The Industrial Revolution

What is the Industrial Revolution?

• It is the shift from producing goods by hand to using machines to make goods

• There was also a major change in agricultural production, too• Urban populations exploded as people moved from the countryside to

the cities• Started in Great Britain, spread to other wealthy countries with colonies• Dramatically changed the way of life for Western Europe and the world

Daily Life Before the Revolution

• Most of the population lived in country villages

• People farmed their land using human and animal labor

• They grew food on small plots to feed their families

• Livestock grazed on common public lands

• People produced goods in their homes and sold them to other villagers

What Was So Special About Great Britain?

• England had large supplies of raw resources because of its colonies in the New World and Asia

• It had a powerful navy that protected merchant ships and made trade safer

• The government was stable and supported the growth of businesses

• More people began investing in private businesses, allowing them to come up with new and better ways of making products

The Agricultural Revolution in Great Britain

The Open Field System

• Europeans used this system for centuries

• All villagers worked together

• All the land was shared out

• Everyone helped each other

• Everyone had a strip of land to grow food

• For centuries enough food had been grown

ADVANTAGES

Disadvantages of the Old System

Field left fallow, less food producedPeople have to walk over your strips to

reach theirs

No proper drainage

Animals can trample crops and spread disease

Difficult to take advantage of new farming techniques

Because land in different fields takes time to get to each field

No hedges or fences

Changes in Farming• Farmers improved animal breeding methods to

produce healthier livestock• Scientific Revolution inspired farmers to breed

better varieties of crops• Increased quality of people’s diet as well as

England’s food supply• Population grew rapidly

Jethro Tull’s New Machine

• Seed drill• Planted seeds in straight rows• More efficient planting method• Farmers used to scatter seeds by hand• Produced healthier crops, organized crop fields, and

reduced a farmer’s workload

The Enclosure Movement

• Wealthy landowners bought large fields that villagers had used for strip farming

• They combined the small farms into large ones and enclosed them with fences

• Larger farms were much more efficient; new farming methods were used, more food was grown and food supplies soared

• Many poor farmers were forced off their land

The British Labor Force

• England’s urban population was growing very fast for two reasons

• Better food supply• Large number of

farmers moved to the cities to find work

• Most of the labor force could adapt easily to new working conditions and were willing to learn new job skills

Great Britain’s Natural Resources

• Had vast supplies of raw resources that could be manufactured

• There were large coal and iron deposits in northern G.B.

• England had built thousands of miles of canals that could be used to transport goods around the country quickly

Investments in Industry

• England was very prosperous and people had money to spend

• Wealthy merchants and businessmen wanted to sell more products and increase trade

• They paid people to find ways to produce more goods for less money at a faster rate

Industrialization

The Factory System

England’s Textile Production

• A textile is woven cloth• People used to weave cloth in their homes

– This was called a cottage industry

• The Agricultural Revolution and an increase in trade with American colonies created larger supplies of cotton and wool

• People in the textile business wanted a way to make more cloth to trade around the world

• They began developing machines that sped up production

Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin

• A device that removed seeds from raw cotton blossoms– People used to do this by

hand– It cleaned cotton much

faster than a person could• Made the American

South the cotton producing center of the world

• Caused an increase in slave labor and trade because more cotton needed to be grown and picked

The Spinning Jenny• Created by James

Hargreaves• Spun 8 times

more cotton than a normal spinning wheel because it spun several threads at once

• Unfortunately the thread was really thick and broke easily when woven

Richard Arkwright

• Made the Spinning Frame, a machine that produced stronger, thinner thread for weaving

• Used water power to run his machine

• Opened a mill with several spinning frames to make a lot of thread at once; he created the first factory

• Encouraged weavers to move close to his mill and work there

• He is considered the father of the Industrial Revolution

The Flying Shuttle

• A device created by John Kay that made weaving fabric easier

• Weavers could now produce more cloth at a faster pace (faster than the spinning frames could produce the thread)

• Weavers had to compete for the limited supply of thread

The Impact of One Device• The Flying Shuttle created a

need for more thread • The need for more thread

created a need for more cotton and wool

• The need for more cotton created a need for more cotton plantations and slave labor

• The need for more wool created a need for more sheep pastures

• Wealthy landowners enclosed more strip farms and converted them to large sheep pastures, forcing farmers to move to the cities and search for jobs in factories

Edmund Cartwright• Saw an opportunity to get rich in the weaving

industry• Invented the water powered loom• Could weave more cloth in one day than 200

people could by hand

Textile Factories

• Were built to contain large machines that could not fit into a person’s home

• Factories could house several machines and workers in one area

• Early factories needed to be built by a water supply to power the machines

Steam

Powering the Industrial Revolution

The Steam Engine

• Created by James Watt• Harnessed the force of

steam to drive machines• Steam created far more

power than water, so most factories converted their machines to run on steam

• Steam-powered machines did not need to be located next to a large water source, but they did need a steady supply of coal

Steam-powered Transportation

• Placed in trains and on ships

• People could now transport raw materials and finished products faster than ever before

• Sail ships and horse-drawn carriages became obsolete

• Railroads were built across the country

The Impact of the Railways

Social & Economic Impact of the Railways

People became more interested in politics & this led to the growth of political parties

People were able to travel greater distances for work

and leisure

Seaside towns developed; the railways

made cheap day trips possible

Newspapers could be sent from

London all over the country.

Railway engineering

towns grew up

Seafood

Turnpike Trusts, canals & stage

coach companies could not

compete & went bankrupt.

Industry grew, because the railways needed coal & iron;

railways in turn allowed factories to transport their

goods to markets.

Townspeople were able to receive meat,

fish, milk and vegetables brought in while they were still fresh by the railways.

First Class Mail

Mail delivery sped up

How did railways create more jobs?

Railways make the moving of goods

cheaper.

Goods can now be sold for less.

More people can afford to

buy these goods

More goods are sold & so more need to

be produced.

Businessmen employ more workers.

More people with jobs means …

This is called the Cycle of Prosperity

Who benefited from these new jobs?

?

?

                                     

?

Social Changes

-Travel times reduced dramatically

-More people began travelling

-A standard time was set for all of England

(Greenwich Mean Time)

The Revolution Spreads

• Great Britain tried hard to prevent other countries from industrializing, but it could not control all of the new ideas and technologies

• Industrialization did not spread evenly across the globe; it only took hold in countries similar to Great Britain

• They had to have natural resources, a large labor force, and money invested in industry

Consequences of the Industrial Revolution

• Production and trade increased dramatically, industrialized countries got rich while many colonies and non-industrialized countries did not

• Competition between factories grew, spurring the invention of more machines

• Pollution skyrocketed and cities became dirtier than ever before