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The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial
Revolution
Figure 1: Manchester, England,
with its textile industry, was at the
heart of the Industrial Revolution
in Great Britain.
The term "Industrial
Revolution" is thought to have
originated among French
commentators at the turn of the
19th century. Those authors
suggested that many nations
were experiencing changes that
were resulting in profound economic and social transformations. Indeed, the Industrial
Revolution, which had its beginnings in remote times but is generally deemed to have taken
place from the late 18th to early 19th centuries, marked the onset of industrial society and
defined the key mechanisms of its progress.
Although the pace of industrial development obviously differed between nations, there were
many similarities. The Industrial Revolution encompassed a number of components, including
technological advances. Economic growth, the subsequent development of new markets, changes
in the transportation of goods, improved communications, and changes in the social structure
were also important factors.
All of those factors were evident in England, which is often credited with playing a leading role
in the Industrial Revolution. Although a predominantly agricultural society, at the beginning of
the 18th century, England was already an important industrial producer. Best known for the
manufacture of woolen cloth, England also produced great quantities of tin, coal, leather goods,
small metal goods, and other domestic items.
Moreover, there were many technological advances in England during the 18th century. Some
were of benefit to many different types of industries. These included James Watt's steam engine,
which could either replace or supplement power from traditional sources like watermills and
windmills. Initially, the steam engine was developed for use in the mining industry to provide
greater amounts of coal. It was later adapted to power different types of machinery within
factories.
Other inventions aided specific industries, like the production of cloth. They included the flying
shuttle, which was patented in 1733 by a Lancashire mechanic named John Kay. Previously, four
spinners were needed to keep up with a single cotton loom. Ten additional people were needed to
prepare yarn for one woolen weaver. The new shuttle expedited this process by allowing the yarn
to be produced more quickly. Richard Arkwright's water frame, patented in 1769, further
accelerated the production of yarn. Less then a decade later, Samuel Crompton combined those
two machines into what became known as Crompton's mule.
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The Industrial Revolution
Economic growth was also readily apparent in 18th-century England. The country already
enjoyed a vigorous export trade to Europe, the American colonies, India, and Africa. Further
growth in international trade was fueled by political developments across Europe. After 1713,
the British were allowed to trade with the Spanish Empire in South and Central America. New
markets were created by the growth of English colonies in the West Indies and India. As the pace
of industrialization increased, a growing number of cheap manufactured goods were sent to the
colonies. Those goods included articles ranging from hammers, shovels, and anchors to firearms
and gunpowder.
Although ships were used for long-distance trade, other forms of transportation developed to deal
with internal European trade. Navigable rivers had long played a role in the distribution of both
raw and manufactured goods. Those natural channels were supplemented in the second half of
the 18th century by the construction of a canal system. Roads also continued to improve thanks
in part to the growth of turnpike roads, which charged a toll for their use and subsequent upkeep.
During the 19th century, the development of railroads changed the face of transportation forever.
By 1850, trains were able to travel between 30 and 50 miles an hour to speed both raw materials
and consumer goods across Europe.
Improved methods of communication were another factor in the acceleration of industrialization.
Sir Samuel Cunard pioneered the concept of transatlantic mail in 1839. After gaining permission
from the British government, he began a postal system between Liverpool, Halifax, and Boston.
In 1840, a new method of sending mail was implemented in England. The new penny post was
based on the concept that it was the handling, rather than the distance sent, that was the critical
cost in delivering mail. By the third quarter of the 19th century, telegraph cables enabled
businesses to communicate to far-away lands. This period also saw the development of the
Universal Postal Union, whose purpose was to facilitate the movement of post overseas.
A final major factor in the European Industrial Revolution was that of changes in the social
structure. Those changes included a dramatic increase in population and urbanization that was
most apparent in England and Germany. By the mid-19th century, only half of the English
population still dwelled in rural areas. Over the following 50 years, the same became true for
many European countries.
Growing urbanization was caused by three main requirements of industrial growth. First of all,
most factories were located in centers where coal or other raw materials were available, like the
Ruhr Valley in Germany. Second, cities were normally located in centers of transportation, like
Liverpool and Marseille. Finally, banks and other forms of commerce were generally established
in political centers like London, Paris, and Berlin.
Many of the immigrants to urban areas were part of what became a new working class. Factories
called for a large number of workers to run machinery. In many cases, the factory owners tended
to consider their employees as little more than commodities. The men, women, and children who
filled those roles were generally subjected to long hours, low wages, and poor working
conditions. Artisans, who had previously been considered to be skilled workers, also found
themselves degraded to routine laborers. The Industrial Revolution also helped in the creation of
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The Industrial Revolution
a middle class. New occupations were developed in order to cope with the running of factories.
Those occupations included managers, engineers, and skilled workers like mechanics and
toolmakers.
Industrialization in England also affected the growth of its colonies. During the early 18th
century, the British colonies were concerned with the need to make a living rather than industrial
advancement. The Industrial Revolution changed that attitude by increasing the demand for
colonial goods, which enjoyed a protected market. In addition, industrialization supplied capital
to the colonists.
However, the Industrial Revolution in the United States followed a different, somewhat later
course. Although agriculture was the main source of income, there were major differences in the
way business developed in the South and North. Tobacco, which was grown in the former areas,
was probably the most important export. Tobacco was a very successful product and was
supplied in increasing quantities to England and France. There was also a growing timber
industry, developed through the use of traditional water-powered sawmills.
While the southern part of the country concentrated on cash crops, the North had a growing
commercial sector and showed the beginnings of manufacturing. The successful export of a
range of foodstuffs and timber resulted in the demand for new ships. In addition to shipbuilding,
the northern colonies also became known for the smelting of iron and production of metal wares.
By the second half of the 18th century, colonial iron output was sufficiently high for the British
Parliament to pass an act controlling the industry. By 1760, a number of factories had also
opened to produce pottery, glass, cloth, and paper.
Industrialization accelerated in the early 19th century with the growth of the young American
nation. Consumer and industrial demand led to a rising number of factories. In 1814, Francis
Cabot Lowell began the first large-scale mechanized American mill for the production of textiles.
Other successful new businesses included the manufacture in the mid-19th century of armaments.
Samuel Colt's range of pistols was made with the best precision machine tools available at that
time.
The growing industrialization of the United States also had an impact on agriculture. Cyrus
McCormick was responsible for one of the most important tools for the nation's farmers. He
invented the reaper, a piece of machinery that replaced the labor-intensive hand sickles that had
traditionally been used for cutting grain. By using a horse-drawn reaper, the time needed to
harvest a field that previously took 20 hours was reduced to one hour. Although initially
produced on a small scale, the demand for the machines quickly grew. In response, the
McCormick Harvesting Machine Company was founded in 1847 to supply enough reapers for
the entire country.
The last half of the 19th century experienced another set of technological innovations. Those
included the development of cheap steel, which allowed factory machinery to be produced more
quickly. As companies continued to expand, many merged with each other to create large and
powerful corporations. By the end of the century, those mergers resulted in a large number of
highly integrated, conglomerate corporations both in the United States and in Europe.
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The Industrial Revolution
However, while the Industrial Revolution had been portrayed in the middle of the 19th century as
one of humankind's greatest achievements, to many 20th-century critics, that was no longer the
case. Social reformers noted the moral and spiritual deficiencies of an industrialized society,
including the disparity between the wealthy industrialists and the urban working class.
Nevertheless, the so-called revolution continued during the 20th century, and industrialization
spread throughout the world in a second phase of industrial development known as the Second
Industrial Revolution.
"Industrial Revolution." World History: The Modern Era. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 11 Jan. 2009
<http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com>.