The Industrial Revolution PDF

Lecture 6 Dr. Asmaa Ismail The Industrial Revolution The British economy in the late 18th century was transformed by the Industrial Revolution. England had several advantages in being the first country to industrialize. It was well sup...

Lecture 6 Dr. Asmaa Ismail The Industrial Revolution The British economy in the late 18th century was transformed by the Industrial Revolution. England had several advantages in being the first country to industrialize. It was well supplied with coal and iron, and it was a rich society by premodern standards, with a surplus of capital available for investment and a developed system of capital markets. These potentials made it relatively easy to get capital to entrepreneurs through joint-stock companies and other financial arrangements. British domination of the seas was actually strengthened by the triumph over France. British colonies were exploited both for cheap raw materials and as captive markets. England also had mechanics and engineers who combined practical experience with some training in Newtonian physics. With rapid growth in the English population, there was a large surplus workforce available for industry. Industrialism first emerged in the production and trade of textiles, particularly cotton—known as light industry. Economic expansion in textiles was initially based on a series of technical and organizational innovations in spinning and weaving, including the spinning mule, the spinning jenny, the power loom, and the steam engine with separate condenser. Cotton was not as absolutely central to the British Industrial 1 Lecture 6 Dr. Asmaa Ismail Revolution as it is often presented, but there is no question that it was very important. The origin of the factory system is closely associated with the cotton industry, and factory organization did not spread to other industries until after 1830. The quantity of raw cotton imported into the British Isles went from 11 million pounds in 1785 to 588 million pounds in 1850, and the output of cloth went from 40 million to 2,025 million square yards. British colonies in North America, India, and Africa were also British markets. After it won independence from Spain and Portugal in the early 19th century, Latin America became virtually an economic colony of Britain. Even the United States continued to be a major market for British manufactured goods after the American Revolution. Other British industries that were expanding included iron and coal, which would receive a powerful stimulus from the demands of war. The Industrial Revolution led to powerful social changes, especially in the growth of urbanization and new forms of labor. English urban areas, particularly London and the cities of the industrial north, grew at an astounding rate, and by the mid-19th century Britain was the first large nation to have a majority of its population living in cities. Huge waves of immigration moved from the countryside to the urban places. Thousands of people 2 Lecture 6 Dr. Asmaa Ismail abandoned the daily and seasonal rhythms of agricultural work in favor of a life regulated by machinery and the clock and subject to the iron rule of factory owners. Owners forced workers to work long hours in harsh and dangerous conditions and paid them the lowest wages. Children were employed doing exhausting physical work from a very young age. The new cities were overcrowded, with shoddy, quickly built housing for the working population and poor sanitation and waste disposal. Although industrialization brought wealth and prosperity to England, its privileges and outcomes were exclusive to capital owners. Consequently, the rich got richer, and the poor got poorer. Factory owners exploited and seized the fruits of workers’ hard labour. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, economies transformed and affected all classes of people. First, the rich got richer. The rich who owned businesses became even richer. Middle class factory owners were able to move into the upper class. This allowed the rich to build huge mansions and live luxury. This privileged social group had always enjoyed prosperity. Second, the middle class grew and expanded. The growth of the businesses and factories created more jobs. The middle class assumed the occupations of merchants, shopkeepers and accountants. They were able to take advantage of 3 Lecture 6 Dr. Asmaa Ismail affordable amenities like furniture and fine clothing. They were also able to educate their children as a way of maintaining their social standing. Third, the poor remained poor. Wages from the factories were low. Working conditions were harsh, filthy and dangerous. The cities were overcrowded as families seeking jobs swarmed into the cities. Diseases became common and the children couldn’t afford to go to school. The industrial revolution had a lasting impact on all people but didn’t benefit all equally. Those able to take advantage of the better jobs or business owners were able to enjoy comfort, privilege and leisure in many ways. However, the uneducated with limited skills remained stuck at the bottom of the economic pile. Their working and living conditions lacked any comforts or safety, and their lives were often miserable, or at best, simply dreary. The American Revolutionary War 1775 - 1783: The American Revolutionary War, also known as the American War of Independence, was initiated by the thirteen original colonies in Congress against the Kingdom of Great Britain. During the war between Britain and France in Canada, the American colonies remained loyal to Britain and fought with British side by 4 Lecture 6 Dr. Asmaa Ismail side. However, after the French defeat and the threat came to an end, their loyalty to Britain waned. American colonists were always discontent with the taxes imposed on them by the British Parliament in which they had no representatives to defend their rights. Each colony was ruled by its own elected council. Therefore, there was no political unity, and conditions varied according to their various origins and economic circumstances. The only thing that united them all was independence of spirit. This was soon shown when George III tried to levy new taxes on the American colonies in order to repay the debts and costs of the war against France in Canada. Instead of taking the colonists’ council into consideration, the King persuaded the British Parliament to tax their imports of tea. The angry colonists emptied a ship-load of tea into the sea in Boston. King George III’s revenge was unwise and severe. He closed the port of Boston and pursued the rebels. All thirteen colonies rose in Boston’s support. For the first time in their history they held a joint council, called the United States Congress which declared their complete independence of Britain. The French King joined the war on the American side. France's alliance and backing of the colonists in the American Revolutionary War against Britain was successful in undermining British colonial hegemony in North America. Led by George 5 Lecture 6 Dr. Asmaa Ismail Washington, the colonists won the long war. Even though the thirteen colonies and Florida were lost in the American Revolution, Britain retained the vast lands of Canada, which it had won from France in the Seven Years’ War, as well as its rich Caribbean slave colonies. 6