Review Questions and Answers on the Causes of the Industrial Revolution
1) What was the Industrial Revolution and why was it so important? (The Industrial Revolution was a
period in the late 18th and 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and
transportation had a profound effect on societies)
2) Describe the main causes of the Industrial Revolution. (Britain’s “Agricultural Revolution” led to its
“Industrial Revolution”, Factors of production enabled Britain to industrialize, Inventiveness and
naval dominance enabled Britain to achieve domestic and international commercial success, and
countries in continental Europe followed Britain’s lead in industrialization)
3) a) What was the “Agricultural Revolution” in Britain? (The Agricultural Revolution in Britain
consisted of rapid development in agricultural productivity from the 1750s characterized by
improvements in planting, crop rotation, fertilization of land, animal husbandry, etc.)
b) How was it related to the Industrial Revolution? (Great increases in population due to increased
food production and Enclosure Acts that closed off public lands led to urbanization and made
labor available for the factories of the Industrial Revolution)
4) a) What are the “factors of production” and why were these important to Britain? (land, labor, capital,
and entrepreneurs in Britain provided the basis for industrialization).
b) What other advantages did Britain have? (coal and iron ore deposits, waterways and ports, a
growing population of consumers, a large overseas empire supported by its navy, and political
stability)
5) a) How is “Laissez-Faire Capitalism” different from “Mercantilism”? (Laissez-Faire Capitalism is an
economic theory that a government should not intervene in the economy so as to foster economic
growth. Mercantilism is an economic theory that proposed just the opposite i.e. that a government
should control the economy in order to enrich itself at the expense of others).
b) Who is Adam Smith and why is he so significant? (Smith was a Scottish professor who wrote his
famous work, Wealth of Nations in 1776. He was influenced by the ideas of the French philosophes;
specifically their idea of laissez-faire or “leave it alone” meaning that the government should not
intervene in the economy. Smith is considered the father of economics.)
c) How do markets work according to Adam Smith? (He explained that markets worked on the basis
of market forces that he called “The Invisible Hand” by which he meant supply and demand in
the market that operate freely without government direction)