2. INTRODUCTION During the second half of the 17 th century, there were a drastic breakthrough in mainly Great Britain’s, but gradually the rest of the worlds development, that would lead to radical changes in peoples lives, working relations and environment. was so fundamental that it’s often compared with the transition from farming to stock raising, which began several thousand years before the birth of Christ. Considering the uses of natural resources, can human history be dived up into three pieces of varying length; hundreds of thousands years before “the agricultural revolution”, thousands of years between this and the Industrial revolution and the two hundreds years after the beginning of Industrial revolution. Before Industrial revolution, man did the most work in society.
During 17 th century people started to invent machines. Accompanied by changes in agriculture, science and the treatment of people, the Industrial revolution shaped a new kind of life. 2. 1 Limitations I, sometimes have difficulties to draw limits.
When it comes to such big and wide subject as the Industrial revolution, it is of course very difficult to write and understand it all. It is also difficult to decide what is important enough to bring in the essay and what you should omit. Therefor I decided to write a rather comprehensive job. I haven’t focused on any particular part, but written what, when, how and why the Industrial revolution is /occurred. 2. 2 A imsI want this essay to contain as much information as possible of the Industrial revolution or “Second wave” as it is also called, on the few pages that I will write.
3. REVIEW OF SOURCES I have only written this essay based on written material. I have used a lot of information from the Internet, but also from a very good book called “The Industrial Revolution in World History” written by a professor called Peter N. Stearns. If I decided to write a part from one book, or from an Internet site, I always compared it with another source, to see the differences and similarities. Dictionaries are often very sweeping in the subject, and there are both good and bad sides about that.
I have decided also to write the centuries in Swedish form. So 17 th century is in our time scale “.” 4. RESULTS 4. 1 The beginning Revolution doesn’t mean only changes and development. It means rapid changes and developments. (Evolution means slow / gradual changes).
The British Industrial Revolution consisted of an unusual powerful and sudden innovation wave. A s erie of technical ideas were combined step by step to form new systems. Mainly two of these got a big importance and lead to the textile industry and coalfield technology. The Industrial Revolution was not a sudden appearance; it was the result of a long learning period.
The most common to say that it “started” was in Great Britain for 250 years ago. The initial stages were in the 1760 th. Within a half decade it started to spread, at first to the north west parts of Europe and to the USA. The early industrialisation in Belgium, France started around the 1820 th.
Industrialisation process arise d from the extensive changes that occurred in the world economy. 4. 2 Britain and the increased population Before the 17 th century, the most prominent economies in the world, was characterised by handicraft works and a big labour force that was engaged to farming. Some factors started during the 17 th century that gave rise to the worlds first Industrial revolution, such as rise of the middle class, expansion of trade and markets, centralization of the state and scientific revolution.
Many of these were specific for Great Britain, were the Industrial revolution started. New farming methods came to use during late 16 th century. Farmers in many parts of Europe, including Ireland, France, started to raise potatoes. A plant from the “New World”, that for a long tome was seen with a big suspiciousness. A higher rate of potato plants made the population increase in Europe in the 1730 th, because of its important nutritive values. Great Britain’s population doubled between 1750 and 1800 while France population increased with 50 percent.
The food industry enlarged, which also contributed to an increased population. The English landowners were enthusiastic because of these agricultural improvements. A higher rate of food improved and increased the British population and lowered the working forces needed within farming. Progress within European science, higher ed the interest for new technology on the production area.
Many scientific societies were established between scientists, tradesmen and factory owners. 4. 3 Industries, technical changes and new inventions At the same time that there were changes and improvements in the farming production, there was a flow of new inventions. These made drastic changes in the English industrial system. The nation was already the leading trade country in the world. The growing population made more people to bye clothes.
This made the internal manufactures to expand their business, a gradual change that was a precursor to a new way to organise industrial work forces. As more and more workers and small business started to expand their activities by hiring wage earner, the contours to a industrialized middle class gradually to appear. Soon, new technical help to that sector started to develop. 1733 an English hand worker, James Kay invented a kind of hand loom that automatically inserted the thread horizontally through a frame, when activated by a pedal, so called the Flying Shuttle. Edmund Cartwright in 1785 paten ed the power loom which was basically an improvement to Kay’s flying shuttle.
Small factories replaced the production that took place in the home. This changes developed rapidly in 1770. Industrial revolution in England was going on. Cotton took the central place in England’s early industrialisation.
Cotton had qualities that made the handling easy to mechanism. There was an inquiring of cotton, which made new techniques for long production qualities. The beginning of 1730, a s erie of inventions made the cotton production closer to a system of factory manufactory. James Hargreaves invented a spin machine (Spinning Jenny) 1764 – this was still combined to handicrafts, so in 1769 Richard Arkwright made the first water driven spin machine (a water frame); which twisted threads with help from a runner and bobbins that worked continually. Both steam machines and water wheels could drive these new contrivances.
Cotton production in the 1790 th made extraordinary progress. Workers had to move from their works to the new machines and fabrics. Huge fortunes could me made within the industry. As late as 1840, cotton made up half of the British export value.
The cotton industry increased with 1500 percent between the years 1820 – 1840. Great Britain consisted mainly by changes in the cotton industry, but many other developments were also vital. The biggest mechanical steps outside the textile sector, were within metallurgy and mine drift. Also different transportation developed and was highly affected. The first steam engine was invented by a French fug ee in Holland in the mid. 16 th century.
Around the year 1700 the machine was improved and changed by a man called Thomas Newcomen. It was yet again refined in 1760 by James watt. The steam engine is perhaps one of the most widely recognized features of the industrial revolution. It gave abundant power at low cost, it could be moved and it was the first great source of artificial power.
Many different production areas started to use steam power and the result of that was an enormous increase of product production. Steam power and new machines decreased peoples body work, but in the other hand then the coal production had to increase and to that many people were needed in coal mines, including children. Cheap and plentiful iron provided the material needed for agriculture, building materials, military hardware, and industrial machinery. Britain became the world’s leading iron producer. 4.
4 Transportation and communications As I just mentioned transportation and communication was highly affected in the Industrial revolution. The problem of how to move the increasing quantities of factory produced goods to distant places was solved by improvements in transportations. In contrary to many other countries were the state produces the most communications, England’s railroads, roads, and canals, were often financed by private persons or companies. Also England biggest need for better transportations was’t because of military needs, but for commercial needs.
1820-1830 was the years of the most successful railroads. The canals that were built, were in north England. Farm owners and industry owners made canals from water drains. The canals gave excellent transport possibilities, and could often half ten the costs 4.
5 Industrial revolution in the world The Industrial revolution rapidly affected the whole world Because the Indusrtal revolution first appeared in west, it most often also connected to there. It also both connected and divided different continents and parts of the world. The Industrial revolution formed one of the most central of human history. It brought with it both advantaged and disadvantages.
It’s started and constantly continuing. We still adjust ourselves to it’s effects.