Industrial revolution

❖ EnglandAbril and Martin

Britain: birthplace of the industrial revolution

Before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, most people resided in small,

rural communities where their daily life was about farming.

Life for the average person was difficult. People produced the bulk of their own food, clothing, furniture and tools. Most manufacturing was done in homes or small, rural shops, using hand tools or simple machines.

Why Britain?

Why was Britain the first country to industrialize?

This change, which occurred between 1750 and 1830, happened because conditions were perfect in Britain for the Industrial Revolution. Having used wood for heat instead of coal, Britain was left with large deposits of coal remaining to fuel the new ideas.

The Product and Market were the simple requirements, and many countries had them. What set Britain apart from the others, however, were three unique social elements:

❖ education❖ "modern" work attitudes❖ “modern" government.

Great Britain had a larger educated workforce to run the machines and create manuals. The population in Great Britain was ready to move out of the country and to the city to work. Britain, also had the large middle class and flexible mercantile class necessary.

Lastly, Britain's government, a long-time constitutional monarchy, was just right for the situation. The government was flexible enough to support the new system.

This combination of necessary elements led to the early mechanization of Britain.

Why Britain?

Money

It is not only necessary to have people with money. They must also be prepared to risk

losing that money in order to make new commercial enterprises.

In Britain this "middle class "existed; in the rest of Europe it did not. This was because the British middle class not only had money, they also had political power (which made them unique in Europe). This meant that they had the power to abolish the old laws which, up to then, had discouraged trade, commerce and profit, and introduce new laws.

Also, Britain was the only country in Europe to have a national bank, the Bank of England, and a national Stock Exchange, or bourse, which encouraged people to invest money in companies in order to earn a profit.

During the 18th. century Britain had built up a large colonial empire. If the

populations of this empire wanted to purchase manufactured products, they had no choice other than to buy British goods. With time this empire grew enormously, at the expense of Britain’s major rivals, France, Spain and Holland, and the " captive market " for British goods grew in consequence. Even the loss of the United States made little difference to Britain economically. For over half a century, the U.S.A. would be a major market for British manufactured products while the Americans created their own manufacturing base.

Many regions of Europe were often rich in raw materials but were so far from major rivers that they were ignored. Britain, by contrast, was aided by its small size and the fact that it is an island. No place in Britain is too far from the sea, which meant that wherever industries were established, they were close to a river, a canal, or the sea, which not only encouraged external trade but internal trade as well.

Market

Causes❖ A growth in demand - a result of the growth in population, but

also because of the opening up of the export market

❖ Technological change and innovation - the use of machinery

❖ The use of unskilled, cheap labour

❖ A move to bigger units of production - the factory system

❖ A change in location, away from south-east of England. - the first factories were situated in the hills of Lancashire and Yorkshire near to fast-flowing streams, which could power the water-wheels. With the invention of the steam engine, however, factories were sited on the coalfields of the north of England and Scotland.

❖ Improvements in transport - road, canals and railways

❖ Commercial chambers and banks were established.

❖ Companies and corporations accumulated.

❖ A high degree of productivity of labor increased

❖ Production cost reduced

Economical consequences

❖ Large cities appeared and became industrial centers.

❖ The emergence of two classes of capitalist society: the industrial bourgeoisie and industrial proletariat . The 2 large social groups : capitalist and worker.

❖ The rapid development of the economy led to an increase of luxury and wealth of the bourgeoisie and in turn, poverty and destitution in the working masses.

Social consequences

❖ The population concentrated in cities with industrial activity.

❖ Mass production cheapened many items. And thus improved living conditions .

❖ Domestic work was shorter

❖ The customs of the family´s changed as women began to work outside the home.

Lifestyle consequences

The industrial Revolution changed nearly all aspects

of life through new inventions, new legislation, and

spawned a new economy.

As a result of many new inventions such as the steam engine,

locomotive and powered looms production and transportation

of goods radically changed. With new mechanized machinery

factories could be built and used to mass-produce goods at a

rate that human labor could never achieve.

People went from living in the countryside and working on farms to living in cities and working in factories.

As a result…