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