Britain Leads the Way
Chapter 20 Section 2
Mr. Marsh
Columbus North High School
Why Britain?
Resources
Large supplies of coal and iron-ore
Large labor supply thanks to population boom
caused by the agriculture revolution of the
1600s
New Technology
Skilled mechanics were eager to make new
inventions
Demand for cheaper products and the business
capital allowed inventions to be practical
Why Britain? Cont’
Economic Conditions
Growing British Empire and trade brought
economic growth to England
Population explosion brought a new demand for
more products
Political & Social Conditions
Britain had a stable government that supported
and pushed for economic growth
Change of perspective, no longer were people
looking for better life in the after life, they
searched out worldly goods and riches
Changes in the Textile Industry
Textile industry was the fastest and one of
the earliest forms of major manufacturing
England used the “putting-out” method
Cotton brought from India and North America
was sold to peasant families who would spin the
wool and cotton into thread and weave the
thread into fabric
Skilled artisans would dye and sew the fabric
into clothes
Changes with new inventions
John Kay
Flying Shuttle – allowed weavers to speed up
production
James Hargreave
Spinning Jenny – allowed on spinner to spin
more thread
Richard Arkwright
Waterframe – used water power to run spinning
wheels
Inventions of the Textile Industry
First Factories
The new inventions cost far to much
for a peasant family to own and
operate.
Early factories began to develop
along water
For power and transportation
Revolution in Transportation
With more goods needing to be moved from point “A”
to point “B” demand for better transportation followed
Turnpikes- private built roads that charged a toll to be
used
George Stephenson steam locomotives
First major railroad from Liverpool to Manchester
Robert Fulton and the steam boat
Clermont set a record 5 miles per hour on water
using the steam boat
Steam Power Transportation
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