ABSTRACT
The nineteenth century was a time in which the concept of the Atlantic as a coherent global zone was breaking down. The new industrial technologies, especially steamships and the telegraph, rapidly increased globalization, connecting all parts of the world through rapid transportation and communication. By the end of the century, new technologies made international commerce, intellectual connections, and warfare possible on a scale never before imagined. Indeed, Atlantic society changed very considerably during the nineteenth century. This period saw an increase in the standard of living for Western Europeans and Americans in particular as newly developed industrial and productive capacities raised overall wealth, while rising workers’ movements and middle-class reformers had fought to improve working-class conditions. Growing nationalism also possessed a democratizing aspect, as it claimed cohesion among all the citizens of a nation. European nations increasingly began to look outward, competing to colonize Asia and Africa, a development which was made possible by industrialization and which depended on but also reinforced nationalistic ideals.
