Industrial revolution

Main thing

The Industrial Revolution was a period of major technological, socioeconomic and cultural change that began in Britain in the late 18th century and spread to other parts of Europe and North America during the 19th century, before reaching the rest of the world.

It marked the transition from a predominantly agricultural and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. The main features of the Industrial Revolution included:

• Use of new materials like iron and steel

• New energy sources such as coal and steam power

• Invention of new machines like the spinning jenny and power loom that enabled mass production

• Rise of the factory system

• Developments in transportation and communication like the steam locomotive, steamship, telegraph and radio

These changes, which were closely linked to the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries, enabled tremendous increases in production and triggered sweeping transformations that fundamentally altered the way of life.

The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain due to several factors:

• Britain's global trading empire

• Entrepreneurial and consumer culture

• Stable political and legal institutions protecting property rights

• Large domestic market

• Supply of key resources like coal and iron

• Agricultural Revolution freeing up labor for industry

• Financial institutions and wealth to invest in new ventures

• Culture of innovation and risk-taking

The Industrial Revolution is considered a major turning point in history that greatly influenced almost every aspect of daily life and led to sustained growth in incomes and population for the first time.

Example: The development of the steam engine by James Watt in the late 18th century was a key innovation of the Industrial Revolution that enabled many other technological advances.

Terms

• Scientific Revolution – A series of events between the 16th and 18th centuries that marked the emergence of modern science, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology and chemistry transformed society's view of nature. Example: Copernicus' heliocentric model of the solar system overturned the long-held Ptolemaic geocentric view.

• Factory system – A method of manufacturing using machinery and division of labor in a centralized location to produce goods on a large scale. It replaced the domestic system of people working in their homes. Example: Richard Arkwright's water-powered spinning mill in Cromford, England in 1771 was an early factory that brought workers together under one roof to produce cotton yarn.

• Steel – An alloy of iron and carbon that is stronger and more durable than iron. Example: Affordable steel, made using the Bessemer process invented in 1856, was used to build railroads, ships, bridges and skyscrapers in the late 19th century.

• Steam power – The use of steam engines to power machines, using coal or wood as fuel to boil water and create steam pressure. Example: Steam power was used to pump water out of coal mines, power textile mills, and move locomotives and ships starting in the late 18th century.

• Spinning jenny – A multi-spindle spinning frame invented in 1764 for the production of yarn. Example: The spinning jenny increased the productivity of spinners, who could make multiple spools of yarn simultaneously instead of just one.

• Power loom – A mechanized loom powered by a line shaft and steam engine, invented in 1784. Example: The power loom automated the process of weaving cloth, greatly increasing output and requiring fewer workers than traditional hand looms.

• Agricultural Revolution – The transformation of agricultural production in Britain through new farming methods and technologies in the 18th century. Example: Enclosure of open fields, selective breeding of livestock, and crop rotation increased agricultural productivity, freeing up labor to work in factories.

An analogy

The Industrial Revolution transformed society like how a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. The pre-industrial economy was like a caterpillar - slow, small-scale and limited in its abilities. But innovations like the steam engine were like a cocoon that enabled the economy to remake itself. It emerged as a modern industrial economy - dynamic, massive in productive power, and barely recognizable from its earlier agrarian state. The metamorphosis fundamentally altered the world.

Example: Englishmen went from mostly farming and selling their surplus goods locally in 1750, to working in factories and exporting products globally by 1850 - a radical transformation.

A main misconception

A common misconception is that the Industrial Revolution was a single event marked by a few heroic inventors and important machines like the steam engine. In reality, it was a long, complex process with many causes that played out over decades. It involved countless individuals, new ways of organizing work, and broader economic and cultural shifts.

Example: Many believe the spinning jenny invented by James Hargreaves in 1764 started the Industrial Revolution, but the jenny was just one of many innovations in textile manufacturing that occurred both before and after, and needed the right conditions to be widely adopted and change society.

The history

1. 1500s-1600s: The Scientific Revolution laid the intellectual groundwork for the Industrial Revolution by promoting reason, empiricism, and scientific inquiry.

2. 1760s-1840s: The First Industrial Revolution began in Britain, with the mechanization of the textile industry, the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. Factories and railroads emerged.

3. 1840s-1870s: Industrialization spread to Western Europe and the United States. The Second Industrial Revolution began with the rise of steel, electricity, chemicals and petroleum.

4. 1870s-1914: The Second Industrial Revolution continued with the growth of railroads, iron steamships, and machinery. Mass production and the factory system became widespread. Japan and Russia began to industrialize.

5. 20th century: Industrialization spread to the Soviet Union and other parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Deindustrialization began in some Western countries as manufacturing shifted to lower-cost regions.

"The Industrial Revolution was the most important thing to happen in human history since the domestication of animals and plants." - Vaclav Smil, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba and author of over 40 books on energy, environment and technology.

Three cases how to use it right now

1. Understand the impact of technology: The Industrial Revolution shows how technological change can radically transform society. Reflect on how digital technologies are reshaping the economy, politics and culture today in a similar way.

2. Appreciate the power of innovation: The Industrial Revolution was driven by a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Britain. Cultivate your own creativity and support policies that encourage research and development to drive progress.

3. Consider the social consequences: The Industrial Revolution created new social classes and urban problems as people moved to factory cities. Be aware of the potential disruptive impacts of economic change and support efforts to help people adapt.

Interesting facts

• The word "luddite," meaning someone opposed to new technology, comes from a group of 19th-century English textile workers who destroyed machinery they thought threatened their jobs.

• The first passenger railway line opened in 1825, covering 25 miles from Stockton to Darlington in England. Horses pulled the first trains; steam locomotives came later.

• In 1900, the United States had around 200,000 miles of railroad tracks, more than all of Europe combined. Railroads enabled the settlement of the American West.

• The power loom increased a weaver's output by a factor of 40, while spinning jenny and water frame increased a spinner's output by a factor of 500 by the early 19th century.

• Britain was called the "workshop of the world" during the Industrial Revolution, producing more than half of the world's iron, coal and cotton cloth by the 1850s.