Week 2 - The British Industrial Revolution

Practice flashcards covering the timing debates, growth accounting, technological inventions, and reinforcing revolutions of the British Industrial Revolution based on Chapters 7 and 8 of 'How the World Became Rich'.

3 questions aiming to answer

1. when was it 2. what was it 3. why did it happen

What are the 3 views of when it happened

1. broadberry 2. bouscasse et. al. 3. clark

How do the 3 views of when it happened range?

From around $1600$, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I to 1800s

According to the Broadberry view, around what year did sustained economic growth begin in Britain, and what historical event did this closely follow?

Sustained economic growth began around $1650$, just after the end of the English Civil War ($1642\text{--}1651$).

According to estimates by Humphries and Weisdorf (2019), how did the length of the working year in England change between $1350$ and $1850$?

Estimated days worked per year rose from as few as $100$ days in $1350$ to $350$ days by $1850$.

How did Joel Mokyr characterize the role of science in the First Industrial Revolution?

As a 'chemical industry with no chemistry, an iron industry without metallurgy, power machinery without thermodynamics' a revolution driven by tinkering and experimental engineering rather than conceptual leaps in science. (Mokyr)

Industrious rev vs industrial rev

Industrious is how peoples behaviour and consumption changed like working hours (maybe marital age) changed which some argue paved the way to the industrial revolution

What is the argument over the industrious revolution

some argue it happened before industrial and some after and some argue it didn’t happen at all

What were the design features and key dates associated with Richard Arkwright's water frame?

Designed for mechanical power, it relied on two rollers rather than one, was first used in $1765$, patented in $1769$, and spun only one thread at a time.

What key component did James Watt introduce to the steam engine to greatly improve energy retention?

A separate condenser.

How did the inventions of spinning create an urban revolution

high cost of capital so people didn’t make textiles at home, creating jobs and the rise of manufacturing services creating a shift towards cities particularly textiles in manchester

What are 5 explanations people theorise the industrial revolution might have happened?

1. demographic 2. institutions 3. colonization and trade 4. geography 5. culture

Explain the role of demographic

malthus argues pre-industrial growth was eaten away by pop growth so can changes in demography explain e.g. later marriage (ch5)

Explain the role of institutions

markets only thrive under good institutions legal and political

Explain the role of colonisation and trade

central to textile industry and demand for cotton

Explain the role of geography

africa had a bad disease environment but western europe could benefit from atlantic trade

Explain the role of culture

differ from hunter gatherer cultures