Ch. 5 (p. 129-142)

• Not a political or violent revolution
– Ex. English/American/French Revolutions
• Industrial Revolution (IR) was an economic and social revolution
– Involved major changes in agriculture
(farming), manufacturing, and technology
– Led to huge changes in society and culture
• Centre of the IR was Great Britain
– Large labour force, influential/wealthy business class, raw materials and technol.

• Before 1700, farmers had many small strips of land, used public grazing areas
– Inefficient, many farmers needed
• “Enclosure” movement merges small strip farms into large fields
– Only wealthy landowners can afford this
– Public grazing areas (“commons”) bought by wealthy, fenced off
– More efficient, fewer farmers needed
• Many move to cities in search of work

• Farming now a business
– Profits wanted, not just food for farmers
– Landowners invest in science and technology to make farms more profitable
• Advances in Farming
– Breeding practices used to increase size, health, and productivity of livestock
– Expensive to buy and feed larger animals
• Harder for poor farmers to compete with rich

• Farming Techniques and Technology
– Used to increase “crop yields”
• Crop yield = how much of a crop can be grown on a piece of land, and how quickly
• Seed Drill (Jethro Tull – 1701)
– Drill pulled by horses
– Improved how seeds were planted
• Faster, less seed wasted, made neat rows
– Rows made weeding easier

• Crop Rotation (early 1700s)
– Developed by Lord “Turnip” Townshend
– Before crop rotation, fields left fallow
(empty) 1/3 of the time to regain nutrients
– Crop rotation: different crops grown on a field in rotation to put nutrients back in soil
• Ex. Turnips
→ Barley → Grasses → Wheat
• Turnips and clover release nitrogen into soil, then fed to livestock over winter
– Eliminates fallow time, increases production significantly

• After Glorious Revolution (1688),
English politics controlled by wealthy and middle class
– Many entrepreneurs and businessmen
• Little government regulation (rules) for businesses
– Led to increased profits for businesses
– Led to low wages and poor working conditions for workers

• Textile Industry (cloth)
– Much growth and profit in textile industry
– Sheep bred to grow thicker wool, more able to be kept because of enclosures
– Cotton from colonies (America and India)
– Invention of the “flying shuttle”
• Invented by John Kay in 1733, became rich
• Fabric made on machines called “looms”
• Large looms operated by two workers
• Flying shuttle allows large looms to be operated faster and by just one worker

• Textile Industry
– Invention of the Spinning Jenny
• Invented by James Hargreaves in 1764
• Faster looms meant more yarn needed
• Previously wool spun into yarn by hand, one thread at a time
• Spinning Jenny a machine that spun wool into yarn several threads at a time
• Fewer spinners (workers) needed
– Other inventors later improved on Spinning
Jenny, made yarn stronger and even faster

• Looms become increasingly large, eventually filling factories
– Too large for workers to power them, new source of power needed
• Steam Power
– 1760s: James Watt develops a practical and efficient steam engine
– Replaces water as power for factory machines
• Factories no longer need to be next to rivers

• Iron Industry
– Rich deposits of iron ore in Great Britain
– 1750: process invented improves cast iron
• Makes cast iron products more affordable
• Coal Industry
– Coal used to power steam engines
– Coal used in cast iron production
– Many coal mines in Great Britain
• Mining dangerous because of explosive gas, toxic coal dust (led to “Black Lung”)
• Many coal miners died young for low wages

• 1700: Very poor roads in Britain
– Some areas of Britain only accessible by pack-horses
• Industrial Revolution needed good transportation systems
– Factories need raw materials from around the world
– Products made in factories need to be transported to buyers

• Turnpike system
– Good roads built by companies, toll charged to use them
– Macadam roads made of layers of graded stone and gravel, would not get muddy
• Macadam roads still used around world, incl. BC
• Canals
– Narrow, man-made water channels
– Built in 1700s, link different parts of Britain
– Cheaper shipping method of raw materials and manufactured goods

• Railways
– First steam-powered locomotive built by
Stephenson brothers in 1829
• Could travel 39 km/h!
– Mid-1800s: many railway lines built in
Europe and North America
– Soon became the most important transportation method around the world
• Fast, cheap, reliable