The Roots of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain
The Concept of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial revolution may be understood as all the changes to goods production and consumption due to the incorporation of machines in industrial manufacturing. These transformations happened over a long period of time and by slow and constant processes, changing the previous economy and society. These took place in Great Britain around 1780.
The Agricultural Revolution and Its Consequences
It has its origin in Great Britain. The transformation consisted of technical advances and changes in land ownership.
Technical Progress:
The triennial rotation was substituted by the Norfolk system that consisted of a constant rotation provided more livestock, more food, and became more popular. The spread of new crops like maize and potatoes. The start of selective seeding and breeding of livestock and the use of chemical fertilizers.
Changes in the System of Land Ownership:
English landowners pushed for Enclosures Acts 1845 to turn common land into private property.
Consequences:
Increase in production, improvement in nutrition, concentration of land ownership, reduction of peasants, an increase in income, and investment in industry.
The Seed Drill:
Designed by Jethro Tull in 1730, allowed seeds to be quickly sown and required only two men to do the work that would normally be done investment in industry.
The Demographic Revolution
The European population grew in the 18th century due to the industrial revolution and demographic revolution. The main cause of this growth was a decrease in mortality by improvements to nutrition and the decline in major epidemics. The population grew as a result of progress in urban hygiene and medicine. The birth rate remained high. The available workforce increased as a result of the demographic revolution.
From the Artisanal Workshop to the Factory
With the arrival of the industrial revolution, the number of artisanal workshops began to decline, taking their place were factories. This transformation was possible thanks to:
The New Techniques:
Consisted of substituting manual labor with machines.
The New Division of Labor:
Consisted of separating the work process into different phases and assigning each worker a specific task. These transformations enabled production to become faster, more abundant, and cheaper. The first industries were the textile and steel industries.
Textile Industry:
There is an increase in demand for cotton factories. To meet the growing demand, hydraulic machinery was first used, which forced factories to be located near rivers. Machines driven by steam engines were used.
Iron Industry:
Wood was substituted by coal, thanks to the use of steam pumps, Henry Cort improved iron production by inventing techniques, puddling, and rolling.
Industrialization
It spread from Great Britain around 1750 to other countries. The expansion depends on: the amount of natural resources, capital, population growth, product demand, etc.
The First Wave
The first countries to adopt industrialization were the closest to England around 1830.
France:
Didn’t use steam, new textile and steel factories in the North.
Belgium:
A rapid development due to cheap transport and financial investment.
Switzerland:
Don’t have raw materials but had specialized workers in high-precision machines and financial investment.
Germany:
Started in 1820 thanks to the coal mines, creation of Zollverein 1834, didn’t pick up again until 1850.
USA:
Vast land areas for growing cotton, mining resources, high demand, and the railway. The textile and steel sectors located in the east and midwest of the US.
The Second Wave
Began to industrialize from 1850. They lacked technology development, had poor natural resources, little demand and investment, and were geographically far from trading hubs. Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Austria-Hungary, and Russia industrialization in Japan achieved in 1870 during the Meiji period.
Economic Consequences of Industrial Revolution
The Revolution in Transport: Steam engine led to the creation of the railway and steamboat-was created by Robert Fulton in 1807. The first steamboats were river boats. Countries began to modify their ports and build large canals between oceans, for example, Suez Canal (1859-1869). The first railways were developed in Great Britain. George Stephenson designed the Rocket in 1829. First used Manchester-Liverpool.
The Rise of Trade: The growth in trade guaranteed food supply.
The Development of Capitalism: The commercial capitalism was substituted by industrial capitalism. First industries were financed by family capital, but as they grew, they pushed for limited partnerships and public limited companies. The increase in these types of companies gave rise to the creation of stock markets and also led to an increase in the number of banks.
The Increase in Economic Inequality: Industrialization led to a division between industrialized, which began to control the world, and non-industrialized that became dependent on industrialized countries.
In the New Class System the Social Differences Were Based on Personal Merit
The Bourgeoisie Gained Political Power, became wealthy through economic activities, formed part of an elite culture, and imposed their ideology, which was based on values of work, personal success, family, and polite manners.
Appearance of Proletariat: It was a cheap workforce who had no qualifications. Workers has bear harsh working condition: shifts from 14-16 hours, paid hourly based on production, constant noise from machinery, extremely high temperatures in summer and extremely low in winter, they had no holidays, no rest days, they didn’t have insurance, they were treated with strict discipline and punishments. The proletariat lived in overcrowded neighborhoods, located near the factories or ports, which had poor sanitation.
Labor Market
In the beginning, the labor movement consisted of protests against mechanization (Luddites) blaming them for the situation create friendly societies, in which members paid a fee and received aid in the case of job loss or accidents.
Trade unions were created- objectives: improve labor conditions by reducing the length of the working day, increasing wages, obtaining political rights. The first trade unions were formed in Great Britain, where they were legalized by parliament in 1825.
The First International
In 1864, the desire to fight against capitalism on an international level gave rise to the IWA, or the first I., founded in London, it integrated several trade unions from different countries, socialist and anarchist. However, internal disputes between Marxists and anarchists led to its dissolution 1876.