The Industrial Revolution: Economic Shifts and Technological Advancements
The Industrial Revolution: Early Foundations
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Europe experienced a recovery of agriculture and trade. The fourteenth century brought a crisis that weakened feudal lords and led to the emergence of employees and small farmers. Monarchs struggled for power with feudal lords. From the sixteenth century, silver from Peru was distributed through looting, war, and trade. Monarchs had to resort to bankers for expenses. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, commercial banking provided financial resources to emerging bourgeois nations. Paper money and bills of exchange (documents promising payment to an entity on a specific date) became widespread.
In the seventeenth century, companies (corporations formed by shareholders) were established. The state helped eliminate competition and acquire colonies, often after companies had incurred significant property losses. Industrial capitalism developed from the sixteenth century. Merchants emerged, providing raw materials and instruments, acting as intermediaries between producers and consumers. Peasants became employees of the merchants. In the seventeenth century, with state support, manufacturing factories were established, leading to mass production and lower costs. This change created the ‘proletarian worker’ – an individual who, lacking ownership, sells their labor power.
Agricultural Transformation
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Holland and England saw significant progress in agriculture. The Dutch initiated agricultural renewal to prevent soil depletion. They also introduced fodder crops to feed animals. In England, three key factors transformed open-field farming into enclosed systems:
- The application of protectionist tariffs on textile production.
- The increased cost of wool.
- Significant investment by the bourgeoisie.
Innovations were introduced, such as Jethro Tull’s specialized grain and livestock farming techniques, which were disseminated as the Norfolk four-course rotation system.
British Industrialization: Key Factors
The Industrial Revolution in Britain was facilitated by several factors:
- A large domestic market.
- Improvements in roads.
- Low transport costs.
- Absence of internal customs barriers.
- Development of cheap consumer goods.
The foreign market also increased demand for domestic products. England implemented protectionist measures, engaged in warlike conquests, and colonized territories to secure markets. The Treaty of Utrecht granted Britain maritime hegemony. In 1651, the English Parliament passed the Navigation Act, which gave preference to British ships in overseas trade. This act led to the First Anglo-Dutch War, forcing the Dutch to accept its terms.
The English population grew, and urban centers developed. The increased cost of grain, coupled with the Enclosure Acts, led to the fencing of common lands. This was in addition to technical innovations in agriculture. The government aimed to transform England into a cereal producer, but smallholders struggled with the costs of enclosure. Many smallholders, unable to afford enclosure, lost their land and migrated to cities.
Technological Advancements in Industry
The Cotton Industry Revolution
In the eighteenth century, machinery was introduced to the cotton industry. This industry was also aided by the ban on calico imports (a competing material) and had advantages over wool production, including lower initial investment, greater strength, and increasing demand for raw materials. Mechanization increased production, and raw materials were imported from slave plantations in India and the Americas. The machines were the result of craftsmen applying technical practices from their trades.
Pioneering Inventions
The first significant innovation was John Kay’s flying shuttle in 1733, followed by James Hargreaves’ patenting of the spinning jenny in 1770. Richard Arkwright patented the water frame in 1769, which required water power, often located near waterfalls. In 1779, Samuel Crompton merged these two innovations, creating the spinning mule, which produced a finer and smoother thread. In 1785, steam power began to be used in mills. Steam power facilitated urban development, though cities often became enveloped in smoke. Steam also significantly influenced the construction of railways.