How Did the Industrial Revolution Affect Britain

From around 1750 to 1900 Britain went through major changes or transformation in industry, agriculture and transportation that affected everybody’s lives. For some it generally improved their lives, however not all were so lucky. The industrial revolution brought with it many changes good for some and bad for others. Between 1760 and 1880 there was a huge growth in the size of cities and a population shift as people started to move into the more industrialised areas in search of work. This was because of the transformation of agriculture. Landowners had now decided to ‘enclose’ their lands so as they realised they could make a profit from selling food as the population of Britain was increasing. Enclosure improved the ways of farming but also got rid of the ordinary workers who had farmed the land before. As the main source of work was in agriculture at this time many people moved to the cities to find work. Being cheap labour the factory owners hired the people. With the growth of people in cities, urbanization took place to accommodate these people and tend to their needs,
( e.g. hospitals parks, shops etc).
The shift of population created two new classes, the capitalist and the working classes. The capitalists were the owners of the industries, the managers of mills and of workshops, who collected great wealth, due to the high demand of a growing population and to the higher prices that could be charged. The working class however were paid a fraction of the amount they should have been compared to that of which the factory owners made. They were just a tool in the factories to carry out the profits. As a result, the gap between the rich and the poor kept on growing. England grew very wealthy on the financial credits of industrialization. With the increase of the factories and general industrialisation of the country, Britain saw an increase in the number of middle-class. They were educated people who either worked for themselves or because of their