18th Century Health Revolution

"The 18th century period was an era that witnessed great improvements in health and subsequent life expectancy" (Health and welfare during industrialization , p. 109)[1]. Most experts connected the health revolution to the industrial one, that also brought success to other sectors. The workers emerged as the most important resource in the production of goods and services. In this light, capitalism employed every resource at its disposal to preserve and safeguard their health, wealth, and general welfare, in order to improve and sustain the productivity of industries. According to Jackson J. Spielvoegel, " This work aims to show that the health revolution was triggered by industrialization one, and the way it (health revolution) later offered
good tidings for European economies". ( Western Civilization A Brief History, Since 1500 , p 89)[2].

Industrialization triggered rural-urban migration, through job-hunting initiatives.
Rural dwellers soon secured employment at factories and had to relocate to urban centers, as they were nearer their places of work. There was a radical change in society, as more and more people migrated to the ever-growing cities. The cities were not planned to accommodate huge populations. Consequently, there was over-population and related complications, such as poor sanitation, over-crowding, disease outbreak, and others. The most chronic problem was the outbreak of diseases. Illnesses, such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and sundry were rife, causing a threat to the general health and productivity of factory workers. In this light, capitalistic initiatives embarked on proactive measures to secure the future health of their workforce. The underlying notion that their health directly translated into their productivity, and measures had to be undertaken to secure their welfare. Capitalistic initiatives invested in research and scientific investigations to determine the causes and nature of diseases, with the aim of securing medicinal solutions for the populations. In other instances, capitalists took upon themselves the role of providing medical services and medicines with the aim of making
profits.

The need to raise the life expectancy of factory workers necessitated the rise of medical and scientific knowledge. For instance, "in 1857, Englishman William Harvey discovered the circulatory system, confirming the discovery of earlier scientists" ( Western Civilization A Brief History, Since 1500 , p. 167)[3]. The finding that the blood is pumped by the heart was later discovered and it reinforced Harvey’s invention. The discovery of oxygen was made in the 18th century, when "French scientist Antoine Lavoisier investigated on the components of blood and why the blood changes color when it is pumped from the heart to other body parts" ( Health and welfare during industrialization , p. 250)[4].

As such, the 18th period witnessed great advancements in medicine and health science. " The increasing importance of medicine in human life was attributed to the fact that man started realizing the value of human beings in the production proces" ( Western Civilization A Brief History, Since 1500 , p. 199)[5]. In this light, their health, psychological welfare, and other needs had to be met in order to make them more efficient. The period was known as the age of enlightenment, where great strides were made and great progress realized in many fields.

The main argument forwarded in this paper is that the rapid development of medical science in the 18th century was a result of the need to safeguard the health status of factory workers. As such, scientists stepped up their efforts to find the cure of chronic illnesses that created absenteeism and death among factory workers. Soon the medical inventions were applied by the general population to manage their health.