The Industrial Revolution has an enormous impact on Britain and the whole world. Roughly from the 1700s to 1900s, many old methods people used to do things were overthrown and new ideas and technology took place. People who used to work just to meet the basic needs of life became more commercial and began to work for a surplus. The massive changes greatly altered people’s ways of life and till today, the effects of the Industrial Revolution could still be seen.
The Industrial Revolution occurred mainly because of some very important inventions. In the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, machines like the Spinning Jenny and Flying Shuttle were invented and enabled a single worker to produce multiple times of work. This gradually changed people from working independently in cottage industry to working together in a factory.
Another great invention is the steam engine, invented by Thomas Savery and improved by James Watt. It could be considered the most important invention of the Industrial Revolution and the driving force behind it. It replaced water power and animal power as the main source of power for industries. The steam engine generated power not only for machines but also transportation like locomotives and ships. The steam engine is also used in iron industry to provide air flow for blast furnaces and in coal industry to pump water out of flooded mines.
Newly introduced working methods in agriculture industry are the Open field system, Norfolk Crop Rotation System and Enclosures. Developments in transportation include river navigations and canals connecting major cities. Railways were reinforced with wooden rail and iron plates, which allows steam driven locomotives travel for much longer distances. New engineered roads were built by the “Metealf, Telford and Macadam” company.
All these mass changes in such a short period of time are why the Industrial Revolution is considered a revolution. But everything has its cost;