Industrialization: Disease and Death because of Overpopulation
Posted June 21st, 2012 at 01:45 PM by jttwong
As the world modernizes, one must remember that industrialization is a two-edged sword. Long-term benefits abound; but in the short run, living standards drop substantially. This is an lesson that we must learn from history or suffer the consequences. Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty taught us that we must use history as a mirror to comprehend the rise and fall of a nation. We should all pray that today's modernization will enrich developing nations and their people instead of further impoverishing those less fortunate than we are.
Introduction
In the post-industrializing stage of most European cities, social conditions declined. To this day, this phenomenon continues to plague the recently industrializing cities of the third world countries. A major problem that industrialization caused was overpopulation as the rural populations rush into the urban settlement. In my opinion, this was one of the root problems directly contributed to the later health problems that a city would have to face. This is because overpopulation could lead to spikes in land prices along with an overcrowding of certain areas that could be devastating to the original health conditions. Yet, it would be unfair to fully blame the health crisis that arose during the 19th century to the industrialization as the original health system was fairly limited as well with poor environmental conditions had given the pre-industrial cities the name “devourers of men”. Hence, it would be more reasonable to say that the health and sanitary conditions of European cities were already strained prior to its industrializing and urbanizing but the Industrial Revolution provided the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
Causes of Overpopulation and its Consequences
As aforementioned, I believe overpopulation deserves much of the blame for many of the health concerns of post-industrializing regions (other agents also such as poor medical knowledge and wealth disparity also contributed). Prior to industrialization, large urban communities were less common. Large urban populations did not become essential until the demands for labor (for factory production) arose with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution. Thus, most pre-industrial people lived in small agrarian communities in the countryside. This all changed when the Industrial Revolution began in Britain with the other European states on her heels. Unlike the small amount of workers proto-industrialization required, factories that developed from industrialism required a large laboring force in a centralized workspace that was preferably located along side of a river in an urban setting. This greatly intensified the pressure on the urban environment.
Labor flocked to these new employment opportunities and in the process, inadvertently begun a chain effect. Without adequate transportation, workers had to move near their workplace for convenience. The sudden demand for housing caused the value of residence to increase. This sudden ascendance of rental costs led to increasing population density as the insufficient wages of the working class forced them to share apartments leading to overcrowding and overpopulation with many people packed into minute areas.
The effects were so astounding because this migration of people was unparalleled in history; therefore, the cities at the time were incapable of handling this sudden population surge as the cities were built for the urban populations of pre-industrial Europe. The effect of the surge was greater amplified due to innovative agricultural developments such as the new calorie-rich New World crops such as potatoes. The new staple food crop along with new methods of draining and fertilizer increased agricultural productivity improving the yields and freeing up agricultural laborers.
When the migrant populace hit, the primitive sewer system originally in place was quickly overwhelmed. One of the largest disasters zones was in West London where the sewer and water pipes were made of wood. These pipes were originally designed to remove the surface runoff (i.e. rainwater). Yet, with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the pipes had to carry away the waste of tens of thousands of people by the 19th century. This caused the flooding back of water from the sewers during times of heavy rainfall. As the water seeps into the gutter, it could cause contamination of the water source used for drinking and cooking. This contamination could hold dire health consequences for the people living in this situation as a variety of mycobacterial species causing human disease have been linked to contaminated water.
Problems of Disease: Cholera
While the rural populations had always been healthier than their urban counterparts, the overcrowding aggravated the problem. Industrialization, at the beginning profits only the wealthy but the detriments would affect the working class long before the benefits arrive. There exists a connection between urbanization, poverty and health problems; to further exacerbate the issue, this correlation was often overlooked by the people of the Victorian era. In hindsight, an example of this connection could be seen near the rivers that run in post-industrial revolution cities. Communities around rivers tended to urbanize faster then landlocked ones because water was essential in generating power; thus, the population would grow at breakneck rates. Ironically, this growth arrived at the place where it was most unsanitary as people emptied their waste and drank from into the same river.
When combined with the already existent issues of a low wage economy and poor housing, overpopulation contributed to the numerous highly contagious diseases that began rapidly spreading in the major cities. The most infamous of these diseases that was spread relentlessly throughout the urban populace of the era was cholera. It originated in the Ganges River within the British colony of Bengal then spread to the rest of the British Indian colonies. From there, the disease expanded throughout the British Empire along with Europe and North America.
Cholera became notorious within the general public not because of its fatality rates. Instead, it became infamous due to the effiency with which it killed and the agony that it caused; in the case of cholera, the speed of death was welcomed compared to the torture it puts its victims through. Other diseases (e.g. typhoid and tuberculosis, the largest killer of them all) matched or even exceeded that of cholera in terms of the number of victims. Yet, cholera became the most feared because of its high pace of killing and the dehumanizing of its victims. Cholera mostly killed by starting unceasing diarrhea that causes severe dehydration rendering its victims into a skeleton of their former self.
The governments were confounded by Cholera and tried different methods in a futile attempt to quell its spread throughout the Western world. Yet, none of the procedures taken were especially successful because of the lack of scientific knowledge. Medical professionals of the time were not aware of the water borne nature of this disease and mistook it for being miasmatic. Primitive science coupled with the mistaken perception of the disease’s cause was lethal. It was not until decades later when such new research arose with new discoveries that fatalities from diseases such as cholera began declining.
Problems of Fundamental Health Becoming Affected
The health consequences extend beyond the vulnerability of people to diseases. A simple observation at the height of the inhabitants could demonstrate the true extent of their health deterioration. The average height of a population is governed by three factors: genetics, disease and nutrition. It was noticeable that there was a height discrepancy between the rural and urban population. As the two populations share the same genetic pool, the cause of the height gap between the two can be derived as from the disease and nutrition causes. For example, 25% of the urban laborers had never tasted meat because they simply could not afford it.
Although a person with a tall build does not necessarily mean that they are of the best of health, the average height difference between two racially and genetically similar group could provide a clear picture of the true health conditions. This once again proved that people living in the rural countryside were healthier than urban city-dwellers. This height difference is not just seen between rural and urban populations. North Americans of European descent were also comparably taller than the Europeans themselves. This issue had a larger impact in later history and by the end of the 19th century, debates regarding eugenics arose.
The above demonstrated that the unhygienic conditions were not the only problem faced by the European urban population. The cramped and narrow European urban centers were another prominent problem. This was in contrast with the open fields in North America; thus, this confirmed that open space could be good for a person’s health. Yet, the space issue, along with the other problems faced by urban city-dwellers at the time, was ignored for the most part due to the fact that most of the people near city centers were the underprivileged.
The affluent people distanced themselves from their less fortunate counterparts by living in the suburbs. The rich people’s oblivion to the horrors of city-life and its health catastrophe caused the urban problems centers to continue unchanged until much later in European history. In other words, the people truly suffering did not have the ability to increase the awareness of the issue while those who had the means simply did not care. It was not until the end of the 19th century when the quality of life for the working class was slowly improved as a downward social diffusion of middle-class living began.
Conclusion
While industrializing could have much economical benefits, the immediate proceedings after a city industrializes are extremely negative. The health conditions of a post-industrialized city would decline before the wealth finally spreads equally . Until then, conditions within the city remain horrid. This scenario had repeated itself throughout history ever since Britain underwent the original Industrial Revolution. Centuries after the first plunge into industrialization and modernity, these problems are now being faced by modernizing third world countries. Originally in the European cities, the poor suffered the worst of the unsanitary conditions and health fiasco and it was not until later that these problems were solved. While economical development is undoubtedly significant, it is also important to remember a good city requires more than just wealth. Lastly, it is important to remember that health, as a basic necessity and human right, was confirmed as being fundamental to the success of any economy and society as a whole. With that being said, I believe the currently developing nations should view the European’s experience as a role model onto a path of success.
Bilbiography
1. Badguley, David, Napoleon III and His Regime: An Extravaganza, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2000.
2. Bartram, J. and Cotruvo, J., Dufour, A. and Rees, G. and Pedley, S., Pathogenic Mycobacteria In Water: Guide To Public Health Consequences, Monitoring And Management, London: IWA Publishing, 2004.
3. Carson, Scott A. “Health During Industrialization: Evidence from the 19th Century Pennsylvania State Prison System.” CESifo Working Paper 1975 (2007)
4. McMichael, Anthony J. "The Urban Environment and Health in a World of Increasing Globalization: Issues for Developing Countries." Bulletin of the World Health Organization 8.9 ( 2000), pp. 1117 – 1126.
5. More, Charles, Understand the Industrial Revolution, London: Routledge, 2000.
6. Morley, Ian B., “City Chaos, Contagion, Chadwick and Social Justice”, Yale J Bio Med, 80(2), (2007), pp. 61 – 72.
7. Paddison, Ronan, Handbook of Urban Studies, London: Sage Publications Ltd, 2001.
8. Price, Munro, The Road from Versailles: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the Fall of the French Monarchy, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2002.
9. Snowden, Frank, Naples in the Time of Cholera, 1884-1911, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
10. Stearns, Peter N., The Industrial Revolution in World History, Boulder: Westview Press, 1998.
11. Vinten-Johansen, Peter and Brody, Howard and Paneth, Nigel and Rachman, Stephen and Rip, Micheal R., Cholera, Chloroform and the Science of Medicine: A Life of John Snow, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Most importantly, special thanks to Professor Ian Morley of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, dear mentor and friend. This blog entry (along with a few others actually, but this one especially) would not have been possible without an article he showed me while I was still in college: Morley, Ian, The Trauma of Modernity and its Well-Being of Disparity, presented at the United Nations in Bangkok, Thailand, July 2007.
Introduction
In the post-industrializing stage of most European cities, social conditions declined. To this day, this phenomenon continues to plague the recently industrializing cities of the third world countries. A major problem that industrialization caused was overpopulation as the rural populations rush into the urban settlement. In my opinion, this was one of the root problems directly contributed to the later health problems that a city would have to face. This is because overpopulation could lead to spikes in land prices along with an overcrowding of certain areas that could be devastating to the original health conditions. Yet, it would be unfair to fully blame the health crisis that arose during the 19th century to the industrialization as the original health system was fairly limited as well with poor environmental conditions had given the pre-industrial cities the name “devourers of men”. Hence, it would be more reasonable to say that the health and sanitary conditions of European cities were already strained prior to its industrializing and urbanizing but the Industrial Revolution provided the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
Causes of Overpopulation and its Consequences
As aforementioned, I believe overpopulation deserves much of the blame for many of the health concerns of post-industrializing regions (other agents also such as poor medical knowledge and wealth disparity also contributed). Prior to industrialization, large urban communities were less common. Large urban populations did not become essential until the demands for labor (for factory production) arose with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution. Thus, most pre-industrial people lived in small agrarian communities in the countryside. This all changed when the Industrial Revolution began in Britain with the other European states on her heels. Unlike the small amount of workers proto-industrialization required, factories that developed from industrialism required a large laboring force in a centralized workspace that was preferably located along side of a river in an urban setting. This greatly intensified the pressure on the urban environment.
Labor flocked to these new employment opportunities and in the process, inadvertently begun a chain effect. Without adequate transportation, workers had to move near their workplace for convenience. The sudden demand for housing caused the value of residence to increase. This sudden ascendance of rental costs led to increasing population density as the insufficient wages of the working class forced them to share apartments leading to overcrowding and overpopulation with many people packed into minute areas.
The effects were so astounding because this migration of people was unparalleled in history; therefore, the cities at the time were incapable of handling this sudden population surge as the cities were built for the urban populations of pre-industrial Europe. The effect of the surge was greater amplified due to innovative agricultural developments such as the new calorie-rich New World crops such as potatoes. The new staple food crop along with new methods of draining and fertilizer increased agricultural productivity improving the yields and freeing up agricultural laborers.
When the migrant populace hit, the primitive sewer system originally in place was quickly overwhelmed. One of the largest disasters zones was in West London where the sewer and water pipes were made of wood. These pipes were originally designed to remove the surface runoff (i.e. rainwater). Yet, with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the pipes had to carry away the waste of tens of thousands of people by the 19th century. This caused the flooding back of water from the sewers during times of heavy rainfall. As the water seeps into the gutter, it could cause contamination of the water source used for drinking and cooking. This contamination could hold dire health consequences for the people living in this situation as a variety of mycobacterial species causing human disease have been linked to contaminated water.
Problems of Disease: Cholera
While the rural populations had always been healthier than their urban counterparts, the overcrowding aggravated the problem. Industrialization, at the beginning profits only the wealthy but the detriments would affect the working class long before the benefits arrive. There exists a connection between urbanization, poverty and health problems; to further exacerbate the issue, this correlation was often overlooked by the people of the Victorian era. In hindsight, an example of this connection could be seen near the rivers that run in post-industrial revolution cities. Communities around rivers tended to urbanize faster then landlocked ones because water was essential in generating power; thus, the population would grow at breakneck rates. Ironically, this growth arrived at the place where it was most unsanitary as people emptied their waste and drank from into the same river.
When combined with the already existent issues of a low wage economy and poor housing, overpopulation contributed to the numerous highly contagious diseases that began rapidly spreading in the major cities. The most infamous of these diseases that was spread relentlessly throughout the urban populace of the era was cholera. It originated in the Ganges River within the British colony of Bengal then spread to the rest of the British Indian colonies. From there, the disease expanded throughout the British Empire along with Europe and North America.
Cholera became notorious within the general public not because of its fatality rates. Instead, it became infamous due to the effiency with which it killed and the agony that it caused; in the case of cholera, the speed of death was welcomed compared to the torture it puts its victims through. Other diseases (e.g. typhoid and tuberculosis, the largest killer of them all) matched or even exceeded that of cholera in terms of the number of victims. Yet, cholera became the most feared because of its high pace of killing and the dehumanizing of its victims. Cholera mostly killed by starting unceasing diarrhea that causes severe dehydration rendering its victims into a skeleton of their former self.
The governments were confounded by Cholera and tried different methods in a futile attempt to quell its spread throughout the Western world. Yet, none of the procedures taken were especially successful because of the lack of scientific knowledge. Medical professionals of the time were not aware of the water borne nature of this disease and mistook it for being miasmatic. Primitive science coupled with the mistaken perception of the disease’s cause was lethal. It was not until decades later when such new research arose with new discoveries that fatalities from diseases such as cholera began declining.
Problems of Fundamental Health Becoming Affected
The health consequences extend beyond the vulnerability of people to diseases. A simple observation at the height of the inhabitants could demonstrate the true extent of their health deterioration. The average height of a population is governed by three factors: genetics, disease and nutrition. It was noticeable that there was a height discrepancy between the rural and urban population. As the two populations share the same genetic pool, the cause of the height gap between the two can be derived as from the disease and nutrition causes. For example, 25% of the urban laborers had never tasted meat because they simply could not afford it.
Although a person with a tall build does not necessarily mean that they are of the best of health, the average height difference between two racially and genetically similar group could provide a clear picture of the true health conditions. This once again proved that people living in the rural countryside were healthier than urban city-dwellers. This height difference is not just seen between rural and urban populations. North Americans of European descent were also comparably taller than the Europeans themselves. This issue had a larger impact in later history and by the end of the 19th century, debates regarding eugenics arose.
The above demonstrated that the unhygienic conditions were not the only problem faced by the European urban population. The cramped and narrow European urban centers were another prominent problem. This was in contrast with the open fields in North America; thus, this confirmed that open space could be good for a person’s health. Yet, the space issue, along with the other problems faced by urban city-dwellers at the time, was ignored for the most part due to the fact that most of the people near city centers were the underprivileged.
The affluent people distanced themselves from their less fortunate counterparts by living in the suburbs. The rich people’s oblivion to the horrors of city-life and its health catastrophe caused the urban problems centers to continue unchanged until much later in European history. In other words, the people truly suffering did not have the ability to increase the awareness of the issue while those who had the means simply did not care. It was not until the end of the 19th century when the quality of life for the working class was slowly improved as a downward social diffusion of middle-class living began.
Conclusion
While industrializing could have much economical benefits, the immediate proceedings after a city industrializes are extremely negative. The health conditions of a post-industrialized city would decline before the wealth finally spreads equally . Until then, conditions within the city remain horrid. This scenario had repeated itself throughout history ever since Britain underwent the original Industrial Revolution. Centuries after the first plunge into industrialization and modernity, these problems are now being faced by modernizing third world countries. Originally in the European cities, the poor suffered the worst of the unsanitary conditions and health fiasco and it was not until later that these problems were solved. While economical development is undoubtedly significant, it is also important to remember a good city requires more than just wealth. Lastly, it is important to remember that health, as a basic necessity and human right, was confirmed as being fundamental to the success of any economy and society as a whole. With that being said, I believe the currently developing nations should view the European’s experience as a role model onto a path of success.
Bilbiography
1. Badguley, David, Napoleon III and His Regime: An Extravaganza, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2000.
2. Bartram, J. and Cotruvo, J., Dufour, A. and Rees, G. and Pedley, S., Pathogenic Mycobacteria In Water: Guide To Public Health Consequences, Monitoring And Management, London: IWA Publishing, 2004.
3. Carson, Scott A. “Health During Industrialization: Evidence from the 19th Century Pennsylvania State Prison System.” CESifo Working Paper 1975 (2007)
4. McMichael, Anthony J. "The Urban Environment and Health in a World of Increasing Globalization: Issues for Developing Countries." Bulletin of the World Health Organization 8.9 ( 2000), pp. 1117 – 1126.
5. More, Charles, Understand the Industrial Revolution, London: Routledge, 2000.
6. Morley, Ian B., “City Chaos, Contagion, Chadwick and Social Justice”, Yale J Bio Med, 80(2), (2007), pp. 61 – 72.
7. Paddison, Ronan, Handbook of Urban Studies, London: Sage Publications Ltd, 2001.
8. Price, Munro, The Road from Versailles: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the Fall of the French Monarchy, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2002.
9. Snowden, Frank, Naples in the Time of Cholera, 1884-1911, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
10. Stearns, Peter N., The Industrial Revolution in World History, Boulder: Westview Press, 1998.
11. Vinten-Johansen, Peter and Brody, Howard and Paneth, Nigel and Rachman, Stephen and Rip, Micheal R., Cholera, Chloroform and the Science of Medicine: A Life of John Snow, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Most importantly, special thanks to Professor Ian Morley of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, dear mentor and friend. This blog entry (along with a few others actually, but this one especially) would not have been possible without an article he showed me while I was still in college: Morley, Ian, The Trauma of Modernity and its Well-Being of Disparity, presented at the United Nations in Bangkok, Thailand, July 2007.
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