The Great Steps In Man’s DevelopmentTHE MATERIAL PROGRESS OF MANKIND
The Great Steps In Man’s Development
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THE opinion that our own circumstances and affairs are the only standard for judging universal history has long been obsolete. Our day, with its conceptions, beliefs, hopes, and endeavours, is but a tiny portion of the past; for thousands of years peoples have existed who have lived in other intellectual spheres than ours, who have pursued other ideals.
The study of history does not consist in an examination of the past projected, as it were, into the present; it is the study of the past considered as a part of the constant coming and going of men. And in order to become qualified as historians we must first of all attain a point of view from which we may, independently of time, behold history with all its great events file by; as though we were men who had ascended to some elevation in the universe from which they could look down upon the whole earth lying as a unity before them. This is rendered possible through the power of abstraction gained from a study of history; it enables us, on the one hand, to adapt ourselves to strange times and beliefs, and, on the other, to look upon our own day—all time to its contemporary men—objectively, as a mere hour of the ages of human development. We must learn to escape from the present, to withdraw ourselves from that which we may call the tyranny of our own time.
THE PRIMITIVE ART OF WEAVINGThe art of weaving arose from plaiting, and soon developed to perfection, the American Indians and most primitive peoples of our own day being skilled weavers.
THE PRIMITIVE ART OF WEAVING
The art of weaving arose from plaiting, and soon developed to perfection, the American Indians and most primitive peoples of our own day being skilled weavers.
From universal history we obtain a picture of the development of humanity—that is, the development of the various active germs or principles inherent in man. By these are meant the active principles innate in mankind in the aggregate, in contradistinction to those which may exist in single individuals or in single races.
The result of development is called “civilisation”—the state of intellectual being, and of outward, material life, attained by a people through evolution. Although spiritual and material culture flow into each other, they may be separated to this extent: as a physical being endowed with senses, man endeavours to obtain satisfaction of his needs, and strives for a position in relation to his environment corresponding with the efforts he has made to obtain welfare; as a feeling, inquiring, spiritual being he contains within him an ever-present desire to fuse the multitude of separate impressions he receives into unity, and to struggle forward until he arrives at a conception of the world and of life.
OUR OWN DAY COMPARED WITH THE HISTORIC PASTOur day, with its conceptions, beliefs, hopes, and endeavours, is but a tiny portion of the past; for thousands of years peoples have existed who have lived in other intellectual spheres than ours, who have pursued other ideals.LARGER IMAGE
OUR OWN DAY COMPARED WITH THE HISTORIC PAST
Our day, with its conceptions, beliefs, hopes, and endeavours, is but a tiny portion of the past; for thousands of years peoples have existed who have lived in other intellectual spheres than ours, who have pursued other ideals.
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“Material civilisation” is the mode of life through which the obstacles opposed to humanity may be overcome. By the surmounting of obstacles is meant the conquering of enemies, particularly of hostile animals, the obtaining of means for the preservation of existence, and the employing of these means for the increase of bodilywelfare. In respect of material civilisation man passes through stages that differ widely from one another, that vary according to the manner in which the necessities for existence are obtained, and according to the way in which enemies are withstood for the safeguarding of life, welfare, and acquisitions already gained. Races are spoken of as supporting themselves by the chase and fishing, or by cattle-breeding and farming, according to whether they are accustomed to derive subsistence directly from “nature unadorned,” or by means of the cultivation and utilisation of natural products.
No sharp line of distinction, however, may be drawn. It is inadmissible to speak of races as supporting themselves solely by hunting and fishing, for the very same peoples feed on products of the soil wherever they are found and recognised as means of subsistence. They live, it is true, upon flesh and fish, but also upon roots and the fruit of wild trees. While in this state of civilisation, man avails himself only of that which Nature places before him; he neither adapts Nature to his desire, to his needs, or to his manner of living, nor understands how to do it. He can make no further use of Nature than to acquire a knowledge of the sources of supply, of how to seize time and opportunity, and to overcome the obstacles of life in his own territory. He ascertains the haunts of game, discovers how to obtain fish, explores for wild honey or edible roots, learns to climb the tallest trees and to let himself down into the deepest caves; but he lacks the ability to cultivate Nature, to cause her to produce according to his will.
Gradually the one phase amalgamates with the other. It is not seldom that hunting tribes have small tracts of land on which they raise a few edible plants. Observation of Nature teaches them that germs develop from fallen seeds, and leads of itself to the idea that it is not best to allow plants to grow up wild, and that it would be expedient to clear the surrounding ground for their better growth. And when this stage is reached, the next step—not to allow seeds to spring up by chance, but to place them in the soil one’s self—is not very far off; and thus the mere acquisition of Nature’s raw vegetable products gives place to agriculture. Often enough we observe instances of the men of a group carrying on hunting operations,while the women are not only occupied with their domestic employments, but also till the soil; thus the men are hunters and fishers, and the women are agriculturists. Domestic work led the latter to take up the cultivation of plants, even as it led them to the other light feminine handicrafts; while the repairing of weapons and of contrivances used for the capture of animals lay within the province of the men.
Habits of Dress (1/3)Habits of Dress (2/3)Habits of Dress (3/3)MANKIND’S PROGRESS IN HABITS OF DRESSThis series of typical pictures is intended roughly to illustrate the upward progress of man from the almost nude savage to the neatly and conveniently dressed gentleman of to-day. The Elizabethan dandy is, of course, as fully dressed as man can be, and is introduced only as indicating the great change of sartorial ideas in modern times.
Habits of Dress (1/3)
Habits of Dress (2/3)
Habits of Dress (3/3)
MANKIND’S PROGRESS IN HABITS OF DRESSThis series of typical pictures is intended roughly to illustrate the upward progress of man from the almost nude savage to the neatly and conveniently dressed gentleman of to-day. The Elizabethan dandy is, of course, as fully dressed as man can be, and is introduced only as indicating the great change of sartorial ideas in modern times.
MANKIND’S PROGRESS IN HABITS OF DRESS
This series of typical pictures is intended roughly to illustrate the upward progress of man from the almost nude savage to the neatly and conveniently dressed gentleman of to-day. The Elizabethan dandy is, of course, as fully dressed as man can be, and is introduced only as indicating the great change of sartorial ideas in modern times.
The discovery of how to produce fire by artificial means, independently effected in all parts of the world—as was also the discovery of the art of navigation—was of the greatest importance for the entire future. Fire was first a result of chance.
When lightning set a portion of the forest in flames, and caused a multitude of animals or fruits to be roasted, men put it to practical use. They recognised the advantage that fire gave them and sought to preserve it. The retention of the fire which had been sent down from heaven became one of the most weighty and significant of functions. Man learned how to keep wood-fibres smouldering, and how to blow them into flame at will; he also learned that it was possible to convey fire, or the potentiality of fire, along withhim in his wanderings. But even then success was uncertain until a lucky chance led him to discover how to produce flames at will, by rubbing two sticks together or by twirling one against the other. These actions were originally performed for other purposes—to bore holes in a piece of wood, or to rub it into fibres; finally, one or the other was carried out with such vigour that a filament began to burn, and the discovery was made. Sparks from flint must have suggested a second method of kindling a fire; certainly the art of igniting soft filaments of wood by means of a spark—thus enabling the very smallest source of combustion to be used for human purposes—was known to man in the earliest times. The obvious results of the use of fire are means of obtaining warmth and of cooking food.
AN INGENIOUS INDIAN FIRE DRILLESQUIMAU MAKING FIRE BY FRICTIONTHE GAUCHO’S WAY OF GETTING A LIGHTLARGER IMAGE
AN INGENIOUS INDIAN FIRE DRILL
ESQUIMAU MAKING FIRE BY FRICTION
THE GAUCHO’S WAY OF GETTING A LIGHT
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Self-defence had already led to the use of weapons, and, at the same time, the contrivances for hunting and fishing must have become more and more perfect. A very low degree of civilisation is that of races unacquainted with the bow and arrow, and familiar with club or boomerang only—who know how to make use merely of the weight of a substance, or, as in the case of the boomerang, of a peculiar means of imparting motion.
The time previous to the discovery of the art of working in metal was the Age of Stone. It was a natural transition period during which men began to learn to make use of the malleable metals, which could be hammered and beaten into various shapes, and finally discovered how to work in iron. Iron, by being placed in the fire, brought to a white heat, and smelted, was rendered capable of being put to such uses as were impossible in the case of brittle materials—bone or stone, for example. Many races never acquired the art of working even in the softer metals, and procured metallic implements from other peoples. The great importance of metal-working is borne out by the fact that the position of the smith, even in legendary times, has been of the utmost significance. The Ages of Stone and of Metal belong to the most important stages of civilisation.
Having made himself weapons, man did not employ them in fights with animals only; he also used them on his fellow-men, and at the same time arose the necessity for protective coverings—that is, the need for a means of neutralising the effect of weapons on the body. Thus followed the invention of the shield as a portable shelter, of the coat of mail and of the helmet, and of armour in general in all its different forms and varieties.
Together with weapons, utensils are characteristic of material culture. Utensils are implements used in the arts of peace, domestic and industrial; they are instruments which enable us to increase power over Nature. Some utensils have undergone the same transformations as have weapons; others have their own independent history. Just as the edges of shells served as patterns for knife-blades, so did hollow stones, the shells of crustaceans or of tortoises, become models for dishes and basins. From the discovery of the imperviousness of dried earth, the potter’s art developed; it became possible to mould clay into desired shapes while moist, and then, when dry, to employ it in its new form as a vessel for holding liquids; for that which has always been of the greatest importance in the making of utensils has been the taking advantage of two opposite characteristics displayed by a material during the different stages of its manufacture—plasticity, which admits of its first being moulded into various forms, and another quality, which causes it afterward to stiffen into solidity and strength.
MansellTHE MAN WITH THE HOEFrom the painting by MilletUnderwood & UnderwoodTHE WONDERFUL ADVANCE IN AGRICULTUREThese pictures present a striking contrast: the sullen clod with his primitivehoe, and the great Canadian reaper drawn by thirty horses, both in use to-day.LARGER IMAGE
MansellTHE MAN WITH THE HOEFrom the painting by Millet
Underwood & UnderwoodTHE WONDERFUL ADVANCE IN AGRICULTUREThese pictures present a striking contrast: the sullen clod with his primitivehoe, and the great Canadian reaper drawn by thirty horses, both in use to-day.
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Growth of the Textile Arts
A further acquisition was the art of braiding and plaiting, the joining together of flexible materials in such a way that they held together by force of friction alone. Thus coherent, durable fabrics may be produced, and by joining together small parts into an aggregate it is also possible to give a definiteform to the whole and to adapt it to various uses. The quality of adaptability is especially developed in the products of plaiting, but the quality of imperviousness is lacking. Wickerwork was used not only in the form of baskets, but also in other shapes, as means for protection and shelter, as material for sails, as well as for tying and binding. The art of weaving arises from plaiting, and along with it come methods for spinning thread. It thus becomes possible to make an immense number of different useful articles out of shapeless vegetable material. Fibres are rendered more durable by being bound together, and textures formed from threads are adapted to the most various uses of life. This has an influence on the development of weapons also: bow-strings, slings, and lassos presuppose a rudimentary knowledge, at least, of the textile arts; and as knowledge increases, so are the products improved in turn.
MAN’S METAL DRESS: THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARMOUR FROM ANCIENT TO MEDIÆVAL TIMESThe way in which man has protected himself against his foes in battle, and the gradual progress and decline of such methods, is shown in these pictures. The first is from the monuments of Nineveh, and shows the earliest form of chain mail. In the second we see the armour of the Roman legionary, while the third shows the heavy accoutrement of a mediæval warrior. A helmet of the same period is also shown.
MAN’S METAL DRESS: THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARMOUR FROM ANCIENT TO MEDIÆVAL TIMES
The way in which man has protected himself against his foes in battle, and the gradual progress and decline of such methods, is shown in these pictures. The first is from the monuments of Nineveh, and shows the earliest form of chain mail. In the second we see the armour of the Roman legionary, while the third shows the heavy accoutrement of a mediæval warrior. A helmet of the same period is also shown.
Means for conveyance are also invented, that difficulties arising from distance may be overcome. At first men carry burdens upon their backs, heads, or shoulders, or in the hand, placing whatever they wish to transport in a utensil—a basket or a piece of cloth—thus producing a coherent whole; later, in order to render conveyance still more convenient, handles are invented. Objects are dragged along the ground, and from an effort to save them from injury the idea of sledges develops. Things that are round enough are rolled to their destinations; this leads to the invention of rollers and wheels, materials of required form being brought into combination with rudimentary agents of circular motion, and thus, through a rotary, a horizontal movement is obtained; and so the force of gravity is made use of, consistency of motion procured, and the hindering effect of friction overcome to the greatest possible degree.
Means for carrying inanimate objects once invented, it is not long before they are put to use for the conveyance of man himself; thus methods for the transportation of human beings are discovered in the same manner as the means for the carriage of goods.
Man’s First Boats
In primitive times transportation by water is employed to a far greater extent than by land. Man learns how to swim in the same way as other animals do, by discovering how to repress his struggles, transforming them into definite, regular movements. The sight of objects afloat must, through unconscious analysis—experience—have taught men to make light, water-tight structures for the conveyance of goods upon water, and, later, for the use of man himself. The pole by which the first raft was pushed along developed into the rudder. Kayaks and canoes were built of wood, of bark, andof hides. In this connection, moreover, an epoch-marking invention was that of cloths in which to catch the wind—sails; and this, too, was a result of observation and experience. Man had known the effect of the wind upon fluttering cloth, to his loss, long enough before he hit upon the idea of employing it to his advantage. Finally he learned that by adjusting the sails he might make use of winds blowing from any direction.
MAN’S METAL DRESS: THE GRADUAL MODIFICATION OF ARMOUR IN MODERN TIMESThe invention of gunpowder and firearms rendered the protection of armour useless, and by the sixteenth century it had been greatly modified. The first of these pictures shows the slight armour worn by James II. The second is a suit of Japanese armour, discarded in our own time; while the last is a portrait of a present day Life-guardsman, whose cuirass is more ornamental than useful.
MAN’S METAL DRESS: THE GRADUAL MODIFICATION OF ARMOUR IN MODERN TIMES
The invention of gunpowder and firearms rendered the protection of armour useless, and by the sixteenth century it had been greatly modified. The first of these pictures shows the slight armour worn by James II. The second is a suit of Japanese armour, discarded in our own time; while the last is a portrait of a present day Life-guardsman, whose cuirass is more ornamental than useful.
Man’s First Houses
Habitations are structures built in order to facilitate and assure the existence of man and the preservation of his goods. Indeed, the presence of caverns caused men to recognise the protective virtue of roof and wall, and the knowledge thus acquired gave rise in turn to the making of artificial caves. Holes beneath overhanging banks and precipices led to the building of houses with roofs extending beyond the rambling walls. Perhaps the protection afforded by leafy roofs, and the walls formed by the trunks of trees in primeval forests, may also have turned men’s thoughts to the construction of dwellings. Houses of various forms were built, circular and rectangular; some with store-rooms and hearths. The use of dwellings presupposes a certain amount of consistency in the mode of living, the presence of local ties, and a general spirit favouring fixed and permanent residence. Nomadic races use movable or temporary shelters only—waggons, tents, or huts.
Home and Dress
The houses of stationary peoples become more and more firm and stable. At first they are built of earth and wickerwork, later of stone, and finally of bricks, as among the Babylonians. Foundations are invented, dwellings are accurately designed as to line and angle; the curved line is introduced, bringing with it arches both round and pointed, as may be seen in the remains of Roman and Etruscan buildings. The structure is adorned, and it becomes a work of art.
But man also dwelt over the water, sometimes erecting his habitations upon rafts and floats, often upon structures that rose from beneath the surface. Thus was he, dwelling in communities of various sizes, secure from the attacks of land enemies. Even to-day there are uncivilised peoples who live over water, constructing their homes upon piles.
Taming of the Wild
Clothing, however, was invented partly that in cold climates men might survive the winter, partly for the sake of ornament. In tropical regions man originally had no knowledge of the necessity for clothing: garments are masks, disguises; they bear with them a charm; they are the peculiar property of the medicine-men or of those who in the religious dance invoke the higher powers. Modesty is a derivedfeeling; it cannot exist until a high state of individualisation has been attained, until each man desires exclusive possession of his wife, and therefore wishes to shield her from the covetousness of other men. With the knowledge of dress, a desire for adornment, the effort to assist Nature in producing certain definite æsthetic effects, arises. Less uniformity in the appearance of the body is wanted, and this brings tattooing and the use of ornament into vogue. Later there is a fusing of these several aims; clothing becomes protection, veil, and ornament in one, fulfilling all three functions at the same time.
Another epoch-marking discovery, often arrived at while races are still in the state of subsistence by hunting, is the domestication of animals. This may have originated in the practice of provoking one beast to attack another in order to vanquish them both the more easily. Further development, bringing with it the idea of totemism and the notion that the soul of an animal dwells in man, drew him nearer to his animal neighbours; and he sought them out as comrades and attendants. The taming of wild creatures arose from two sources—human egoism, and the innate feeling of unity and identification with Nature common to all savages; hence on the one hand, the subjugation of animals, and, on the other, their domestication. Neither employment rendered it by any means less possible for men to hold animals in reverence, or to attribute to them virtue as ancestral spirits.
Such acquisitions of external culture accompany man during the transition from his subsistence by the pure products of Nature to the cultivation of natural resources, cattle-breeding and agriculture—occupations necessitating the greatest unrest and mobility. The simple life in Nature incites men to wander forth that they may discover land adapted for their support; they rove about in search of roots as well as of living prey. The breeding of domestic animals also causes them to travel in the hope of finding ground for pasture; nor does agriculture in its primitive form tend to establish permanence of residence, although it contains within itself latent possibilities of developing a settled life, one of the most important factors in the progress of mankind.
PRIMITIVE DWELLINGS OF TO-DAY: HOUSE-BOATS AT CANTONNot only are there lake-dwellers to-day, as we have seen, but even large communities, as at Canton, in China, live in boats.
PRIMITIVE DWELLINGS OF TO-DAY: HOUSE-BOATS AT CANTON
Not only are there lake-dwellers to-day, as we have seen, but even large communities, as at Canton, in China, live in boats.
Mankind “Settling” Down
Only fixed, domestic peoples are able to create great and lasting institutions, to store up the results of civilisation for distant later races, and to establish a developed, well-organised commercial and civil life. The transition from nomadism to life in permanent residences has, therefore, been one of the greatest steps in the development of humanity. At the time of the beginnings of agriculture, however, man was still a periodic wanderer. According to the field-grass system of cultivation, seed is sown in hastily-cleared ground, which soon becomes exhausted and is then abandoned. A migration follows and new land is cleared. This system continues until men learn to cultivate part of the land in a district, allowing the remainder to lie fallow fora time in order that the soil may recover; thus they remain fixed in their chosen district. Various circumstances—for example, the danger of enemies from without, and the difficulties attending migration—must have led to this change, the transition to the system of alternation of crops. The wanderings are confined to less extensive regions, the same fields are returned to after a few years, until finally the relation of patches under cultivation to fallow land is reduced to a system, and the time of wandering is past.
THE BEGINNINGS OF COMMERCE: PRIMITIVE PEOPLE BARTERING IVORY TUSKS AND BULL-HIDESLARGER IMAGE
THE BEGINNINGS OF COMMERCE: PRIMITIVE PEOPLE BARTERING IVORY TUSKS AND BULL-HIDES
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The coming of the Craftsman
With fixed residence the forms of communities alter. The group settles in a certain district, homes are built close to one another, and the patriarchal organisation gives place to the village, which, with its definite boundaries, is thenceforth the nucleus of the social aggregate. Often several village communities have fields and forests in common, and a common ownership of dams and canals; Nature takes care that they do not become isolated, but unite together in close contact for common defence and protection. With agriculture is associated the working up of raw products. These are fashioned into materials for the support of life and for enjoyment; furniture for dwellings, clothing, tools, utensils, and weapons are made. For, however much agriculture favours a life of peace, so rarely does man live in friendship with his fellows that agricultural peoples also find it necessary to arm themselves for war.
At first manufacture is not separated from farming; the agriculturist himself prepares the natural products, assisted by the members of his family. Later, it is easily seen that some individuals are more skilled than others; it is also recognised that skill may be developed by practice and that employments must be learned. Therefore it is requisite that special individuals of the community should prepare themselves for particular activities in the working up of raw products and pursue these activities in consistency with the needs of the society—trade or craft. The craftsman at first labours for the community; in every village the tailor, cobbler, smith, barber, and schoolmaster is supported by society at large. The craftsman receives his appointed income—that is, his portion of the common supply of food; and, in addition, every one for whom he expends his labour gives him something in compensation, or finds him food while employed about his house, until, finally, a systematic method of exchange is established; and with this another advance—an epoch for civilisation—is arrived at.
The First Labour Problem
This is the division of labour. It is found advantageous not only that the craftsman be employed as he is needed, but also that he produce a supply of products peculiar to his trade; for the times of labour do not in the least harmonise with the times of demand. Although during the first periods of industrial life men sought more or less to adjust these factors, in later times they become wholly separate from one another. There is always, in addition, labour ready to be expended on casual needs; in more advanced phases of civilisation this condition of affairs is not avoided; but wherever labour can be disassociated from fortuitous necessity, the capacity for production is greatly increased. Commodities are manufactured during the best seasons for production and are preserved until the times of need; thus men become independent of the moment. Here also, as in other problems of civilisation, it is necessary to surmount the incongruities of chance, and to render all circumstances serviceable to our purposes.
Crafts and Trades Developing
Exchange and division of labour are the great factors of the progress of a civilisation based upon industrialism. Crafts and trades develop and improve; greater and greater skill is demanded, and consequently the time of preparation necessary for the master craftsman becomes longer and longer. The worker limits himself to a definite sphere of production and carries his trade forward to a certain perfection. His wares will then be more eagerly sought for than those made by another hand; they are better, yet cheaper, for his labour is lightened by his greater skill. His various fellow craftsmen, and the agriculturist also, must exchange their goods for his; for the more specialised the work of an individual, the more necessary the community is to him, in order that he may satisfy all his various requirements. Exchange is at first natural; that is, commodities are traded outright, eachindividual giving goods directly in return for the goods he receives. The production of the community as a whole has become far richer, far more perfect. The labour of the organised society produces more than the activity of separate individuals.
THE BEARERS OF MAN’S BURDENS: PRIMITIVE AND NATURAL METHODS OF CARRYINGThese illustrations show a palanquin borne by horses; the Chinese single-wheel cart and the same assisted by a donkey and a sail; pack mules and camels; and a sledge drawn by Esquimau dogs.LARGER IMAGE
THE BEARERS OF MAN’S BURDENS: PRIMITIVE AND NATURAL METHODS OF CARRYING
These illustrations show a palanquin borne by horses; the Chinese single-wheel cart and the same assisted by a donkey and a sail; pack mules and camels; and a sledge drawn by Esquimau dogs.
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SOME METHODS OF CONVEYANCE IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIESIn this plate are illustrated a caravan of yaks; the elephant with a howdah; the African litter; reindeers as pack animals; and the familiar bullock waggon of France—a few of the many methods of carrying used by man.LARGER IMAGE
SOME METHODS OF CONVEYANCE IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES
In this plate are illustrated a caravan of yaks; the elephant with a howdah; the African litter; reindeers as pack animals; and the familiar bullock waggon of France—a few of the many methods of carrying used by man.
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PRIMITIVE MONEY: SELLING A SLAVE FOR COWRIESCowries, which are small shells, are a very primitive form of money, still used in parts of Africa and in Siam. They were formerly so used in India, where $150,000 worth used to be imported annually. In Africa 5,000 shells are equivalent to $1.
PRIMITIVE MONEY: SELLING A SLAVE FOR COWRIES
Cowries, which are small shells, are a very primitive form of money, still used in parts of Africa and in Siam. They were formerly so used in India, where $150,000 worth used to be imported annually. In Africa 5,000 shells are equivalent to $1.
Here, again, is shown the impulse of man to free himself from the exigencies of the moment, to lift himself above the fortuitous differences that arise between supply and demand. The more varied the production, the more difficult it becomes to find men who are able to offer the required commodity in exchange for what has been brought to them. An escape from this embarrassment lies in the discovery of a universal measure of exchange value and medium of exchange—money. Money is the means of adjustment which renders traffic between men independent of individual requirements.
Mediums of exchange, particularly necessary for the carrying on of traffic between different communities, which exist in large quantities and can be divided up into parts, make their appearance in very early times. At first their values are more or less empirical, dependent upon the conditions of individual cases, until gradually a medium obtains general recognition and thus becomes money. The same need for surmounting the lack of uniformity in individual requirements has led the most different peoples in the world to the invention of money. Naturally, many different things have been employed as mediums of exchange; these vary according to geographical situations, conditions of civilisation, and the customs of races. Pastoral tribes at first employed cattle; but tobacco, cowries, strings of flat shells, bits of mother-of-pearl, rings, and hides are also used. At last it is found that metal is stable, durable, divisible, and of generally recognised value; and finally the precious metals take precedence of all others. Finally this form of money is adopted by all civilised races.
Division of labour originates in the development of the handicrafts, in the distinction made between the labour of working up the raw material and that of its production. With the help of a currency it leads to a complete transformation, not only of economic relations, but also of the social conditions of men.
THE BEGINNING OF MONEY: SOME OF THE EARLIEST KNOWN COINS IN EXISTENCEOf these coins, chiefly from the British Museum, the South England iron currency bars are perhaps most interesting. Our reproduction of these is one-tenth actual size. It will be noticed that the handles and the sizes vary.LARGER IMAGE
THE BEGINNING OF MONEY: SOME OF THE EARLIEST KNOWN COINS IN EXISTENCE
Of these coins, chiefly from the British Museum, the South England iron currency bars are perhaps most interesting. Our reproduction of these is one-tenth actual size. It will be noticed that the handles and the sizes vary.
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THE BEGINNING OF PRINTING: STRADANUS’S PRINTING OFFICE AT ANTWERP IN THE YEAR 1600From a very rare engraving in the British Museum.
THE BEGINNING OF PRINTING: STRADANUS’S PRINTING OFFICE AT ANTWERP IN THE YEAR 1600
From a very rare engraving in the British Museum.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRINTING: THE LARGEST PRESS IN THE WORLDHow great has been the progress in the art of printing is seen from these two pictures. The modern Hoe printing press is a marvel of mechanism. The first editions of this History were printed on a similar machine.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRINTING: THE LARGEST PRESS IN THE WORLD
How great has been the progress in the art of printing is seen from these two pictures. The modern Hoe printing press is a marvel of mechanism. The first editions of this History were printed on a similar machine.
Markets and Prices
Country becomes city; centres of population which rest upon an industrial basis arise; in many cases growth of the various manufacturing industries is furthered by unfavourable agricultural conditions. Such industrial centres require markets and market-places; it is necessary for the producers of raw materials to come to market from the country with their goods, in order that they may meettogether with the craftsmen of the city, and with other producers from the country who offer their wares in turn. The market town is the point of departure for further culture. Here, too, the endeavour to harmonise individual incongruities exists. Fruit is sent to market; each man has his choice; an exchange value is determined by means of comparison, through analysis of the individual prices which themselves do not furnish any rational determination of worth, and therefore expose both buyer and seller to chance. Thus a market-price develops. The city is the living agency promoting industry and exchange; it brings its population into contact with the population of the country by means of the market, and prevents men from separating into isolated, unsympathetic, or even hostile groups.
Here industry flourishes—arts, crafts, and large manufactures. In the latter, division of labour is developed to a maximum degree, and production in factories derives a further impulse through the introduction of machinery. Machines, in contrast to implements and utensils, are inanimate but organised instruments for labour, requiring subordinate human activity only (attendance) so that they may impart force and motion in a manner corresponding with the designs of the inventor. Machinery is originally of simple form, dependent on water or wind for motive power—rude mills, and contrivances for the guiding of water in canals or conduits belong to its primitive varieties.
The Use of Natural Forces
But man’s power of invention increases, and in the higher stage of industrial evolution the facilities for labour are enormous. We have but to think of steam and of electricity with all their tremendous developments of power. Finally the discovery of the unity of force leads men to look upon Nature as a storehouse of energy and to devise means by which natural forces may be guided, one form of energy converted into another and transferred from place to place; and thus man becomes almost all-powerful. He is not able to create, it is true, but he may at least mould and shape to his desire that which Nature has already formed. Thus the discovery how to direct the forces of Nature enables us again, according to the principle already cited, to escape the disabilities of human differentiation with its attendant incongruities.
Boundless Growth of Commerce
As already stated, division of labour leads to exchange; exchange leads to commerce. Commerce is exchange on a large scale, organised into a system with special regard to the production of a store, or supply. The latter requires a certain knowledge of trade; the centres of demand must be sought out, and the goods transported to these centres. In this way a fruitful reciprocal action develops; and as production influences trade, so may trade influence production, governing it according to the fluctuations of demand, and leading to the creation of stores of commodities for which a future market is to be expected. Thus commerce presupposes special knowledge and special skill; it develops a special technique through which it is enabled to execute its complicated tasks. Men who live by trade become distinct from craftsmen; and the mercantile class results. Merchants are men whose task is to effect an organised exchange of natural and manufactured products. Commerce always displays an impulse to extend itself beyond the borders of single nations—not to remain inland only, but to become a foreign trade also; for the products of foreign countries and climates, however valuable they may be, would be inaccessible except for commerce. Thus trade becomes both import and export. The first step is for the tradesman or his representative to travel about peddling goods, or for an owner of wares or money to offer capital to an itinerant merchant with the object that the latter may divide the profits with him later on. This leads to the sending of merchandise to a middleman, who places it on the market in a distant region—commission business. The establishment of a branch or agency in a foreign country, in order to trade there while in immediate connection with the main business house, follows; and, finally, merchants deal directly with foreign houses without the intervention of middlemen, thus entering into direct export trade. This, of course, presupposes a great familiarity with foreign affairs and confidence in their soundness; consequently it is possible only in a highly developed state of civilisation.
“THE SHIP OF THE DESERT”: THE CARAVAN IS THE OLDEST EXISTING MEANS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLESFrom J. F. Lewis’s picture “The Halt in the Desert,” in the South Kensington Museum(Photo, Mansell)LARGER IMAGE
“THE SHIP OF THE DESERT”: THE CARAVAN IS THE OLDEST EXISTING MEANS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLES
From J. F. Lewis’s picture “The Halt in the Desert,” in the South Kensington Museum
(Photo, Mansell)
LARGER IMAGE
Birth of New Trades and Institutions
Foreign trade is carried on overland by means of caravans, and, in later times,by railways; over sea, through a merchant marine—sailing vessels and steamships. The magnitude of commerce, its peculiar methods, and its manifold, varying phases combine to produce new and surprising phenomena: traffic by sea leads to insurance and to different forms of commercial associations; intercourse by caravan gives rise to the construction of halting-stations, establishments for refreshment and repair, that finally develop into taverns and inns. And that which first arose from necessity is subsequently turned to use for other purposes: insurance is one of the most fruitful ideas of the present day; hotels are an absolute necessity.
Commerce is able to bring further contrivances and institutions into being, here, again, overcoming individual incongruity by means of combination. Trade cannot always be carried on directly between the places of production and of consumption; one district requires more, another less; it would be difficult to supply all from one centre of distribution. Thus an intermediate carrying trade is developed, rendering the surmounting of obstacles less difficult and increasing the stability of the market. The demands of the middleman are compensated for by these advantages.
Commerce Brings the World Together
Thus the world’s commerce develops, and that which is accomplished by market traffic in lesser districts is brought about by the concentrative influence of bourses, or exchanges, in the broadest spheres. Here, as in the smaller markets, the tendency is for all prices to seek a level, to become as independent as possible of individual conditions; and so commerce between nations, and the possibility of ordering goods from the most distant lands, bring with them an adjustment: world prices are formed; and to establish these, is the business of the exchanges. The exchange is a meeting together of merchants for the transaction of business by purchase or sale. It has acquired still more the character of a world institution since men have been able to interchange advices by means of telegraph and telephone; it is possible for the bourses of different countries to transact business with one another from moment to moment, so that the ruling prices of the world can be immediately known. It has already been stated that commerce leads to a taking up of residence in foreign countries; it also leads to colonisation, and it is chiefly due to commerce that civilisation is introduced into foreign lands.
Supply of Human Labour
In earlier centuries the labour question was settled by means of the legal subjection of certain classes of men, until complete injustice was reached in slavery. The system was rendered still more efficient by making slave-ownership hereditary. Slavery, originated in wars and man-hunting, in times when there were but few domesticated animals and no machines, when utensils, were very imperfect and a more or less developed mode of life could only be conducted by means of the manual labour of individuals. Therefore, in order to obtain labourers, men resorted to force, introducing a slave population of which the individuals were either divided among households or kept in special slave habitations. The industry of the slave was often increased by the promise of definite privileges or private possessions. He was often granted a home and family life, and thus he became a bondman—burdened and taxed and bound to the soil, it is true, but otherwise looked upon as a man possessed of ordinary rights and privileges. Even during the days of slavery there were instances of emancipation, and the possibility was opened up of rising to the social position of a slave-owner.
The evolution of a free working class, with recompense for labour, is one of the most important chapters in the history of modern civilisation. The chief sphere of development is that of the crafts and trades. The power of guilds often induces legislation in their favour; thus they become monopolies, and only such individuals as are members of an association may adopt its particular trade or craft as a profession. Sometimes the unity of a guild is broken, and the individual right to form judgments enters in place of the rules laid down by the corporation. From this results competition, which finally leads up to free competition. Through free competition, the encumbering rigidity of the guilds is avoided; it leads to a high development of the individual, and is therefore a great source of progress; it discloses the secrets of the craft, freeing men from deeply-rooted prejudices in regard to different vocations; and it increases man’s inventive capacity, producing new methods for carrying on trades and new combinations and connections.
THE PROMISE OF PEACE: THE HAGUE CONFERENCE OF THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD IN 1907Nothing could more effectively illustrate the ideal of international peaceful co-operation to which hopeful historians look forward than this photograph of the representatives of all the leading Powers of the world, met together at The Hague, in the year 1907, to promote the amity of nations and the eventual abolition of war.LARGER IMAGE
THE PROMISE OF PEACE: THE HAGUE CONFERENCE OF THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD IN 1907
Nothing could more effectively illustrate the ideal of international peaceful co-operation to which hopeful historians look forward than this photograph of the representatives of all the leading Powers of the world, met together at The Hague, in the year 1907, to promote the amity of nations and the eventual abolition of war.
LARGER IMAGE