Industrial Revolution: Transport, Energy, and Corporate Evolution
The Railway Age
The Railway Age was made possible by two key advances:
- The steam engine, which powered locomotives.
- Iron, the raw material used to build trains and railways.
In 1830, the first public transport railway line opened, running between Liverpool and Manchester. Technical advances made the railway a fast, safe, and cheap means of transport. It also:
- Promoted mining by increasing the demand for coal.
- Boosted the iron industry, which supplied the iron needed to build trains and railways.
Progress in Transport and Communications
The railway became widespread because it was faster, safer, and cheaper. In the 19th century, electric trams and the underground also appeared. Steamboats improved and displaced sailing ships. The opening of the Suez Canal (1869) and the Panama Canal (1914) shortened distances and reduced costs. The invention of the internal-combustion engine powered by gasoline, and the tyre, led to the birth of the automobile, invented by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler in 1895. The Wright brothers made the first advances in aviation, with their first flight in 1903.
Advances in Navigation
British industrial production grew fast, and fast, safe transport was necessary to ensure that factories received supplies. Until the 18th century, road travel was slow, uncomfortable, and dangerous. After 1750, new roads were built and old ones repaired. Travelling by inland waterways was safer and cheaper. Between 1770 and 1830, a network of canals was constructed mainly to link the producers of raw materials. The steam engine was soon used in navigation. In 1807, American inventor Robert Fulton launched the first line of commercial steamboats.
New Energy Sources and Industry
- Electricity: This was used to power machines and the electric railway, underground trains and trams, and new forms of communication.
- Petroleum: The first oil wells were drilled in 1859. This energy source grew in importance with the invention of the combustion engine.
The Iron and Steel Industries
The invention of the Bessemer converter produced a lot of steel at low prices.
The Chemical Industry
New raw materials were developed.
The Electrical Industry
Electricity was produced and distributed on a large scale.
The Introduction of New Ways of Working
- Taylorism: The engineer Frederick W. Taylor invented a process of production, which was divided into small tasks that were timed.
- Assembly Line: It was used by Henry Ford in his automobile factories. Products were passed from one worker to the next along an assembly line.
- Mass Production: This system was industrially designed; identical parts were manufactured in large quantities and brought together to make the final product. This made it possible to make large quantities of products.
Types of Corporate Group
- Cartel: A group of different companies from the same industry that reach an agreement to control production or the price of the final product.
- Trust: A group of companies dominated by one company. They want to control every phase of production.
- Holding Company: One company controls various other companies. It owns most of the shares and makes the business decisions.
The Industrial Revolution in Europe
- Belgium: It was the first country after Great Britain to industrialise. The main industries were textiles, iron, and steel.
- France: Industrialisation began in 1830-1850.
- Germany: It found it more difficult to industrialise because it was not a unified state until 1870.
Key factors in German industrialization:
- An alliance between the agrarian nobility and industrial bourgeoisie.
- State intervention in industrial development.
- A high concentration of business and finance.
- An education system favouring technical teaching.
- Denmark: With a specialised agricultural industry.
- Sweden: Industry benefitted from an abundance of good quality iron.
United States of America
- The development of highly productive agriculture. Land was abundant and labour was scarce, leading to rapid agricultural mechanisation.
- It had many natural resources linked to industry, from the south (cotton) and west (food).
- A large domestic market favoured by the rapid building of railways from coast to coast.
- Technical innovations.