When you think about the industrial revolution, I doubt that your thoughts drift to medieval castles, jousting tournaments, and mystery plays, but surprisingly enough, that's where the technological revolution of the nineteenth century really found its origin. During the feudal era, people spent most of their lives working the land, but even medieval peasants needed a break, and the most common causes for community celebration were festivals celebrating a figure from scripture or a believer from the early church. These celebrations were often overseen by a group of townspeople who formed into a collective to oversee the festivities. These religious guilds eventually developed into groups of men, and sometimes women, who practiced a particular craft. As the medieval-era moved on, these guilds began to train craftsmen and helped to regulate trade. To protect themselves against competition and catastrophe, these guilds formed corporations designed for mutual defense and protection. Additionally, as guilds became more powerful they began to purchase their freedom from their feudal obligations, establishing communes that became some of the first free cities. In the 1400s as Europeans began to explore the world, these free cities became centers of trade and innovation and many of the earliest technologies flourished in these intellectual hot-spots.
By increasing the concentration of population, early cities allowed competition to increase and ideas to spread. Scientific experiments, designed to help uncover the nature of the world, or to reveal something about God's interaction with us, were repurposed for the purposes of business. Amongst these technologies, the earliest game-changer was the waterwheel, which was used to drive everything from grinding-wheels and saws to blacksmithing equipment and looms for weaving. With the advent of steam-power, these tools could be moved away from rivers and could be powered even during the coldest months of the winter.
Originally developed due to the growing concentrations of population that occurred in the late Renaissance, the growth of technology further accelerated this trend, pulling young people into urban centers at a rapid rate, disrupting traditional family structures and marriage patterns along the way. By the time the process of industrialization had swept across the world, nearly nothing would be left of the way that life used to be.
Today we are going through a similarly dramatic change. What do you think the impact of our modern technologies will be on your life and that of your children?
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