Early Railroads of France (1815 - 1848)

Every new technology developed brings mix of reactions. Hesitations and missed expectation formed as part of birthing pains. Same goes to even technology taken for granted today, for instance, France’s reaction during the early inception of railroads.

6 Projects of the Self-Strengthening Movement

In the 1860s with the country facing imminent collapse, the Tongzhi Restoration gave a sigh of relief for the ailing Qing Dynasty. After the Second Opium War and gains against numerous rebellions, prominent officials started the Self-Strengthening Movement aimed at developing the economy and modernizing the military. The Movement established several projects aimed to contribute to the country’s modernization.

The Bessemer Process The Process that Made the Modern World

Bessemer Converter

A process that change the world. It added steam to the already ongoing industrial revolution that hit the world. It allowed men to build new products and build structures towards the heavens. The Bessemer process allowed the mass production of steel, a material that shaped our modern world.

The Famous Phoenician Dye

Tyre under Siege

In the region of Levant, which now composed of Lebanon and Syria, was once home of the wealthy mercantile and maritime people called the Phoenicians. There people expanded their sphere of influence throughout the Mediterranean and onwards. As skilled merchants, they became wealthy and envied. And as businesspeople, they had the eyes to develop their resources into the most sought after products in the ancient world. Among their most priced and treasured products was the famous Tyrian or the Phoenician dye.

Charles Schwab: Steel Maker and a Tragedy

Charles M. Schwab

One of the most desired resources during the Industrial Revolution was steel. Most countries that wanted to become industrialized must be able to produce their own steel. And the United States, one of the most industrialized and advance countries during the late 19th century, had produced their steel. Several men managed to capitalize on the need of steel and became rich. Among these men were Andrew Carnegie. But within the mist of Carnegie, another man grew to become an iconic industrialist. His name was Charles Schwab.

Sukhothai Economy of Ramkhamhaeng

King Ramkhamhaeng (Credit: Ananda)

Thailand, an oriental country in the heart of Southeast Asia. Its lands are gifted with numerous rivers that provided fertile plains for farming. Its culture is heavily influenced by the Indians from the west. During the 13th century no Thai kingdom existed until the Kingdom of Sukhothai rose from the lands conquered by the Khmers. One of the most economically prosperous period of this kingdom was under the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng. His reign saw great flow of harvest and wealth. Trade flourish without barriers. An economy that flowered during the golden age of a Thai Kingdom.

Cornelius Vanderbilt: Ferry Owner Turned Railroad King

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Transportation is a viable mode of traveling from one place to another. It allowed economies to grow. It allowed people to see different places besides their home. The bigger your country, the more the mode and more integrated the transportation should be. The United States is one example of these big countries and during the 18th-century, many cash in on this industry. Among of this transport tycoons is the competitive "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt. 

J.P. Morgan: The Giant of Financial World

J.P. Morgan

Most of the greatest tycoons of the Gilded Age were rags to riches stories. From a poor humble background, to a self-made man, to a great industrialist criticized for his practices, this is the usual story line of great businessmen like Rockefeller and Carnegie. However, it cannot be said the same for John Pierpont Morgan. His story was that of someone born to a rich and affluent family. 

Fall from Grace: The Homestead Strike of 1892

Worker behind a cover during the shoot out

After the bloody and devastating Civil War, a period of industrial boom soon followed. The period known as the Gilded Age saw the rise of many industrialist, mostly were known as Robber Barons. This group of industrialist abused the lack of laws that protect fair competition, dissent wages, and safe working conditions. They subjected their workers to long hours work in very harsh working conditions for meager wages. In 1892, a union, the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (AA), pushed for a strike to voice their concerned on the management of the Homestead Steel Plant owned by the steel tycoon, Andrew Carnegie, and his right hand man, Henry Frick.

Cleveland Massacre: The Rise of Standard Oil

John D. Rockefeller (1870's)

In winter of 1871, a collusion was form between the railroads and the oil industry. As the two began to execute their devious plan to corner the railroad and oil industry under the name of South Improvement Company, the public, especially the press, protested against the monopolistic intentions of the group. As a result, the South Improvement Company disappeared with the winter. However, when spring bloom in 1872, so as a new powerful company also appeared, a bigger and stronger company of the oil mogul John Rockefeller, Standard Oil.

Andrew Carnegie: Steel Man and Philanthropist

Andrew Carnegie

The modern world has seen developments in communication with smart phone flooding the market. Most people now live in cities with skyscrapers appearing over the skies. Weapons of war developed rapidly with new modern tanks and fighter planes liter the battlefield. All of these developments owed to one material – Steel. During the 19th-century, steel was just at its infancy. However, many saw potential with these new material. One man that made a huge profit out of it and began to produce it in large quantities, paving the way for a new modern industrialize America.

Economy of the Gupta Empire

Chandragupta II

India occupies a large area of Asia. It is characterized as a sub-continent for its large territory. Alongside of its vast and wide ranging terrain it was gifted with many rivers that made its soil fertile for various wide of crops. It allowed subsistence and even wealth to its farmers. It allowed wide ranging of economic activities which had and would sustain various empires in history.  The most famous of these empires was the Mughal Empire that reign through the 16th to the 19th century. But even before back there were other powerful empires that had capitalized on the natural wealth of India. One such empire was the Gupta Empire.

Pennsylvania Oil Rush of 1859

Pennsylvanian Oil Wells (1862)

Oil is one of the most precious commodities in the planet. It powered trucks, cars, and power plants. It was the main foundation of the industrialized and modernized world. Without it, the world would remain backward. Technology would remain primitive. And the basic source of labor would remain animals and men. In the United States, the discovery of oil was a god send. 

John D. Rockefeller: Robber Baron, Oilman, Billionaire

John D. Rockefeller

Oil is one of the most treasured and valuable commodity in the world. Many countries, especially China, want to get a hold of it. Most of the oil reserve is owned by great billion-dollar companies such as Chevron, Mobil, and Exxon. But during the 1800’s, the advent of the black gold, a company was formed that became the root of the mentioned companies and from a man that is known as the richest person ever.

Dancing Goats and Origin of Coffee

Illustration of Kaldi and his goats

The coffee industry generated billions of dollars of profit. A caffeinated drink that powered billions of men and women driving the economy forward. The Baltics states and the Netherlands consumed the most coffee with their citizens drinking about 4 cups of coffee every day. According to the International Coffee Organization, the worldwide production of coffee in 2013 amounted to over 169 million bags. The whole world's love for coffee began with some goats and an Ethiopian goat herder.

Canals and Glasses: Glass Industry of the Republic of Venice

Murano Island

Venice was once a marshy swamp with no prospects of being a city. But with innovation of the early Venetians, a new city rose. Famous canals, today with its famous gondolas, erected that allowed a city to rise. With their engineering brilliance, they also showed skills in business. They appeared in ports across the Mediterranean Sea as good traders. Their opened mindedness allowed them to trade with the Muslims and other people along the region. As the city rose into wealth and prominence, they began to enter to different industry and worked for excellence. One of the most famous products of Venice was Glass.