"This should be the first industrial revolution in which 100 million or even 100 million people participate, right?"
After reading the description and a lot of data of the first industrial revolution that took place in the Ming Dynasty in "General History of the Ming Dynasty", Zhu Yaofei couldn't help but admire it.
In another version of history, the first industrial revolution in Europe affected only Western Europe, and perhaps parts of Eastern Europe and the New World. The number of human beings who are lucky enough to participate in it cannot exceed 50 million even if we calculate it.
As for the industrial revolution that took place in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty, at least 100 million people participated in it! Therefore, the power provided by this industrial revolution must have been amplified several times!
When the rulers of the Ming Empire had this seemingly omnipotent power for the first time, one can imagine how swollen their hearts were.
In addition, the Ming Empire followed the path of capitalism, so how could there be no economic crisis?
Although the productivity that emerged from the first industrial revolution seems so insignificant to people in the 21st century - the total steel output of the world's number one industrial power is equivalent to the production capacity of a dying small steel factory in the 21st century... ....
But for humans from the late 18th century to the early 19th century, the productivity of industrialization was so amazing! So that for the first time in human history, we have to face the problem of what to do if there are too many things?
Therefore, the pain of economic excess is bound to be experienced by people in the southeast of Ming Dynasty!
Of course, the surplus crisis in the first industrial revolution era was not a surplus in the true sense, but a surplus under the condition of insufficient demand. The reason for the lack of demand is, of course, the low income of the working people...
There are so many working people and the labor movement has not yet emerged. How can we expect the black-hearted capitalists of Ming Dynasty to pay high wages to the workers below? That is not in line with scientism...
And when the rulers of the Ming Dynasty faced economic oversupply and the dire straits of the working people in the southeast, they had already figured out what they would do!
Zhu Yaofa sighed and continued browsing.
The next chapter is not about economic excess and transferring crises to the outside world, but it introduces the evolution of the world situation in the 18th century.
To briefly summarize the world situation in the 18th century, it was a confrontation between two poles, with a buffer in between!
The two poles were the Ming Empire and the Roman Empire, while the buffer was the dying Ottoman Empire and the chaotic India.
In the 18th century, the Ming Empire was busy carrying out the industrial revolution and dreaming of confounding the barbarians and Xia. Thousands of miles away in Europe, the Industrial Revolution also happened, and some people were dreaming... However, the Industrial Revolution in Europe did not start with the Roman Empire, but with the Republic of England and the Netherlands—— These two countries were the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution in their original history.
In this history changed by Zhu Cixiang, their advantages still exist, even greater than before!
In this time and space, the British monarchy was not restored, but turned into a bourgeois republic that believed in Puritanism... And Puritanism means not giving up food, not giving up clothes, getting up early and working late at night to produce, for God Teach yourself how to make more money! It is simply a sect tailor-made for industrialization!
Moreover, Britain has obtained the status of "Roman ally" and "neutral country", can enter the Roman market, and can also engage in free trade - such benefits are of course not free, and Britain must pay money to the Roman Empire every year. But compared with that little protection fee, the benefits of the Republic of England are still very huge.
Therefore, Britain's industrialization started earlier than the Ming Empire. Although it cannot compare with the latter in terms of scale, the quality of its development is still very good.
The fate of the United Provincial Republic of the Netherlands was also better than in history, because the tragic Franco-Dutch War did not occur in this time and space, and large areas of the Netherlands lowlands were not submerged by sea water. And because they had defected to Louis XIV early, the products of the United Provincial Republic of the Netherlands could be sold unimpeded in the Roman Empire, and the treatment was more favorable than that of British products.
Of course, the resources of the Federal Republic of the Netherlands are not as good as those of the United Kingdom, and there is not much coal and iron ore. Therefore, the industrialization of the Federal Republic of the Netherlands had strong spillover effects from the very beginning. The resource-rich provinces of the Rhineland and Alsace-Lorraine-Luxembourg (this province was originally part of the French province) of the Roman Empire absorbed a large amount of Dutch capital and technology in the 18th century. In the second half of the century, China also entered the threshold of industrialization.
While the Rhineland and Alsace-Lorraine-Luxembourg provinces crossed the threshold of industrialization, the Kingdom of Bohemia in Central Europe also started the pace of industrialization, driven by Austrian and Venetian capital.
However, in the core parts of the Roman Empire - the provinces of France, Italy and Spain, there were still few signs of industrialization until the end of the 18th century.
In fact, the manufacturing industries in France and Italy were in continuous decline throughout the 18th century! By the end of the 18th century, the industrial product markets of France, Italy and Spain, the three large provinces of the Roman Western Empire, were almost entirely occupied by products from the Netherlands, England, the Rhineland and Alsace-Lorraine-Luxembourg. occupied.
The reason for this situation is mainly due to the market-for-unification policy adopted by the Western Roman Empire, and the fact that France, Italy, and Spain were in a relatively backward position in the pre-industrial revolution era.
In addition, the Western Roman Empire spent too much money and energy on war... In the 18th century, the Western Roman Empire launched a total of six wars against the Ottoman Empire and the Moroccan Sultanate. Although it successfully captured the entire North Africa, but it also paid a huge price.
While seizing North Africa, Louis II, who took pro-government, was very dissatisfied that the Eastern Roman Empire was no longer under his rule. So between 1756 and 1768, a war was launched against the Roman Eastern Empire headed by Philip I, known in history as the "Twelve Years' War".
This Twelve Years War was called the Roman Civil War, but it was actually an out-and-out European war!
Almost all European countries, including the two neutral countries of the Grand Duchy of Austria and the Republic of England, as well as the Russian Empire, which was swaying between the Christian world and the Chinese civilization, and the Ottoman Empire, which had long been beaten to death, were involved in the war.
The Western Roman Empire suffered the fate of winning first and then losing in this war. At the beginning of the war, the Western Roman Empire quickly invaded the Grand Duchy of Austria and surrounded Vienna, the capital of the Grand Duchy, with the help of its large standing army. Then he entered Bohemia, the industrial center of the Roman Eastern Empire, and completely occupied it.
The Serbian King Philip II (son of Philip I and Maria Theresa), who was stunned by the attack of the Western Empire, had to sue for peace and expressed his willingness to give up the title of regent.
If Louis II had been willing to give up, this war would not have lasted for 12 years. However, Louis II, who was dazzled by the victory, refused Philip II's conditions and announced the annexation of the Kingdom of Bohemia. and the Grand Duchy of Austria, turning both into Roman provinces.
This is a hornet's nest!
The patriotic enthusiasm of the people of Austria and Bohemia, who originally regarded this war as a family matter of the Bourbon dynasty, was suddenly aroused and they began to resist!
The nobles of Hungary, Serbia, and Croatia suddenly felt as if their lips were dying and their teeth were cold, and they all gathered around Philip II. All of a sudden, this "bare king" had an army of 200,000 on hand!
At the same time, the northern German princes who originally stood aside felt that Louis II was a bit too much, and they all united to support Philip II and oppose Louis II.
Louis II enlisted Poland, the Netherlands, Bavaria and Sweden to send troops to help!
Philip II asked Russia and Britain for help. Russia joined Philip II in order to annex the Ukrainian territory owned by Poland and the Baltic Sea coast territory controlled by Sweden.
Britain chose to remain neutral at the beginning, but not long after, Louis II announced a naval blockade of the Roman Eastern Empire... This stepped on the bottom line of the Republic of England, which was founded on trade, and Because of religious issues, the Republic of England has always disliked the Western Roman Empire. At the same time, England did not want to see the Western Roman Empire unify Europe.
So in 1758, the Republic of England finally broke its "hundred years of neutrality" and officially sent troops to the European continent!
As a result, the internal fighting between the Bourbon family finally escalated into a European war with astonishing destructive power, and also gave birth to the vigorous Roman Revolution!
