Transcript The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution
Dawn of the Industrial Age
Background to the Revolution
• Since the beginning of civilization, most
people had lived in small farming villages.
In the mid-1700s, this way of life began to
change.
• This period of change lasting from 1750 –
1850 is known as the Industrial
Revolution.
• The Industrial Revolution began in Britain.
A Turning Point in History
• In 1750, most people used handmade tools to
farm the land. They lived in small cottages, lit by
candles. They made their own clothes and grew
their own food. Very few people were
adventurous enough to travel very far from their
homes.
• With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, this
way of life began to disappear. Stores offered a
variety of machine-made goods; people began
to move to cities; new inventions led to
improvements in communication and
transportation.
• Medical improvements led to the use of
anesthetics, antiseptics, and vaccines.
A New Agricultural Revolution
• The industrial revolution actually was brought on
by a new agricultural revolution that led to
population growth.
• The first agricultural revolution was when people
learned to farm and domesticate animals. The
second was a time of technological
improvements in farming.
• The Dutch led the way in this revolution by
building dikes or dams to hold back the sea and
increase the amount of land available for
farming.
• The Dutch also combined fields and began to
use fertilizer to increase production.
• British farmers began to expand on the Dutch
experimentation by mixing kinds of soil and
using new methods of crop rotation. They
began to grow turnips to replenish the soil.
Jethro Tull invented the seed drill – a device
which deposited seeds in orderly rows rather
than scattering them wastefully.
• The British also began to publish their ideas in
farm journals. King George III was nicknamed
“Farmer George” because he wrote articles
about his own farm.
• Rich landowners also initiated the process of
enclosure, or taking over and fencing off lands
that had once been shared by peasants.
• Enclosure actually increased farm output and
decreased the amount of labor needed on the
farm.
• However, it had a high human cost, as farm
laborers and small farm owners were forced out
of work and off their land. With nowhere else to
go, they moved to the cities, where they formed
the backbone of the labor force that would fuel
the Industrial Revolution.
The Population Explosion
• Increased agricultural production contributed to
a rapid growth of population that is still
continuing.
• This was not because of increased birth rates,
but because of declining death rates.
• Inventions like Edward Jenner’s development of
a smallpox vaccine contributed to the declining
death rate. Increased agricultural output meant
a decline in famines. Women ate better, so they
were healthier and had stronger babies. Better
hygiene and sanitation also led to a decline in
disease.
New Technology
• Due to developments in technology, new
sources of energy and new materials enabled
business owners to change the way that work
was done.
• During the Industrial Revolution, windmills and
water wheels were used to create power to fuel
machines. Coal was used to develop the steam
engine, which could then power machines.
• The steam engine was invented by Thomas
Newcomen, but it was not until it was improved
by James Watt that it became a vital power
source.
• Coal was not only useful as an energy source,
but it was also vital to the production of iron.
• New methods of producing iron were developed
when Abraham Darby used coal to smelt iron, or
separate iron from its core. He later developed
a way to remove impurities from coal.
• Darby’s experiments allowed him to produce
better-quality and less expensive iron. This led
to the widespread use of iron for things like
railroad ties.
Review Question
What three factors led to the Industrial
Revolution?
1. New Agricultural Revolution
2. Population Growth
3. New Technology
The Industrial Revolution
Britain Leads the Way
Why Britain?
•
There are several key reasons why the
Industrial Revolution began in Britain.
1. Natural Resources - Britain had access to a
lot of natural resources necessary for industry
– this included coal, iron, and people to mine
the coal and iron, build factories, and run
machines.
2. Technology – Britain had skilled mechanics
who were eager to meet the demand for new,
practical inventions.
Why Britain?
3. Economic Conditions – The British economy
had long prospered from trade, so there was
plenty of capital – or wealth to invest in new
enterprises, such as shipping, mines, railroads,
and factories. People were willing to risk their
capital.
4. Political and Social Conditions – Britain’s
stable government supported economic growth.
The strong navy could protect the empire and
overseas trade. Religious attitudes fostered
economic growth, since many people came from
religious backgrounds that fostered hard work
and thriftiness. People were also focused more
on worldly desires like gaining wealth than on
the afterlife.
Changes in the Textile Industry
• The first industry to be affected by the
Industrial Revolution was Britain’s largest
industry – textiles.
• In the 1600s, textile production was a cottage
industry – most of the production of textiles
took place in people’s homes.
• The problem with cottage industry is that
production was slow. New inventions began
to speed up production of cloth, and
eventually led to the rise of factories.
Textile Inventions
1. John Kay – flying
shuttle –wove cloth
faster than the
threads could be
spun
2. James Hargreaves –
Spinning Jenny –
could spin several
threads at once.
3. Richard Arkwright –
used water power to
speed up spinning
even more
• The new machines were too large and
expensive to be operated at home. Thus,
manufacturers built long sheds to operate the
machines. These sheds became the factories.
They were located near moving streams, in
order to provide water power to operate them.
• Later, the machines were operated by steam
engines, which meant that factories no longer
had to be located near running water. They
could be moved to the cities, where there was a
large labor pool.
• One worker described an early factory by
saying, “The same [amount] of labor is now
performed in one of these structures which
formerly occupied the industry of an entire
district.”
Revolution in Transportation
• As production increased, entrepreneurs needed
faster and cheaper ways to move goods from
place to place. Some capitalists invested in
turnpikes, or privately built roads that charged a
fee to travelers who used them.
• Others dug canals to connect rivers or to
connect inland towns with ports.
• Engineers built stronger bridges and better
harbors.
• The greatest revolution in transportation, however, was
the steam locomotive. It led to the growth of railroads.
• Since railroads did not have to follow the rivers,
manufacturers could locate their factories anywhere and
use the railroad to ship their goods over land.
• The first major rail line, from Liverpool to Manchester,
opened in England in 1830. By 1870, rail lines
crisscrossed Britain, Europe, and North America.
• Water travel also increased. In 1807 Robert Fulton
developed a steamboat using Watt’s steam engine. The
boat traveled at a record breaking 5 miles an hour!
• By the late 1800s, steam powered boats were also being
used on the oceans. They could carry 10-20 times the
amount of the old wooden boats.
The Rocket, built in
1830, traveled 40
miles an hour!
• The Industrial Revolution triggered a chain
reaction. Increased demand led to the
inventions of newer, more efficient
machines.
• As the supply of goods increased, the
prices decreased, so the demand
increased.
• This led to the invention of newer and
better machines.
Increased
Demand
New
Machines
Lower
Prices
Increased
Supply