History

We began by studying the world in the 1780s we conclude by glancing at it 50 years later.  
Great strides had been achieved in science, industry and commerce, and consequently man faced a period of material improvement.

World population, industrial production and commerce multiplied.
Knowledge had become widespread, and science had vastly improved Mans way of life.
In contrast, the world had achieved only moderate strides politically and socially.  
Slavery and serfdom, though diminished worldwide, actually increased in their bulwarks.
The middle and working classes have increased steadily but slowly in number,
Landed aristocrats, though more dependent on the middle class, retain their social status.
Monarchy continues to be accepted as the common mode of government.
 Still, significant changes had been made, and after 1830 generally increased in momentum.
The 1830 revolutions, while compromising with the old system, introduced enough changes as to decisively favor the rise of the middle classes.

Radical democracy was gaining ground.
Europe, especially Britain, gained global supremacy, but observers can already see the decline, and that the future would soon be contested by powers such as USA and Russia.
The world of the 1840s was out of balance, and though everyone was sure that change was impending, no one could predict that it would explode to social revolution.
The laboring class had gained purpose, and power in their collective organization
The inflexibility of the old regimes turned even minor frictions into great cracks.
The weakening of the old system also coincided with a great depression, which stoked the ire of the already discontented masses.