The Industrial Revolution

• The Industrial Revolution was a period of major technological advancement and innovation from the mid-18th to the late 19th/early 20th centuries.
• The Industrial Revolution had two stages: the first from c.1760 – c.1840, and the second from c.1870 – 1914.
• This revolution brought fundamental changes to the political, economic, and social development of the West.
• It originated in late 18th century Britain and spread to Western Europe, America, and Japan in the 19th century.

Features

• Mechanization involved the invention and large-scale use of machines in production.
• Machines replaced human and animal power, marking the "Age of Machines".
• Industrialization led to the rapid growth of manufacturing industries.
• Agriculture was replaced as the main pillar of a nation's economy
• Industrialization became an indicator of national strength, development, and wealth.
• Urbanization involved the growth and expansion of urban areas, fueled by migration from the countryside to industrial towns.

Causes

• Population growth led to a steady increase in Europe, especially England due to the introduction of new crops like potatoes, which improved nutrition and health.
• A growing population provided a larger labor force, which in turn grew the market and increased the need for consumer goods.
• The development of world trade followed the Age of Discovery
• Increased global demand for manufactured goods required more and better machines, equipment, and technology to increase productivity.
• Accumulation of wealth by European merchants (through world trade) led to investment in new technologies, factories, and industries.
• Scientific and technological developments such as the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution of earlier centuries led to great scientific/technological advancement by the 18th century

Why in Britain?

• Britain was rich in natural resources like coal and iron and had a geographical advantage as an island separated from continental Europe with a long coastline
• A growing colonial empire provided cheap and steady raw materials, and a large overseas market for Britain's growing industries.
• The Enclosure movement increased the productivity of British agriculture leading to abundant food supply (oversupply).
• Eviction of rural farmers by rich landowners resulted in many former farmland turned into sheep farms which was more profitable than food crops.
• Evicted farmers moved into cities for work → provided cheap labour force for factories
• Government support through mercantilism actively supported the development of foreign trade by merchants and explorers.
• The Statute of Monopolies (1623) granted monopolies over particular industries to skilled individuals who developed new techniques and made new inventions.
• The Royal Society supported and funded scientists and intellectuals encouraging technological development

Course

• The First Industrial Revolution (1760 – 1840) and began in 18th century Britain before spreading to Europe and America in the 19th century which was known as the Age of Steam.
• The Second Industrial Revolution (c. 1870 – 1914) marked a second wave of industrialization in Germany, Britain, USA, and Japan, known as the Age of Steel and Electricity.

Major Developments in the Textile Industry

• Several inventions of new textile machines occurred in the early to mid-18th century like the Flying Shuttle (Kay 1733), Spinning Jenny (Hargreaves 1765), and Power Loom (Cartwright 1785).
• The textile industry was the first to industrialize with the use of new machines powered by steam engines which led to the rise of the factory system (production in factories), replacing the domestic system (production at home/workshops)
• Developed steam engines to power cotton mills and used steam and coal.
• Early steam engines were developed by Savery (1698) and Newcomen (1712) and were used exclusively by miners to pump water out of coal mines.
• James Watt's steam engine (1769) was a improvement of Newcomen's design and was first to be used to power machines in factories such as cotton mills.
• Watt's steam engine was the main driver of the Industrial Revolution, and synonymized the revolution

Coal & Iron

• Coal mining produced coal that was burned to generate steam power and coal gas for lighting/cooking.
• Coal (and coke) replaced charcoal in iron-making which lead to lower production cost in iron & later, steel.
• Led to the construction of large blast furnaces

Electricity

• Early attempts at storing electricity (battery) were made by Voltra and Leclanche.
• The first dry battery was made by Gassner (German) in 1880.
• The first commercially successful lightbulb in the 1870s was made by Thomas Edison which was followed by the first electrical supply system
• Gesner (Canadian) distilled kerosene as fuel.
• The Oil Rush in the US in the mid-19th century saw oil replace steam as the main energy source by the end of the 19th century

Transportation

• Macadam pavements were developed using multi-layered small/medium stones and contained a smooth surface with side ditches for drainage.
• Improvements in coal mining led to the introduction of metal rails, with the development of steam locomotives.
• Different models of steam locomotives began to appear by the early 19th century.
• The Salamanca locomotive was the first commercially successful steam locomotive, built in 1802, and in 1829, the Rocket was built by Stephenson, an improvised design of earlier models that became the standard model for all steam locomotives of the 19th century.
• Steam engines were applied in early designs of road vehicles.
• In 1885, the first practical automobile was built by German engineer Carl Benz (Benz Patent-Motorwagen)
• In 1807, Fulton designed the first practical steamship, the North River Steamboat.
• In 1838, the SS Great Western crossed the Atlantic Ocean in just 14 days, making transatlantic crossings faster, safer, and more reliable (Pre-steam: around six weeks; Steamships: around 2 weeks)

Communication

• In 1832, Samuel Morse invented the telegraph and developed the Morse Code (1837).
• Bell invented the first practical telephone in 1876.

Medicine

• Dr. Edward Jenner (Britain) developed the first vaccine in 1796 against smallpox, contributing to the gradual eradication of the disease.
• Louis Pasteur (France) developed the germ theory of disease which improved public hygiene and developed the pasteurization process.
• Marie Curie (France) discovered X-rays (better diagnosis of patients) and 'radium' (treatment of cancer).
• Lister (Britain) introduced antiseptic surgery, reducing infections and overall improved public hygiene, increased life expectancy by the end of the Industrial Revolution

Impacts

• The rise of Modern Capitalism saw the rise of a new wealthy class of capitalists who owned the means of production (e.g. factories, machines, capital/money, mines).
• Examples of the class are Ford and Rockefeller
• The factory system produced large factories with expensive and large machines that contained many workers
• These factories featured assembly lines and division of labor separating the production process into specialized parts.
• Each worker was assigned to a workstation responsible for a single part of the production process, becoming repetitive and increasing in efficiency and productivity
• Establishment of joint-stock companies helped maximize profit and raise capital for investment
• Companies issued stocks/bonds to accumulate capital and expand production capacity.
• Urbanization led to a demographic shift: most people lived in cities, especially new industrial towns.
• Rise of industrial towns occurred in Britain (Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow) and USA (Pittsburgh, Detroit, Philadelphia)
• Social classes: Capitalists (rich industrialists, owners/investors of factories/mines, businessmen), Middle class (Bourgeoisie: professionals like lawyers, engineers, doctors accumulating wealth with their professional knowledge/expertise), and Working class (Proletariat: poor factory workers/miners)
• Labor Conditions were poor with low income for factory workers and miners compounded against child labor and limited opportunity for education.
• Children had Cheaper labour cost than adults with wages only 10–20% that of an adult male's wage.
• Dangerous working conditions were commonplace in coal mines and textile factories with long working hours (14–15 hours per day) and frequent accidents (lack of safety measures) leading to common injuries/fatalities.
• Living conditions were poor and workers lived in extremely crowded slums in industrial towns that lacked basic amenities such as bathrooms, kitchens, drinking water, and heating.
• Poor sanitary conditions led to the Spread of diseases and malnutrition.

Labor Movements

• Formation of trade unions occurred as workers hoped to improve their conditions.
• Chartism (1838-1848) demanded shorter working hours, higher wages, and political rights (e.g. right to vote for adult males aged 21+ to elect politicians

Government Response in Britain

• Britain passed a series of acts to improve working/living conditions of the working class:
  • The Factory Acts banned child labor in factories (under age nine) and improved conditions for workers (e.g. lunch breaks, maximum hours, better hygiene, installation of windows).
  • Factory inspectors were appointed to inspect factories and ensure compliance with the Factory Acts.
  • The Mine Act banned child labor in mines (under age 10) and banned women from working in mines.
• With the Rise of socialism, thinkers began criticizing the ills of the industrial revolution and capitalism, such as exploitation of workers and consumerism
• Critics thought there was am unequal distribution of wealth where the workers worked hard / received poor wages, and capitalists controlled all means of production
• Intellectuals called for public ownership of the means of production/redistribution of wealth, establishing socialism, and communism (Marx and Engels).

Globalism

• Caused a further expansion of world trade
• Industrialization increased demand for raw materials, stimulating importation of raw materials from overseas (especially colonies) and increasing need for and expanding overseas markets to export manufactured goods
• Improved transportation/communication facilitated international trade and globalization.
• New Imperialism led to industrialization increasing the demand for raw materials that could come from more colonies,
• Technological development led to military supremacy of Western industrialized countries, facilitating colonial expansion in Asia/Africa.