The Nineteenth Century

1801–1900

The 19th century saw huge social change. The First and Second Industrial Revolutions (which also overlap with the 18th and 20th centuries, respectively) led to massive urbanisation and much higher levels of productivity, profit and prosperity. The Islamic gunpowder empires were formally dissolved and European imperialism brought much of South Asia, Southeast Asia and almost all of Africa under colonial rule.

RIGHT Completed in 1897, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is an impressive example of Classical Renaissance style architecture