British Industrial Revolution: Key Factors

• The Industrial Revolution transformed the economies of Europe and the United States from the late 1700s to the early 1900s.
• This shift was characterized by a move from a majority rural population engaged in agriculture to a majority urban population involved in industry.

The First Industrial Revolution (1780s-1860s)

• Coal was crucial as the primary fuel source.
• Iron was used to create machines, engines, tools weapons and railroad tracks.
• Steam engines powered factories and various transportation methods, including steamships and railroads.

The Second Industrial Revolution (1870s-1910s)

• Oil joined coal as a key fuel source.
• Steel was stronger than iron which led to better machines and skyscrapers.
• The internal combustion engine was invented, allowing for the creation of automobiles and airplanes.
• Electricity became a vital power source that powered lighting and factories around the clock.
• Rapid Communication was enabled by the telegraph, telephone, and radio

Industrialization in Great Britain

• Industrialization began in the United Kingdom of Great Britain in the 1780s.
• London served as an important capital city.
• There was population growth in cities due to people seeking work.
• There were large coal and iron deposits
• Navigable Rivers and Ports.

The Role of Capital

• England was the world's leading commercial power beginning in the 1500s, with a powerful navy and colonies in the Americas and Asia.
• Overseas trade generated a significant amount of capital.
• This capital could then be invested in machines and factories.
• This was enabled by improved farming which led to the growth in population.
• The British population grew from 5.5 million to 9 million from 1700-1801
• Lower food prices were created, so people had more money to buy manufactured goods.
• Crop yield increased by 270% from 1700-1870

Agricultural Revolution

• The enclosure Acts created larger, consolidated land holdings.
• Crop rotation was implemented and was beneficial for soil quality.
• Jethro Tull's seed drill (1701) and cast iron plough (1730) increased yields.
• Draining British wetlands increased arable land by 10-30%.
• Animals were selectively bred for specific desired traits.

Coal and Iron

• Population growth led to wood shortages, which made coal mining an essential alternative energy source.

Textile Industry

• Traditionally, textile production was a two-step process (spinning and weaving).
• Production was originally done at home by older women, known as the "cottage industry".
• Merchants supplied raw materials to rural workers, who completed the work at home for piecework pay.
• Subcontracting production of goods, like cloth weaving, was known as Cottage Industry.
• With new inventions in the late 1700's, workers went to the new machines near rivers (water mills = power source) which led to factory production.
• John Kay invented the flying shuttle in 1732
• James Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny (1764).
• Richard Arkwright invented the water frame in 1769.

Move to Factories

• James Watt's coal-fueled steam engine (1769) allowed factories to move away from being dependent on water.
• Factories could be located near coal for fuel, and water for transportation which led to population centers like Manchester, England.
• Other industries such as shoes, furniture, munitions, paper, and printing were becoming more mechanized.

Textile Factory Statistics

• In 1813 there were 2,400 looms using 150,000 workers.
• In 1833 there were 85,00 looms using 200,000 workers.
• In 1850 there were 224,00 looms with over 1 million workers.

Factory Workers

• By 1840 Britain's #1 product was cotton cloth
• Excess population and loss of traditional farm jobs led to factories taking advantage of job seekers.
• Unskilled women and children = 2/3 of the industrial workforce, and they were paid 1/3 or less of a man's wage.
• 1833: The Factory Act reduced child labor hours and inspectors could issue fines.
• 1842: The Mines Act prohibited women and boys under 10 from working underground.
• 1847: The Ten Hours Act shortened the workday for teens and women.

Harsh Conditions in Factories

• Working hours were long, averaging 12-16 hours a day, 6 days a week.
• Hot temperatures and dangerous equipment resulted in frequent accidents.

Railroads

• Steam engines also powered railroads
• 1830: George and Robert Stephenson's Rocket traveled 16 mph as the first public railroad of 32 miles from Manchester to Liverpool, England which increased global trade.
• By 1850, trains went 50+ mph
• Parliament, the Bank of England, and financiers like "Railway King" George Hudson invested in 6000+ miles of rail road construction during Railway Mania.
• Building railroads provided job opportunities for farm laborers and peasants.
• Cheaper transportation was created and included cheaper goods, more consumption, more sales, more machines and more factories.

Steamship travel began

• American Robert Fulton introduced the commercial river steamboat (1807).
• Isambard Kingdom Brunel's SS Great Western was the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean (1838).
• Britain then became the workshop of the world as the leader in these items.
• 2/3 of global coal
• 1/2 of global iron and cloth.
• 1/5 of all global goods

"Workshop of the World"

• The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, housed the Great Exhibition of 1851, and was the first great world's fair that was championed by Prince Albert.

• The Second Industrial Revolution included British engineer Thomas Hancock and American inventor Charles Goodyear that vulcanized rubber tires (1844).

• Nikolaus Otto's gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine (1868) drove Carl Benz's and Gottlieb Daimler's automobiles (1880s).

• The Second Industrial Revolution-Land Transportation included Steam and electric powered street cars commonly available by 1880s.

• The Diesel engine was invented in 1893 by Rudolf Diesel

• 1863: The London Underground and the Paris Metro (1900) were created

• Alps tunnels were created at the Mt. Cenis (1873) and Simplon (1906)

• Ship building advancements spurred by the creation of steel plates in 1858.

Sea Transport

• Refrigerated railcars and ships carried meat and fruit long-distance, even from Australia to Britain in the 1870s.
• Experimental submarines appeared in the 1860s and first saw combat durng the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).
• The HMS Dreadnought battleship was the first which was launched in 1906
• There was an naval arms race between Britain and Imperial Germany.

Air Travel

• German Ferdinand von Zeppelin's airship conquered the sky (1900)
• Zeppelins flew 1588 commercial flights before World War I.
• Orville and Wilbur Write flew a plane in 1903

Newspapers began circulation

• Samuel Morse invented in 1844 the new tool, the Telegraph.
• London Times was able to print 1,100 newspaper copies per hour by 1814.
• The invention of the penny press reduced costs
• Penny Magazine circulated 200,000 copies in its first year (1832).
• Newspaper circulation grew over 300% from 1836 to 1854 in Britain.
• Alexander Graham Bell invents telephone in 1876.
• The first steel Skyscraper was built in 1884 by American William Le Baron Jenney
• The Eiffel tower was built by The French Gustav Eiffell.
• Undersea Telegraph cables were set connecting Britain and France as well as connecting Ireland and Canada.

Explore factors driving Great Britain's initial industrialization. Understand agriculture's role, the advent of the Second Industrial Revolution, and the impact of the Enclosure Movement. Discover coal's role, steel's advantages, and communication advancements.