The Industrial Revolution

• Pre-1700’s: only about 10% of Europeans lived in cities

• Around 1750: Britain began the process of industrialization

• Industry was transformed from handicraft to machine production.

• This resulted in:– Large production facilities– Masses of workers– A Professional class of

“managers”

The Steam Engine (1775), James Watt

Old Bess (1777), London Science Museum

1817 Watt Engine, Birmingham, England

The Cotton Gin (1793), Eli Whitney

The Telegraph (1836), Samuel Morse

The Sewing Machine (1844), Elias Howe

CitiesPopulation 1700

Population 1800

Birmingham

7,000 50,000

Manchester 8,000 50,000

Sheffield 2,000 26,000

Manchester in the 1700’sA city on the grow…

Chronology of Western Industrialization:

• 1750s: Britain• 1820s: Belgium & France • 1850s: The German States• 1860s: The USA• 1870s: Italy, Austria, & Canada • 1890s: Russia

Luddites

Why did this Industrial Revolution occur first and most strikingly in

Great Britain?

1. The Agricultural Revolution:• The Enclosure Movement (1500’s – 1700’s)

Common lands in England were fenced off into individual plots & smaller landholdings were combined into larger, more efficient holdings.

• Many small landholders lost their lands and were forced to either become tenant farmers or move to the cities.

»JETHRO TULL Concerned about the amount of seed wasted by hand-scattering it across a field, he invented a seed drill that made it possible to plant seeds in straight rows.

2. Factors of Production• Great Britain had a favourable combination of the

factors needed for industrial growth…• LAND refers to all natural resources

– Britain’s many rivers provided water power & inland shipping routes

– It’s many harbours encouraged trade within & beyond the British Isles.

– It also had a rich supply of coal & iron ore

• CAPITAL anything used in production– Britain had the tools, machinery, equipment &

inventory necessary– Britain had the money, which those who grew

rich during the 1700’s used to invest in new businesses

• LABOUR Britain also had a large labour supply, fueled by the steady migration of landless farmers to the cities

3. Technology:• Mechanized spinning machines enabled

employers to gather workers in a single location near a power supply. These new workplaces were known as “manufactories.”

• Steam power allowed factories to set up in the cities.

• Train & steam pumps allowed more mining and transportation of resources and goods.

Newcastle

Coal power plant

4. TradeWith an expanding empire based on the mercantile system, British industry had expansive markets for British manufactured goods.

Soon, factories reorganized theirproduction by breaking down skilledtasks into a number of simple, unskilledones that could be performed morequickly and cheaply.

A young “drawer” pulling coal up a mineshaft

Karl Marx

Chapter 15: Industrialization (1750-1850) pp. 204-215

• Organize your reading into the following chart:

• ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: Why did Europe industrialize while China and Japan did not? By collecting information from “Industrialization: Europe’s Great Divergence” on p. 213 and other sources, develop a series of points you might use to defend a thesis in an essay on this topic.

Pros of Industrialization Cons of Industrialization