HIST 1095 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Paris Bourse, International Development, French Revolution
Lecture 2: Histories and Spaces: Paris and London
1848-1914 1/8/2015 10:00:00 PM
LECTURE AIMS AND THEMES
- Historical overview of the course
- Description of the geography, space and history of London and Paris in
1848-1914
- themes: the contradictions of the 19th century
- London and Paris are symbols of modern power and order
- London and Paris are also symbols of threat to that power and order
- People were trying to make both Paris and London a global power and
order but at the same time there was uncivilized people and barbarism
- At the time they wanted to make those 2 cities the greatest in
representation and perception; a hub of revolutionary perception (Paris)
- Solution: Europeans are starting to see that they need organization and
government and policing. Physical shape of the city.
“The city” is the financial district and is the oldest and the most
longstanding. West side of east London.
- London is much more chaotic and unorganized than Paris; Paris is much
more organized map-wise even today
LONDON AND PARIS IN THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT
- London and Paris are the main cities of England and France
- Britain and France are major world powers between 1800 to 1960;
declining after WW2
- centers of national development in the modern age and center of global
development
- militarily – Britain had a navy, economically and politically, new higher
class people are in these cities (prestige, leisure and social power)
- Major cities are detached from the nation (like Toronto, New York, LA) is
seems like they were perceived as separate and not a great representation
for the whole nation
London and Paris as major historical actors and spaces in this period
2. SPACES
- the geography of Paris and London
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- the physical nature of city – both near a major waterway which was very
important in the medieval time even though they aren’t actually in the
middle of the country
- creates a divide between the nation approximate to the location of the
major city
- the geography of the cities is set up according to the river, and somewhat
defines the city; north and south of the river for example
ECONOMY
- Both London and Paris are centers of manufacturing – not heavy
manufacturing though
- Paris accounts for 25% of national production: small workshops, textile
production and building
- They are also places of trade and commerce
- London’s “City” financial district and Paris “Bourse” – the national stock
market
- London: “the fancier and banker to the universe”
- the importance of the 2 rivers to manufacturing and commerce (Thames
and Seine—they are important for trade out of the city
CULTURE AND NATION
- as national capitals both Paris and London are the centers of national and
imperial government
- they are also the centers of cultural and social life
- national institutions: British Royal Society, the French Academie Franciase
- Seen as the capital by the countries they “owned” and the Dominions –
Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc
DIFFERENCES: URBAN GROWTH
- Paris: constrained by the medieval wall
- London: unconstrained and unsystematic growth, politics was developing
the city rather than the urban planners like in Paris
DIFFERENCES: PHYSICAL GROWTH
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- Paris takes its modern form with one dramatic initiative: the replanning of
the city by Baron Haussman, 1853-1870, finally finished in 1927 under the
rule of Napoleon
- the building of wide boulevards, the adding of suburban areas, more green
areas – more accessible and more “seen” to engage people to come (social
aspect), easier to control the revolutions, harder for people to disappear if
caught, can send a whole army down the boulevard
- build so the working class people can move in from the center to the
suburbs
- the main agent in this is the sate, aided by private industry
- harder to change it because mist if the city was not actually in control of
the government – London
- London is not systematically re-planned in the 19th century
- The initiative is left to individual aristocratic landowners and private
developers, to show their personal and family power
- There were plans after the Great Fire of London, but abandoned
- The city is cut into tiny squares that has no significance to the Center or
London, they can be easily missed if walking by
- The result is a more heterogeneous look to the city in terms of the city and
is more socially mixed
3. THE HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK, 1850S-1914
- The rise of industrial capitalism
- shift from agricultural production to manufacturing and finance as basis to
modern economy
- An increase in the scale of manufacturing
- The creation of an industrial working class and a class society, in which
economic interests may be in conflict
- Owning land was a social capital because it was power and land was helpful
to open manufacturing/industrial related work
- Britain expanded much more rapidly and becomes more powerful in the
industrial and manufacturing sector compared to France
- the working class were powerful even the farmers especially in France –
based on the money they made of course
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lecture 2: histories and spaces: paris and london. Description of the geography, space and history of london and paris in. Themes: the contradictions of the 19th century. London and paris are symbols of modern power and order. London and paris are also symbols of threat to that power and order. People were trying to make both paris and london a global power and order but at the same time there was uncivilized people and barbarism. At the time they wanted to make those 2 cities the greatest in representation and perception; a hub of revolutionary perception (paris) Solution: europeans are starting to see that they need organization and government and policing. The city is the financial district and is the oldest and the most longstanding. London is much more chaotic and unorganized than paris; paris is much more organized map-wise even today. London and paris are the main cities of england and france.
