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The Industrial Revolution Reasons 1

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32 views2 pages

The Industrial Revolution Reasons 1

Uploaded by

ashampodave
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Industrial Revolution

Objectives:

 Define the Industrial Revolution,


 Show and explain reasons why businesses grew during the period, and

Manufacturing before the 1800s

Most manufacturing of textiles took place in the home. This was called the domestic system and was
labor intensive. Production was small-scale and goods were normally sold in local markets. But Britain
was also a leading European wool producer. The textiles made in Britain were often sold in Europe or
sent to India and the American colonies.

From the mid-1700s onwards, machinery started to be developed to speed up the production process
and to produce on a larger scale, also referred to as the factory system. This period is known as the
Industrial Revolution.

What developments led to the Industrial Revolution?

1. Agrarian Revolution

By 1750, the agrarian revolution in England had increased the food production. The population ate more
and better; thereby increasing. The increasing population demanded more clothing materials. The effort
made to produce more clothes kick-started changes for faster and bigger production, which resulted to
innovating machines and hence the Industrial Revolution.

2. The British Empire

By the mid-1700s, Britain was becoming the world’s most powerful empire. Some historians have
argued that Britain’s empire and its global trading contributed to the Industrial Revolution. For example,
the population of Britain’s North American colonies was growing rapidly, and they bought a lot of goods
that were manufactured in Britain, creating a larger market for these goods. Money that was made from
the slave trade was used to build railways in Britain. The wealth generated by the empire encouraged
industrialization in Britain.

3. Technology`
In 1778, James Watt and Matthew Boulton invented a steam engine that could efficiently power factory
machinery.

Coal was burned to heat water to make steam. This led to a huge increase in the demand for coal.
Factories were opened near supplies of water and coal so they could power their machinery. Coal mines
were opened in the north of England, the Midlands and south Wales. But conditions in coal mines were
dangerous. There was a risk of tunnels collapsing and poisonous or explosive gas in the mines. Steam-
powered mills could produce more textiles quicker, so factory owners could look to sell their products to
a wider market, both in Britain and abroad. This prompted improvements in transport.

These increased the use of machines to produce, which means industrialization.

4. Transport

There were huge changes and improvements in transport in the 1700s and 1800s. These improved
movement of money men and materials which contributed to more industrialization.

Roads: Before the 1700s roads were often muddy tracks, and impassable in bad weather in the winter.
Horses and carts were used to transport goods by road. From the 1700s, Turnpike Trusts had been set
up and they set up toll roads. They charged people to use roads and made improvements with the
money raised. John Macadam invented tarmac in the 1820s which meant roads started to improve and
were easier to use in all weather.

Canals: In 1759, the Duke of Brid gewater paid for a canal to be dug to bring coal to his mills in
Manchester. Canals were a way of transporting a large amount of goods at once using waterways. Far
more goods could be transported in one journey on the canals than by road.

Railways: The most significant transport development in the 1800s was the invention of the railway. In
1829, George Stephenson entered a competition to design a locomotive engine. His design, named ‘the
Rocket’, won the competition. He went on to design and build the Liverpool-Manchester railway, which
reduced journey times from four hours by road to just two hours by train.

The development of the railway meant the cost of transporting goods was cheaper and easier, further
adding to the growth of factories.

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