The Industrial Revolution Begins
In the final decades of the 18th century, Europe (and the thirteen English colonies of North America) was the scene
of important revolutions. While these great political changes were altering the lives of millions of people in America
and Europe, another “revolution” was taking place that changed the economies of Europe and the United States from
agricultural to industrial. This Industrial Revolution caused great strains and even violence as economic systems
shifted from hand field labor to artificial labor, the work done by machines. The changes brought about by this
revolution began to take on speed around the mid-18th century. What really occurred might better be called an
evolution. However, when one looks at the dramatic impact of industrial trends on life in England, America, and the
Continent, it is nothing if not revolutionary.
Generally, a revolution takes place in a short period of time—within a
generation at most. However, the Industrial Revolution spans several
generations, and the changes it brought were gradual. The center of the
industrial revolution was England. Later, the United States (a country
full of inventors, machinists, and tinkerers) caught the fever, then to be
followed slowly by the other nations of Europe. In time, this
industrialization expanded throughout the world. The revolution hit its
stride around 1815 and continued for the remainder of the 19th century.
There are reasons why the Industrial Revolution began in England during the last quarter of the 1700s. In earlier
centuries, England had become the leading commercial power in the world. By the early 18th century, British trade
overseas made England wealthy. During the wars of the century, especially the Seven Years War, England gained
control of many overseas colonies. By mid-century, one of England’s primary trade rivals, France, had lost control of
India and Canada to the British. English sea captains commanded great trading ships, which could be found all over
the world. But by the second half of the 18th century, England was beginning to experience serious problems at home
on several fronts: the population of the British Isles was growing rapidly; England was starting to face serious
shortages of wood; and the growing population was straining the domestic producers of cloth and clothing. The
shortage of wood led to an increased reliance on coal as a fuel for heating stoves and fireplaces and for blacksmithing
and the smelting of iron ore. With this increased need for coal came an increase in mining.
By the 18th century, coal was difficult to mine close to the surface and miners were driven deeper underground. In
these deeper mines, water seepage was a constant challenge. Something had to be done to solve the problem of the
flooding of coal mines. The answer proved to be the invention of steam-powered pumps, which forced the water out
of the mines. As England relied increasingly on coal as a fuel, it began replacing wood in the smelting of iron ore. In
early years, burnt wood, known as charcoal, was used to heat iron ore and remove the carbon impurities. By the 18th
century, iron smelting plants began using coke—a hard, grayish material produced by heating soft coal in an airtight
oven, removing the coal tar and coke gas— as the fuel for smelting iron. This trend only increased the expansion of
England's coal producing mines.
As for the problem of clothing the ever growing population in 18th-century England, new machines were being
invented to replace the old system of cloth production. For centuries since the Middle Ages, England had been home
to a great wool trade. English farms raised sheep, and their wool was regularly spun into thread and then woven into
woolen garments and other items. With the expansion of English trade to India, Egypt, and later the United States, a
new material was introduced to England: cotton. Thousands of older women (known as spinsters) worked in their
homes, spinning wool and now cotton into thread. But their production was starting to lag behind eighteenth-century
population growth. Faster and more efficient methods of production were needed. The old system (known as the
cottage industry) relied on businessmen providing the raw materials to women who worked out of their homes
on their own spinning wheels. The drive to improve and increase cloth production was, therefore, pursued on two
fronts—to build faster, more efficient machinery and to re-house production—not in private homes, but in larger
facilities. This, in time, led to the development of the factory system, another result of the Industrial Revolution.
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Why did the Industrial Revolution cause great strains and even violence?
Why was there a need for coal and clothing in England?
How did they settle the problem of flooding in the coal mines?
Explain why the factory system developed.
What must a country have in order to industrialize?
1. The Agricultural Revolution, 1700s – Food, You must have a surplus of food.
- They improved farming techniques, like crop rotation and the scientific breeding of animals.
- There was a great increase in food production.
- The price of food was low, so people could afford to buy manufactured goods.
- People could be spared from the farms - to go work in the cities.
- There would be enough food to feed the industrial cities.
2. The Commercial Revolution, 1700s – Capital, You must have a great accumulation of cash.
- The British accumulated piles of cash from trade.
3. The Population Explosion - Labor Force Size, The labor force must be large.
- From 1750 to 1850, the British population tripled - With more food, people had more children.
- With better sanitation, the death rate fell. People lived longer.
- There was an abundant labor supply to mine the coal and run the factories.
4. The Enclosure Movement, 1750-1810 - Urban Migration, The labor force must already live in cities.
- To feed the woolen mills, England needed wool.
- Landowners gave up raising food and started raising sheep.
- It takes only one guy (a shepherd) to raise sheep. All the other farm laborers are redundant.
- Parliament passed 1000 laws, allowing landowners to evict the tenants from their land!
- Dispossessed of their land, folks had nowhere to go, except go to the city and look for a job:
a) In 1700, 80% of the people were involved in farming.
b) In 1800, 60% of the people were involved in farming.
c) In 1900, only 10% of the workforce was involved in farming.
5. Natural Resources – coal and Iron, You must have coal and iron mines already in operation.
- England already ran out of forests; they turned to coal.
- England had an abundance of coal and iron ore.
- You can import light raw materials (cotton), but you must have the heavy stuff (coal) inside your country.
6. A Transportation System – Transportation, You must have a system to transport heavy freight.
- Coal is heavy - you can move it cheaply by water and rail.
- Britain had a cheap transportation system to move raw materials and finished products:
a) Long coastlines suitable for harbors- Ocean-going ships imported raw materials and exported finished goods.
b) Navigable rivers- Barges then carried bulky freight (coal to run the factories, grain to feed the cities).
c) Canal systems - Canals linked rivers, the mines, and the factories.
d) The development of railroads - Railroads linked everything - First railroads carried coal.
7. The Scientific Revolution, 1600s – New Technology, such as the steam engine (1869).
- Ever since the Scientific Revolution, the British were running experiments using the scientific method.
- The Royal Society of London encouraged scientific discoveries.
- During the 1700s, inventors and innovators stepped forward to invent solutions to practice problems.
- In 1769, James Watt perfected the steam engine!
8. Demand Market - Demand comes before Supply, A market before you manufacture.
- There was already a gigantic demand for British goods.
- Low farm prices allowed the British people to buy their own manufactured goods.
- Wherever the British looked, there was a market for their products: Europe, the U.S., Asia, Africa.
- In 1800, 60% of British exports were sold to the U.S.
- The British had colonies around the world:
a) Colonies provided raw materials - India sent raw cotton to England.
b) Colonies provided a market - England sold its manufactured goods to its colonies.
Directions: Distinguish between Cause & Effect. After reading the previous
pages, next to each number write if the statement was a Cause or an Effect.
1) Demand for manufactured goods
2) Growth of corporations
3) The concentration of workers in urban areas.
4) The factory system
5) New methods of production
6) Accumulation of capital
7) Large-scale production
8) Low cost of production per unit
9) Uniformity and a high quality in production.
10) Coal and iron mines
11) Increased industrial productivity
12) Increased productivity of workers
13) Unsafe working conditions
14) A new division of labor
15) Changes in transportation (from water to rail)
16) Rise of the working class
17) Trade unions
18) Reform movements
19) Middle class gained political power
20) Transportation for heavy freight
21) Adequate food
22) Abundance of goods
23) Affordable goods
24) Goods provided new comforts.
25) Large labor force
26) Great fortunes were made overnight
27) Wages rose
28) Improved quality of life
29) Longer life expectancy
30) Better health care
31) Urbanization
32) Higher incomes
33) Better educational system
34) New technology
35) There was a wider gap between rich and poor