THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
v INTRO:
The industries in England underwent great
changes during the second half of the 18th century and the first
half of the 19th century.
These changes are referred to as industrial revolution. The industrial revolution is not an event but
a process. England the agricultural
country was transformed to a manufacturing country with the coming of machinery.
v CAUSES
The industrial revolution started in
England, before the other countries in Europe, because of her political and
financial stability. England was free
from foreign invasions. The trading
companies made a lot of profit. So
capital was available for investing in the industries. Cotton and coal were in abundance in
England. More over the coal and iron
mines were near the industrial sites.
Cheap labor was available. The
English colonies supplied raw materials and served as markets for finished
products. Great Britain’s geographical
position was suitable for foreign trade.
The navigable rivers of England offered means of internal
communications.
v TEXTILE INDUSTRY
The first change came in the textile
industry with the invention of john key’s flying shuttle in 1733. James Hargreaves made the spinning-jenny in
1764. N this speeded up the making of yarn.
In 1769 Richard Arkwright made his machine run with water power. So it was called the water frame. Samuel Crompton combined the merits of
Arkwright and Hargreaves, machine and produced the spinning mule’ in 1779. Edmund cart right invented the power loom in
1785 which increased the speed of weaving.
v IRON INDUSTRY
Iron industry was one foot the major
industries of England. A new method was
discovered to turn coal into coke and the coke was used to smelt iron. Use of Cooke in furnaces doubled the iron
production. In places like south Wales
and south Yorkshire, coal and iron were found together. The iron and coal industries in these regions
developed much. Newcomer made a steam
engine in 1705 to pump water out of the coal mines. This steam engine was perfected by James
watt.
v TRANSPORT
Great changes took place in the field to
transportation, as there was no effective highway authority, the roads were in
very bad conditions before the revolution, after the revolution goods were
produced in a large scale and they were to be transported to cities and
seaports. So a number of road acts were passed
and turnpike trustees were formed. John
Metcalfe, a blind man designed many roads and Thomas Telford improved the
methods of creating a firm road surface and constructed many bridges and
canals. John macadam taught a new way of
road lying. In 1840 there were 22000
miles of good turnpike roads in England with 8000 tollgates.
v INLAND NAVIGATION
From the Middle Ages England’s natural
waterways had served as trade routes. In
the 18th century many schemes were carried out for the navigation of
the rivers and the construction of new artificial water ways. Duke of Bridge water connected his collieries
in work of Manchester by canal. He was
the one who built the great canal known as the bridge water canal. Soon different parts of the country were
connected by a net work of canal which stimulated both Island and overseas
trade.
v RAILWAY LINES
George Stephenson invented the first
locomotive and the first railway line was opened between Stockton and
Darlington in 1825. Later the railway
lines between Liverpool and Manchester were opened. Steam was also used for water transport. The first steam boat ran between Glasgow and
Greenock in 1812. After that a
tremendous progress took place in ocean navigation.
v RESULTS
The industrial revolution not only
increased production but also the population in England. New industrial towns like Birmingham and
Manchester sprang up. Poor people lived
in dirty slums in these smoky towns. The
insanitary conditions of there over crowded cities bred diseases. So wealth was acquired at the cost of
health. The old friendly relationship
between the employer and employee had disappeared. Material prosperity increased, but
spirituality receded. The industrial
revolution made England, the workshop of the world. As a result of the large scale production of
goods, their prices fell and so there was greater demand for goods which
resulted in the employment for more people.
v CONCLUSION;
The Industrial revolution had brought
about a thorough and drastic change in the industrial methods of England.
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