英國工業革命
  英國工業革命或稱作英國產業革命，一般認為是18世紀發源於英格蘭中部地區的工業革命。英國的工業革命影響了整個歐洲大陸，並帶動了當時許多國家相繼發生工業革命。
  Reading in a single sitting 一口氣讀完這段歷史
  The Industrial Revolution， one of the most vital periods of change in Great Britain， occurred because of the stable economic， social， and political stance of the country， as well as brought lasting effects in Britain in each of these areas. With its fast growing monopoly on ocean trade， its renewed interest in scientific discovery， and its system of national banks holding tight to its financial security， Britain was， at the time of the Industrial Revolution， ripe for change. It was the great historical epoch we call the Industrial Revolution which would forever change city life， social class structure， the power of the British nation amongst others of the world， the production of machinery， and the strength of the economy of Britain. Because of the Industrial Revolution， never again would the British have to suffer the results of no changes regarding the inequalities of the working world， nor doubt the strength of their country， yet come to view the word“technology”in a completely new way.
  Due to its sturdy financial and economic conditions， Great Britain was the leading figure in the Industrial Revolution. First of all， its domination of the seas via a strong military force gave it control of ocean transportation and trade. Ongoing British trade of tobacco， sugar， tea， and slaves internationally was largely a result of this control. Secondly， Britain’s national banking system provided it with capital from investments and a surplus of finances for which to use in commerce on the international scale. New inventions of the time included John Kay’s “flying shuttle”weaving device and George Stephenson’s“Rocket”railway train， along with innovations such as Abraham Darby’s thought to use coal instead of charcoal in order to create fuel， as well as Henry Bessemer’s renovation of steel production. Each of these improvements aided both the production and transportation of products and materials used for trade and in industrial factories. Other new developments included a seed drill， which enabled farmers to plant seeds in straight rows， along with the introduction of mechanical reapers and threshers. These and other devices greatly increased farm production in Britain， promoting the growth and trade of the country. The improved cultivation of healthier fruits， vegetables， and other foods grown on British farms using the new inventions bettered the health and growth of the population， which meant there were more workers to help run industrial factories. Great Britain was also rich in natural resources such as water and coal. These could provide an ample energy supply for trains， factories， steam ships， and other devices which increased transportation and also the movement of workers and new industrial ideas as well. In fact， Britain’s American colonies played an important role in providing the country with such vital raw materials. The enclosure movement restricted the ownership of public farmlands specifically to the wealthy landowners. As a result of this movement， an influx of unemployed farm workers was created， adding to Britain’s strong labor force in cities. An increase in the number of workers in industry meant that factories could run more efficiently and produce more goods than ever before， helping to manufacture a much greater amount of new machinery. It was this expanded variety of mechanical tools that would fuel the continuation of the Industrial Revolution.
  The Industrial Revolution was a positive era to have occurred in Britain. In the beginning， however， the Industrial Revolution appeared to bring no benefits at all to the country. Living conditions in cities became unsanitary， as well as cramped and impoverished. Factories subjected men， women， and even children workers to low wages， harsh punishments， and unprotected work around dangerous machinery. The tremendous use of coal in industrial production polluted the atmosphere， as well as people’s lungs， and workers’ conditions in the coalmines were not much better than in factories. Food was expensive for poor factory workers， and thus they could afford only to eat rancid meats， fatty fried foods， and stale bread， which contributed to the extreme malnutrition and sickness in the cities.
  However， the positive outcomes of the Industrial Revolution rivaled the damage of its more negative effects. Britain obtained much capital from its many new international trading ventures with major nations， all largely dealing with the exchange of new and improved industrial machinery. Thus， Great Britain grew to become the most powerful manufacturing nation and the strongest economically， in all of Europe. As Britain’s incoming finances grew and increased， citizens were able to move up the rungs of the social class ladder in British society， thus improving their financial and educational statuses. Alongside new inventions came exciting discoveries in medicine， providing for better treatments of diseases and thus promoting the overall health of British society. Scientific advancements of the time included new metal–production techniques， which aided a greater production of more durable metals， such as stronger steel， now made cheaper to produce. The improvement of steel production specifically helped cities to construct sturdier buildings which had fewer fire and other safety hazards. Along with construction improvements in cities， electricity was used， instead of gas power， to light city street lamps. This increased the efficiency of streetlight in Britain， as well as lessened the fire hazard gas lamps had proposed. Better lit cities also contributed to a decreased urban crime rate. Also， the new use of electric engines in cars improved the rate of transportation in British cities， as well as decreased the pollution level formerly heightened by older engines， which had created many fumes. As city populations grew due to the advancement of industry， a new water system， which included a sewer and provided for running water in individuals’ homes， improved the city’s sanitary conditions. Similar improvements included the expansion of public services such as a fire department and police force， each which increased the level of safety in cities. Public education also developed， so that all British citizens， not only the wealthy and upper class， could rid themselves of ignorance and illiteracy. Because of the increased production of machinery which further forwarded industrial advances in technology， the products of city factories became cheaper and more available. As a result， industrial businesses received more income from consumers’ purchases. Thus， the theory of capitalism developed， in which British factory owners， entrepreneurs， and other businessmen worked to increase Britain’s production of goods， promoting more international commerce for Britain and supporting an increase in profits on Britain’s industrial goods. As a result， factory owners were able to provide their workers with higher wages and better working conditions. The development of new machinery in factories added to the safety of working there， and decreased the need for so many workers to labor for strenuous hours. Thus， a new labor code was made， lessening worker’s hour requirement to eight hours， instead of the usual twelve to sixteen.
  Thus， it can be concluded that， because of Britain’s national economic， political， and social state， the country was ready to surmount on its shoulders the immense change of the Industrial Revolution. Due to this era in Great Britain， new inventions and innovations contributed to a more modern outlook on life， self–improvement in the workplace， and proved the benefits of a futuristic way of thinking. The Industrial Revolution caused the people of Britain to turn away from the past， and instead to look toward improvements in their way of life which would last through upcoming years. In this respect， the Industrial Revolution was， indeed， revolutionary.
  工業革命是指用機器生產代替手工勞動，從工廠手工業向機器大工業轉變的過程。隨著英國君主立憲製的確立，加速了圈地運動，產生了大批無產者。同時海外貿易和殖民地的開發，使大量財富集中到英國資產階級手中。另外，經典力學、熱力學等學科的理論創新也為工業革命帶來了契機。工業革命從英國開始不是偶然的，這是有深刻政治前提、社會經濟前提和科學技術前提的。17 世紀的英國資產階級革命，推翻了英國的封建專製制度，建立了資產階級和土地貴族聯盟為基礎的君主立憲制度，從而成為世界上第一個確立資產階級政治統治的國家。資產階級利用國家政權加速推行發展資本主義的政策和措施，促進了工業革命各種前提條件的迅速形成。
  英國工業革命從18世紀60年代開始，到19世紀中期基本結束 。
  vital：極重要的，必不可少的
  machinery：機器
  aid：幫助，援助
  drill：鑽頭，鑽床，鑽機
  thresher：打谷者，打谷機
  influx：湧入，流入
  pollute：汙染，腐蝕
  atmosphere：氛圍，環境
  lamp：燈，台燈
  Key Words in History 歷史關鍵詞
  1．Steam power 蒸汽動力
  The development of the stationary steam engine was an essential early element of the Industrial Revolution; however， for most of the period of the Industrial Revolution， the majority of industries still relied on wind and water power as well as horse–and man–power for driving small machines.
  The first real attempt at industrial use of steam power was due to Thomas Savery in 1698. He constructed and patented in London a low–lift combined vacuum and pressure water pump， that generated about one horsepower and was used in numerous water works and tried in a few mines， but it was not a success since it was limited in pumping height and prone to boiler explosions.
  The first safe and successful steam power plant was introduced by Thomas Newcomen before 1712. Newcomen apparently conceived the Newcomen steam engine quite independently of Savery， but as the latter had taken out a very wide–ranging patent， Newcomen and his associates were obliged to come to an arrangement with him， marketing the engine until 1733 under a joint patent.Newcomen’s engine appears to have been based on Papin’s experiments carried out 30 years earlier， and employed a piston and cylinder， one end of which was open to the atmosphere above the piston. Steam just above atmospheric pressure was introduced into the lower half of the cylinder beneath the piston during the gravity–induced upstroke; the steam was then condensed by a jet of cold water injected into the steam space to produce a partial vacuum; the pressure differential between the atmosphere and the vacuum on either side of the piston displaced it downwards into the cylinder， raising the opposite end of a rocking beam to which was attached a gang of gravity–actuated reciprocating force pumps housed in the mineshaft. The engine’s downward power stroke raised the pump， priming it and preparing the pumping stroke. At first the phases were controlled by hand， but within ten years an escapement mechanism had been devised worked by a vertical plug tree suspended from the rocking beam which rendered the engine self–acting.
  A number of Newcomen engines were successfully put to use in Britain for draining hitherto unworkable deep mines， with the engine on the surface; these were large machines， requiring a lot of capital to build， and produced about 5 hp (3.7 kW). They were extremely inefficient by modern standards， but when located where coal was cheap at pit heads， opened up a great expansion in coal mining by allowing mines to go deeper. Despite their disadvantages， Newcomen engines were reliable and easy to maintain and continued to be used in the coalfields until the early decades of the 19th century. By 1729， when Newcomen died， his engines had spread to Hungary in 1722， Germany， Austria， and Sweden. A total of 110 are known to have been built by 1733 when the joint patent expired， of which 14 were abroad. In the 1770s， the engineer John Smeaton built some very large examples and introduced a number of improvements. A total of 1，454 engines had been built by 1800.
  A fundamental change in working principles was brought about by James Watt. In close collaboration with Matthew Boulton， he had succeeded by 1778 in perfecting his steam engine， which incorporated a series of radical improvements， notably the closing off of the upper part of the cylinder thereby making the low pressure steam drive the top of the piston instead of the atmosphere， use of a steam jacket and the celebrated separate steam condenser chamber. All this meant that a more constant temperature could be maintained in the cylinder and that engine efficiency no longer varied according to atmospheric conditions. These improvements increased engine efficiency by a factor of about five， saving 75% on coal costs.
  Nor could the atmospheric engine be easily adapted to drive a rotating wheel， although Wasborough and Pickard did succeed in doing so towards 1780. However by 1783 the more economical Watt steam engine had been fully developed into a double–acting rotative type， which meant that it could be used to directly drive the rotary machinery of a factory or mill. Both of Watt’s basic engine types were commercially very successful， and by 1800， the firm Boulton & Watt had constructed 496 engines， with 164 driving reciprocating pumps， 24 serving blast furnaces， and 308 powering mill machinery; most of the engines generated from 5 to 10 hp (7.5 kW).
  The development of machine tools， such as the lathe， planing and shaping machines powered by these engines， enabled all the metal parts of the engines to be easily and accurately cut and in turn made it possible to build larger and more powerful engines.
  Until about 1800， the most common pattern of steam engine was the beam engine， built as an integral part of a stone or brick engine–house， but soon various patterns of self–contained portative engines were developed， such as the table engine. Towards the turn of the 19th century， the Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick， and the American， Oliver Evans began to construct higher pressure non–condensing steam engines， exhausting against the atmosphere. This allowed an engine and boiler to be combined into a single unit compact enough to be used on mobile road and rail locomotives and steam boats.
  In the early 19th century after the expiration of Watt’s patent， the steam engine underwent many improvements by a host of inventors and engineers.
  2、Railways鐵路
  Wagonways for moving coal in the mining areas had started in the 17th century and were often associated with canal or river systems for the further movement of coal. These were all horse drawn or relied on gravity， with a stationary steam engine to haul the wagons back to the top of the incline. The first applications of the steam locomotive were on wagon or plate ways. Horse–drawn public railways did not begin until the early years of the 19th century. Steam–hauled public railways began with the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830. Construction of major railways connecting the larger cities and towns began in the 1830s but only gained momentum at the very end of the first Industrial Revolution.
  After many of the workers had completed the railways， they did not return to their rural lifestyles but instead remained in the cities， providing additional workers for the factories.
  Railways helped Britain’s trade enormously， providing a quick and easy way of transport and an easy way to transport mail and news.
  Background Knowledge 背景知識補充
  發源於英國而後波及歐美主要國家的第一次工業革命，具有劃時代的歷史意義，對人類社會的演進產生了空前、深刻、巨大的影響。它為新生的資本主義制度奠定了堅實的物質基礎，促使歐美諸國先後實現工業化，由農業國變成工業國。它為英國提供了歷史機遇，利用工業化先發優勢，確立了“世界工廠”的地位。工業革命給人類帶來了進步和幸福，同時也使人類面臨新的矛盾和挑戰。
  資本主義在它不到100年的時間裡創造的生產力遠遠超過了以前幾個世紀的總和。
  比利時工業革命
  比利時成為歐洲大陸上第一個有待工業化的國家。這一過程在1830年以前開始，進行得非常迅速，到1870年，大多數比利時人已居住在城市，直接依靠工業或貿易過活。早在1830年，比利時每年就生產600萬噸煤，而到1913年，這一數字已上升到2300萬噸。不過，工業的其他部門也發展得非常迅速。所以，從1840年起，比利時必須從英國進口煤。
  Reading in a single sitting 一口氣讀完這段歷史
  The industrial revolution on the European continent began in Belgium. Before that， the country had traditionally enjoyed a vibrant trading tradition for many years. Textile production flourished in Flanders， iron processing in Walloon and there were large coal reserves in the south and east of the country. These key branches proved ideal pre–requisites for industrialisation. Belgians also maintained intensive contacts with Great Britain and in 1720， the first steam engine on the continent went into action near Liege. The model， made by Thomas Newcomen， was used to draw out waste water from a coal mine. Sometime later this was succeeded by another steam engine in the coal region around Mons and Charleroi. Thus everything was in place for boosting the coal and steel industries in both areas.
  In 1792 the country was conquered by Napoleon. His occupation had a positive effect on the economy: he abolished the old guilds and introduced freedom of trade. At the same time a large new market was opening up in France， not least for coal.
  A Briton was responsible for the next pioneering breakthrough. In 1799 William Cockerill installed the first woollen spinning machine on the continent in Verviers， thereby laying the foundations for a booming textile industry in the region. Cockerill then built an engineering factory to make the machines in Liege. Some years later his son John began to produce iron in nearby Seraing on the River Sambre， and the business expanded rapidly. “Cockerill–Sambre”is still producing steel today under the roof of the gigantic “Arcelor–Mittal”concern.
  The sole industrial centre outside the collieries and blast furnaces of Walloon was the old cloth making town of Ghent. Around 1800 a manufacturer by the name of Liévin Bauwens smuggled a spinning–jenny from England and put it into operation there. When the canal was built to Terneuzen at the mouth of the Schelde， the town was given direct access to the sea. From then on the town was generally acknowledged as the “Manchester of Flanders”.
  A boom in canal buildings resulted in a long–term improvement in transportation communications. Soon coal was being taken along the new waterways from the region around Mons and Charleroi to Northern France and further on to Paris. The fuel was also delivered to Brussels via a new canal which also linked the once flourishing business centre of Antwerp to the river Maas， the traditionally important trading route.
  After the foundation of the Belgian state in 1830 successful investments in British technology began once more. Belgium was also a pioneer in the building of the railways. Between 1840 and 1880 the rail network expanded tenfold–even more than in Great Britain. Thanks to its highly developed transport communications the country profited from trade with less–developed neighbours， not the least with Germany where there was a high demand for Belgian goods. Belgian investors and entrepreneurs made a considerable contribution to building up industrial activity along the rivers Ruhr und Emscher.
  In 1863 Ernest Solvay set up a pioneering business with his first factory in Charleroi. He had invented a revolutionary process for producing soda chemically. Soda was a basic material used in making glass， soap and chemicals. The Solvay works grew to become a huge concern， which nowadays produces chemical products， synthetic materials and pharmaceutical goods all over the world.
  Towards the end of the 19th century the industrial areas in Belgium were the breeding grounds of the European working class movement. On more than one occasion bad working conditions in the collieries around Mons and Charleroi resulted in major strikes. In the textile town of Ghent workers organised themselves into self–help cooperatives with their own suppliers， including bakeries， a newspaper and their own bank.
  西歐最早發生及完成工業革命的是比利時。這裡農奴製已消滅，有發達的農業和傳統的紡織業。拿破侖一世佔領時期開始冶鐵業工業革命。棉紡織業中心在根特。1810年比利時擁有12.9萬紡錠，1829年達30萬紡錠。1830年獨立後發展得更快。而英國製造商科克裡爾（1759–1832）在塞蘭建立的鐵工廠則是30年代歐洲大陸最大的工廠。1825年安裝第1台動力織機，1845–1846年達3500台。到40年代工業革命已完成，其機器能與英國競爭。1833–1834年開始興建鐵路。
  vibrant：響亮的，洪亮的，強勁的
  textile：紡織業
  flourish：茂盛，繁榮
  boost：增加，提高
  blast：爆炸，氣浪，衝擊波
  boom：激增，猛漲，興隆
  entrepreneur：創業者，企業家
  pharmaceutical：製藥的，配藥的
  Key Words in History 歷史關鍵詞
  1．Wallonia 瓦隆尼亞
  Wallonia came to be regarded as an example of the radical evolution of industrial expansion. Thanks to coal (the French word “houille”was coined in Wallonia)， the region geared up to become the 2nd industrial power in the world after England. But it is also pointed out by many researchers， with its Sillon industriel， especially in the Haine， Sambre and Meuse valleys， between the Borinage and Liege， there was a huge industrial development based on coal–mining and iron–making. Philippe Raxhon wrote about the period after 1830: “It was not propaganda but a reality the Walloon regions were becoming the second industrial power all over the world after England.” “The sole industrial centre outside the collieries and blast furnaces of Walloon was the old cloth making town of Ghent.”Michel De Coster， Professor at the Université de Liège wrote also: “The historians and the economists say that Belgium was the second industrial power of the world， in proportion to its population and its territory But this rank is the one of Wallonia where the coal–mines， the blast furnaces， the iron and zinc factories， the wool industry， the glass industry， the weapons industry… were concentrated.”
  2．Demographic effects 人口效應
  Wallonia was also the birthplace of a strong Socialist party and strong trade–unions in a particular sociological landscape. At the left，the Sillon industriel， which runs from Mons in the west， to Verviers in the east (except part of North Flanders， in another period of the industrial revolution， after 1920). Even if Wallonia is the second industrial country after England， the effect of the industrial revolution there was very different. In “Breaking stereotypes”， Muriel Neven and Isabelle Devious say:
  The industrial revolution changed a mainly rural society into an urban one， but with a strong contrast between northern and southern Belgium. During the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period， Flanders was characterised by the presence of large urban centres at the beginning of the nineteenth century this region， with an urbanisation degree of more than 30 per cent， remained one of the most urbanised in the world. By comparison， this proportion reached only 17 per cent in Wallonia， barely 10 per cent in most West European countries， 16 per cent in France and 25 per cent in England. Nineteenth century industrialisation did not affect the traditional urban infrastructure， except in Ghent Also， in Wallonia the traditional urban network was largely unaffected by the industrialisation process， even though the proportion of city–dwellers rose from 17 to 45 per cent between 1831 and 1910. Especially in the Haine， Sambre and Meuse valleys， between the Borinage and Liège， where there was a huge industrial development based on coal–mining and iron–making， urbanisation was rapid. During these eighty years the number of municipalities with more than 5，000 inhabitants increased from only 21 to more than one hundred， concentrating nearly half of the Walloon population in this region. Nevertheless， industrialisation remained quite traditional in the sense that it did not lead to the growth of modern and large urban centres， but to a conurbation of industrial villages and towns developed around a coal–mine or a factory. Communication routes between these small centres only became populated later and created a much less dense urban morphology than， for instance， the area around Liège where the old town was there to direct migratory flows.
  Background Knowledge 背景知識補充
  1831–1870年，比利時的煤炭和冶煉工業迅速發展，19世紀末，比利時從自由資本主義向帝國主義過渡，參加瓜分非洲。從1876年起，比利時侵佔剛果領土，1908年，剛果自由邦成為比利時殖民地。第一次世界大戰期間，比利時被德軍佔領。1918年11月比利時光複。1919年比利時從德國接管歐本–馬爾梅迪和盧旺達–烏隆迪。1920年與法國結成軍事同盟，1922年與盧森堡締結經濟同盟。1925年加入《洛迦諾公約》，1936年利奧波德三世（1934–1950年在位）聲明“絕對中立”，退出《洛迦諾公約》。
  法國工業革命
  法國工業革命是19世紀20–60年代，法國工業生產中以機器為主體的工廠制度代替以手工技術為基礎的手工工場的一場變革。這場變革是法國資本主義經濟發展的必然結果。它既是工業生產技術上的革命，又是社會生產關系的巨大變革。
  Reading in a single sitting 一口氣讀完這段歷史
  The term Industrial Revolution， invented over a century ago to describe the rapid economic transformation of Britain， is not entirely appropriate to describe the change of manufacturing methods in modern France. To be sure， the two economies appear remarkably similar now， but France’s transition to an industrial economy was much more gradual. French industrial production lagged behind that of Britain and Germany for many decades.
  This pace was in large part the result of the slow expansion of the French population relative to population growth in virtually all other countries of Europe. During the 19th century， the British population increased by about 350 percent， the German population increased by about 250 percent， and the overall European population more than doubled. But the French population increased by only 40 percent， to about 39 million. French mortality rates did decline–from 25.3 per 1，000 between 1816 and 1820 to 18.3 per 1，000 during the period from 1911 to 1913. However， the birthrate declined more–from 32.9 per 1，000 from 1816 to 1820 to 18.8 per 1，000 from 1911 to 1913， which was unusually low for Europe in this period.
  Part of the explanation for France’s low birthrate lies in the persistence of the peasantry，which grew in absolute size， although it declined as a fraction of the total population. Peasants were typically forced to limit family size because they earned only very modest incomes from cultivating small plots and working at a variety of low–paying jobs. Some peasants migrated to the cities in search of work， but France’s urban growth was modest relative to Britain’s. Only 14 percent of the French population inhabited cities of over 10，000 by 1851， compared to 39 percent of the British population. Slower rates of population and urban growth meant smaller domestic demand for industrial goods. The foreign market did little to increase this demand because France exported only 8 percent of its manufactured products until the 1840s. High protective tariffs until the 1860s reduced foreign competition that might have stimulated innovation.
  As in Britain， industrialization in France began in the textile industry. It then spread to heavy industry， especially iron， which became the dominant industrial sector by the mid–19th century. Not all sectors of manufacturing were immediately affected by the Industrial Revolution. Until the 1880s， for example， glassware continued to be produced by small family firms of skilled workers employing traditional， manual glassblowing techniques.
  Beginning in the 1840s， railroad construction powerfully transformed all sectors of the French economy， spearheading an economic boom that lasted until the 1860s. Earlier in the 19th century， canal and road building had begun to create a truly national market， but the railroads allowed goods to reach.
  Virtually all areas of France by World War I (1914–1918). Railroad construction also stimulated demand for metal to produce rails and rolling stock. Railroads did not， however， prevent the onset of a serious economic recession beginning in the 1860s. The recession was caused primarily by the inability of French agricultural and industrial producers to meet the growing worldwide competition for markets to which a reduction in tariffs in 1860 had exposed them. The recession slowed but did not halt French industrial growth until the strong recovery of the 1890s. Between the 1890s and World War I， French economic growth accelerated to twice the rate of the previous three decades.
  The impact of industrialization on French society was strong， but not so dramatic as in Britain and Germany， where faster rates of economic change altered the landscape within a few decades. Paris suffered critical problems related to health and traffic congestion because it was so large and grew relatively rapidly. In the 1850s the government undertook a massive program of urban reconstruction under the leadership of the George Eugène， baron d’ Haussmann， who was prefect of the Seine. Haussmann demolished many buildings， widened streets， and constructed a massive network of waterworks and sewers. Haussmann’s projects， which were accompanied by a great deal of private rebuilding， transformed Paris from a medieval city into a modern city and provided a model of urban renewal followed in other French cities.
  Industrialization also led to the formation of a French working class. The industrial labor force expanded from 1.9 million in the period between 1803 and 1812 to 6.7 million in 1913. However， as late as 1906， only about a quarter of these people worked in establishments of more than 50 workers， while the remainder worked in smaller businesses. Many people worked under dangerous conditions， lived in overcrowded housing， and had little employment security. The living standards of most workers did not begin to rise substantially until the boom of the 1850s. This improvement was followed by further uneven rises until World War I.
  Peasants， too， improved their standard of living during the 19th century， as comforts once known to only a few became more common. Some peasants had maintained commercial relations with urban areas for centuries. However， the coming of railroads and the opening of state–supported schools， especially during the Third Republic， broke down the commercial and cultural isolation of others. Standardized French gradually replaced old dialects.
  法國的產業革命，從波旁王朝複辟時期（1815–1830）的後半期開始，到路易·波拿巴（1778–1846）當權的第二帝國（1852–1870）末期基本完成，前後大約經歷了半個世紀。在此之前的拿破侖（1769–1821）統治時期是法國產業革命的準備時期，當時所實行的一系列經濟政策，推動了資本主義工商業的發展，為產業革命的發生提供了物質技術前提。拿破侖政權覆滅之後，在波旁王朝複辟初期，法國政局還不夠穩定，經濟上還要恢復拿破侖戰爭所帶來的創傷。只是進入19世紀20年代以後，形勢逐漸好轉，法國才有可能開始進行產業革命。
  remarkably：顯著的，明顯的
  lag：走得極慢，落後
  persistence：堅持不懈，執意，執著，持續，留存
  cultivate：種植，栽培，培育
  domestic：國內的
  manufacture：(大規模)製造，生產
  spearhead：先鋒，先頭部隊
  tariffs：關稅制度
  Key Words in History 歷史關鍵詞
  1．The House of Bourbon 波旁王朝
  The House of Bourbon is a European royal house， a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century， members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain， Naples， Sicily， and Parma. Spain and Luxembourg currently have Bourbon monarchs.
  Bourbon monarchs ruled Navarre (from 1555) and France (from 1589) until the 1792 overthrow of the monarchy during the French Revolution. Restored briefly in 1814 and definitively in 1815 after the fall of the First French Empire， the senior line of the Bourbons was finally overthrown in the July Revolution of 1830. A cadet branch， the House of Orleans， then ruled for 18 years (1830–1848)， until it too was overthrown. The Princes of Condé (Bourbon–Condé) were a cadet branch of the Bourbon–Vendomes and， in turn， were senior to the Princes of Conti (Bourbon–Conti). Both these lines became extinct in the early nineteenth century.
  Philip V of Spain was the first Bourbon ruler of Spain， from 1700. The Spanish Bourbons (in Spain the name is spelled Borbon and rendered into English as Borbon) have been overthrown and restored several times， reigning 1700–1808， 1813–1868， 1875–1931， and 1975 to the present day. From this Spanish line comes the royal line of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1734–1806 and 1815–1860， and Sicily only in 1806–1816)， the Bourbon–Sicilies family， and the Bourbon rulers of the Duchy of Parma.
  Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg married a cadet of the Bourbon–Parma line， and thus her successors， who have ruled Luxembourg since her abdication in 1964， have also technically been members of the House of Bourbon. Isabel， Princess Imperial， the declared heiress and thrice–regent of the now–defunct Empire of Brazil married twenty years before their deposition Gaston， comte d’Eu a prince of Orléans， and their descent， known as the Orléans–Braganza， would have ascended that throne， had the empire not ended in 1889.
  From the time of Hugh Capet to Charles X (987–1830)， the Senior Capets were also the Kings of France. In 1589， Henry IV， Head of the House of Bourbon， became the Senior Capet， following the extinction of male line of the House of Valois. All members of the House of Bourbon and its cadet branches alive today are direct agnatic descendants of Henry IV. The current Head of the House of Bourbon is Louis Alphonse， Duke of Anjou.
  2．Louis–Napoleon Bonaparte路易·波拿巴
  Louis–Napoleon Bonaparte (20 April 1808–9 January 1873) was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III， the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I， christened as Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. Elected President by popular vote in 1848， he initiated a coup d’état in 1851， before ascending the throne as Napoleon III on 2 December 1852， the forty–eighth anniversary of Napoleon I’s coronation. He ruled as Emperor of the French until 4 September 1870. He holds the unusual distinction of being both the first titular president and the last monarch of France.
  Napoleons III is primarily remembered for an energetic foreign policy which aimed to jettison the limitations imposed on France since 1815 by the Concert of Europe and reassert French influence in Europe and abroad. A brief war against Austria in 1859 largely completed the process of Italian unification. In the Near East， Napoleon III spearheaded allied action against Russia in the Crimean War and restored French presence in the Levant， claiming for France the role of protector of the Maronite Christians. A French garrison in Rome likewise secured the Papal States against annexation by Italy， defeating the Italians at Mentana and winning the support of French Catholics for Napoleon’s regime.
  In the Far East， Napoleon III established French rule in Cochinchina and New Caledonia. French interests in China were upheld in the Second Opium War and the Taiping Rebellion; an abortive campaign against Korea was launched in 1866 while a military mission to Japan participated in the restoration of Imperial rule. French intervention in Mexico was less successful and was terminated in 1867 due to mounting Mexican resistance and American diplomatic pressure.
  Domestically， Napoleon’s reign was a major period of industrialisation for the French economy. He also oversaw a major renovation of Paris that created the outline of the modern city. The Second French Empire was overthrown three days after Napoleon’s disastrous surrender at the Battle of Sedan in 1870， which resulted in both the proclamation of the French Third Republic and the cession of the territory of Alsace–Lorraine to the newly–formed German Empire.
  Background Knowledge 背景知識補充
  法國產業革命的基本道路和過程與西歐其他國家大體上相同。同時，也有自己的一些特點：
  經過產業革命，重工業雖然有了相當大的發展，但是輕工業仍然佔據重要地位；而在輕工業中，高級奢侈品的生產又佔了很大的比重。可是，這些奢侈品的生產往往要依靠手工技藝，使用機器比較困難，而且產品也主要是供應國外的需求，並不能擴大國內市場。
  在產業革命過程中，企業大型化的進展比較緩慢，中小企業仍然佔有很大比重，大型企業的數量大大落後於當時其他主要資本主義國家。
  法國產業革命從開始到基本完成，用了大約50年的時間。但是它發生在英國產業革命之後，在可以汲取外來的先進經驗和技術的有利條件下，這樣的發展速度同其他國家相比也就顯得緩慢了。
  法國產業革命的特點表明這一時期法國經濟發展的相對落後性。這些特點之所以形成，是因為在法國產業革命進程中存在著一些困難和不利的條件，其中最主要的是：資金作為借貸資本輸出到國外，造成了對國內投資的不足；國外貿易競爭不過英國，國內市場又相對狹窄；勞動力的供應很不充分，滿足不了工業發展的需要；產業革命所必需的重要原料和資源嚴重缺乏，如煤、鐵、棉花等都需要從國外進口。此外，小農經濟長期廣泛地存在，使農業陷於停滯和落後狀態。這些都阻礙了法國工業生產的順利發展。所以到19世紀60年代末，隨著產業革命的基本完成，法國在世界工業生產中所佔的地位卻相對下降了。
  德國工業革命
  19世紀，德國以機器為主體的工廠制度代替以手工技術為基礎的工場手工業的過程也稱德國工業革命。它既是技術革命，又是生產關系的重大變革。
  Reading in a single sitting 一口氣讀完這段歷史
  The Industrial Revolution began about a century later in Germany than it did in England. Germany did not exist as a political unit until the latter part of the nineteenth century. First came the Zollverein (Toll Union) in 1833 that， by abolishing tolls between the various German principalities， made Germany into a common market. For a period of decades， until about 1860’s， there were attempts at imitating in Germany the industrialization that had taken place elsewhere in Europe. This imitation was only moderately successful. In 1870 the modern German nation was created and thereafter major industries were founded that led to the full fledged industrialization of Germany.
  The southern side of the Rhine Valley of Germany was incorporated into France by Napoleon. At that time France was， despite its economic shortcomings with respect to England and Belgium， quite a bit more advanced than Germany. This period of forced integration with France stimulated economic change in the Rhine Valley. In 1815 this area became independent of France but retained some of the economic and institutional reforms of the Napoleonic period. Serfdom and the guilds were abolished. Other remnants of fedualism were ended which restricted commerce and industry.
  Prussia initiated the concept of a common market in 1818 and in 1833 a treaty extended the Zollverein to the larger states of Germany， although Austria， by Prussian design was excluded.
  A rail system for Germany developed rapidly under the promotion of the German state governments. The rail system increased the demand for steel and coal. The coalfields in the Ruhr Valley were fully developed and made Germany into the foremost coal producer in Europe. A steel industry also developed and the stimulus of the coal and steel development expanded the banking and capital markets available to Germany. This helped other industries such as the chemical and electrical industries develop in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The German chemical industry became the most advanced in the world.
  德國產業革命經歷了三個階段：
  19世紀30年代和40年代，屬於初期階段；
  1848年革命後的50年代和60年代，是迅速發展和工業高漲的階段，近代大工業和資本主義制度基本上確立起來；
  1871年德國統一後，轉入完成階段。
  初期階段
  19世紀初期，德國封建制度逐步解體，農奴製改革為創立近代工業企業提供了貨幣資本和自由勞動力；行會制度的削弱使資本主義企業得到比較自由的發展。此外，還從英國進口機器和招聘技工。這一切，為資本主義工業的發展創造了較為有利的條件。到20年代，工場手工業有了廣泛發展，在紡織業中開始采用機器。但直到1834年德意志關稅同盟建立，德國才進入產業革命時期。
  德國產業革命也是從紡織工業開始的。到1846年，關稅同盟各邦中已有 313家紗廠和75萬枚機械紡錠，普魯士的毛紡業中也有機械紡錠45萬枚。手工生產在整個紡織業中仍佔統治地位。采煤和冶金業開始使用煤炭煉鐵，建立了使用焦煤的高爐和采用攪拌法煉鐵等新技術，煤和鐵的產量都有很大增長。蒸汽機的采用也在增加，1846年共有1139台（2.17萬匹馬力）。汽船航運和鐵路建設也發展起來，1824年第一艘汽輪在萊茵河上開航，接著建立了幾個航運公司。1835年修成紐倫堡至費爾伯特的第一條鐵路（全長12公裡），1848年全國鐵路線達2500公裡。但在1848年革命前，德國工業中工廠生產的比重還不大，工場手工業和小手工業仍佔主要地位。1843年，德國工廠工人近70萬人，即隻相當於普魯士一個邦手工業者和手工工場工人總數的一半，本國的機器製造業還未建立。德國仍為落後的農業國，其工業生產水平遜於法國，更遠遠落後於英國。
  迅速發展階段
  1848年革命以後，德國城鄉封建殘余進一步被削弱，關稅同盟的影響日益增強。50年代和60年代，輕工業和重工業都迅速增長。工業棉花消費量和機器織布機各增加幾倍，工廠制度在棉紡織業中和繅絲方面已佔統治地位。蒸汽機得到普遍應用。在國家資助下進行了大規模的鐵路建設，這刺激了煤鐵工業的技術革新和機器製造業的成長。煤礦中開始大量采用蒸汽機，黑色冶金方面廣泛利用焦煤以及引進貝塞麥煉鋼法和托馬斯煉鐵法等新技術。1861年，機器製造廠的工人總數近10萬，有些機器工廠的規模已不下於英國的同類工廠。1850–1870年，德國的蒸汽機動力由26萬匹馬力增至248萬匹馬力，煤產量由670萬噸增至3400萬噸，生鐵產量由21萬噸增至139萬噸，鋼產量由6000噸增至17萬噸，鐵路線長度由5822公裡增至 18876公裡。1870年，德國境內先進地區已基本上完成了產業革命，德國在世界工業總產量中的比重升到13.2％，超過了法國，從而進入先進資本主義國家的行列。
  完成階段
  直到普法戰爭時，德國尚未實現國家的統一，各個地區的經濟發展極不平衡，還存在著不少落後地區。1871年德國實現統一後，資本主義工廠工業在德國全境得到普遍發展並取得了統治地位。
  toll：通行費imitate：模仿
  attempt：試圖，嘗試
  fledged：羽翼豐滿的
  remnant：殘余部分，剩余部分
  foremost：最著名的，最重要的，最好的，主要的，最前的
  Key Words in History 歷史關鍵詞
  1．Unification of Germany 德國統一
  The formal unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 at the Versailles Palace’s Hall of Mirrors in France. Princes of the German states gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm of the German Empire after the French capitulation in the Franco–Prussian War. Unofficially， the transition of most of the German–speaking populations into a federated organization of states occurred over nearly a century of experimentation. Unification exposed several glaring religious， linguistic， social， and cultural differences between and among the inhabitants of the new nation， suggesting that 1871 only represents one moment in a continuum of the larger unification processes.
  The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation， which had included more than 300 independent states， was effectively dissolved when Emperor Francis II abdicated (6 August 1806) during the War of the Third Coalition. Despite the legal， administrative， and political disruption associated with the end of the Empire， the people of the German–speaking areas of the old Empire had a common linguistic， cultural and legal tradition further enhanced by their shared experience in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. European liberalism offered an intellectual basis for unification by challenging dynastic and absolutist models of social and political organization; its German manifestation emphasized the importance of tradition， education， and linguistic unity of peoples in a geographic region. Economically， the creation of the Prussian Zollverein (customs union) in 1818，and its subsequent expansion to include other states of the German Confederation， reduced competition between and within states. Emerging modes of transportation facilitated business and recreational travel， leading to contact and sometimes conflict between and among German–speakers from throughout Central Europe.
  The model of diplomatic spheres of influence resulting from the Congress of Vienna in 1814–1815 after the Napoleonic Wars endorsed Austrian dominance in Central Europe. However， the negotiators at Vienna took no account of Prussia’s growing strength within and among the German states， failing to foresee that Prussia would challenge Austria for leadership within the German states. This German dualism presented two solutions to the problem of unification: Kleindeutsche L?sung， the small Germany solution (Germany without Austria)， or Gro?deutsche Losung， greater Germany solution (Germany with Austria).
  Historians debate whether or not Otto von Bismarck， the Minister President of Prussia， had a master plan to expand the North German Confederation of 1866 to include the remaining independent German states into a single entity， or whether he simply sought to expand the power of the Kingdom of Prussia. They conclude that factors in addition to the strength of Bismarck’s Realpolitik led a collection of early modern polities to reorganize political， economic， military and diplomatic relationships in the 19th century. Reaction to Danish and French nationalism provided foci for expressions of German unity. Military successes–especially Prussian ones–in three regional wars generated enthusiasm and pride that politicians could harness to promote unification. This experience echoed the memory of mutual accomplishment in the Napoleonic Wars， particularly in the War of Liberation of 1813–1814. By establishing a Germany without Austria， the political and administrative unification in 1871 at least temporarily solved the problem of dualism.
  2．Zollverein 德意志關稅同盟
  The Zollverein， or German Customs Union， was a coalition of German states formed to manage customs and economic policies within their territories. Established in 1818， the original union cemented economic ties between the various Prussian and Hohenzollern territories， and ensured economic contact between the non–contiguous holdings of the Hohenzollern family， which was also the ruling family of Prussia. It expanded between 1820 to 1866 to include most of the German states. Austria was excluded because of its highly protected industry; this economic exclusion exacerbated the Austro–Prussian rivalry for dominance in central Europe， particularly in the 1850s and 1860s. With the founding of the North German Confederation in 1868， the Zollverein included approximately 425，000 square kilometres， and had produced economic agreements with non–German states like Sweden and Luxembourg.
  Historians have seen three Prussian goals: as a political tool to eliminate Austrian influence in Germany; as a way to improve the economies; and to strengthen Germany against potential French aggression while reducing the economic independence of smaller states. The Customs Union created a larger market for German–made farm and handicraft products and promoted commercial unification under fiscally sound economic parameters. While the Union sought to limit trade and commercial barriers between and among member states， it continued to uphold the protectionist barriers with outsiders.
  The political strength of the Customs Union lay with the Prussians， whose promotion of the Little Germany solution of national political unification mirrored the Customs Union’s economic solution. After the founding of the German Empire in 1871， the Empire assumed the control of the Union. Although not a state in the German Reich， Luxembourg belonged to the Union until 1919 as a German customs region.
  Background Knowledge 背景知識補充
  德國產業革命具有自己的特點：
  開始得較晚，但得以利用從英國進口的新機器和先進技術，因而加快了工廠工業的發展。
  從輕工業開始，但能較早重視發展生產資料生產，改組工業結構，結果重工業與輕工業迅速發展起來。在普魯士軍國主義影響下，重工業的發展與軍火生產有著密切的聯系。
  受普魯士的傳統影響較多，產業革命是在城市封建殘余勢力存在的條件下進行的，因此同一時期的工業增長不如美國發展迅速。德國產業革命的這些特點對以後德國經濟的發展具有深遠影響。
  俄國工業革命
  1887年俄國有鐵路30132千米。全國1.13億人中有132萬工人。1887年以後，工業發展速度加快。農村在19世紀90年代已成為工業品穩定的銷售市場。這時修建的西伯利亞大鐵道不僅增加了對煤鐵的需求，還把工業引向東方。1900年有鐵路53350千米。到19世紀末，俄國的工業革命已經完成。
  Reading in a single sitting 一口氣讀完這段歷史
  Russia’s industrial revolution was later than most because the agricultural techniques used in the mid nineteenth century had not changed since the medieval period（中世紀）. Farmers still left a third of their land lie fallow so that it would replenish its supply of nitrogen. Without strong agricultural foundation industrialization was impossible.In the latter half of the nineteenth century， the modern agricultural techniques came into common practice. Legumes were planted on land that once would have lain fallow as it replaced nitrogen more quickly. Legumes also created more fodder for cattle; so that more cattle could be kept. More cattle meant more meat， cheese， milk， butter， and natural fertilizer for more plentiful and substantial crops.
  The industries of coal， oil， iron， and textiles boomed once German and French backers began to invest in them. In 1897， Sergei Witte（謝爾蓋·維特）became Minister of Finance. The same year saw growth in industry and economy. Much of this growth was due to increased heavy industry and the expansion of railroads all over Russia. The enlargement of Russia’s industry meant more industrial workers. These workers had strikes， and in order to placate them a maximum workday of eleven and a half hours was implemented by the government in 1897.
  Russia， always on the look out for a warm water port， found a suitable spot at the end of the Trans–Siberian railroad（西伯利亞鐵路）. The planned end point in the Trans–Siberian railroad was Vladivostok（海參崴）. However， by going through Manchuria（中國滿洲）as planned in the Russian–Chinese Friendship treaty of 1895， Russia gained Darien and Port Arthur–two warm water ports. This would have increased industrial productivity and overall economic health even more. Unfortunately， the Russian control of Manchuria led to the Russo–Japanese war in 1904， just before the railroad was completed. The lack of resources strained the economy. Industry was forced to put out wartime effort without workers. The disaster that the Russo–Japanese War turned into manifested itself in civil unrest， workers overworked and underpaid were starving in the cities because peasants farming in the country had no way to transport crops from the rural to the urban areas. Frustrated workers began to strike. In January of 1905 Moscow was crippled by strikes.
  From 1905 to 1917 industry remained in a latent state. While it was not completely crippled it did not bring equal or sufficient wealth to all involved. When World War I came， Russia was not prepared and the lack of resources necessary in war halted economic growth. Workers were pulled from the factory， and coned in the army. The main reason for Russia’s difficulties during the First World War was lack of efficient transportation and sufficient ammunition. The Russians went to war with whole regiments of soldiers without weapons or ammunition. Many soldiers deserted the army to come home to kill a landowner and get himself more land. Without the proper supplies， the Russian forces were not motivated to fight. The loss of Poland（波蘭）in 1915 nearly halted the industrialization of Russia. Poland was the transportation and industry base of Russia， without Poland the war effort was impossible. The ensuing revolution of 1917， in which Nicholas II（沙皇尼古拉二世）abdicated， also proved to be a thorn in the side of industry as it further slowed the process of economic and industrial growth in Russia as strikes spread and opposition toward the Czar grew. The Reign of Nicholas II saw the rise and regression of industry in Russia.
  The history of Russian industrialisation during the years 1867–1927/8 has been characterised by a series of typologies. Tugan–Baranovskii， writing in 1890， saw the origins of Industrialisation as rooted in the nation’s kustari traditions， which were only destroyed and displaced in the 1890s by the growth of factory industry. This view was contemporaneously supplemented by Markist–Leninist writers who also saw the nineties as marking the beginnings of the Russian“Industrial Revolution”and of “Industrial Capitalism” in that nation， the focus of their attention shifting from light to heavy industry.
  19世紀上半葉，在第一次工業革命影響下，資本主義因素在俄國農奴製社會內部逐步發展起來。大工廠逐漸代替手工工場，機器生產逐漸代替手工操作，自由雇傭勞動逐漸代替農奴勞動。在農業中，商品經濟有了很大發展，自給自足的自然經濟日趨瓦解。資本主義發展要求打破農奴製的束縛。
  1853–1856年，俄國在克裡米亞戰爭對於完成第一次工業革命的英法的失敗，徹底暴露了農奴制度的腐朽性，加深了農奴製的危機。戰爭導致農民生活狀況急劇惡化，階級矛盾日益尖銳，農民運動風起雲湧。
  fallow：休耕地
  replenish：補充
  legume：豆類
  backer：援助者
  placate：撫慰， 和解
  strike：罷工
  latent：潛在的
  crippled：癱瘓
  coned：征兵
  ammunition：軍火， 彈藥
  abdicate：退位
  typology：類型學， 預示論
  Key Words in History 歷史關鍵詞
  1．Serfdom 農奴制度
  Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism， specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid–19th century. Serfdom included the forced labor of serfs bound to a hereditary plot of land owned by a lord in return for protection and the right to work on fields they leased from their landlords to maintain their own subsistence. Serfdom involved not only work in owner’s fields， but his mines， forests and roads. Manors formed the basic unit of society and the lord and his serfs were bound legally， economically， and socially. Serfs were laborers who were bound to the land; they formed the lowest social class of the feudal society. Serfs were also defined as people in whose labor landowners held property rights. Before the 1861 abolition of serfdom in Russia， a landowner’s estate was often measured by the number of “souls” he owned. Feudalism in Europe evolved from agricultural slavery in the late Roman Empire and spread through Europe around the 10th century; it flourished in Europe during the middle Ages but lasted until the 19th century in some countries. Although the decline of serfdom has sometimes been attributed to the Black Death， which reached Europe in 1347， the decline had begun before that date. For example， serfdom was de facto ended in France by Philip IV， Louis X (1315)， and Philip V (1318). With the exception of a few isolated cases， serfdom had ceased to exist in France by the 15th century. In Early Modern France， French nobles nevertheless maintained a great number of seigneurial privileges over the free peasants that worked lands under their control.
  2．Russo–Japanese War 日俄戰爭
  The Russo–Japanese Warwas “the first great war of the 20th century” which grew out of the rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea. The major theatres of operations were Southern Manchuria， specifically the area around the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden， the seas around Korea， Japan， and the Yellow Sea.
  The Russians sought a warm water port on the Pacific Ocean， for their navy as well as for maritime trade. Vladivostok was only operational during the summer season， but Port Arthur would be operational all year. From the end of the First Sino–Japanese War and 1903， negotiations between Russia and Japan had proved impractical. Japan chose war to maintain dominance in Korea.
  The resulting campaigns， in which the Japanese military attained victory over the Russian forces arrayed against them， were unexpected by world observers. As time transpired， these victories would transform the balance of power in East Asia， resulting in a reassessment of Japan’s recent entry onto the world stage.
  3．Crimean War 克裡米亞戰爭
  The Crimean War (October 1853–February 1856) was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire， the British Empire， the Ottoman Empire， and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long–running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula， but there were smaller campaigns in western Anatolia， Caucasus， the Baltic Sea， the Pacific Ocean and the White Sea.
  The Crimean War was one of the first wars to be documented extensively in written reports and photographs: notably by William Russell (for The Times newspaper) and Roger Fenton respectively. News correspondence reaching Britain from the Crimea was the first time the public were kept informed of the day–to–day realities of war.
  Background Knowledge 背景知識補充
  15世紀下半葉至19世紀上半葉，俄國在以勞役製為主要剝削形式的地主莊園經濟基礎上建立起經濟、法律制度。農民被束縛在地主的土地上，在土地、人身、司法上依附於地主，處於社會底層，實際上是農奴。早在11–12世紀，在基輔羅斯時代，王公、大貴族擁有大量的世襲領地，強迫窮人服勞役。14–15世紀，莫斯科公國的封建土地所有制度發展起來，越來越多的農民陷於被奴役的地位。
  農奴製的存在日益成為社會生產力進一步發展的桎梏。由於農民狀況的惡化，生產率普遍下降。18世紀末至19世紀上半期，許多地主為增加商品糧食的生產，開始剝奪農民的份地，隻付給農民口糧，逐漸破壞了勞役製的基礎。有些地主為增加收入，把勞役租改為代役租，農民為支付代役租而去城裡謀生，農民在一定程度上脫離了對地主的依附關系。某些富裕農民還力圖用金錢贖取自由。封建農奴製日趨瓦解。
  為適應資本主義關系的發展，緩和國內階級矛盾，沙皇政府從19世紀初便著手制定各種限制和廢除農奴製的法案。1803年，頒布了《關於自由農》的法令，允許地主根據自願和贖買的原則解放農民。1838年到1842年，白俄羅斯、立陶宛、西部烏克蘭等地廢除了國有農民租佃國有土地和服勞役的制度。按照這些辦法，農民雖取得一部分權利，但仍未擺脫農奴製的依附關系。由於俄國資本主義的發展，農奴製危機加深和國內革命運動的發展，沙皇政府被迫於1861年廢除農奴制度。但是，農奴製殘余繼續保存下來，直到1917年十月革命後才被徹底消滅。