(i) The first half of the nineteenth century saw an enormous increase in population all over Europe. (ii) In most countries, there were more job seekers than employment. Population from rural areas migrated to the cities to live in overcrowded slums. (iii) Small producers in towns were often faced with stiff competition from imports of cheap machine made goods from England, where industrialisation was more advanced than on the continent. (iv) In these regions of Europe where the aristocracy still enjoyed power, peasants struggled under the burden of feudal dues and obligations. (v) The rise of food prices or a year of bad harvest led to widespread pauperism in town and country.