The Rise of Industrialism

Transparency Notes

Pre-Industrial Society• Farming in the Middle Ages– Subsistence Farming– One of three fields left fallow (empty) to regain fertility

• Peasants shared strips in each section

– Common pastures for grazing animals• No fences = ruined crops• Spread disease faster

– Disadvantages• Inefficient land use• Farmers didn’t experiment with new farming methods

– Forces for Change• Population growing – more food needed

– Britain nearly doubles during 18th Century

• French blockade – no corn – more food needed– Search for new farming methods

• Assessment = Create Visual Flow Chart

The Agricultural Revolution• Enclosure movement (17th & 18th Century)

– Wealthy landlords fenced in common pastures• Raised sheep for wool• Experimented with new farming methods

– Villagers lost common lands = poorer farmers• Crop rotation (Scientific Farming)

– Fields depleted of nutrients by one crop could be replenished by planting different crops• Clover, alfalfa, pod-bearing• Less waste of land; better production

• Discoveries– Seed drill = more effective & efficient planting– New crops

• Indian corn (maize) = 20x more seeds• Potato

– grows anywhere in large quantities– High nutrition

Planting of correct crops

which increases soil fertility

Healthier livestock =

more manure (fertilizer)

More fertile fields = bigger

crops/more food

Better diets/healthier

populations; population grows

More workers = more food

needed

Cottage Industry & Early CapitalismMerchants supply rural workers with raw cotton or wool

1st set of workers combs/cleans fibers

for spinning

Merchants deliver combed fibers to 2nd workers for

weaving into cloth

Merchants deliver cloth to 3rd workers

for coloring

Merchant sells finished cloth to

consumers for profit; keeps some &

reinvests some in repeating the process

Cottage Industry & Early Capitalism• Cottage Industry = early form of Capitalism– Merchants reaction to buyers’ demands for manufactured

products– Capitalism = An economic system in which the means of

production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market

Advantages:•No expensive equipment•No time clock•Income offset poor harvests•Workers control amount of work•Merchants earn large profits

Disadvantages:•Homes became crowded & dirtier•Young children worked as well

The Textile / Factory System• Textile Industry Invented– Cottage Industry couldn’t keep up with demand for

textiles– New Inventions:• Spinning jenny, spinning mule & water frame improved

spinning.

• Power Loom sped up weaving• Cotton gin (Eli Whitney) separated seeds from

cotton

“Necessity is the mother of invention”

• Each invention improved upon a previous model

• Machines become larger, faster, expensive and require more than human power to operate

• Require factories to house them• Factories located near power sources (water,

coal, iron)• Workers ‘GO’ to work rather than work coming

to them

Effects of the Factory System

• Prices on mass produced ‘machine goods’ were lower than ‘hand-produced goods’

• People become factory ‘workers’ rather than skilled craftsmen as they are trained in one specific repetitive task

• Workers lose autonomy as owners control wages, hours & working conditions

• England experiences huge economic growth in the 1800’s

• In 1815 = 250,000 hand-loom weavers• In 1860 = 3,000 hand-loom weavers

The Steam Engine

The Steam Engine• Developed in response to increasing need for

power– Early factories used horses, oxen or water power• Limited power• Restricted factories to being built near rivers

– Development credited to James Watt– Allows machines to run off steam produced by

burning coal as fuel• More factories, more locations, more machines• Improves mining by removing water from flooded mines

– Increases precious metals available for industry

Energy: Iron & Coal

• The need for iron/steel (railways, tools, machines) greatly increases during the late 1700’s.– Iron production requires expensive & limited raw

materials (timber & charcoal)– Discovery of coal and its variant, coke, as

replacements help meet demands• Plentiful sources of coal in Britain allow it to

produce more iron than all other countries combined

• Coal powers Britain's huge navy

Transportation• Need for Better Transportation– Increased production increases need to transport goods quickly &

cheaply– Pre-industrial society used horses, mules & dirt roads

• Inventions– Stone and eventually asphalt roads (1830=20K miles)– Canals– Railroads starting in 1829 (the Rocket; George Stephenson)

• Effects of the Railroad– Expand rapidly through Britain– Cheaper, faster & more reliable transportation increases

production & profits– Railways ‘fuel’ other industries: coal, iron, steel, steam engines &

manufacturing

Why the Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain?

• Geography– Available raw materials in abundance (coal & iron)– Isolated from continental wars which depletes resources &

causes disruption• Government– Unified culture and traditions (nationalism)– Mobile population / few internal restrictions

• Encourages trade & travel

– Government sponsorship of transportation improvements • Social factors / Capital ($$)– Less rigid social hierarchy– Private investment capital to jump start businesses

Why the Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain?

• Colonial Empire– Provides a cheap source of raw materials– Provides a ‘closed market’ for British manufactured

goods• First to Industrialize– No other countries competing for manufactured goods• Continental Europe was still recovering from the Napoleonic

Era– Disruption prevents movement to industrialize

– Britain develops a monopoly on technology• Legislation keeps trade secrets from leaving the country