First Industrial Revolution: Origins, Impacts, and Social Changes
First Industrial Revolution
Until the late eighteenth century, Europe’s economy was based almost exclusively on agriculture and trade. Industrial products were handicrafts, made in private homes. In an artisanal economy, merchants gave wool to families for spinning and weaving, receiving the finished product in exchange for payment. This production form changed significantly between the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries, beginning in England. Several conditions enabled England to transform into an industrial nation, fostering ingenuity and boosting production and transport. Looms emerged, enhancing product quantity and quality, while railroads and steamboats facilitated transportation.
Key Factors of the Industrial Revolution
- Large coal deposits for fuel.
- Iron deposits for machines, ships, and railways.
- Accumulated capital from colonial expansion.
- Widespread commercial liberal ideas favoring private initiative.
- A parliament representing industrial and commercial interests.
- A large merchant navy ensuring global distribution.
Land Use and Labor Shifts
Throughout the eighteenth century, land use changed with crop rotation, fertilizers, improved husbandry instruments, and staff reductions. These changes, especially on wealthy landowners’ lands, increased production and lowered prices. Land enclosure led to farmers losing their land and migrating to urban centers for work. Industrial establishments filled with large families facing job scarcity. The influx of peasants worsened conditions, leading to lower wages and child labor. In cities like Manchester, London, and Liverpool, unemployment soared.
Industrial Capitalism
Machinery required substantial capital investment. The bourgeoisie shifted from banking and trade to industry, recognizing the potential for mass production at lower costs. This led to the rise of the industrial bourgeoisie, owning large factories and displacing small workshops. Craftsmen were forced to work in these factories. This system, known as industrial capitalism, saw industry as the new capital production, with banks financing production, sales, and trade. Profits were reinvested in banks, financial institutions, and commercial companies. The Industrial Revolution created two new classes: the industrial bourgeoisie (factory owners) and the industrial proletariat (workers). Proletarians’ only property was their offspring, often working from age five. This led to discussions about class struggle and the potential for a more egalitarian society.
Technical Progress
The Industrial Revolution transformed England into a great power. Railways facilitated cheaper and faster goods transport, improving circulation and communication across regions. Other countries struggled to compete with English products. For example, in 1810, an English poncho cost ten times less than one made in Catamarca. Trade liberalization harmed local handicrafts and small industries. Britain also exported machinery and technical capital for railway construction, making other countries dependent on British banks and companies for financing, debt management, and technical support.
Origins of the Labor Movement
The Industrial Revolution intensified social conflicts. Many capitalists exploited workers, including children as young as seven, who worked 12-14 hours daily in unsanitary and dangerous conditions. The focus was on maximizing production at the lowest cost, paying minimal wages due to high unemployment. This injustice led to the emergence of labor unions and strikes demanding higher wages and better working conditions. Worker unity resulted in laws protecting their rights and gradually improving their quality of life. The rise of the industrial bourgeoisie changed the lives of many, especially those becoming factory workers. Some were former peasants displaced by land enclosure for sheep farming and wool production. Others were artisans forced to join factories. Previously, they produced goods for personal use; now, they produced for factory owners seeking profit. Work pace and time were no longer self-controlled but dictated by the factory owner. Machines set the work pace, and workers faced fines for disruptions. The tavern became a place of freedom, and workers began organizing to resist. Initial resistance included street demonstrations and petitions to Parliament. Labor unions were banned in 1799, leading workers to attack employers’ houses and workshops. The Luddite movement (1812-1817) involved systematic machine destruction. Eventually, labor unions were legalized in 1824, leading to new efforts for improvement, such as workers’ production cooperatives and the “People’s Charter” advocating universal suffrage and worker participation in decision-making.
The Church and the Social Question
During the first half of the nineteenth century, the Catholic Church expressed concern about the impoverished proletariat. The Church initially focused on charity, founding institutions like the Society of Christian Morality in France. In 1891, Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Rerum Novarum, addressing issues like wages and living conditions. His successor, Pius X, promoted a fundamentalist religious conception, subordinating secular life to Catholic principles and Church decisions, requiring Catholics to demonstrate unwavering faith.