What were the factors that promoted British urbanization in the 19th century?

1. The industrial revolution has promoted the rapid increase of urban population.

Urbanization refers to the change of population residence, that is, from rural residents to urban residents, which is a migration city caused by industrialization and a population concentration process caused by industrial "gathering benefits".

Engels has a classic exposition on industrial revolution and urbanization: "Large industrial enterprises need many workers to work together in a building, and these workers must Even near a small factory, they will form a complete village. They all have certain needs. In order to meet these needs, there must be other people, so craftsmen, tailors, shoemakers, bakers, masons and carpenters all moved here ........................................................................................................... The more favorable it is to move inside ... this determines the amazing and rapid growth of large factory cities. "He vividly illustrates the process of urbanization, in which the increase of population is an important factor.

(1) The transfer of rural population to cities

Before the industrial revolution, Britain was a typical agricultural society. The countryside was the foundation of the country and the center of power and economy. The city was just an island surrounded by the countryside and attached to the countryside. At that time, However, the ruling roots of the nobles were in the countryside. They ordered their neighbors from their rural houses, and most nobles only stayed in London occasionally when they were in the upper house.

The industrial revolution completely changed this situation. The newly used machines, advanced management methods and science and technology in the industrial revolution were introduced into the countryside, which promoted the modernization of agriculture, and enabled Britain to complete its previous cultivation with a small agricultural population, resulting in a large number of surplus labor.

In addition, The scale of factories in villages and towns is constantly expanding, which requires centralized production. If the villages and towns can't meet the requirements of centralized production, the factories will have to move. In this way, some industrial towns have declined, while others have developed faster, thus forming larger industrial centers and larger cities. As a result, the labor force has also been transferred and concentrated. After the 195s and 196s, the trend of industrial concentration has become increasingly obvious, and the economic structure of agricultural, rural and industrial cities has been determined. The surplus labor force has been transferred to cities in large numbers.

In addition, the urban lifestyle has begun to spread in rural areas, and new ideas and concepts formed in cities have also spread in rural areas, especially the sharp contrast between the highly developed material civilization in cities and the traditional civilization in rural areas, which has shocked people's hearts. People in the transition from a natural economy to a market economy no longer adhere to traditional values and are eager for change; The younger generation, in particular, left the rural areas where their ancestors lived and arrived in cities in droves.

A large number of surplus labor left by agricultural development poured into cities, which added new blood to the rise and development of cities.

(2) There were more foreign immigrants

After Britain started the industrial revolution, there were more employment opportunities. With the support of the policy of "attracting labor", the number of foreign immigrants in Britain also increased gradually. It promoted the urbanization of Britain. At first, the immigrants attracted by big cities in Britain were mainly Irish. In the 193s, 2% of the population in Manchester was Irish. Of the 2, people in Glasgow, 35,5 were from Ireland. By 186, the degree of urbanization had improved, and talents from all over the world poured into British cities, including Germans, Swiss, French, Greeks and Jews. They generally went to cities, especially big cities such as London. These people brought advanced science and technology and skilled work experience, which led to the urbanization of Britain.

Immigrants entered in large numbers. By 185, the population of London had increased to 2.363 million, and other cities had developed one after another. In 1851, the urban population of Britain had accounted for 52% of the national population, while in 187, the proportion of urban population in Britain had risen to 65.2%, in 189 it had risen to 74.9%, and in 191 it had reached 78.9%. So as to become a highly urbanized country.

Second, the development of the industrial revolution provides a prerequisite for urbanization.

The rapid development of the industrial revolution requires all aspects of society to meet its development, thus providing the material and technical foundation and other necessary conditions for the development of urbanization and promoting urbanization; At the same time, urbanization is closely related to the industrial revolution and develops in parallel.

First of all, industrial development needs a good external environment. For example, it needs suitable geographical conditions, close to large rivers and lakes and convenient ports; Or it is located at the intersection of railway and traffic trunk lines, which is convenient for the transportation and exchange of raw materials and products. Or, the terrain and geological conditions are good, and large-scale factories can be built and there is room for development. When the traffic is not perfect, it is best to have minerals or other important natural resources for development and utilization. With good external conditions, factories will soon concentrate on these areas to form cities, while some cities will develop better because of the construction of large-scale industries. A big city has been formed.

Secondly, with the development of industry, the degree of production specialization has improved and the social division of labor has become more and more detailed, which requires closer cooperation among enterprises. In order to obtain profits to a greater extent, Cooperative enterprises generally reduce costs, increase profits and improve competitiveness with the requirements of close distance, convenient contact and low freight, which virtually promotes the development of the city. With the rise of mining industry, the scale of steel, metallurgy, machinery manufacturing, petrochemical industry, building materials, textiles and especially heavy chemical industry has expanded unprecedentedly. There are thousands of workers in some factories, and the floor area of the factory is dozens or even hundreds of times that of the previous small workshops. This is a small city in itself. In the industrial revolution, with the continuous development of science and technology, products have undergone multi-level deep processing, which is characterized by serialization, diversification and scale. In particular, the leading products have promoted the development of related enterprises, and even more, they have brought similar or related industries together to form a new industrial city, and the scale of the original city has also been expanding day by day.

Thirdly, a large number of factories using machines for mass production have emerged in the industrial revolution. When these large factories have developed to a certain extent, they are required to have a unified public * * * infrastructure. These public * * infrastructures are different from industries. But on the premise of saving land, saving resources, reducing costs, improving economic benefits, ensuring the normal operation of industry and promoting the improvement of labor productivity, it is necessary to have a public facility with high quality, that is, a city. With the progress of technology and medicine, the plague that once killed a large number of urban residents in the past is gradually no longer terrible; Urban life has become more comfortable and comfortable, and has made great progress than before: "The more important progress includes: adequate supply of clean water, improvement of centralized drainage system and garbage disposal system, ensuring adequate food supply, and prevention and control of diseases." These are all great social changes in human history, because living in the city means a brand-new way of life. Under the action of industry, urban functions have expanded. It concentrates on production, service, residence, consumption, etc. Just as Engels commented on London: "This kind of city is a very special thing. This kind of large-scale concentration has brought 2.5 million people together in one place, which has increased the strength of these 2.5 million people by 1 times."

Third, the industrial revolution has changed the industrial structure of Britain.

The industrial revolution has changed the industrial structure of Britain and is beneficial to the urban system. Agriculture is the most important industry in society, and it is almost the only industry. After the industrial revolution, the industrial structure changed. The industrial revolution promoted the development of commodity exchange, and at the same time, it was conducive to the expansion and concentration of the market. Industrial production is to meet the needs of society and open to the market, which is not self-sufficient and promotes the development of commodity exchange. The frequent exchange of commodities makes the existence of cities meaningful. At the same time, industrial production is a highly specialized production. Workers must complete the specified tasks within a fixed time. Under the great pressure of work, people are eager to relax, so the service industry has appeared in cities, which is what we often say now.

According to statistics, in 181, the proportion of agriculture, industry and tertiary industry in the gross national product was 32%, 23% and 45% respectively. By 1841, it had become 22%, 34% and 44%. The development of the secondary and tertiary industries driven by the industrial revolution provided a powerful stimulus for the urbanization of Britain. In this way, more and more surplus labor force flowed to the service industry, and cities gradually had the ability to absorb a large number of labor force. It has the ability to provide sufficient energy and necessary means of production, product sales market and service facilities.

"The most important accompanying phenomenon of economic development ... is the activities of the working population from agriculture to manufacturing, and then from manufacturing to commerce and service industry." The economic benefits of industrial agglomeration have concentrated manufacturing and other service industries in cities, and indirectly made cities "centers for absorbing rural surplus labor." Driven by the industrial revolution, The city has concentrated markets, financial institutions, public facilities and cultural and educational institutions, which are convenient for obtaining raw materials and labor, selling products locally, being well informed in business information and being close to related enterprises, which is conducive to realizing the cooperation and specialization of production, reducing production costs and improving efficiency. In this way, the tertiary industry will flourish in the city. It has promoted the process of urbanization.

The Four Industrial Revolution has promoted the rise of new cities.

The rise and development of emerging cities is a banner in the British industrial revolution and also a manifestation of British urbanization.

The industrial revolution has changed the traditional urban distribution pattern and a large number of emerging industrial cities have emerged. The wide application of machines has expanded the scale of factories and the scope of towns. It gradually developed into a big city. In the words of M·W· Su Si in his book, "Some completely new towns appeared. They were small villages at first, but they soon expanded into cities with a certain scale."

Glasgow was still an unknown small town at the end of the 18th century, but by 1831 it was a big city with 2, people, relying on more than 6 steamboats and 17. In the 16th century, it was a small village with a population of less than 5. At the beginning of the industrial revolution, Birmingham, an iron industrial zone, became the largest production center in Britain. In 176, about 5, of Birmingham's iron industrial products with an annual total value of about 6, pounds were for export. In 181, the population suddenly increased to 74,, and maintained a rapid growth trend. Driven by industrialization, Birmingham became the second largest city in Britain by relying on its own steel industry, surpassing Manchester and Liverpool.

During the British industrial revolution, the cotton textile industry developed rapidly, and many small towns developed on the east wind of the industrial revolution. For example, Manchester is a typical example of modern urbanization in Britain. In 1835, 8% of the workers in the British cotton textile industry gathered, and in 184, it increased to 85%. The development of the industry promoted the increase of the local population, and the population of Manchester also increased from 75, in 181 to 351, in 1871, which increased several times in several decades. In this way, it became a new city and still has influence today.

Before the industrial revolution, London was used as the place. Metallurgical industry and metal processing industry are mainly concentrated in Birmingham, South Wales, Sheffield and Northeast Wales.

The industrial revolution has made the productivity level develop rapidly. When the productivity level reaches a certain height, it will prompt the market to allocate resources rationally. The northwest of England, which is rich in natural resources, has been developed and a number of new cities have emerged. Britain's economic center of gravity shifted to the northwest. Cotton textile industries such as salford, Bolton, Berry, Preston and oldham rose rapidly. After the Industrial Revolution, textile mills, coal mines, ironworks and other manufacturing industries in central and northwest England needed labor due to the development of textiles and coal and iron industries. The population in the south moved northward, and Scots and Irish people also flocked to the northern industrial and mining areas. During the 7 years from 181 to 1871, The total population of Britain has increased by 1.54 times, while the industrial areas in the northwest have increased by 2.58 times. In the non-industrial concentrated areas in the southwest, the population has not doubled. The population of Birmingham has increased from 73, in 181 to 2, in 1844, while the population of Sheffield has increased from 46, in 181 to 11, in 1844.

Let's look at Britain as a whole again. It is not difficult to find that in the half century or even longer after the industrial revolution, the population of Britain mainly increased in newly-developed industrial cities: in 181, it increased by 274% compared with that in 175. The population growth of the original "county-level cities" was the slowest, only increased by 18%, which was lower than the population growth level of England as a whole. Some traditional old towns in Britain developed slowly because they were alienated from the industrial revolution, and some industrial villages and towns in the east and west were almost at a standstill. For example, the population of Norich, York and Exeter ranked second, third and sixth in the 17th century, respectively, and fell to eighth, seventeenth and fifteenth in 181. [14] From here, we can also see the close relationship between the industrial revolution and urbanization, and the emergence of emerging cities is indeed a major feature of British urbanization. Industries and cities will decline if they are not combined with the industrial revolution.

V. The development of transportation has promoted the development of cities.

The impact of the British industrial revolution on urbanization also lies in the transportation revolution.

In the process of rural population migrating to cities, the vigorous development of transportation has played a role in fueling the situation. Railways, highways and waterways link prosperous cities with isolated villages. In Britain, "Narrow railways cross the countryside like a green ocean", "put the British people in their own trains along the way" and "throw them into the increasingly dense crowd at the city gate". [15]

In 1825, Britain built the world's first railway. In 1836, Britain built 25 new railways with a total mileage of more than 1,6 kilometers, and by 1855, it reached 1,29. Inland railway transportation network has gradually taken shape. In the 195s, trains were connected to large and medium-sized cities in England, and most places were within 1 miles from the railway station. In terms of canal digging, since the first canal from Worsley to Manchester was dug in 1761, by 1842, Britain had built 3,96 kilometers of artificial canals, and Manchester and Birmingham became famous canal hubs. Therefore, Some people say that "in almost less than 3 years, the whole land of Great Britain has opened air routes extending in all directions". [16] Cars, canals, steamboats, highways and railways have connected the inland cities and coastal cities of Britain, greatly promoting the circulation of goods and population, and at the same time promoting the development of many related business services: construction, postal services, commercial services, financial services, etc.

Transportation.