Industrial Revolution: Cotton, Coal, Trade & Social Impact
The Cotton Industry in England
The cotton industry was mainly located in North West England, around Bolton, Manchester, and Liverpool. Cotton exports increased substantially between 1820 and 1840, particularly to Latin America, Europe, and the West Indies.
Coal and Metallurgy
Large amounts of coal were required in the metallurgy process and to power the machines. The metallurgy factories were therefore built close to coal mines to create a shorter supply line.
Economic Freedom and Labor
Economic freedom is the freedom to create companies, hire workers, and set the conditions and prices of products. The law of supply and demand dictates that if there is a high supply of products or labor and low demand, prices and salaries go down. Division of labor means that each worker specializes in the area where they excel.
Trade and Specialization
Transport time and costs were reduced, which was a great stimulus to world trade. Specialization in the world economy occurred, with industrialized countries specializing in manufacturing and exporting products. Mining, metallurgy, and the iron industry were strengthened because they provided the raw materials for building the new means of transport. Daily life improved as nutrition improved, since food could be transported longer distances.
The Second Industrial Revolution
Electricity and petroleum played key roles in the Second Industrial Revolution. The iron and steel, chemical, and electrical industries were key industries in that period.
Cartels, Holdings, and Trusts
Cartel: This is an association of companies in the same line of business who reach an agreement to control production and distribution, and to set prices.
Holding: This type of company controls other companies because it owns most of their shares.
Trust: This is an association of companies that together cover all the stages in the manufacture of a product. Their goal is to control the market and eliminate competition.
Factors in Agricultural Production
Extensive agricultural production: Land was abundant, and labor was scarce, leading to rapid mechanization in agriculture.
Abundant natural resources: These included iron, coal, and petroleum.
Specialized production: The industrial north was supplied with cotton from the agrarian south, and food products from the west.
A large domestic market: This was aided by the rapid construction of a railway network that ran from coast to coast.
Emigration Patterns
Up to 1870, most emigrants were British and Northern European. Between 1870 and 1914, many emigrants were Italian, Spanish, Greek, and Turkish.
Peasant Life in the 19th Century
Peasants still formed the majority of the population in the 19th century, but their conditions varied greatly from region to region. In some parts of northern and western Europe, they owned plots of land. In the south, there were more day laborers who worked on estates using basic tools and earned low wages. In central and Eastern Europe, peasants were still serfs until the mid-19th century.
Social Movements
Luddism: In the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, new technologies made skilled workers lose their jobs in the textile industry. In response, some of them destroyed factory machines. This developed into the Luddite movement.
Chartism: Was the first organized labor movement with political goals. Between 1838 and 1848, this movement had millions of supporters and presented its People’s Charter to the British Parliament. The movement demanded labor rights and universal suffrage, as at that time workers could not vote.