Download Industrial Revolution The term "Industrial Revolution" is thought to

Industrial Revolution
The term "Industrial Revolution" is thought to have originated among French commentators at the turn of
the 19th century. Those authors suggested that many nations were experiencing changes that were resulting
in profound economic and social transformations. Indeed, the Industrial Revolution, which had its
beginnings in remote times but is generally deemed to have taken place from the late 18th to early 19th
centuries, marked the onset of industrial society and defined the key mechanisms of its progress.
Although the pace of industrial development obviously differed between nations, there were many
similarities. The Industrial Revolution encompassed a number of components, including technological
advances. Economic growth, the subsequent development of new markets, changes in the transportation of
goods, improved communications, and changes in the social structure were also important factors.
All of those factors were evident in England, which is often credited with playing a leading role in the
Industrial Revolution. Although a predominantly agricultural society, at the beginning of the 18th century,
England was already an important industrial producer. Best known for the manufacture of woolen cloth,
England also produced great quantities of tin, coal, leather goods, small metal goods, and other domestic
items.
Moreover, there were many technological advances in England during the 18th century. Some were of
benefit to many different types of industries. These included James Watt's steam engine, which could either
replace or supplement power from traditional sources like watermills and windmills. Initially, the steam
engine was developed for use in the mining industry to provide greater amounts of coal. It was later
adapted to power different types of machinery within factories.
Other inventions aided specific industries, like the production of cloth. They included the flying shuttle,
which was patented in 1733 by a Lancashire mechanic named John Kay. Previously, four spinners were
needed to keep up with a single cotton loom. Ten additional people were needed to prepare yarn for one
woolen weaver. The new shuttle expedited this process by allowing the yarn to be produced more quickly.
Richard Arkwright's water frame, patented in 1769, further accelerated the production of yarn. Less then a
decade later, Samuel Crompton combined those two machines into what became known as Crompton's
mule.
Economic growth was also readily apparent in 18th-century England. The country already enjoyed a
vigorous export trade to Europe, the American colonies, India, and Africa. Further growth in international
trade was fueled by political developments across Europe. After 1713, the British were allowed to trade
with the Spanish Empire in South and Central America. New markets were created by the growth of
English colonies in the West Indies and India. As the pace of industrialization increased, a growing number
of cheap manufactured goods were sent to the colonies. Those goods included articles ranging from
hammers, shovels, and anchors to firearms and gunpowder.
Although ships were used for long-distance trade, other forms of transportation developed to deal with
internal European trade. Navigable rivers had long played a role in the distribution of both raw and
manufactured goods. Those natural channels were supplemented in the second half of the 18th century by
the construction of a canal system. Roads also continued to improve thanks in part to the growth of turnpike
roads, which charged a toll for their use and subsequent upkeep. During the 19th century, the development
of railroads changed the face of transportation forever. By 1850, trains were able to travel between 30 and
50 miles an hour to speed both raw materials and consumer goods across Europe.
Improved methods of communication were another factor in the acceleration of industrialization. Sir
Samuel Cunard pioneered the concept of transatlantic mail in 1839. After gaining permission from the
British government, he began a postal system between Liverpool, Halifax, and Boston. In 1840, a new
method of sending mail was implemented in England. The new penny post was based on the concept that it
was the handling, rather than the distance sent, that was the critical cost in delivering mail. By the third
quarter of the 19th century, telegraph cables enabled businesses to communicate to far-away lands. This
period also saw the development of the Universal Postal Union, whose purpose was to facilitate the
movement of post overseas.
A final major factor in the European Industrial Revolution was that of changes in the social structure.
Those changes included a dramatic increase in population and urbanization that was most apparent in
England and Germany. By the mid-19th century, only half of the English population still dwelled in rural
areas. Over the following 50 years, the same became true for many European countries.
Growing urbanization was caused by three main requirements of industrial growth. First of all, most
factories were located in centers where coal or other raw materials were available, like the Ruhr Valley in
Germany. Second, cities were normally located in centers of transportation, like Liverpool and Marseille.
Finally, banks and other forms of commerce were generally established in political centers like London,
Paris, and Berlin.
Many of the immigrants to urban areas were part of what became a new working class. Factories called for
a large number of workers to run machinery. In many cases, the factory owners tended to consider their
employees as little more than commodities. The men, women, and children who filled those roles were
generally subjected to long hours, low wages, and poor working conditions. Artisans, who had previously
been considered to be skilled workers, also found themselves degraded to routine laborers. The Industrial
Revolution also helped in the creation of a middle class. New occupations were developed in order to cope
with the running of factories. Those occupations included managers, engineers, and skilled workers like
mechanics and toolmakers.
Industrialization in England also affected the growth of its colonies. During the early 18th century, the
British colonies were concerned with the need to make a living rather than industrial advancement. The
Industrial Revolution changed that attitude by increasing the demand for colonial goods, which enjoyed a
protected market. In addition, industrialization supplied capital to the colonists.
However, the Industrial Revolution in the United States followed a different, somewhat later course.
Although agriculture was the main source of income, there were major differences in the way business
developed in the South and North. Tobacco, which was grown in the former areas, was probably the most
important export. Tobacco was a very successful product and was supplied in increasing quantities to
England and France. There was also a growing timber industry, developed through the use of traditional
water-powered sawmills.
While the southern part of the country concentrated on cash crops, the North had a growing commercial
sector and showed the beginnings of manufacturing. The successful export of a range of foodstuffs and
timber resulted in the demand for new ships. In addition to shipbuilding, the northern colonies also became
known for the smelting of iron and production of metal wares. By the second half of the 18th century,
colonial iron output was sufficiently high for the British Parliament to pass an act controlling the industry.
By 1760, a number of factories had also opened to produce pottery, glass, cloth, and paper.
Industrialization accelerated in the early 19th century with the growth of the young American nation.
Consumer and industrial demand led to a rising number of factories. In 1814, Francis Cabot Lowell began
the first large-scale mechanized American mill for the production of textiles. Other successful new
businesses included the manufacture in the mid-19th century of armaments. Samuel Colt's range of pistols
was made with the best precision machine tools available at that time.
The growing industrialization of the United States also had an impact on agriculture. Cyrus McCormick
was responsible for one of the most important tools for the nation's farmers. He invented the reaper, a piece
of machinery that replaced the labor-intensive hand sickles that had traditionally been used for cutting
grain. By using a horse-drawn reaper, the time needed to harvest a field that previously took 20 hours was
reduced to one hour. Although initially produced on a small scale, the demand for the machines quickly
grew. In response, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company was founded in 1847 to supply enough
reapers for the entire country.
The last half of the 19th century experienced another set of technological innovations. Those included the
development of cheap steel, which allowed factory machinery to be produced more quickly. As companies
continued to expand, many merged with each other to create large and powerful corporations. By the end of
the century, those mergers resulted in a large number of highly integrated, conglomerate corporations both
in the United States and in Europe.
However, while the Industrial Revolution had been portrayed in the middle of the 19th century as one of
humankind's greatest achievements, to many 20th-century critics, that was no longer the case. Social
reformers noted the moral and spiritual deficiencies of an industrialized society, including the disparity
between the wealthy industrialists and the urban working class. Nevertheless, the so-called revolution
continued during the 20th century, and industrialization spread throughout the world in a second phase of
industrial development known as the Second Industrial Revolution.
Further Reading
Henderson, W. O. The Industrial Revolution on the Continent. London: F. Cass, 1961; Hudson, P., The
Industrial Revolution, 1992; May, Trevor, An Economic and Social History of Britain, 1760-1990, 1995;
Middleton, R., Colonial America, 1996; Stearns, Peter, The Industrial Revolution in World History, 2nd.
ed., 1998.
Select Citation Style:
MLA
Curth, Louise. "Industrial Revolution." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 30 Jan.
2012.
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