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The Kaiserreich: Economic developments - Coggle Diagram
The Kaiserreich: Economic developments
Industrial expansion
Many ironworks and factories were set up in the years 1871-1875 and the economy grew at a 5% annual rate
Between 1873-1896 there was a world trade recession known as the Great Depression. This hit the German industry, although the effects were not immediately apparent.
Political unification of Germany aided the development of industrialism
The final years of the nineteenth century saw a huge expansion in the German industry. Up until the 1880's, agriculture made up for 40% of income, with industry making up for only 30%, however this had flipped by 1914.
The reasons for this growth include: a growing population, the availability of raw materials such as coal from the Ruhr, and Germany's highly developed education system
Old vs New industries
The transport system maintained a steady growth; the lenght of railway networks grew 21,000 km in 23 years
Germany was producing a large amount of the worlds chemicals.
In 1890, the development of new industries increased such as electricals, chemicals, machinery and motor cars
The electrical industry grew the most quickly in the Rhine area
Karl Friedrich Benz built the first 2 stroke engine in 1879. The car company expanded massively throughout the next few years
Agriculture
4 million acres of virgin land was tiled and built on
However, in order for agricultural success to grow, tariffs were introduced to protect the produce. Tariffs prevented cheap Russian and American grain flooding the market - which leads to more sales for German farmers
Rapid industrialisation meant there was less need for agriculture in Germany. 35% of the population remained working in this sector
Trade and wealth
The majority of exports went to Britain, France, and Russia
In 1870's the economy appeared strong enough to face foreign competition and Bismarck supported this, however this was shut down due to failures to succeed
By 1914 Germany was on of the major trading and exporting nations in the world. They were importing £526 million and exporting £495 million