Editing Nord-Pas-de-Calais (section)

=== The industrial revolution ===

==== The economic boom ====
[[File:Flers-en-Escrebieux_-_Fosse_n°_3_des_mines_de_l'Escarpelle_(E).jpg|thumb|No. 3 pit of the Escarpelle mines]]
In the early 19th century, Northern France experienced significant economic development, propelled into the [[Industrial Revolution]] by several key factors. [[Continental System|Napoleon's continental blockade]] against the [[United Kingdom]] forced the region to produce goods locally that had previously been imported, fostering the birth of industries such as sugar production. The introduction of British [[Steam engine|steam engines]] into spinning mills also accelerated production. Central areas rich in coal, from [[Béthune]] to [[Valenciennes]], became crucial energy sources, further boosted by the [[Protectionism|protectionist]] policies of the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Restoration era]] after [[Belgian Revolution|Belgium's emergence]] in 1830.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Collectif|1988|p=203}}</ref>

==== The Working Class ====
While the industrial boom turned Northern France into an economic powerhouse for over a century, it brought severe hardships for the working class. Miners, as depicted in [[Émile Zola]]'s "[[Germinal (novel)|Germinal]]", faced grueling conditions and meager wages, risking their health underground. Textile workers also endured harsh conditions.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Collectif|1988|p=252}}</ref> The [[19th century]] added to their suffering with extreme weather events and five cholera epidemics between 1832 and 1866, the last of which claimed 10,584 lives in the Nord département alone.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006 |title=1866, une épidémie de choléra dans le Nord |url=http://histoiresdunord.blogspot.com/2006/03/1866-une-pidmie-de-cholra-dans-le-nord.html |website=Histoire du Nord; source : annuaire statistique du département du Nord |language=fr}}</ref>[[File:Avion-glissoires7.jpg|thumb|[[Lens, Pas-de-Calais|Lens]]]]