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Industrial Revolution
It was the change from an agrarian based economy to factory/urban industry.
Key Social Impacts
Causes of the Industrial Revolution
Stable food supply, capitalism and coal.
Encouragement of the Agricultural Revolution
Innovations in farming techniques, Capitalism: financial resources, Natural resources.
Significance of Coal
Essentially all industrial eras will be fueled by coal.
Benefits of Coal
In 1700 → Britain ~12,000 tons pig iron/year. After coke smelting → over 20-fold increase.
Coke Smelting
Coke was cheaper and more efficient than charcoal, cutting iron production costs by up to 30-50% over time.
Bridgewater Canal
Francis Egerton builds the Bridgewater Canal (Worsley → Manchester): 1759-1761.
Benefits of Bridgewater Canal
Coal prices in Manchester by nearly 50%, improving industrial fuel supply.
Narrow Boat Capacity
One narrow boat could haul 30 tonnes of coal, operated by 3.
Thread Spinning Before Machines
By women using hand-powered spinning wheels at home, spinning one thread at a time.
Arkwright's Invention (1769)
Combined Hargreaves' multi-thread spinning jenny with a water wheel to power it, allowing one unskilled worker to produce over 100 threads.
Consequence of Arkwright's Invention
Mass thread production with fewer skilled workers, transforming textile manufacturing.
Purpose of Steam-Powered Pumps
To remove water from mines, allowing deeper mining operations.
Efficiency of Steam-Powered Pumps
Made efficient enough for production in 1765.
Watt's Patent Improvement (1781)
A design tweak that allowed steam engines to create rotative motion.
Consequence of Steam-Powered Pumps
Factories could be built anywhere (not just near water), and it laid the foundation for trains and ships.
Wealth of Nations (1776)
Published by Adam Smith.
Laissez-faire Philosophy
The belief that free markets work best with minimal government interference.
Invisible Hand
The idea that when entrepreneurs pursue their own interests, the market naturally benefits society as a whole.
Turnpikes
Privately built and maintained roads in exchange for the right to collect tolls from travelers.
Problem Solved by Turnpikes
Poor road conditions made travel slow and dangerous.
Stockton to Darlington Railway (1825)
The first railway line that reduced coal costs by more than 50%.
Liverpool-Manchester Railway (1830)
Built by George Stephenson and largely funded by middle-class investments in railway shares.
Advantage of Railways Over Canals
Railways could be built straight across land, while canals followed natural terrain, making them longer and winding.
Evidence of Railways Boosting Urbanization
Manchester's population grew from ~25,000 (1771) to over 180,000 (1831) due to rail access.
Steamships Overtaking Sailing Ships
By post-1850, steam-powered ships became the primary vehicle for international trade.
Crucial Raw Material for Textile Products
Cotton.
Cotton Demand and Slavery
The demand for cotton increased the demand for slavery, as cotton plantations relied on enslaved labor.
Wrought Iron
A stronger, more malleable form of iron used for various industrial products.
Cort's Puddling Technique
It allowed pig iron to be transformed into wrought iron cheaply by burning off carbon and impurities.
Consequence of the Puddling Technique
It enabled the mass production of wrought iron, which was essential for building machines and infrastructure during the Industrial Revolution.
Importance of Iron
It was used to build the machines of the Industrial Revolution, including steam engines and railways.
Demand for Iron after 1780
The use of the Watt steam engine and the growth of railways increased the need for iron products.
Coal Production in Britain by 1800
Britain produced about 90% of the global output of coal.
Role of Coal in Industrialization
It powered factories and transportation, making it essential for every aspect of industrialization.
Dangers of Coal Mining
Coal mines were hazardous, with explosions like the Felling Colliery disaster in 1812, which killed over 90 people.
Employment in Coal Industry by 1850
216,000 men worked in coal mining in Britain.
Life Expectancy of a Coal Miner
About 40 years old.
Reasons for Working in Coal Mines
Due to the rise of factories and urbanization, many people sought work in coal mining for better pay than agriculture or domestic labor.
Enclosure Acts and Coal Mining
The Enclosure Acts displaced people from rural land, forcing them to find work in urban industries like mining.
Colliery
A coal mine.
Cause of Felling Colliery Explosion in 1812
A build-up of methane gas, which ignited and caused a blast.
Casualties in Felling Colliery Explosion
Over 90 men and boys were killed.
Impact of Iron Technologies on British Empire
Iron was used to build infrastructure like railways, bridges, and ships, expanding Britain's trade and colonial influence.
Effect of Ironclad Ships and Steamships on Britain
They enhanced British naval power, improving control over trade routes and colonies.
Role of Wool before the Industrial Revolution
Wool was a luxury material, symbolizing wealth and social status, and was central to the pre-industrial economy.
Why High-Quality Wool was Expensive
It was scarce and primarily accessible to the wealthy elite.
George Stephenson
An English engineer and inventor who designed the locomotive 'Rocket.'
Significance of George Stephenson's Views on Coal
His work in developing railways and steam engines highlighted the importance of coal in driving industrial growth.
Social Changes from George Stephenson's Work
His work helped shift society towards industrialization, urbanization, and the growth of the working class.
Laissez Faire Economics
An economic philosophy that advocates minimal government interference, allowing markets to regulate themselves.
Government's Role in Laissez Faire
The government would provide justice, security, and education, while the economy would be self-regulating.
Free Trade
Opening economic markets up to both domestic and foreign competition, with minimal government interference.
Benefits of Free Trade for Consumers
Consumers had access to the best and cheapest goods from around the world.
Conflict between Free Trade and Protectionism
Protectionism used methods like tariffs and export bans to shield local industries from foreign competition, while free trade removed these barriers.
Methods of Protectionism
Tariffs, quotas, state-granted monopolies, export bans, and forbidding the emigration of skilled craftsmen.
Main Benefit of Free Trade
It leads to lower prices, more variety of goods, economic growth, and efficiency through specialization.
Drawbacks of Free Trade
It can hurt domestic industries, lead to job losses, trade deficits, and increase foreign dependency.
Benefits of Protectionism
Protectionism supports local businesses, job security, national security, and reduces trade deficits.
Drawbacks of Protectionism
It leads to higher prices, less product variety, trade wars, and inefficiency in innovation.
How Free Trade Promotes Economic Growth
By boosting trade, encouraging investment, and driving innovation through competition.
Protectionism
It shields local businesses from foreign competition but can create inefficiency and higher prices for consumers.
Overcrowding in industrial cities
The sharp rise in population, with landlords and builders taking advantage of the lack of building regulations to pack many houses onto small plots.
Lodging houses in industrial cities
They were often dirty, overcrowded, and people rented rooms where they shared beds or slept on the floor.
Health issues in overcrowded housing
Poor ventilation and damp conditions led to chest infections, while diseases like tuberculosis thrived in these unsanitary conditions.
Spread of diseases like typhus
Poor hygiene, fleas, and body lice were common in the overcrowded, dirty housing.
Impact of poor living conditions on children
57% of children died before reaching the age of 5 due to poor health conditions.
Food supply difficulties in industrial towns before 1850
It was challenging to get enough fresh food, such as fruits and vegetables, into the towns to feed the growing population.
Water and sanitation problems in industrial cities
Human waste was often not properly disposed of, and many working-class neighborhoods used communal privies.
Worsening water supply issues
Factory waste, cesspits, and smog from factories contaminated rivers and water sources, making drinking water unsafe.
Cholera spread in industrial cities
Cholera spread rapidly through contaminated water, especially when people drank water infected with the excrement of people carrying the disease.
Cholera deaths during the 1831-1832 epidemic
Over 30,000 people died from cholera during this epidemic.
Cholera deaths in the 1848-1849 epidemic
Over 60,000 people died in this second epidemic.
Impact of cholera outbreaks
Cholera claimed the lives of over 100,000 people in the 19th century due to repeated outbreaks.
Typical working hours in factories
Workers typically worked 12-14 hours a day, with extra time required during busy periods.
Factory owners' preference for women and children
Women earned 7 shillings a week and children earned 3 shillings, making them cheaper to employ compared to men who earned 15 shillings.
Poor working conditions in mines
Workers in mines were paid so little that there were stories of pregnant women giving birth in the pit and returning to work immediately after.
Common safety issues in factories
Factory accidents were common, with up to 40% of accident cases at Manchester Infirmary in 1833 being factory accidents.
Legal responsibility of factory owners for worker safety
Factory owners had no legal responsibility for their workers, and workers could be fired without notice or cause.
Impact of economic downturns on factory workers
Economic downturns often led to sudden layoffs, such as during the 'hungry forties' of the 1840s.
Safety risks in mines
Miners faced frequent accidents like roof falls, explosions, and shaft accidents. Constant exposure to coal dust caused 'black lung' disease.
Purpose of friendly societies in mines
Miners pooled money to create an informal insurance fund to support the families of those who died in mining accidents.
Punishments for workers in factories
Fines were imposed for talking, leaving the room without permission, or having dirt on machines. Some employers even manipulated the clocks to fine workers for being late.
Physical discipline of children in factories
Children were sometimes physically punished by having their ears nailed to tables or being doused with water to keep them awake.
Mine owners' response to union activities
Miners suspected of trying to create unions were blacklisted, meaning they were fired and made unemployable by all mine owners.
Payment system for miners
Miners were paid by the tub, and if a tub was underweight, they were not paid. Harsh fines often led to miners owing money to the mine owners.
Prevalence of child labor in mines
Children made up 20-50% of the workforce in mines, working alongside their families.
Children's roles in the mines
Children worked as 'trappers' opening doors for coal trucks to pass through and as 'putters' pushing empty tubs back through the mine.
Child labor in factories
Approximately 1/3 of the workforce in factories were children.
Reasons children were preferred in factories
Children were valued for their small hands, which allowed them to reach into machines, and for being cheaper to employ.
Condition of parish apprentices in factories
Parish apprentices, or orphans, worked 12-hour days without pay in factories, essentially in slavery-like conditions.
Karl Marx's contribution to the Industrial Revolution
Karl Marx inspired communist ideas, advocating for the rights of workers and against the exploitation seen in industrial capitalism.
Gains of the landed gentry during the Industrial Revolution
The landed gentry still owned large amounts of land and invested in industrial projects like railways and factories for profit.
Losses of the landed gentry
They lost political dominance to the rising bourgeoisie and their rural influence declined as cities and industry became more important.
Conclusion for the landed gentry's status during the Industrial Revolution
The landed gentry remained wealthy but lost status and control, no longer being the dominant class.
Gains of the bourgeoisie
They gained wealth from industry, trade, and investment, and saw increased political influence, especially in urban areas.
Losses of the bourgeoisie
They faced tension with the working class and criticism for exploiting workers and chasing profit.
Bourgeoisie
Biggest winners during the Industrial Revolution, gained control over economy and society.
Lower Middle Class
Benefited from more consumer goods and agricultural improvements but struggled against large factories.