INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Unlike the French Revolution, the industrial Revolution was economic, having to do with the production of wealth, the techniques of manufacture, the exploitation of natural resources, the development of new technologies, the formation of capital, and the distribution of products to consumers

It would lead to the dominance of Britain, and Europe in General

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN BRITAIN

What is it? The process of shifting from hand tools to power machinery

THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

English parliament was dominated by the land owning class

Extreme political stability in England led to the Agricultural Revolution in England

This landowning class sought to increase profit through improved cultivation and stock raising

Example, the use of fertilizer such as manure, better inventions such as the horse hoe, new crops, and included scientific ideas such as crop rotation

Additionally, science was applied – better breeding to produce larger cattle

ENCLOSURE ACTS

Much of English land was still public, and was controlled by common rights

Since the landowners controlled parliament, they passed a series of acts that fenced them, and made them private

Because of this, small tracts of land could be gobbled up by large landowners, and it would be leased out to small farmers

LABOUR INTENSIVE VS CAPITAL INTENSIVE

This system, compounded with new inventions, freed up new labour, as farming became more efficient

Many farmers became wage earners, who worked for big farmers, or other jobs like weaving

They were also mobile, able to go where the work was because they were no longer dependant on the land

Agricultural Revolution

The Seed Drill -Jethro Tull (1674 - 1741) Jethro Tull - his two inventions: the seed drill and horse hoe. The seed drill was an

innovation that allowed seeds to be easily planted deep into the earth instead of on top where the majority were washed away or otherwise lost. The machine was pulled by horses and consisted of rotating drills or runners that would plant seeds at a set depth. His other invention, the horse hoe, was another revolutionary device which allowed for much more efficient planting by allowing a horse to pull a plow quickly.

Lord Townshend Townshend was another key player in popularizing root vegetables, even more so

than Tull. Called "Turnip" Townshend by others, he was famous for his cultivation of turnips and clover on his estate in Norfolk. He introduced the four-course rotation of crops which helped keep the ground good for farming almost all year. This cycle consisted of wheat, turnips, oats or barley, and clover.

Robert Bakewell (1725 - 1795) Bakewell was the first and most prominent stock breeder of farm animals. By

breeding only animals with certain qualities, Bakewell was able to breed much more livestock. Bakewell kept elaborate genealogical records of his valuable animals and maintained his stock carefully; he was renowned for his success with sheep. By the end of the eighteenth century, his principles of stock breeding were practiced widely.

INDUSTRIALISM IN BRITAIN Because Britain was so strong after the Napoleonic

wars, they had the most colonies Consequently, they had the most markets all over the

world The British merchant could sell as much as could be

produced They had to search for more rapid methods of

production Example, cotton. The demand for cotton was

exceptionally high The market was endless if it could be produced by

machines What was needed was capital – money to be invested England had this because they were already wealthy

from commerce and agriculture

KEY INVENTIONS

1733 – John Kay invents the Fly Shuttle Meant that only one person was needed to

weave cloth on a loom Because output of weaving increased,

demand for yarn increased 1760s, spinning jenny invented Steam engine invented for spinning

These machines were bigger, so Richard Arkwright set up the first mills, or factories, and brought the workers in

Eli Whitney, 1793, invented the cotton Gin, which sped up the removal of cotton seed

This greatly increased the output of cotton By 1820, Cotton made up ½ of British

exports

STEAM ENGINE

Britain was running out of timber, so alternate sources of energy where needed

By 1780, Boulton and Watt were manufacturing steam engines for use

The steam engine went from use in factories, to transportation

Led to the development of railways By 1840s, the era of railways was underway

in Europe and the US

NEW INDUSTRIAL CITIES

In population, Manchester grew from 25000 in 1772 to 455000 in 1851

But incorporation of a new city was difficult because it was unusual.

Therefore, new cities had difficulty with infrastructure, such as sewage

New cities were dreadful places Blackened by the early coal age Housing for workers was hastily built And always in short supply Entire families lived in single rooms

Most factories only required unskilled labour Skilled workers, such as weavers, had been

displaced by machines, and looked for any odd job

Factories paid wages that were too low to allow a man to support his wife and children

The work was so mechanical, that the work of children was often preferred

Hours in factories were long, 14 plus hours a day

Not new to farmers, but the conditions were more repressive

Unorganized, bargained independently with employers

The owners, who were small business people, faced competition, and them too were in debt

They held wages to the lowest possible amount

Some regulation was in motion, such as the first Factory Act of 1802, which regulated the use of pauper children

But, there were no factory inspectors Mainly, the new industrialists wanted to be

left alone

The Industrial Revolution created a new working class The new class of industrial workers included all the men,

women, and children labouring in the textile mills, pottery works, and mines

Wages were low, hours were long, and working conditions unpleasant and dangerous

Women and children regardless of where they worked, had the most exploitative working condition and the lowest rates of pay.

This is a picture of two children working in the mines. They were small enough to fit into narrow space. These are often the conditions children worked in.

Houses were built in rows or in squares with a common courtyard, in which there might be a water tap and a common toilet.

There was little access to fresh air and little provision for clean water or removal of refuse, including human waste.

CLASSICAL ECONOMICS: LAISSEZ FAIRE

1776, Adam Smith Publishes “Wealth of Nations”

Criticized mercantilism Natural laws of production and exchange

should be allowed to rule Economics runs outside of government Natural laws of supply and demand People such use their rational thought

because they know their natural interests better than anyone else

The natural interests will add up to the interests of all

Government should provide laws and courts Iron law of Wages – workers should only be

paid at the subsistence level, because if they make more, they have more children, and eat up the extra money