my voice and enjoy hearing about the rise of industrial technology then check out our 25 things about the Industrial Revolution video done in collaboration with Cody who also does some voice work so don't be too scared come on down

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Keywords: What if the Industrial Revolution Never Happened?, No Industrial Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Modern World, AlternateHistoryHub, alternate history, List25, British empire, European, Industrialization, Economic, 25 Facts About

Id: PjYUut5NcTs

Length: 13min 21sec (801 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 25 2016