Was the German Empire responsible for the advancement of German technology?
score:9
The German Empire in 1871 was nearly 2 1/2 times as large (in area) as Prussia alone had been 11 years earlier:
According to Wikipedia the population of Prussia in 1871 was 24.6MM, and that of the entire German Empire was 40.0MM; note of course that the former includes all the territories conquered/coalesced in the preceding decade.
The German Empire's vast reserves of coal and iron ore in the Rhineland as well as Silesia helped it to achieve a significant increase in urbanization in the years following 1861, rapidly increasing urbanization from 30% of population to over 65% in just 20 years. (I had that reference a moment ago and lost it - sigh.)
All these factors combined to drive a significant increase in national wealth from Prussia alone in 1861, to the entire German Empire in 1881.
So, to answer your question, the German Empire did not drive the economic and scientific success of the German population, but it did mean that a single autocratic government subsequently wielded the influence resulting from that success.
Update:
Note the German Empire generally (as well as Prussia specifically) entered the Industrial Revolution somewhat later than Britain, despite having significant geographic resources beneficial to that process. It is entirely expected that as the Industrial Revolution slowed in Britain the later starters would catch up.
Upvote:-2
The creation of the Empire was a sort of revolution. And every time some years (5-15) after a revolution happens, it diminishes the power of old elites to hold back talented people, especially from new families. Revolutions increase the vertical mobility in the society. BTW, it is their main real aim, isn't it? The length and the intensity of that period merely indicate the efficiency of the revolution and of the created state/society system.
So, the newly born German empire was really more effective than the British and French states at the same time. But less than American one.
Upvote:1
There were several factors, the most basic of which was the relaxation of trade barriers. The ability to freely travel and communicate within the empire greatly boosted economic and intellectual exchanges. Inventors could suddenly get parts and materials from places that were formerly unknown or inaccessible. Printers and publishers could have customs-free subscribers all over the empire instead of just in one small duchy or country.
Standardization of language was another factor. When the empire established itself, one of the big pushes was for standardized education and language. Hoch Deutsch spread and became much more common among the educated classes. Before then, the different German states used many different dialects and this made books difficult to read and created other problems. By standardizing on one language both education and the economy benefitted.
Improved educational methods became widespread. Before the empire, education in the different German states was highly variable. The Prussians took a clinical view towards education and promoted specific methods, largely copied from those practiced in Vienna, at every grade level throughout the empire. This new science of education was extremely successful and rapidly made Germany into a scientific powerhouse. In the United States there was a fascination with the new techniques and many schools attempted to adopt the new Prussian methods. For example, see "Prussian Schools Through American Eyes" by James Parsons (1891).
More post
- 📝 Has the United States paid US dollars as reparations to children other than a "child" of Japanese American internees during World War II?
- 📝 How frequently did the KMT use telegrams to communicate; from where (roughly) and to whom?
- 📝 Why did Al Smith win six "Dixiecrat" states, and very little else?
- 📝 Were hag stones ever engraved?
- 📝 Did the Nazi regime always or often prioritize transport trains to the death camps over military transport?
- 📝 Was there a German re-urbanization plan for after WWII?
- 📝 What do subjects in Hellenistic and Renaissance art suggest about the average human physique throughout history?
- 📝 Name of Kingdom that was formed after marriage refusal?
- 📝 How did Hitler have his own private militia in 1923?
- 📝 What (primary) sources are there on the life of female slaves in Classical Greece, more specifically Athens?
- 📝 How accurate is the quip: "Mongols, having already conquered half of Europe, decided the other half wasn't worth it"?
- 📝 Why were diamond mining plots 31-foot squares?
- 📝 What is the history of the use of word dividers in Greek?
- 📝 What has prevented the United Nations from failing the same way as the League of Nations?
- 📝 Why did Constantius Chlorus decide to become a Flavius?
- 📝 Antisemitism in Nazi Germany
- 📝 How can I safely store historic matches?
- 📝 Did Leon Trotsky get stopped by authorities in Halifax?
- 📝 Country/Area joins war after claiming neutral then attacking
- 📝 Do any sources confirm this quote from Pope Urban II's speech at the Council of Clermont?
- 📝 What exactly did the 1868 Szepes Petition do?
- 📝 When have salaries been paid in kind, not cash?
- 📝 How did Romans organise their files?
- 📝 Were Roman legionaries discharged in one batch?
- 📝 In the coat of arms of Georg von Frundsberg, where does the ostrich come from?
- 📝 Why was there never a tachanka-style cannon or crossbow?
- 📝 Where and how did the allies scrounge enough food for the Soviets AND the British?
- 📝 When became turks finns?
- 📝 What was the typical error with dead reckoning navigation?
- 📝 What happened first? The law that authorized the Cuban government to nationalize US firms or Eisenhower's Cuban sugar quota?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Was the German Empire responsible for the advancement of German technology?
- 📝 Who was responsible for the partition of India?
- 📝 Was Islam really responsible for the Italian Renaissance?
- 📝 How profitable was India for the British Empire in the 1800s?
- 📝 What was the reason for the Ottoman empire to adopt the crescent moon as its flag/coat of arms?
- 📝 Was the enclosure responsible for the supply of factory workers in 18th and 19th Century England?
- 📝 How common was the German desire for revenge for the humiliation of 1918 armistice?
- 📝 Why was "Caesar" borrowed for the imperial title in German rather than "Augustus"?
- 📝 Was there ever support for any persons outside of the empire to be elected Holy Roman Emperor?
- 📝 What did people used to exchange for goods during the 1920s German hyperinflation while the official currency was not trusted
- 📝 What was the range of people's social lives like, before the technology for long distance communications developed?
- 📝 Why was the German system of interlocking plates not used after WWII for armored vehicle construction?
- 📝 Was Winston Churchill really responsible for the 1943 Bengal famine?
- 📝 In general, what was the level of technology like in central Africa, just before the scramble for Africa?
- 📝 What was the name for a group of 12 men in old England responsible for each others actions?
- 📝 Who on ship was responsible for purchases during the Age of Sail?
- 📝 Who was responsible for the murder of Elizabeth Short, AKA the Black Dahlia? Was it a doctor who was formerly married to a police captain's daughter?
- 📝 To what extent was Christianity responsible for the dark ages of Western Europe?
- 📝 During the breakup of the Soviet Union, on what basis was citizenship granted or withheld for each of the fifteen new republics?
- 📝 Where did Hitler get the funds to invest in economic development programs such as the autobahn when the German economy was in a depression?
- 📝 Was it militarily possible to "island hop" the Philippines if not for MacArthur?
- 📝 What was the reason for Soviet troops to withdraw from Yugoslavia in World War II?
- 📝 If the Ch’in dynasty was so short-lived, why was China named for it?
- 📝 Is there evidence to suggest the "war on drugs" was a cover for class warfare?
- 📝 What was the plan for an abort of the Enola Gay's mission to drop the atomic bomb?
- 📝 What was the economic basis for West Berlin?
- 📝 Was there a tax in the fifties for British citizens traveling abroad?
- 📝 Historically, why did the US station their nuclear weapons in Germany for delivery through German pilots?
- 📝 Why was the Roman Empire considered an empire rather than a kingdom (again)?
- 📝 Was it ever possible to join the US military instead of going to prison for a crime?