Europe is among the richest regions in the world. For over a century now the nations of the continent have been some of the most advanced and prosperous globally. But what if we look back through history? Has Europe always been rich, or was there a time in the continent’s past when it was actually poor?
Up until the 1700s, Europe was poor. However, so was the rest of the world. Essentially, for most of human history almost everyone in all regions of the world lived in what we would today consider as poverty, this included Europe.
… but that’s just an overview. If we really want to understand if Europe was ever poor, and how the continent was able to become rich, we need to go into a bit more detail.
Has Europe Always Been Rich
Europe has not always been rich. In fact, for most of the continent’s history it could be considered poor. This is especially true during the 1200s to 1600s, when regions such as China and India were much more advanced technologically, and much more prosperous than Europe.
It was only around late 18th Century that Europe began to pull away from the rest of the world and become wealthy. Even then, the process took time and up until early 20th Century huge numbers of Europeans still lived in poverty. Europe has actually been poor for most of its history – the continent being one of the richest regions of the world is a comparatively recent phenomenon.
How Did Europe Stop Bring Poor?
Now we know that Europe has not always been rich, let’s think about a few key factors that allowed Europe to stop being impoverished and to grow into one of the richest regions of the world. These include:
- Industrialisation
- Global trade
- Competition between European nations
- Improved governance
Let’s take a quick look at each of these…
Industrialization
A first way that Europe was able to stop being poor was by embracing industrialization. From the late 18th Century, countries in Europe began using machines and technology to enhance their manufacturing processes. This sparked the industrial revolution that transformed these societies. Huge numbers of people moved from rural farm work to cities to take industrial jobs. Industrialization also meant more wealth could be generated due to the adoption of more efficient manufacturing techniques.
Many parts of the world outside of Europe failed to adopt industrialization at the time Europe did. In fact, many remained unindustrialized right up until the 20th Century. This is one reason why Europe stopped being poor but much of the rest of world continued to have large numbers of people living in destitution.
Global Trade
Another way that Europe lifted itself out of poverty was by developing trade networks with other parts of the world. As Europe began to industrialise, it needed to import raw materials. It also needed to build markets where it’s companies could sell more products. Around this time many parts of the world still had minimal international trade. This meant that Europe pulled ahead economically.
The need for materials to feed the continent’s industrialization, combined with a market to sells goods to, is one reason why some European countries began colonial projects, which then further fed their industrialization and rise to prosperity.
Competition Between European Nations
Europe is almost unique as a continent in the fact it has many smaller nations within a relatively small geographical area. A result of this has been that these nations remained in competition for resources. They were forced to adapt in order to survive and prevent being absorbed by one of the many other nations that bordered them. Many see the competition resulting from the large number of smaller countries in Europe was being key to why the continent is prosperous today.
Much of the rest of the world has historically been dominated by either very large nations, or by practically no centralized state at all. This is one reason why for much of the time the rest of the world has remained poor, whereas Europe was able to become wealthier.
Improved Governance
One reason why Europe was able to end centuries of extreme poverty was by improving how countries on the continent were governed. From the mid-19th Century, many European countries began adopting more accountability, and inclusive, political systems. By the early 20th Century, most of the countries in Western Europe could be categorised as democracies.
Accountable and reactive governments help regions to become prosperous through a range of institutions. These can include acting more in-line with the populations will and providing better legal protections. The fact that Europe moved towards more inclusive governance is a key reason why the continent stopped being poor.
When Was Europe Poor
Europe was poor throughout almost all of history, and really up until late 1800s. It was only from 20th Century that countries, especially in the west of the continent, began to become wealthy. Up until this time, Europe was as poor, if not even more impoverished, than the rest of the world.
The situation where some parts of the world are significantly richer than others is actually a very recent phenonium. For almost all of human history, essentially everyone lived in poverty. Although every society had prosperous people, especially kings and nobleman, by today’s standards even these people lived in squaller and poverty-like conditions.
In year 1800, 90% of the global population lived in poverty. However, by the early 1900s, some parts of the world, including Europe, had massively reduced their poverty rates and started to become economies where many more people could live decent quality lives. With this said, it means that for thousands of years – essentially since human beings populated the European continent, people in Europe were poor.
Why Was Europe Poor In The Past
Europe has been poor for much of its history for essentially the same reasons the rest of the world was poor. These include a lack of industrialization, a lack of accountable government, widespread disease and frequent conflicts. When Europe began to be able to address issues such as these it then become prosperous.
There were several factors that made Europe poor up until about 1800. Before this, technological adoption and industrialization had not yet occurred, meaning almost entire populations were required to work low-value add, low productive and labor-intensive jobs in order to provide for the basic needs of the community. With this type of economic model, only a very few people – rulers and nobleman, could be prosperous. With industrialization, Europe was able to raise living standards and allow a greater proportion of the population to generate significant income. This is what stopped Europe being poor.
Could Europe Become Poor Again
It is highly unlikely that Europe would become poor again. The nations of the continent are not only among the richest in the world, but are also the most advanced and developed economies. Although the poverty rate across the continent could rise, it inconceivable that all of Europe would return to living in poverty.
It is impossible to predict the future, and as the world is likely to become more chaotic and troubled in the coming decades and the current global economy order becomes challenged, it can’t be said that Europe could never become poor again. However, there are several factors that mean that widespread poverty returning to Europe is very very unlikely.
The economies of most European countries are strong enough to provide a good standard of living for most people going forward. They are based on technology, high education standards, extensive welfare states and the continued insurance of peace on the continent. Factors such as these make it improbable that Europe would return to being one of the poorest regions of the world.