19th Century Dbq Essay

Throughout the nineteenth century, the Industrial Revolution served as a huge catalyst for economic growth and change on both a European and later global scale. Led by the dominant Great Britain, much of Western Europe began to modernize their economies by the mid 1800s, transforming their agrarian economies into ones that utilized new technologies to their fullest extent. Yet by the mid to late nineteenth century, Russia still remained stagnant in development despite having more landholdings than any country in Western Europe. However, due to a number of complex factors, Russia was finally thrusted into modernization during the latter half of the nineteenth century. To a larger extent, Russia’s economic modernization was sparked by internal

From early on in the 1800s, Russia took a backseat in the European economy. For example, Frenchman Gustave Doré’s illustration of Russian nobles using the serf population as gambling stakes suggest a definite unwillingness to industrialize internally from Russia’s social elites because they were benefiting greatly from the current economic system (Doc. 2). It also points to foreign viewpoints influencing Russian economics. However, considering that France was fighting in the Crimean War with Russia at the time that this cartoon was issued, it was most likely issued as propaganda for the French cause and a way to degrade Russia. Furthermore, since Doré was a known Romanticist and satirist, the accuracy of his message is in question. In addition, in a letter to Tsar Alexander II, Leo Tolstoy, a writer and an officer in the Russian military during the Crimean War, described the Russian army as a wave of slaves that lacked any form of military sophistication and undermined the honor of his country (Doc 3). Considering that Tolstoy gives a firsthand account of the war and that he was writing to the leader of Russia, this document is definitely accurate when describing how insufficient Russian military strategy was at the time. As a result of a brutal defeat during the Crimean War, which was caused by the greater development and modernization of opposing powers, Russian leaders gradually liberalized their rules and invoked more social change in Russian society. Perhaps using Western Europe as inspiration, slight transitions to a factory economy increased infrastructure, and a more advanced military led to economic gain for Russia. Still, most of Russia’s economic progress can be attributed to its internal