History of Europe
1
HISTORY
Subject
:
History
Paper No.
:
Paper-VI
History of Modern Europe
Unit No. & Title
:
Unit-1
Europe between 1780 & 1871
Lecture No. & Title
:
Lecture-16
Industrial Revolution: Britain
(For under graduate student)
FAQs
1.
What
was
the
impact
of
the
agricultural
revolution on the process of industrialization in
Britain?
The agricultural revolution had two direct impacts on
the industrial revolution.
displaced
by
the
First, the marginal farmers
growing
use
of
machinery
in
agricultural production and by the enclosure movement
began to look for alternative occupation, thereby
providing the supply of cheap labour which was pivotal
to the rise of the factories.
Secondly the growth in
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2
agricultural production proportionate to the rise of
population helped keep food prices low.
Thus it was
possible for the new industrial workforce living in the
new
industrial
centres
to
procure
their
food
at
affordable prices.
2.
What helped London to become the centre of the
global trading system?
By the beginning of the eighteenth century, London had
emerged as the centre of the global trading system.
This was possible due to two factors. On the one hand
was the import-oriented American and Asiatic trade,
and on the other was the export oriented European
trade. Britain exported woollen textiles to the European
market, but the real source of profits in British trade
with Europe was from the re-export of molasses, sugar,
tobacco and indigo from the colonial plantations, and
spice and cotton textiles from India.
History of Europe
3.
How did
3
the Enclosure
Movement
affect
the
process of industrialization in Britain?
By a series of Parliamentary Acts between 1750 and
1859 open fields and common lands were enclosed by
the landed aristocracy as their own property for
purposes of sheep grazing. The local people were thus
excluded from activities like cutting hay, grazing cattle
or even cultivating their small plots of land. These
jobless poor began to look for alternative employment
thereby providing the supply of cheap labour which was
so pivotal to the development of the factories.
4.
Why did the British Parliament prohibit the import
of textiles from India in 1720?
The British Parliament under pressure from the woollen
textiles industry forced a prohibition on the import of
calico into England in a fierce bid to capture a
relentlessly expanding market, as also to gain the
competitive edge.
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5.
4
Why did a textile revolution take place in Britain?
As a consequence of the invention of machines like the
Spinning Jenny (James Hargreaves), Flying Shuttle
(John Kay) and Mule (Crompton) the British textile
industry started flourishing from the mid-eighteenth
century. Factories came up in places like the Pennines,
Lancashire, and Manchester, where the number of
factories rose from two in 1790 to sixty-six in 1821.
Colonies provided British textile factories with ample
raw cotton. The domestic demand as well as the
colonial markets provided British textile makers to profit
hugely from their enterprises.
6.
What was the reason for the presence of an
integrated market in Britain?
The emergence of an integrated market in the British
Isles proved essential to the process of the commercial
revolution.
In the absence of any inland customs or
tariff barriers, there were no legal impediments to the
movement of commodities from one end of the Isles to
the other ever since the United Kingdom came into
being. The combined effect of roadways and waterways
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made British communication systems so developed that
the whole British Isles took the shape of a single large
market.
7.
What was the prime reason for the agricultural
revolution in Britain?
The use of machinery like Jethro Tull’s seed drill,
Rotherham plough for sowing and ploughing, and the
introduction of the steam engines for winnowing,
increased productivity in the agricultural sphere.
8.
What were the two alternatives that European
manufacturing industry had?
The two alternatives that the European manufacturing
industry had were, to either to limit themselves to
extremely
skilled
artisanal
products
for
luxury
consumption, or to go for the low value mass market
that was beginning to emerge. The second alternative
was chosen.
History of Europe
9.
6
How did the cotton textile industry ultimately lead
Britain into the Industrial Revolution?
As the population shot up from six million to nine
million, there were many more opportunities available.
The growing population generated a bigger demand for
clothing and the cotton textile industry took advantage
of this situation. The merchants moved away from the
proto-industrial set up and started installing machinery
that would help produce yarn at a cheaper price, and
there was a steady supply of raw cotton from the
colonies which they utilized.
10. What is the meaning of re-export?
Re-export refers to the business of importing certain
products from one country and then exporting them at
higher prices to other countries.