Britain As the First Industrial Nation
The Birth of the Industrial Revolution
Why Cities?
The birth of modern cities was an important step in human history.
Discuss why cities are important with a partner.
What do cities give us that country villages could not?
Can you come up with three reasons together?
What Was the Industrial Revolution?
The Industrial Revolution was a time in British history where the country
changed hugely from a mostly rural society to an industrial one.
This means that many British people moved from living in small towns and
villages, where they were farmers, to huge cities, where they worked in
places such as factories or mills.
It is called a revolution because it was such a huge change. The birth of the
Industrial Revolution is the birth of the modern world that we know today.
Key Terms
rural - life in the countryside.
industrial – life in cities centred
around mass production.
Six Factors
There were six main factors that came together to
create the Industrial Revolution.
Unlike political or violent revolutions, the Industrial
Revolution happened over a long period of time
rather than suddenly.
Just like baking a cake, the ingredients for the
Industrial Revolution had to be present together at
the right time and then left to heat up…
In your groups, read through your information sheet and create a
freezeframe – an still group image that will sum up the information you
have been given.
Be ready to share with the class!
Population Boom
Between 1750 and 1900, the population of Britain grew by four times, from
10 million people to 40 million people.
This created problems:
How could this population be fed, clothed and housed?
Supply was found to match demand. This increase in population led to
many businessmen and innovators finding ingenious solutions whilst
making a lot of money.
3.0 billion 6.0 billion 9.0 billion
1960 2000 2050
Improved Agriculture
During this period, farmers became more efficient in order to feed the
growing population.
Using advances such as improved crop rotation, selective breeding of animals
and new machinery, farmers made the land that had been farmed in a
similar way for centuries more efficient.
One of the most important early developments was
Jethro Tull’s seed drill.
The seed drill planted seeds quickly and efficiently
without the need to do it by hand.
Factories
It was not only farmers who were developing new machines and ideas.
Factories began to be built in cities to produce goods at a far faster rate than
before. People moved from the countryside to the cities to work in them.
Woollen cloth and cotton goods had been
produced in small amounts in people’s homes
for centuries. A factory could produce huge
amounts textiles quickly: useful for clothing the
increasing population and as trade goods.
Power
The first factories were powered by water and used
wooden machines. New types of power would lead
to bigger, more efficient factories.
Coal was mined in large amounts and used to
create wrought-iron: iron that was tough enough
to create large, complex machines.
Steam power was a technology that led to
innovations such as James Nasmyth’s steam
hammer, as well as new forms of transport.
Transport
With growth in agriculture and industry, things needed to be moved around
the country in large amounts.
Canals, such as the Bridgewater Canal, were dug to link growing cities
together - in this case, Manchester and Liverpool - and transport goods
between them.
Roads were improved to make travel by cart easier and faster.
Railways were laid to accommodate a new, wondrous invention: the
steam train.
Empire
It was not just at home that Britain grew. The British Empire expanded from
a few colonies in 1750 to cover a fifth of the world’s land by 1900.
Colonies in places such as India, Australia, Canada and South Africa gave
British factories access to exotic resources such as cotton, silk, fur and tea.
By 1900, the Empire had a population of around 400 million people; each of
these a potential customer for British goods, which pushed production
ever onwards.
The Perfect Recipe
When all mixed together, the six factors we have looked at created the
Industrial Revolution.
Now that you have had a chance to see the factors that went
into the Industrial Revolution, fill in your activity sheets with
as much information as you can.
The Workshop of the World
Britain became known as the ‘workshop of the world’ by the mid-19th century.
Can you explain what this means?
