EDAD CONTEMPORÁNEA.
CEIP. Santa Ana (Madridejos)
CONTEMPORY PERIOD. 19th – 20th Centuries: Contemporary period starts from the French Revolution (1789) till nowadays. We are going to divide it in 19th and 20th century. 1.- 19th CENTURY. 1.1.- French Revolution. It was a social and political process that started in France in 1789. It was a result of the “Enlightenment” cultural movement. .- The society was divided in three states: The First State (clergy), the Second State (nobility), and the Third State (the rest of people). The two first were privileged, and the third one was non-privileged (peasants, craftsmen, workers, bourgeoisies… who paid taxes. .- People revolted against the privileged states and abolished the absolute monarchy. .- They published the first ‘Constitution’ and the ‘Liberty Leading the People’ (Delacroix) ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen’. They also achieved that every man would be equal in the eyes of the law. Their motto was ‘Liberty, equality, fraternity’ . .- There were several steps, one of them was ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who wanted to conquer Europe. 1.2.- Industrial Revolution: A.- In England, in the middle of the 18th century, they used new raw materials (coal, iron, cotton…), new technologies (Watt steam engine), and new means of transport, like steam boat and railway (by George Stephenson). All of these changes were the origin of the Industrial Revolution. B.-In the agriculture, there were new machinery, new crops, crop rotation… which increased food production with fewer laborers. So there was a migration movement from the country to the cities looking for better living conditions. There was an increase of industrial population who lived in the cities. C.- In the cities: C.1.- The Proletariat were workers who worked in the factories, and lived crowded in unhealthy houses (in slums). They worked for more than 12 hours a day, women earned less money than men, and boys and girls started to work when they were 10 years old, so they couldn’t go to schools. They had got a very poor and scarce diet, with a minimum hygiene. All of these reasons, and labour accidents caused a high mortality. Trade Unions appeared to defend their rights (they asked for a shorter workday, higher salaries, control of children exploitation…)
Watt’s steam engine
slum