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
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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
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