Industrial Revolution: Transformation and Impact
Industrial Revolution
Background
- Commercial Revolution
- Scientific Revolution
- Intellectual Revolution
- Atmosphere of discovery and free intellectual inquiry
Definition
What was the Industrial Revolution?
- It was a change in how goods were produced and distributed, from human and animal power to machines.
- Describes a process of economic change from an agricultural and commercial society into a modern industrial one:
- Machines were invented.
- New energy sources were developed.
- Increased use of metals and minerals.
Two Stages of the Industrial Revolution
- The First Industrial Revolution (1750-1870)
- The Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1960)
Improvements
- Agriculture
- Demography
- Transportation
- Communication
Factory System
- Developed to replace the domestic system of production.
- Faster method of production.
- Workers concentrated in a set location.
- Production anticipated demand.
The First Industrial Revolution in England
Why the Industrial Revolution Started in England:
- Capital for investing in the means of production
- Colonies and markets for manufactured goods
- Raw materials for production
- Workers
- Merchant marine
- Geopolitical factors
Steam Power
Developed for steam engines:
- Steam engines were replacing water wheels as power sources for factories.
- The development of steam power allowed the cotton industry to expand and transformed the iron industry.
- The factory system was created in response to the new energy sources.
The First Industries
Occurred first in the cotton and the metallurgical industries:
- The textile industry
- The metallurgical industry: coal and iron
Transportation Revolution
Increased production, search for more markets and raw materials, better and faster means of transportation (Robert Fulton, American).
The Spread of the Industrial Revolution
Great Britain, the world leader in the Industrial Revolution:
- Had begun: no concrete start date.
- After 1830:
- United States, France, Belgium, Germany
- Holland, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland were slower to industrialize.
- Spain (Catalonia only)
- By 1890:
- Russia and Japan began to industrialize
The First and Second Industrial Revolutions
- The First Industrial Revolution took place between about 1750 and 1870:
- Saw fundamental changes in agriculture, the development of factories, and rural to urban migration.
- The Second Industrial Revolution took place about 1870-1960:
- Electricity became the primary source of power for factories, farms, and homes.
- Mass production, particularly of consumer goods.
Improvements (Major Industries)
- Transportation: Railroads, canals, automobiles, airplanes
- Production: Standardized, assembly line, labor division and specialization
- Communication: Newspapers, telephone, radio, cinematograph
The Major Industries:
Chemical sector, electric sector, food industry
Results of the Industrial Revolution
Economic Changes:
- Expansion of world trade
- Factory system
- Mass production of goods
- Industrial capitalism
- Increased standard of living
- Unemployment
Political Changes:
- Rise to power of businesspeople
- Growth of new socio-economic classes
- Growth and expansion of democracy
- Increased government involvement in society
- Increased power of industrialized nations
- Nationalism and imperialism stimulated
Social Changes:
- Development and growth of cities
- Population increases
- Science and research stimulated
- Problems: economic insecurity, urban slums, labor movement, increase in leisure time.