Industrial Revolution
Hist 272:
Kenneth Morgan-
Britain was the first western country to undergo an industrial revolution.
T.S. Ashton who first coined the phrase of the industrial revolution claimed that it started in 1760 and finished in 1830
Economic Advance by 1750:
By 1750 Britain had a social and economic situation that was conducive to an industrial revolution occurring. Relatively small land mass, with navigable rivers had the potential for transport development and for integration in the economy
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries England’s economic situation had been improved by the growth in agriculture in particular
Relative political stability in Britain held them in good stead against other European countries that had religious problems
Technology helped in terms of transport and production in agricultural economies (fodder crops etc)
The introduction of the steam engine was also pivotal in the growth of industrial industry
A ‘consumer revolution’ from the upper classes filtered down to the middle and lower classes
None of these economic changes were critical enough to create an industrial revolution but without this new, solid economic platform that they had by 1750, British industrialisation would have taken much longer than it did.
Economic Growth after 1750:
The century following 1750 is named as the birth period of industrial Britain
The invention of machines, such as the spinning jenny.
The use of steam and the creation of the steam engine
The adoption of the factory system and production lines
Population Increase-
The growth of the industrial economy was coupled with a significant increase in population in Britain
In 1700 the population of England was measured at 5.5million people, this figure increased dramatically in size in the following two hundred years to be at 32.5million in 1900
The increase in population coupled up with a change from agricultural industry to a more factory based methods of production and influx of people
Kenneth Morgan-
Britain was the first western country to undergo an industrial revolution.
T.S. Ashton who first coined the phrase of the industrial revolution claimed that it started in 1760 and finished in 1830
Economic Advance by 1750:
By 1750 Britain had a social and economic situation that was conducive to an industrial revolution occurring. Relatively small land mass, with navigable rivers had the potential for transport development and for integration in the economy
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries England’s economic situation had been improved by the growth in agriculture in particular
Relative political stability in Britain held them in good stead against other European countries that had religious problems
Technology helped in terms of transport and production in agricultural economies (fodder crops etc)
The introduction of the steam engine was also pivotal in the growth of industrial industry
A ‘consumer revolution’ from the upper classes filtered down to the middle and lower classes
None of these economic changes were critical enough to create an industrial revolution but without this new, solid economic platform that they had by 1750, British industrialisation would have taken much longer than it did.
Economic Growth after 1750:
The century following 1750 is named as the birth period of industrial Britain
The invention of machines, such as the spinning jenny.
The use of steam and the creation of the steam engine
The adoption of the factory system and production lines
Population Increase-
The growth of the industrial economy was coupled with a significant increase in population in Britain
In 1700 the population of England was measured at 5.5million people, this figure increased dramatically in size in the following two hundred years to be at 32.5million in 1900
The increase in population coupled up with a change from agricultural industry to a more factory based methods of production and influx of people