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What is Industrial Revolution?
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major
changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transport, and technology had a profound
effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions.
The Industrial revolution took place in Britain, then subsequently spreading throughout
Europe, North America, and eventually the world. The Industrial Revolution marks a
major turning point in human history in almost every aspect of human life.
Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and
mass production. The iron and textile industries, along with the development of the steam
engine, played central roles in the Industrial Revolution, which also saw improved
systems of transportation, communication and banking. While industrialization brought
about an increased volume and variety of manufactured goods and an improved standard
of living for some, it also resulted in often grim employment and living conditions for the
poor and working classes.
Industrial revolution can also be described in the words of Nobel Prize winning Robert E.
Lucas, Jr. as he states,
"For the first time in history, the living standards of the masses of
ordinary people have begun to undergo sustained growth. ... Nothing
remotely like this economic behavior has happened before."
Why did Industrial Revolution start?
Before Industrial revolution manufacturing took place was in homes or rural areas and it
was done by hand. Some products made in the home (including clothing, furniture, tools,
cloth, hardware, jewelry, leather, silverware, and weapons) were even exchanged for
food. But, people lived in fear that the crops they grew might fail, as many of them already
suffered from malnutrition. In addition, diseases and other epidemics were unfortunately
common. Hence machines were introduced to enhance the effective production.
Industrial revolution specifically emerged from Britian because it had natural resources
like coal, iron ore and developed farmlands. It also had a stable population growth due to
the boosting agricultural system.
Causes of Industrial revolution.
Collectively there were many major factors that contributed to Industrial revolution. The
urge to increase the quality of human like, to make technological advancement led to the
causes of the Industrial revolution. But there are three most important causes of Industrial
revolution were,
• Dependency on technology :- 'Technology' in this context means scientific way of
thinking. Scientific revolution promoted of scientific thinking. This trend started with the
Renaissance and increased with the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment. Hence with
the increased emphasis on scientific ideology, the concept of Industrial revolution took
birth.
• Impact of education:- Before Industrial revolution a little attention was paid
towards raising the levels of education. But with period of Renaissance bought about a
revolution and led more individuals to be educated. This educated class was the base to
form up the Industrial revolution and bring about an impact in the society and
manufacturing new interventions.
• Protestant Reformation:- The Catholic/Protestant debate existed. A reformation
named as the ‘Protestant Reformation’ was formed. The reform was against the interest
of Protestents because it weakened or prohibitions on lending money, for example, and
helped to develop capitalism. Some also argue that it led to the Protestant work ethic
which helped to drive the Industrial revolution.
New invention of Industrial revolution.
1 The industrial revolution marked the intervention of many new gadgets and gizmos that
boosted all the sectors of manufacturing. The main impact of these interventions was
seen in the steam, agricultural, textile, transport, medicine and mining sector. Intellectual
personalities of the Industrial revolution led to the invention of such machinary that
marked a revolutionary change in the history .
1 http://www.slideshare.net/nictnt/the-industrial-revolution-presentation-1247384 http://www.slideshare.net/theironegoodson/industrial-revolution-powerpoint-8582393?related=1
http://www.slideshare.net/changk/industrial-revolution-11831490?related=2
STEAM ENGINES
Steam power was fuelled by coal, utilisation of water wheels and powered machinery
underpinned the increases in production capacity. Development of all-metal machine
tools in the first two decades of the 19th century facilitated the manufacture of production
machines for manufacturing in other industries. Effects spread throughout Western
Europe and North America during the 19th century, affecting most of the world, a process
that continues as industrialization. The impact of this change on society was enormous.
Some example of such intervention were:-
I - James Watt Steam Engine -
Ideas, capital, and attitudes were all primed
for the Industrial Revolution. All that was needed was the right technology. Factory owners needed a way to efficiently and
cheaply produce the energy needed to power industry. James Watt had the
answer. His introduced the first steam engine that paved for Industrial Revolution to flourish.
Steam engines had been previously invented, as early as the opening of the 18th century. However, these engines
required lots of fuel in order to operate. This made using the steam engine very expensive. A more cost-effective engine was required to make its use widespread.
II - Stephenson's locomotive - In
1813, George Stephenson began the construction of his first locomotive. For the construction of the locomotive, every part
of the engine had to be made by hand, and hammered into shape just like a
horseshoe. The locomotive named “Bucher” that dragged 30 tons of materials on till four miles. This successful
presentation marked the first steam locomotive journey made on railroad that was
specifically created for train use. In 1829, George Stephenson also invented a multi-tubular boiler.
III - Robert Fulton's
‘Steamboat’ – Robert Fulton vital
work was the steamboats. Besides
that, Fulton made many important contributions to the development of
naval warfare, the submarine, the technology of mine warfare, the design and construction of the first
steam-powered warship, and to canal transportation which began with passenger service and later helped in the
development of canal-based transportation that could transport goods quickly and efficiently. Fulton’s steamboat was the first to become a practical, financial, and commercially successful steamboat. Fulton’s steamboat was names as ‘Clermont’.
AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
Agricultural Revolution began in the early 1700s with an Englishman. Advancement was
seen in farming which was absolutely vital in order for Europe to maintain and feed a
rapidly growing population. Crop yields per acre were increased by new knowledge about
what techniques would allow plants to grow and new agricultural techniques. Fertilizers,
minerals, and soil content were all factors that started to be taken into account. New tools,
and processes were developed to ensure that less people were needed to grow ever
increasing amounts of food. New plows, rakes, and other implements began to be used.
I - Jethro Tull - Jethro Tull invented a Seed Drill which could be pulled behind a
horse. It consisted of a wheeled vehicle containing a box filled with grain. There was a
wheel-driven ratchet that sprayed the
seed out evenly as the Seed Drill
was pulled across the field. A seed
drill sowed seeds that exactly
positions the seeds in the soil and
then covers them. It would sow
seeds in uniform rows repeatedly
instead of the wasteful method of
scattering seeds by hand. The result
was an increased rate of
germination, and a much-improved crop yield. Jethro Tull saw that the usual way of
sowing seed by scattering it across the ground was wasteful. Many seeds failed to take
root. He solved this problem with an invention called the seed drill in about 1701.
II - Lord Townshend - Townshend discovered-or merely popularized, there is
some debate-that if crops were grown in rotation, the land could be kept in production with
no loss of fertility. Example, to do this, the land was divided into four fields and in each
was grown in succession: wheat, clover, barley and turnips. The clover and turnips
renewed the soil when grown after wheat or barley. Townshend's method became known
as the Norfolk Crop Rotation system.
III - Robert Bakewell - Bakewell's great innovation included random breeding
called ‘in-an-in’, resulting in many different breeds with their own unique, but random,
characteristics. Bakewell separated males from females, allowing mating only
deliberately and specifically. Furthermore, by inbreeding his livestock he fixed and
exaggerated those traits he thought were desirable. Bakewell pioneered irrigation,
building canals and establishing experimental plots to test different manure methods.
TEXTILE SECTOR
The textile industry significantly grew during the Industrial Revolution. The demand for
cloth grew, so merchants had to compete with others for the supplies to make it. This
raised a problem for the consumer because the products were at a higher cost. The
solution was to use machinery, which was cheaper then products made by hand (which
took a long time to create), therefore allowing the cloth to be cheaper to the consumer. In
1813, Francis Cabot Lowell set up the first American textile factory.
I - Eli Whintey's Cotton gin -
Inventor Eli Whitney (1765-1825) patented
the cotton gin, a machine that
revolutionized the production of cotton by
greatly speeding up the process of
removing seeds from cotton fiber. Cotton
gin made cotton processing less
labor-intensive, it helped planters earn
greater profits, prompting them to grow larger crops, which in turn required more people. 2
II - The spinning Jenny - James Hargreave’s ‘Spinning Jenny’, revolutionized
the process of cotton spinning. The machine used eight spindles onto which the thread
was spun, so by turning a single wheel, the operator could now spin eight threads at once.
This increased to eighty with improvements in the technology.3
III - John Kay's 'Flying Shuttle' - John Kay in 1733, formed the ‘Flying
Shuttle’. It would weave up to a maximum of the width of a man's body, across his arms.
The machine worked in such a way because the shuttle had to pass backwards and
forwards, from hand to hand. John Kay's invention allowed the shuttle, containing the
thread, to be shot backwards and forwards across a much wider bed. The flying shuttle
also allowed the thread to be woven at a faster rate, thus enabling the process of weaving
to become faster.
2 http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/cotton-gin-and-eli-whitney 3 http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item107855.html http://www.saburchill .com/history/chapters/IR/009.html http://mx.lalela.net/spinning-jenny-industrial-revolution.html
TRANSPORT SECTOR
The growth of the Industrial Revolution depended on the ability to transport raw materials
and finished goods over long distances. There were three main types of transportation
that increased during the Industrial Revolution: waterways, roads, and railroads.
Transportation was important because people were starting to live in the West. During
this time period, transportation via water was the cheapest way to move heavy products.
I - Stephenson's 'Rocket' - The Rocket was designed and bui lt by George
Stephenson with the help of his son, Robert, and Henry Booth. The Rocket reached
speeds of 24mph during the 20 laps of the course. This was due to several new design
features. It was the first locomotive to have a multi-tube boiler - with 25 copper tubes
rather than a single flue or twin flue. The Rocket can be seen at the Science Museum, in
London.4
II - The Wright brothers - Wright
were American inventors and pioneers of
aviation. In 1903 the Wright brothers
achieved the first powered, sustained and
controlled airplane flight; they surpassed
their own milestone two years later when
they built and flew the first fully practical
airplane. They observed that birds angled
their wings for balance and control, and tried
to emulate this, developing a concept called
“wing warping.” When they added a moveable rudder, the Wright brothers found they had
the magic formula. They succeeded in flying the first plane, controlled flight of a
power-driven, heavier than air plane. The plane flew for 59 seconds, at 852 feet, an
extraordinary achievement.
III - Henry Ford - Henry Ford invented the assembly line at his automobile
company. The assembly line reduced production time. More cars were made available for
a lower cost, making the cars more common. Also, Ford paid people a “minimum wage”
which was unheard of at the time. He paid people $5.00 a day which made people want to
4 www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/launch_ani_rocket.shtml http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/wright-brothers
http://www.valleytech.k12.ma.us/industrial_revolution/Henry_Ford-RP.htm
work and increased production.
MEDICINE SECTOR
There are many medical advances that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. Some
of these advancement included small pox vaccination, discovery of anesthetic, discovery
of X-ray, invention of asprin and blood tranfusion.
I - Louis Pasteur ‘Germ theory’ -
Louis Pasteur's main contributions to microbiology
and medicine were
1) Instituting changes in hospital/medical practices
to minimize the spread of disease by microbes or
germs.
2) Discovering that weak forms of disease could
be used as an immunization against stronger
forms and that rabies was transmitted by viruses
too small to be seen under the microscopes of the
time.
3) Introducing the medical world to the concept of
viruses.5
II - Edward Jenner - Edward Jenner was apprenticed to a local surgeon and was
trained in London. Jenner subsequently proved that having been inoculated with cowpox,
hid experiment (Phillip) was immune to smallpox. He submitted a paper to the Royal
Society describing his experiment. The advantages of vaccination invented by Jenner led
to protection that won out. Vaccination soon became widespread. Jenner became
famous and spent much of his time researching on developments in his vaccine.
5 http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventors/a/Louis_Pasteur.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/jenner_edward.shtml
http://nfs.unipv.it/nfs/minf/dispense/patgen/lectures/files/history.html
Impact Of Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution consisted of both positive and negative aspects that impacted
Great Britain, its economy, and its people. Positively, inventions such as the steam
engine, pushed Britain and other nations towards manufacturing and engineering
prowess. Britain was by far the wealthiest nation, as it began producing more efficiently.
This led to set new standards to form an industrial economy.
POSITIVE OUTCOME/EFFECTS6
• Positive effect of industrial revolution was seen in the infrastructure as the buildings
and factories were constructed with mordern technique and new architectural ideas.
Example: The buildings structures were more effective because they accommodated
homeless people with shelter. Also residences were built within walking distance of a
factory that was feasible to the working population. They built churches and architecture
was modernized.
• The second effect was was the modern inventions that took place during Industrial
revolution. These interventions bettered people’s lives and increased the standard of
living by maintain well being. The inventions caused advancements in both technology
and medicine.
Example: The telephone was invented which allowed people to communicate with each
other.
• Industrial Revolution also bought about changes in the class structure all around the
world. The changing class structure was positive because people started making more
money. This was because they were withdrawing away from the existing laws that forced
the factory owners to pay a minimum wage. Also a middle class started emerging which
also got rid of aristocracy.
• Another effect of Industrial Revolution was the erosion of gender inequality to some
extent. Women and chi ldren were given jobs but not with equal wages. It marked the idea
of women going out for job, instead of staying home. It was a example for the society that
men were no longer the only one who had the right to work.
6 http://mbaldwinss9.blogspot.com/2012/10/positive-and-negative-effects-of.html http://teacherweb.com/Blog/PA/HanoverPublicSchoolDistrict/MrEugeneWKraus/6/blog.aspx?Post=221e8ad8 -3786-4057-a490-07764c00fc09
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/industrial -revolution-408421
• The fourth effect was the improvement in Education system. The government
provided more financial support to schools for the large number of children working.
Example children were able to receive an education for 2 hours a day. New technical
schools were established that increased the ability of children to become skilled industrial
workers in the new age of manufacturing and technology.
• The fifth and final effect of Industrial Revolution was that conditions in the coal mines
also increased. Not only the conditions of the coal mines increased, the production of
coal also increased. Coals were used in place of wood for fueling stoves in the
manufacture of brickes, dyes, and other products.
NEGATIVE EFFECT
• The most basic negative effect of Industrial Revolution was the work condition. The
factories were dirty and dangerous. They didn’t have any laws for the minimum pay or
safety issues. The workers were paid low salaries that could barely cover their costs of
living. Their hours were long and they were not permitted any breaks.
• Industrial revolution also led to the concept of child labor. Children were given very low
pay and worked in very bad conditions. They worked barefoot for 12 to 14 hours and were
given no breaks. Since they were working in a factory all day, they were not able to get a
very good education so they couldn’t get out of the cycle of factory working when they got
older. Example: In coal mines children had to crawl through narrow underground
passages as low as 16 to 18 inhes in height.
• Another negative effect of Industrial revolution was the increase in rural urban migration.
The enclosure moment led people to leave away their farms and move towars the urban
cities.
• Increased migration led to the detoritaing effect of pollution. Ommision of harmful
cheicals from factories were dumped into nearby rivers that caused marine pollution as
well as water, air and noise pollution. Example: The smog in 1873 killed over 700 people
in London. However, the largest air pollution disaster in Britain was the Great London
Smog of December 1952 which killed approximately 4,000 people.
• Industrial revolution also led to increase in population. Due to high fertality and high
mortality rate more babies were born. The death rate declined due to advancement in
medicines that furture incresed population. Example: At the dawn of the Industrial
Revolution in the mid 1700s, the world’s human population grew by about 57 percent to
700 million. It would reach one billion in 1800.
Industrial Revolution today
From boiling a kettle to working in an office, much of the modern world was shaped
by the achievements of the Industrial Revolution. The legacy of the Industrial
Revolution has led the world from the first jigsaw portraying the infant Empire, to
Stephenson's Rocket, to the making of modern medicine, urban living and the
innovations of war. Although it can be said that the period of Industrial revolution
was from 18th to 19th century but scientist and philosophers argue that Industrail
Revolution is still on a go.
Even in today’s time we’re experiencing Industrial Revolution. Weather its war
machines, modern medicine or infrastructure, the effect of Industrial revolution can
be greatly seen. Every techonolgical advancement made is a sign of Industrial
revolution.
Industrial Revolution has gradually grew from the use of information and was
dominated by computers both electro-mechanical and electronic, and eventually
the Internet. It also saw the institutionalization of management practices into
business. A whole new industry develops around information technology. The
transition of technological leadership continues from Europe to the United States.
One such example of Industrial revolution is the Social Media or Internet. The
Internet is bringing a revolution along with it. Access to information combined with
global supply and demand is reshaping established conventions and destroying
old world definitions. Internet has become such an integral part of our lives,
bringing with it change not only technological, but societal and epic in scope.
Hence it can be concluded that, YES, industrial revolution in history as well as
today is continuously shaping and reshaping our lives.
Bibliography
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m
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3)http://mbaldwinss9.blogspot.com/2012/10/positive-and-negative-effects-o
f.html
http://teacherweb.com/Blog/PA/HanoverPublicSchoolDistrict/MrEugeneWK
raus/6/blog.aspx?Post=221e8ad8-3786-4057-a490-07764c00fc09
4) http://nfs.unipv.it/nfs/minf/dispense/patgen/lectures/files/history.html
5) http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventors/a/Louis_Pasteur.htm
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