THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

THE ORIGINS OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
1. WHAT WAS THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION?
  1. The industrial revolution was a period of profund economic and social changes,caused by the widespread use of machinery in production.
    1. The industrial revolution is divided in two stages:
      1. The first industrial revolution,wich began around 1760.
      2. The second industrial revolution,wich began around 1870.
THE DEMOGRAPHIC REVOLUTION
1. In the late 18th century ,however there was high and sustained population growth.This was because the death rate decreased,while the birth rate was high.the death rate decreased for several reasons:
  1. Nutrition.This improved,making the population more resistant to illness.This was possible thanks to advances in agriculture and changes in people´s diets.Potatoes become a basic food.
  2. Personal and public hygiene.The use of soap was more widespread,and people bwgan to wear cotton clothes,wich were easier to wash.There was better access to clean drinking water,and streets were kept cleaner.These changes were very slow.
  3. Public health.In 1796,Edward Jenner discovered the vaccine against smallpox.New hospitals were built.
  4. Epidemics,wich had been frequent in the Early Modern period,caused fewer deaths due to improved nutrition,hygene and public health.
2. Population growth produced increased demand for agricultural and industrial products.It also meant that more workers were available to fill all the new jobs in factories.
THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
1. The increased demand for foof led to innovations in crop and livestock farming
  1. Farming techniques.The three-field system of crop rotation,in wich on field always lay fallow,was replaced by the four-field system.The land was divided onto four fields,wich alterned wheat,turnips,barley and clover.Turnips and clover were used to feed livestock.In the late 18th century ,the wood plough was replaced by the iron plough.Later mechanical seeders,threshers and harvesters were introduced.
  2. Land ownership and use.The liberal revolutions ended the practice of peasants farming communal lands under the authority of a lord of the Church.Land become private property.The bourguiese bought farmland in order to profit from selling its products.
  3. Livestock farming.Part of the land was used to grow fodder,or food for livestock.The number of heads of livestock on each farm increased.Primary sector production increased in the 18th century.Farmers received greater income,and were able to save money.
OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING ECONOMIC GROWTH
1. Extensive markets.Britain had a healthy domestic market,based on good infrastructure and the absence of domestic tariffs.Trade produced enormous profits ,wich were invested in new indusries.
2. A new mentality.The British bourgeoisie was more open to investment,business risk and the pursuit of profit.Parliament supported these attitudes with laws that were favourable to business and trade.
3. Abundance of iron and coal.The British countryside was rich with iron and coal deposits,wich were necessary to build and run the new factories.
THE FIRST INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
1. FROM WORKSHOP TO FACTORY
  1. Until the 18th century most products were made by artisans in small workshops.
  2. In Britain several machines were invented that manufactured products much more quickly.Workshops were replaced by factories.
  3. The first machines were powered by hydraulic energy,but after James Watt had invented the steam engine they became steam-powered,using coal as energy source.
  4. The division of labour increased productivity:each worker produced more than an artisan could in the same amount of time.Manufacturing costs decreased,causing the prices of products to decrease as well.
2. THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY
  1. The textile industry was the first to introduce technical innovations in spinning and weaving.
  2. Machines become steam-powered,British textile production expanded.
  3. British cotton products were cheap and well-made,and they flooded international markets.The textile boom also increased activity in other sectors,such as agriculture and the iron industry.
THE IRON INDUSTRY
1. Most iron used in Britain was imported fro sweeden and was very expensive.It became cheaper after 1709.
2. The blast furnance was invented to smelt iron.Henry Cort invented a new type of furnance for making lots of wrought iron.It was strong pure iron.
3. Iron manufacturing grew greatly during the Industrial Revolution,because there was so much demand for machines and tools.
ECONOMIC LIBERALISM
1. The liberalism spread widely during the early stages of the industrial revolution.According to Smith,economic activity should be governed by the principle of economic freedom,that is,freedom to create companies,to hire workers and set the conditions and prices of products.
2. Smith argued that the state should not intervene in the economy,as the economy adjusts itself naturally by means of the invisible hand.Adam Smith was in favour of the division of labour,as this practice increased production and productivity.
THE TRANSPORT REVOLUTION
1. ADVANCES IN NAVIGATION
  1. British industrial production grew rapidly.fast,safe transport was necessary to ensure that factories recived supplies.
  2. Road travel was uncomfortable,slow and dangerous.After 1750,new roads were built.Between 1770 and 1830,numerous canals were constructed.
  3. The steam engine was soon used in navigation.In 1870 it wa slaunched the first line of commercial steamboats.
2. THE RAILWAY AGE
  1. The railway was made possible by two advances of the Industrial Revolution:The steam engine amd iron,the raw material used to build trains and railways.
  2. In 1814 was built a steam-powered locomotive to transport materials.In 1825,the first cargo railway was built in England.In 1830,the first public transport railway line was opened,running between Liverpool and Manchester.
  3. Advances made the railway a fast,safe and cheap means of transport.It promoted mining by increasing the demand for coal consumption,while the iron industry had to supply the iron needed to build trains and railways.
  4. Railways were built all over the world,including long distance intercontinental railways.
3. THE IMPACT OF THE TRANSPORT REVOLUTION
  1. The new means of transport were faster and safer,and could carry bigger loads.They had a massive social and economic impac:
    1. Trade.Transport times and costs were reduced.It also became much easier for people to travel.
    2. Specialisation in the world economy.Industrialised countries especialised in manufacturing and exporting products.
    3. Mining,metalurgy and the iron industry.These industries were strengthened because they provided the raw materials for building new means of transport.
    4. Daily life.Nutrition improved,as food could be transported longer distances.It was easier to emigrate.
THE SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
1. NEW ENERGY SOURCES AND INDUSTRIES
  1. Electricity and petroleum had a huge impact.
    1. Electricity.This was used in industry to power machines.It was also used to power electric railway,undergroung trains and trams,and new forms of communication like telephone,radio and cinema.
    2. Petroleum.The first oil wells were drilled in 1859.This energy source grew in importance with the invention of the combustion engine,wich was used to power aoutomobiles.
  2. The iron industry and steel industry.This industry expanded following the invention of the Bessemer converter,wich could produce large amounts of steel at a low price.
  3. The chemical industry.Raw materials,like petroleum and rubber,were used to make new products,such as pharmateuticals,synthetics,and dynamite.
  4. The electricity indudtry.Electricity was produced and distributed on a large scale.
2. LARGE COMPANIES AND MODERN BANKING
  1. When the Industrial Revolution began,most companies were small and owned by a single person or family.Howerver,family businesses did not earn enough to buy new machines and hire workers.To solve this problem,corporations were created.In corporations,the capital of the company is divided into shares.Sahres are traded on the stock market.
  2. Banks lent money to companies and became intermediaries between private individuals and companies.Individuals saved their money in banks,and banks invested that money in industry and other businesses.This was the birth of financial capitalism.
3. NEW SYSTEMS OF PRODUCTION
  1. Taylorism.The ingineer Taylor invented a production process,wich was divided into smalls tasks that were timed.The workers were paid according to the work they completed.
  2. The assembly line was used by the businessman Henry Ford in his automobile factorie.Products were passed from worker to worker.This elimineted the time that a worker wasted between tasks and increased their output.
  3. Mass production.Ford's use of the assembly line prepared the way for mass production.Many identical parts of an item were manufactured before all the different parts were brought togheter and assemble the final product.
  4. As business was now carried out on a much larger scale,extremely large amounts of capital were required.Different types of corporate groups emerged from mergers and agreements between companies:
    1. Cartel.This is an association of companies in the same line of business who reach an agreement to control production and distribution,and to set prices.
    2. Holding company.This type of company controls other companies because it owns most of their shares.
    3. Trust.This is an association of companies that togheter cover all the stagesin the manufacture of a product.Their goal is to control the market and eliminate competition.
    4. Goverments sometimes had to pass laws to regulate cartels and trusts because they created unfair monopolies.

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THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

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