Figure 1.-- France lost the 18th century competion wirh Britain in part because it failed to establish a solid fiscal foundation, retaoned Feudal society, and did not move toward a capitalust economy -- all measures Britain pursued. In the 19th centtury France was faced with a rising Germany and its failure to industrialize at the same pace and intensity as Germany. This leftg France a profondly rural, peasant country as the great crises of the modern era descended on Rurope and France. It would lead to defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) and weakness in the two great world wars of the 20th century (1914-45) when France was called on to save Wesrern civilization and failed.
France would not begin its own Industrial Revolution until after the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars (1783-1815). After the Napoleonic Wars, the Industrial Revolution spread to France. Britain, France, and Germany (even before unification) were the the European industrial leaders. They also became the leaders in science and education. The Catholic hieratchy after the final defeat of Napoleon slowed the movement toward public education, although the secientific elite was competitive with Britain and Germany and the United States was just beginning to develop universities and technological institutes. As with the rest of Europe, France was overtaken by the United States in the late-19th centyry. Interestingly, France was a rare country in Europe that did not have substantial emigration to America. This leads one to ask what was different about France. The one outsatanding difference bwrween France and Britain as well as the rest of Europe was that that there was still a very large and politically important land-owning pesant population in France. This probably explains why the French population, unlike the rest of Europe, grew so slowly. And it was widely believed in France that the country lost its position in Europe prinmarily because the population duriung the 19th century was less than that of the otherbmajor powers. France's movemnent to an industrial economy was also much slower than Britain, Germany, and America. French industrial production lagged sinificantly behind Britain and even Germany, especially Prussia. A major factor was indeed the slow expansion of the French population relative to other countries. Here the primary cause was the French peasantry. French peaasnts now owned land, but relatively small plots. This limited the size of the families they could support. The British are often jokinglunaccused of being plegamatic and thevFrencg amorous. Yet during theb19th century, the British population increased by some 350 percent, the German population increased by about 250 percent. The overall European population more than doubled. The French population in contarst increased by a mere 40 percent, to only about 39 million people. French mortality rates did decline. But it was the birthrate thatwas important. The French birthrate declined more than the rest of Europe, especially thr Grrmans. Some peasants migrated to the cities in search of a better life. France’s urban growth before the Revolution was significant. After the revokution, it was modest in comparison to Britain and Germany. Only 14 percent of the French population lived in cities of over 10,000 by mid-century. In Britain urbanization was neraly 40 percent by mid century. This proabably explains why so so many French people migrated to America. Itbalso explains why the ecomomy grew so slowly. Economic data shows that agricultural ouput expaned less than 1 percent annually and industrial groth onky 2 percent annually after the Napoleonic era. [Crouzet] Demographic factors may in part explain France's slow rate of industrialization. Some economists also point to the Coal Problem. Coal was at the heart of 19th century industry. And Britain led the Continent in coal poroduction, but by mid-century, Germany was also significantly outproducing France and by the end of the century the difference had reached very significant levels. [Munro] Some authors have dismissed the Coal Problem, but unlike Britain and Germany, French coal and iron ore deposits were not located close togrther. There was nothing like the German Ruhr or the British Midlands in France. Before the railrods it was not economic to transport coal any distance. And shortly after the railroads had become imoortant the Germans in the Franco Prussian war has seized the imortant coal and iron deposits in Alsace-Loraine. While the provinces contained only about 15 percent of the French population, they produced some 60 percent of French steel and 40 percent of the coal. Fortunately the French discovered the rich iron ore deposuts at Longwy-Briey (1880s). While France did not keep pace with the other major powers in population and economic growth, it did in technology. This was in part due to the educational reforms of the Third Republic (1871). The schools were taken out of the hands of the Church and France created one of the finest educational systems in the world. While French industrialization was slower than that of its rivals, it was not insignificant. And by mid century France was developing a major iron and steel industry and constructing an important rail system. Here the Third Republic also played a role. The humiliating defaeat at the hands of the Prussians (1870) taught the French a number of lessons, in particulat two. First, never fight the Germans again without allies. Second, the inmportance of the iron and steel industry in national military power. The Third Republic began promting the growth of this critical indudtry. [Munro] As in other countries, an industaail proleterit was rising in the cities. By the end of the century, the percentage of industrial manpower, relative to the number of working age adulkts (25 per cent), was actually higher in France than it was in Germany, but then failed to rise further.
Sources
Crouzet, François. "French economic growth in the nineteenth century rev=cinsu-idered," History Vol. 59, No. 196 (1974), pp. 167-79.
Munro, John. "The spread of modern indistrializatiomin the 19th century: The 'Slow industrialization' of France, 1789-1914".
