The Industrial Revolution: Transformations and Impacts
The Driving Forces of Industrialization
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the mid-18th century. Several factors contributed to Britain’s pioneering role:
Factors Behind Britain’s Industrial Leadership
- Political System: The monarchy’s power had been limited by Parliament since the 17th century, giving the bourgeoisie significant influence.
- Population Growth: Increased demand for goods and provided an abundance of labor for factories.
- Resource Abundance: Plentiful resources, especially coal, fueled industrial growth.
- Transport Network: Extensive rivers and canals facilitated the transportation of goods.
- Colonial Empire: Provided access to raw materials and a large market for manufactured products. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 further eased trade with India and the East.
A Series of Parallel Revolutions
The Industrial Revolution was a series of interconnected changes driven by innovation, leading to a significant shift in the economic system. These changes included:
- Agricultural Revolution
- Demographic Revolution
- Technological Revolution
- Transport and Trade Revolution
- Financial Revolution
The Factory System of Manufacturing
The birth of industry was closely linked to three key factors:
- The factory as a centralized production site
- Mechanization of production processes
- The use of new energy sources
Mechanization
Mechanization involved using machinery to produce goods, replacing manual labor and animal power in manufacturing and transportation. This shift significantly increased production output.
Inanimate Energy Sources
Before the Industrial Revolution, energy primarily came from human or animal power, wind, and water. The first innovation was hydropower, followed by the groundbreaking use of coal to produce steam power.
The Factory System
Workers were now concentrated in factories, buildings designed for mass production. This system led to a massive increase in productivity but also contributed to the decline of artisan activities and traditional guilds.
The New Land Ownership Structure
Rising grain prices led landowners to enclose common land, concentrating ownership and displacing many poor farmers. This shift, enabled by Enclosure Acts, increased agricultural productivity but forced many into wage labor in cities.
Changes in the Cultivation System
The Norfolk four-course crop rotation system replaced the three-field system, eliminating the need for fallow periods and increasing productivity. New crops like corn and potatoes were introduced, improving nutrition.
The Introduction of New Machines
Innovations like the seed drill and the Rotherham plough made farming more efficient. The steam engine further revolutionized agriculture, powering equipment for harvesting and threshing.
The Rise in Production
Agricultural improvements led to a significant increase in food production, supporting a rapidly growing population. Potatoes became a staple food, and overall nutrition improved.
James Watt and the Steam Engine
In 1764, Scottish engineer James Watt (1736-1819) improved the efficiency of the Newcomen steam engine. His design, which used steam to generate continuous motion, was widely adopted in industries and transportation.
Locomotives and Railways
Railways, powered by steam engines, revolutionized transportation. They combined the existing rail system with the steam locomotive, enabling faster and cheaper movement of goods and passengers, boosting trade, and creating a larger domestic market.
The Textile Industry
The British government’s ban on importing Indian cotton fabric spurred domestic production. Innovations like John Kay’s flying shuttle (1733) and Edmund Cartwright’s power loom (1785) dramatically increased textile production efficiency.
The Iron Industry
The demand for iron surged due to the need for ships, munitions, machines, and tools. Using coke as fuel, innovations like puddling and rolling, and later the Bessemer converter (1856), enabled large-scale iron and steel production.
Coal and Iron Mining
Coal became a primary energy source, fueling steam engines and iron production. Coal mining expanded across Europe, and coal-producing regions attracted iron industries.
Commercial Expansion
The Industrial Revolution led to a market economy focused on producing goods for urban markets. Increased production, new transport systems, population growth, and greater purchasing power fueled domestic and international trade.
Urban Expansion
Industrialization transformed cities into metropolitan areas. City walls were demolished, new neighborhoods emerged, and infrastructure and services expanded to accommodate the influx of people from rural areas seeking factory jobs.
The Rise in Population
Improved food production, medicine, and hygiene led to a demographic transition in Europe. The death rate declined while the birth rate remained stable or slightly increased, resulting in significant population growth.
Industrial Capitalism
Capitalism, an economic system based on private ownership and a free market, flourished during the Industrial Revolution. While it drove economic growth, capitalism also led to cycles of overproduction, unemployment, and economic instability.
The Growth of Finance
Industrialization spurred the development of the financial sector. Banks expanded, providing capital to industries and facilitating transactions. Public limited companies (joint-stock companies) emerged, allowing investors to share in profits.
Protectionism & Free Trade
While Great Britain advocated for free trade, other European countries and the United States implemented protectionist measures like tariffs to protect their own industries from British competition.
The Expansion of Industrialization
. Industrialization spread throughout the world, albeit to varying degrees. In the early 19th century, the economic transformations started in France and Belgium, and industrialization depended on the exploitation of coal deposits. In the middle of the century, the abundance of coal and iron in Germany led it to establish iron and chemical industries. In Italy and Spain, industrial growth occurred later. In Eastern Europe, the beginnings of industrialization were only present in parts of the Austro Hungarian and Russian Empires by the end of the century. In the rest of the world, only the United States and Japan saw similar levels of industrial development to those of Europe.
The bourgeoisie. The high bourgeoisie, became the new ruling class. Their wealth and desire to publicly demonstrate their power and prestige allowed them to gradually replace the aristocracy in social life the middle bourgeoisie, whose living conditions scarcely differed from those of the proletariat. The new bourgeoisie imposed its social values on the other classes: the value of private property, the virtue of work, savings and individual triumph. Most university students and the majority of the intelligentsia were bourgeois, and family dynasties began to emerge.
The workers. The working class provided the labor force required to operate machinery, and they represented the most disadvantaged social group. In the early days of industrialization, there were no labor laws to regulate working conditions or wages or that would guarantee protection in the event of an accident or illness. The workers were subjected to harsh discipline in which punishments and penalties were common. They could be dismissed whenever the employer wished Working days in the factories and mines were very long with very little rest. The working environment was very noisy and there were suffocating fumes. Wages were very low. Women and children worked under the same conditions as the men, but their wages were lower. In Britain, children’s wages were 10% of those of the men, and women’s were around 40% Poor living conditions, fatigue, occupational diseases, malnutrition and epidemics led to early deaths among working families. Life expectancy was low.