Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Field Note
“The contemporary landscape of Genoa stands
as a reminder of the city's historic importance.
Long before Europe became divided up into
states, a number of cities in northern Italy freed
themselves from the strictures of feudalism and
began to function autonomously. Genoa and
Venice were two of these, and they became the
foci of signifi cant Mediterranean maritime trad-
ing empires. In the process, they also became
magnifi cent, wealthy cities. Although most build-
ings in Genoa's urban core date from a more
recent era, the layout of streets and public
squares harkens back to the city's imperial days.
Is it a surprise that the city gave birth to one of
the most famous explorers of all time: Christo-
pher Columbus?”
Figure 9.16
Genoa, Italy.
© Alexander B. Murphy.
Copenhagen (Denmark), Lisbon (Portugal), or Genoa
(Italy). A central square became the focus of the city,
fronted by royal, religious, public, and private buildings
evincing wealth and prosperity, power and infl uence (Fig.
9.16). Streets leading to these central squares formed
arteries of commerce, and the beginnings of “down-
towns” emerged.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
European mercantile cities became the nodes of a widen-
ing network of national, regional, and global commerce.
So wealthy and powerful were the merchants that, su
the expansion of transport systems, and the construction
of tenements for the growing labor force.
A Second Agricultural Revolution
Before the second urban revolution could take place, a
second revolution in agriculture was necessary. During
the late seventeenth century and into the eighteenth cen-
tury, Europeans invented a series of important improve-
ments in agriculture, including the seed drill, hybrid
seeds, and improved breeding practices for livestock.
The second agricultural revolution also improved orga-
nization of production, market collaboration, and stor-
age capacities. Agricultural laborers migrated to cities in
hopes of obtaining jobs in the formal economy, which
included wages usable in the growing cash-based econo-
mies of Europe. Manufacturers tapped into the new labor
force and expanded industrial production (for a further
discussion of industrialization, see Chapter 12).
Not all mercantile cities turned into industrial cities.
Many industrial cities grew from small villages or along
canal and river routes. The primary determinant in the
location of early industrial cities was proximity to a power
source. For textile manufacturing, industrial cities had
to be sited near fresh water sources to power the water
loom. In Great Britain, industrial cities involved in textile
manufacturing were located in the Pennines, where fresh
water fl owed down the hillsides. Industrial cities involved
in iron manufacturing were located around Birmingham
p-
ported by their rulers, they were able to found and expand
settlements in distant lands. Cities such as Dakar (Senegal),
Lourenco Marques (now Maputo, Moçambique), and
Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) were endowed
with the ornate trappings of the mercantile cities of
Europe, including elaborately inlaid sidewalks, tree-lined
avenues, and neo-Gothic architecture.
The Second Urban Revolution
During the last decades of the eighteenth century, the
Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain. None of
Europe's cities was prepared for what lay ahead: an ava-
lanche of changes that ripped the fabric of urban life.
Around 1800, western Europe was still overwhelmingly
rural. As thousands migrated to the cities with industri-
alization, cities had to adapt to the mushrooming popu-
lation, the proliferation of factories and supply facilities,
