I love to write. Fitting together all the right words and sentences to create my own writing piece is a process I enjoy. As a writer, I am a perfectionist, and I take a long time to formulate a piece that I am satisfied with. I constantly revise my work, deleting countless words and reorganizing paragraphs, so I do not meet my full potential when I write in a limited time period or when I handwrite on paper. This is why I do not like SAT or TOEFL writing for I come out sounding too dry and mechanical when writing those kinds of standardized essays. Of course, there is an occasional epiphany, and sentences to my liking flow out like liquid, but that is a rare case.
I have many voices when it comes to writing - whether it is an effusion of my innermost thoughts with absolutely no consideration of grammar or organization as in my diary entry, or an in-depth analysis accommodated with all the appropriate footnotes, references and the likes. Actually, prior to coming to KMLA, I usually wrote a lot of emotional works full of imagery and vivid description. In middle school, I wrote semi-formal papers and academic writings for assignments, but it was only when I attended KMLA that I learned the skills of writing a formal paper, thanks to my European History and English Literature course. In Ms. Choi's class, my peers and I solidified the skill of writing very conventional and structured paragraphs and five-paragraph-essays. However, this semester, I wish to break from this fixed structure and write in a more free and creative style.
I have always considered my descriptive essays my best pieces because I was told by quite a few people that I have a flair for creating clear images in my writing. However, looking back at my old essays, I feel I have gone overboard with all the descriptions, similes, and metaphors and I want to be descriptive and inspiring without the over usage of flashy and descriptive words. My research papers are satisfactory, considering that I am new to this kind of writing. I have learned to come up with my own analysis of historical events or works of literature and organize it into a formal paper, but I have much to improve on. The flow of my paper seems rather choppy and my analysis is not as deep or as innovative as I want it to be. At the end my life in KMLA, I hope to write a more cohesive paper and form a more creative and deeper analysis covering many aspects of the subject. Fortunately, in all my works, I do not have many problems with grammar due to my long stay in the United States and Microsoft Word’s proofreading. Ultimately, I want to become a writer who is able to evoke all kinds of emotions inside readers. I want to inspire them with my words.
I love to write and I hope that love keeps going. I look forward to participating in the writing workshop activities so I can hear others' ideas and look into other styles of writing while sharing my own.
This is a picture of my diary - an example of a jumble of emotions transformed into an unorganized jumble of words.
This is my descriptive writing piece about my backyard that was chosen for my school magazine in 6th grade. I recently revised it:
In the hectic and busy life of people of the present society, there is little room for nature to find its place. People leave the little gifts of nature unnoticed, blinded by their egocentricity and pursuit of their own profit. However, as I look out the window and see the majestic trees and mountains, I can’t help feeling pity for those who do not fully understand the wonders of nature. It is times like these when I remember my backyard of my childhood home and bask in the reminiscence of my carefree years as a child.
I burst out the door. My beautiful backyard is calling me. I sprint to my backyard and feel the warm sunshine on my face, the trees rustling playfully, and the sound of the wind harmonizing gracefully with the bird’s sweet song. The warm summer breeze brings the lovely fragrance of the wildflowers. I can see the first crocuses and buttercups of spring peeping out from the earth and raising their lovely heads towards the sun. I smile blissfully thinking that there is no happier moment than when witnessing the first flowers of early spring. Now I notice another flower, a tiny one no larger than my pinkie. I kneel down to examine the intricate patterns of purple and white and revel in the power of Mother Nature. Nature has the strength to topple that great tree that is rotting by that bench and has the delicacy to imprint this complex but beautiful pattern on a flower almost too tiny to see. Everywhere I look I see the marvelous creations of nature. I take a deep breath and joy flushes my cheeks. I run up to the creek and sit on the fallen tree that makes a bridge over the playfully gurgling stream. I throw my shoes and socks on the bank and dunk my bare feet in the rushing water. The cool water trickles down my toes and I laugh. I see the shining pebbles and the little fish through the clear, clear water. I get off of my log and skip a few pebbles, counting how many times it dances along the creek. After a while, I’m splashing my way to the bank and put my shoes on. Then, I go to my favorite tree and climb up to the top. A squirrel is scampering up the tree next to mine and a smile touches the corners of my lips as he chatters away in his place on the tree. I swing on the branch and hang upside down from it, pretending to be as light and agile as a squirrel. Growing tired, I slide down from the tree. Humming to myself, I pick some flowers for my mother’s vase. I also pick a few mulberries and pop them into my mouth, savoring the sweet pang of flavor seeping into my taste buds. With my belly full of mulberries, I lie in the sweet green grass and bask in the sunlight. I close my eyes and doze peacefully until I hear a distant voice calling my name,
“Joyce! Time for supper!”
I open my eyes and shout and answer, “Coming, Mom!”
I run up to my tree and promise to be back the next day. I gather my flowers and skip all the way home, laughing a pure note of happiness.
Nowadays, people, even children, don’t seem to feel the happiness I felt when I interacted with nature. People are oblivious to each tiny flower with a hidden mysterious pattern, to each little ant that perseveres in carrying food to his clan, to each piece of life that has great meaning if one looks into them. People are busy living their own lives and do not pay attention to the lessons that nature can teach them. I learned them as a child and continue to search for the lessons that nature can give me. Now I retain a little hope in my heart that others will take a look around them and realize that they are a part of a much greater and meaningful world of Mother Nature.
This is a paper I wrote for Mr. Ganse in the first semester:
Eun Ji Lee
I. Introduction
People today live in a highly urbanized era as can be seen from the large portion of the population residing in cities, and thus take large cities for granted. However, looking back, the history of cities is fairly short and the history of the city’s cultural, social, and economic dominance is even shorter. Only 200 years ago, the society was highly rural and the magnificent cities of the past were merely islands among an overwhelmingly rural sea. It was only in the 19th century when the most rapid urbanization process took place and cities prospered and were elevated to a higher status. This paper will look into this specific time period and examine the urbanization that took place in 19th century Europe.
II. Definition
II.1. Terminology
Urbanization, in anthropology, refers to the development of towns and cities, and more specifically to a growth in the proportion of a country's population living in urban centers (1). A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth (2).
III. Method of Study
III.1. Objective of Study
The objectives of this paper are to examine the main issues of urban growth during the 19th century and to examine the growth and stagnation of cities during the 19th century using case studies.
III.2. Approach
First, the paper will give an overview of the general process of urbanization and illustrate the characteristics of the typical city during the 19th century as generalized in most overview textbooks of European history. However, as there existed differentiations based on the initial function, geography, political situation, or country of each city, the paper will explore the situations of specific cities by dividing cities into three different types based on the differing development of cities in relation to the urbanization process. The three groupings are a) already existing cities with profound development b) cities that emerged or boomtowns c) cities that had little to no growth. For city selection, the traditional capitals of London, Paris, and Vienna were selected for the first category; Manchester was selected as a representative case for the various boomtowns in England and another boomtown from another region (Germany) Essen was selected for the second category; and the southern Italian cities were chosen for the third category. After doing case studies of these selected cities under each group, the writer will attempt to find significance and meaning in the differentiations and come to a conclusion.
IV. General Urban Trend in Europe
IV.1 Urbanization of Europe
The most obvious and most prominent element of 19th century European cities is the massive urban growth. The 19th century is marked by a period of industrialization and modernization, which led to the rise of the number, importance, and growth of cities. The process of the Industrial Revolution, a combination of population and industrial production increase and mechanization of productive systems, began in England in the mid-eighteenth century and spread at varying speeds to other European states. This process became a basis for change in the European urban system (3). Although cities have existed for thousands of years, in most cases, they have maintained rather stable population growth. In the 17th and 18th century, urbanization was beginning to make its way into Europe, but the urbanization was selective and the best data suggest little or no overall increase in the urban percentage. However, in the periods approximately between 1800 and 1900, increases in the population size of individual cities amounting to 400 or 500 percent or even more were not at all uncommon. (4). Likewise, people living in cities began to take up a larger and larger proportion of the total population of Europe. From 1800 until 1870, the proportion of the urban population compared to the total number of inhabitants of the continent almost doubled, when referring to centers with over 10,000 inhabitants and rose by little less than 60 percent when referring to the centers with over 5,000 as shown in the figure below (5). This shows that it was not just that cities grew, but the whole European society itself was becoming urbanized (ix, Lees).
(6)
Note: the thick curve refers to the whole of Europe. N. (North), S. (South), C. (Center), E. (East).
IV.2. Reasons for Urbanization
For the most part, in the 19th century, urbanization was fed by rural migrants. This chapter deals with the push factors that led rural inhabitants out of the rural areas and the pull factors that attracted rural inhabitants into the cities.
IV.2.1. Push Factors
In rural areas it is difficult to improve one's standard of living beyond basic sustenance. Farm living is dependent on unpredictable environmental conditions, and in times of drought, flood or pestilence, survival becomes problematic (7). In the case of England, the enclosure movement was a major push factor that disintegrated the rural society and forced rural inhabitants into poverty. Therefore, many turned to cities in search of a new source of income.
IV.2.2. Pull Factors
A major stimulus to urban migration was the prospect of personal economic advancement. Men and women migrated to cities because it was in cities that they could find the best-paid employment. The introduction of larger and more complex industrial machinery gradually resulted in the construction of factories in cities. This meant that most of the economic production was being done in cities and thus many jobs were created. This attracted migrants in search of work.
IV.3. Result of Urbanization
IV.3.1 Problems Arising in Cities
The rapid expansion of population and national economic expansion during the 19th century did not translate into healthful living conditions in the bulging cities of Europe (8). Cities were unable to support the massive inflow of people into the city, and the existing infrastructure was proving to be unsuitable. The cities were overcrowding and there was lack of adequate housing, sanitation, and recreational facilities (9). In the exploding cities, housing was in short supply so it was not uncommon for two or more families to live together in a single room. These congested housing was unsanitary and led to the emergence of filthy slums. These unsanitary conditions elicited epidemics, such as cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis. Yet there were no natural scenery or recreation facilities to offset the unpleasant despite these scenes of urban squalor. Therefore, ordinary people living in the cities, including factory workers and peasants, experienced squalid living conditions.
IV.3.2. Reform of Cities
The problems arising in cities created demand for improvement and reform among city workers. Working-class community leaders and middle-class reformers pressured governments to implement changes. (10) The reforms implemented included improved water supplies, expanded sewage systems, introduction of building and housing codes to ensure a minimal level of housing safety, improvements to safer sanitation to eliminate epidemics, building parks and recreational facilities, mass transportation to facilitate the movement of workers to and from factories, and gas and electric lighting along main streets. (11) Some cities underwent total reform in urban structure, a movement following the model set by Haussmann’s renovation of Paris between 1852 and 1870.
V. A brief look into the leading cities in European history
Virtually all of the cities in the 19th century underwent urbanization and followed the aforementioned trend. However, this trend was not the same in every aspect for each city and showed differentiations. The general trend was similar, but took different forms in different types of cities.
Looking at the figures of the leading cities of 1500, 1800, and 1900, in 1500, it can be seen that the number and size of cities are increasing well throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. However, other aspects can be noticed. In 1500, the leading cities are mainly concentrated in the Mediterranean area with Milan, Venice, and Naples’ population consisting of over 100,000 inhabitants. Then, moving on to the beginning of the 19th century, some cities in Western Europe are beginning to appear among the leading cities and cities in the Mediterranean, with the exception of Naples, lost their place among the leading cities. And some cities, usually traditional capitals, remain in the figure of leading cities throughout.
With these observations, the writer categorized cities in to three types, a) traditional cities that continued to develop, b) boomtowns, and c) cities with little to no development.
VI. Different Trends within Europe
VI.1. Traditional cities that continued to develop
VI.1.1. London
Widely known as humanity’s first ‘world city’, London, founded by Romans in 43 AD, is among the oldest of Europe's capital cities. London maintained its status of Great Britain’s largest city and most important trading center for the most part of the country’s history, and from the late 17th century onwards, London upheld a prominent place among the cities in all of Europe. Since 1650, London was Europe's largest urban community and by 1700 London was Europe’s greatest international seaport and commercial center (15). London was also an administrative and political center, being the capital of Great Britain, the British Empire, and the British Commonwealth of Nations (16). Thus, London was historically a market place for trade and wealth generation as well as a political entity.
With its foundation as a city set from earlier periods of history, London continued its growth well into the 19th century. Population growth in the first half of the 19th century was spectacular, probably due to a combination of migration and a high birth rate, although scholars are unable to agree on the matter. Between 1800 and 1810, in the County of London the population rose by 23%; between 1840 and 1850, it rose by 21% and at no time did the rate fall below 17% (17). In the second half of the century, growth was less dramatic, but nonetheless above the national average. Population in 1810 was 1,000,000; in 1851: 2,500,000; and in 1901, 4,500,000 (18). In short, London's population increase was remarkable and unprecedented. London grew faster than any other city in Europe. This massive population growth gave way to various urban problems, previously mentioned in IV.3.1. Thus, London underwent reform with the Metropolitan Board of Works overseeing infrastructure expansion until the board was replaced in 1899 by the London County Council, London’s first-elected city-wide administration (19).
To further elaborate on London’s prominence in the 19th century, it was the 19th century that London received its title as first ‘world city’. According to notes on London in the 19th century by professor Robert Brown at University of North Carolina, “It had a large population distributed over a very large geographical area, this dispersion of the population to suburbs made possible by the mechanization of transportation. The railroads were built beginning in the 1830s, the Underground was begun in 1865 and finished by the end of the 19th century, and there were horse-drawn trams by the 1880s. And as a world city houses people from various areas, London attracted the dispossessed and ambitious from the British Isles and the poor and the politically oppressed from southern and eastern Europe. London also had international connections with the world by its expansive trade. In 1880, the Port of London received 8,000,000 tons of goods.” (20). London’s great warehouses, which could store more than 200,000 tons of goods, were picked out by Baedeker as one of the sights of the city: “Nothing will convey to the stranger a better idea of the vast activity and stupendous wealth of London than a visit to the warehouses, filled to overflowing with interminable stores of every kind of foreign and colonial product” (21).
VI.1.2. Paris
The earliest archaeological signs of permanent settlements in the Paris area date from around 4200 BC. (22) During the Middle Ages, Paris grew to be the largest city in France, decorated with majestic palaces, affluent abbeys and cathedrals with excellent artistic engravings. Then, within a couple of centuries, the 13th century to be exact, Paris, along with Naples, became the largest city in Europe having 200,000 inhabitants. The stagnation suffered by many large towns during the 14th century does not seem to have inhibited the development of Paris, obviously depending on its growing importance as a capital city (23). Paris emerged as a flourishing hub of learning and arts in Western Europe, attracting renowned artists, philosophers, and writers from all over the world, and more or less retaining its prominence throughout the history of Europe (24).
However, the greatest development in Paris’s history began with the Industrial Revolution (25). Paris (within the 1785 walls) in 1800 had a population of 547,756 and in 1851, 1,170,000. 50% of the city's population in the years 1815-1851 was not native to the city, and during the years of 1821-1851, 78.6% of Parisian growth accounted for by in-migration (26). The creation of a network of railways brought an unprecedented flow of migrants to the capital from the 1840s. (27). However, although there was a major influx of people coming into Paris, the street network in the center was still medieval and of a very poor standard. Much of the building in the center was undeniably slummy; the high narrow houses were badly maintained and dreadfully overcrowded. Almost all areas were densely built. Water was of poor quality and also very short in supply. The most important source was the Seine, into which sewage also ran. And all these conditions were aggravated by the constantly rising pressure of a growing population. Therefore, the discontented Parisians were ripe for an uprising. (28) With the revolution of 1848, Napoleon III came into power, and the city’s largest transformation and population growth came with the 1852 Second Empire under Napoleon III (29).
To deal with these problems of Paris, the government of Napoleon III launched a policy of public works headed by Baron Haussmann. Haussmann decided the creation of a public service of water distribution. He also decided to add a sewer network in Asnières which grew from 150 to 500 km, and which purpose was to carry the used waters in the Seine. Then he worked on the development of green spaces that reached 1800 hectares with, at the east part of Paris, the Bois de Vincennes and at the west part of the city, the Bois de Boulogne, plus the squares and gardens scattered throughout Paris (30). In essence, Haussmann leveled entire districts of Paris' narrow, winding medieval streets to create the network of wide avenues and neo-classical façades that still make up much of modern Paris. The result for this transformation was twofold, as not only did the creation of wide boulevards beautify and sanitize the capital, it also facilitated the effectiveness of troops and artillery against any further uprisings and barricades for which Paris was so famous. (31)
Paris, in this second half of the 19th century, experienced moments of glory. The renovation undertaken provided work to the construction workers, the population nearly doubled between 1851 and 1871, the fastest historical growth Paris underwent, the middle class grew, the bank and credits were prosperous, the industrial production expanded through the emergence of department stores and universal exhibitions, etc. (32)
VI.1.3. Vienna
Vienna was founded by the Celts. It became a Roman military station in the 1st century BC. Vienna was an important trade center during the Crusades. (33) It was the seat of the Holy Roman Empire from 1558 to 1806, the Austrian Empire from 1806 to 1867, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918. As far back as the twelfth century, Vienna was the seat of the Babenberg dynasty. Towards the end of the thirteenth century the ruling power switched to the Habsburgs, and the town soon became the leading center of the Habsburg lands. From the fifteenth century onwards Vienna was almost uninterruptedly the seat of the German Emperors and eventually grew to become the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and a cultural center for arts, science, music and fine cuisine (34).
In 1806, during the Napoleonic wars, Vienna became the capital of the Austrian Empire and continued to play a major role in European politics, including hosting the 1814 Congress of Vienna. However, during the Napoleonic wars, there was little progress in Vienna’s urbanization. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, Vienna remained the capital of what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. (35)
In the first half of the 19th century, Vienna went through industrialization, with Vienna being attached to the railway network in 1837 (36). The latter half of the 19th century brought the beginning of the most splendid period in the history of Vienna (the period since 1867 when Vienna was the principal capital of Austria-Hungary) and the city underwent expansion and reconstruction. During the latter of the 19th century, the population of Vienna increased dramatically, but the population had been growing apace even before the middle of the century. The population from 271,000 in 1800 had risen to 551,300 by 1850 (37), and the population pressure on the fortified heart of the city was thus increasing. So in 1850 the city launched its first expansion drive by incorporating the suburban zone within the Linienwall and organizing it into city districts (37). In 1858, the city’s fortifications were demolished and developed what had previously been the bastions and glacis into the Ringstrasse, a new boulevard surrounding the historical town and a major prestige project. (Wikipedia, Vienna) Even today, Vienna is associated with the splendid boulevard of Ringstrasse. So, due to the industrialization and migration from other parts of the Empire, the population of Vienna increased sharply during its time as the capital of Austria-Hunagry, reaching an all-time high population of 2,031,000, and becoming one of the six largest cities in the world at the beginning of the 20th century (1910). (38)
VI.1.4. Interpretation
Already established traditional capitals were undoubtedly a source of further urbanization as it already established the basic fundamentals of a city from the past. Therefore, the traditional capitals resisted decline and experienced profound development during the 19th century.
Because these cities were national capitals and political centers, large firms, banks, entrepreneurs, purveyors of high and popular culture were attracted to the big capital cities, so the elites of wealth and culture resided in the capitals. This contributed to the splendor and further growth of the traditional capitals. Furthermore, because political unrest also resided in the capitals, national governments paid a good deal more attention to the capital and implemented reforms, as can be easily seen with the case of Paris and Vienna.
Industry in these cities also developed to an extent, though it tended not to be as dominant or visible as in the industrial cities that well be mentioned later in the paper. Heavy industry tended to be located on the outskirts or in satellite towns.
VI.2.Boomtowns
VI.2.1. Manchester (39)
The city of Manchester was of Roman origins. By the middle ages, Manchester had begun to develop a cotton and textile industry, its commerce during this time based largely on local climate, topography, and surrounding soil. By 1292, a trade had been established in linen and wool laying the groundwork for the later development of the city as a “cottonopolis” and the center of the cotton industry in England. While Manchester was a continued place of trade and commerce and saw population growth, it remained a small center until the late 18th century.
The first full-scale cotton mill was opened in 1776 by a Mr. N. Hall on the banks of the river Tame and soon after many similar mills began opening in the areas north and East of the city. These mills largely benefited from local sheep stock, access to natural waterpower, and large coal reserves. The invention of the flying shuttle, the spinning Jenny, and the spinning mule, added to the growth of industry in the area. The machine based manufacture of cotton and the emergence of these cotton mills led to a demand for space for factories, warehouses, and mills. As a result of this demand, fringe valleys and existing residential areas of the city were transformed into commercial quarters.
In 1830, Manchester saw the opening of the Manchester - Liverpool railway which was the first passenger rail service in the world and preceded the introduction of the railway in London by 6 years. By the mid 19th century, Manchester had become a central terminal for rail lines crossing between most of the manufacturing towns and cities of the North of England. The city became connected up with other centers of industry and population and Manchester served as a major regional and national center of transportation. Manchester emerged at this time as the heart of an industrial region and became known as "the first industrial city."
Manchester was known as the 'shock city' of the 1840's. During this time it grew at a very fast pace, rapidly putting up a new landscape of mills, warehouses, and commercial offices. During the mid- nineteenth century, while cotton remained the major economic good, Manchester's manufacturing base began to diversify and other markets were stimulated including metals, engineering, transport, and chemicals. The urban core became specialized and by the 1880's spinning and weaving moved from the city of Manchester to its surrounding towns. Physically the towns grew closer together as well. As industry grew, the space between Manchester and the surrounding towns shrank. The conurbation emerged as a result of this with Manchester at the center. This resulted in an expansion of the city's financial and commercial services and the area became the largest manufacturing center in the world
VI.2.2. Essen (40)
Essen, a prominent city in the Ruhr region of Germany, was one of the Hanseatic cities in the fourteenth and fifteenth century. It was one of the commercial cities that developed along the Hellweg in the Middle Ages. It had made no further progress than remaining almost medieval until 1800, when it had population of only 4,000.
From the beginning of the nineteenth century, basis for industrialization began to be set up in Essen. Prussia annexed Essen in 1802 and organized the small existent mining industry more effectively than before. Franz Dinnendahl devised the first conveyor steam engine in 1809, which played a very significant role in stimulating deep-cast coal mining in the near future.
Coking coal of high economic value was abundant in the Essen basin. The Haniel family, who had been coal traders, started to participate in mining industry with financial support from the wealth they acquired from coal transportation business along the Ruhr and the Rhine by barge. The first shaft Zeche Kronprinz (Coalmine Crown Prince) was sunk through the thick cover of rocks near Essen to obtain coal hidden below it.
In 1811, Friedrich Krupp founded Germany's first cast-steel factory in Essen and laid the cornerstone for what was to be the largest enterprise in Europe for a couple of decades. Then, in 1826, Alfred Krupp inherited the cast steel works from his father, who found out how to produce a cast steel, but who had financial failure. Alfred Krupp invented the seamless wheel flange for the railways in 1852, which aided the firm in growing into the giant company in the nineteenth century. Moving parts of machines, axles of railway locomotives, heavy guns and armor-plate were other major products of the company.
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Essen expanded even to absorb villages and farmsteads in the surrounding countries into its suburbs. It was a center of steelmaking and steel-using, rather than that of iron-smelting. Iron ore supply on its own stayed insignificant relative to ore supplies from the Siegerland and England during the nineteenth century. Numerous steel works, machine shops, and factory buildings were established.
Essen's population reached 100,000 in 1896. Essen was at the center of the railway network, which endowed it with access to various Westphalian iron and coal fields. The large iron and coal fields of the Essen basin contributed to Essen's great prosperity. Krupp's company was also vital to the city's development because it expended much in building and supporting different local facilities. Woolen goods and cigars were also produced, and dyeing works and breweries also existed.
VI.2.3. Interpretation
The rise of these boomtowns was greatly affected by the Industrial Revolution and the industrialization process. Manchester’s and Essen’s natural resource base, large reserves of coal, made the rapid industrialization growth possible. The explosive rise of these industrial settlements coalesced into great conurbations, Lancashire in the case of Manchester and the Ruhr region in Essen. The introduction of the cotton industry in Manchester and the Krupp steel in Essen was the main source of wealth and growth. Furthermore, technological advancements led to the set-up of modern cotton mills in Manchester and steel factories in Essen, which further facilitated production and the creation of jobs, attracting migrants into the cities.
VI.3.Cities with little to no development
VI.3.1. Naples
Once a magnificent city, being southern Italy’s important economic and cultural center, Naples underwent decline in the mid-nineteenth century and was not able to recover since. As the Kingdom of Sicily gave way and merged in with the Italian Kingdom, the city of Naples was deprived of its power as a capital of a kingdom, and experienced little growth. Although, there were railroads and factories that were set up in Naples in the 19th century, it amounted to little in terms of Naples’s growth as a whole. For example, the first steel mill opened at the end of the 19th century, but the industry did not add significantly to national production until the 1970s (41). The population of the city of Naples numbered 427,000 in 1800, 449,000 in 1850 - an insignificant increase if compared to Milan, Turin, Paris (42). The population of the countryside rose at a faster rate than that of the city of Naples, an odd phenomenon in a time when much of Europe experienced the Industrial Revolution and urbanization (43).
VI.3.2. Venice
Venice was founded in the fifth century and became one of the richest and most powerful cities in medieval Europe. Its wealth was based on trade with the Orient and benefited from the city's geopolitical location as Venice's fleets brought silks, spices, exotic and luxury goods imported from the Near and Far East to Italy and the rest of Europe (44).
Venice maintained this important role as the mediator between the East and West for several centuries. However, Venice gradually began its decline from the end of the fifteenth century. The new trading importance of the Atlantic, the result of Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India, the gradual loss of Venice's possessions and the economic and financial rise of other European powers led to the decline of the previous maritime supremacy and trading monopoly of Venice and the Venetian Republic (45).
Then, the Venetian Republic came to an end in 1797, when Napoleon’s French army forced the city to agree to a new, pro-French, ‘democratic’ government (46). Further decline set in, although 1846 saw Venice linked to the mainland for the first time, by a railway, and the number of tourists began to exceed the local population (47). In the 1860s Venice became part of the new Kingdom of Italy, and can be described only as a live museum of its past glory.
VI.3.3. Interpretation
Not every city gained in the general trend of urbanization. The southern Italian cities of Naples and Venice did not have a basis in industry because their main source of wealth in the past was trade and commerce, which could be a factor in their little growth in the 19th century. In Naples’ case, it lost its function as a capital of the Kingdom of two Sicilies when the kingdom came to an end as a result of Italian unification. Thus, it can be said that the political instability coming from the Napoleonic wars and later Italian unification resulted in the loss of its function as a capital and hindered rapid growth of Naples. Venice started its gradual decline in the 15th century and never recovered its past glory of the medieval times due to the shift of power from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and experienced similar consequences of the Napoleonic Wars and the Italian unification as Naples. However, both cities did go through the process of urbanization and grew somewhat, although not as prominently as most other cities of the 19th century.
VII. Conclusion
The 19th century in a nutshell can be characterized by rapid urbanization unheard of in any other time periods of history. The 19th century is the beginning of the city’s development and rise as a dominating center of human inhabitance. However, although the words ‘development’ and ‘rise’ have a positive connotation, a deeper look in the city life of the 19th century reveals the darker shades of urbanization, such as the various urban problems incorporated into the urban landscape. The city inhabitants reacted and responded to the problems and implemented the much-needed reforms and renovations to the city, improving city life to some extent.
However, it is interesting to note that this general trend of urbanization took different forms in different types of cities. Traditional capitals’ role as a political and administrative center greatly affected its profound development during the 19th century. Furthermore, the explosive growth of cities that emerged as new industrial cities was closely tied to industrialization. That is to say, introduction to a new industry combined with advanced technology contributed greatly to the growth of the industrial boomtowns of the era. Lastly, the cities that had little growth in the midst of this urban trend were cities of Southern Italy, largely due to the shift of power, lack of industry, and political and social instability.
Although virtually all cities went through urbanization during the19th century, each city had its own story, all of which adds up in conveying the whole of the wave that spread in 19th century Europe.
Endnotes
(1) Encyclopedia69.com
(2) Wikipedia article: ‘Boomtowns’
(3) Benevolo, 1993 pg. 160
(4) Lees, 1973 pg. vii
(5) Urbanisation 1700-1870, Volckart pg. 9
(6) ibid. Figure 3 pg. 9
(7) Wikipedia article: ‘Urbanization’
(8) Urban History
(9) Perry, 1987 pg. 111
(10) Context: European History
(11) ibid.
(12) Clark, 2009 pg. 38
(13) ibid. pg. 130
(14) ibid. pg. 231
(15) The City of European History: London in the Nineteenth Century
(16) ibid.
(17) ibid.
(18) ibid.
(19) Wikipedia Article: ‘London’
(20) The City of European History: London in the Nineteenth Century
(21) Briggs, 1993 pg. 318
(22) Wikipedia article: ‘Paris’
(23) Hall, 1993 pg. 55
(24) Paris in France
(25) Wikipedia article: ‘Paris’
(26) The City of European History: Paris in the Nineteenth Century
(27) Wikipedia article: ‘Paris’
(28) ibid.
(29) ibid.
(30) Paris, the city of Haussmann’s
(31) Wikipedia article: ‘Paris’
(32) Paris, the city of Haussmann’s
(33) Encyclopedia Britannica Article: ‘Vienna’
(34) Wikipedia article: ‘Vienna’
(35) ibid.
(36) ibid.
(37) ibid.
(38) The “Ringstrasse” Period – the History of Vienna
(39) This chapter is largely based upon ‘The History of Manchester’
(40) This chapter is largely based upon ‘The Rise of the Ruhr Area, Germany’s Industrial Heartland, in the 19th Century’ by Roh, Yong Ho
(41) Encyclopedia Britannica Article: ‘Naples (Italy) – the Economy’
(42) ‘The Kingdom of Two Sicilies 1815-1848’ Posted on World History at KMLA
(43) ibid.
(44) The Republic of Venice – from Splendor to Decline
(45) ibid.
(46) The History of Venice, Italy
(47) ibid.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
English Britannica 11th edition, 1911 Article: ‘London’
English Britannica 11th edition, 1911 Article: ‘Paris’
English Britannica 11th edition, 1911 Article: ‘Vienna’
English Britannica 11th edition, 1911 Article: ‘Manchester’
English Britannica 11th edition, 1911 Article: ‘Naples’
English Britannica 11th edition, 1911 Article: ‘Venice’
Secondary Sources
1. The Urbanization of European Society in the Nineteenth Century Edited and with an introduction by Andrew Lees and Lynn Lees, DC Heath and Company, 1976
2. Perry, Marvin and Peden, Joseph R. and Von Laue Theodore H. Sources of the Western Tradition Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987
3. Kagan, Donald and Ozment, Steven and Turner, Frank M. The Western Heritage Macmillan publishing Co., Inc Second Edition, 1983
4. Rapport, Michael Nineteenth-Century Europe Palgrave Macmillan, 2005
5. Hearder, Harry Europe in the Nineteenth Century Longman Inc. 1988
6. Dickinson, Robert The West European City Routledge and Kegan Paul 1961
7. Benevolo, Leonardo The European City Basil Blackwell, 1993
8. Clark, Peter European Cities and Towns 400-2000 Oxford University Press, 2009
11. Context: European History
12. The City of European History: London in the Nineteenth Century
15. The City of European History: Paris in the Nineteenth Century
17. The “Ringstrasse” Period – the History of Vienna
18. ‘The History of Manchester’
20. Wikipedia Article: ‘London’
21. Paris, the city of Haussmann’s
22. Encyclopedia Britannica Article: ‘Vienna’
23. Wikipedia article: ‘Vienna’
24. Encyclopedia Britannica Article: ‘Naples (Italy) – the Economy’
25. The Republic of Venice – from Splendor to Decline
28. Hall, Thomas Planning Europe’s Capital Cities Routledge, 1993
29. The History of Venice, Italy
Note: although number 29 is from about.com, an amateur source, the article I looked into was by Robert Wilde who is said to have a BA in History and an MA in the interdisciplinary Medieval Studies from Sheffield University
