History

Unit 1: How revolutionary was the industrial revolution?

Why?

Britain's agriculture had improved (An agricultural revolution had already taken place and increased the amount of food that farmers could produce. This meant that there was enough food for the growing population. Farm workers were also paid more which meant they had more money to spend on goods produced by the new industries)

Transport was moving (it was easier to transport goods around Britain because of the improvement of roads and rivers and the building of canals. This allowed raw materials such as coal and iron to be moved more easily across the country)

Britain had Entrepreneurs and Inventors (there were people who were prepared to risk their money in new ventures. There was also a great interest in science and technology, which meant that the new inventions were made in the textile and iron industries)

Britain had plenty of raw materials (it possessed large quantities of iron, which was necessary for making the machines and railways)

Britain was at peace (absence of war and stable political condition)

Population was increasing (more demand for goods and also plenty of workers for the factories)

Overseas trade was growing (there were many opportunities to trade overseas due to the fact that Britain had many colonies. This meant that merchants became wealthy enough to have capital to invest in new business)

Textile industry: There was a large demand for cloth due to the growing population and the spinning and weaving that was done in peoples homes could not meet the demand, thus making the textile industry the first to move to powered machines and factories.

John Kay invented a weaving machine called the flying shuttle. This was powered by hand but did speed up the weaving process. (1733)

John Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny which had 16 spindles but was small enough to be used in people's homes. (1764)

Richard Arkwright invented the water frame which was another spinning machine powered by water, but was too big for a house so he built a mill at Cromford in Derbyshire; this was the first factory. (1769)

Samuel Crompton invented the mule which improved Arkwright’s by making the thread much finer. (1779)

Edmund Cartwright invented a power loom which could speed up the work instead of weaving.

Iron industry: By 1700, Britain faced a shortage of timber which was vital for making charcoal, which was vital for smelting iron ore. However in 1709, Abraham Darby I discovered that if coal was turned into coke, it could be used for smelting.

Steam engine: In the early 18th century, only traditional forms of power were used for working the new machinery; horse power, wind power, water power. However, as the factory system began to develop, it became clear that a more reliable source of power was needed: this led to the steam engine being perfected by James Watt.

How did factories change life in Britain?

The first cotton factory was built by Richard Arkwright to house his water frame. This was the start to the cotton industry leading the way in industrialization.

The work in the mills was done by unskilled workers, and two-thirds of the workforce in 1833 was made up of women and children. Some of the children were pauper apprentices: orphans sent to work by town authorities or the workhouses that looked after them. In other cases, whole families worked together in the mills. For mill owners, the advantages of employing children were that they didn’t have to pay them as much as adults and they could crawl under the machines to repair broken threads (fixers) or to clean up loose cotton (scanvengers). The workers were watched by overseers — who were always men.

How and why were the factories reformed?

By the 1830s, it was realized that there was an urgent need for reform. The factory system had grown so that there were now 30,000 children under 13 and 75,000 children aged 13-18 working in the factories. Adult workers also faced low wages and long hours. Because of these conditions there was more of a pressure for reform and demand for restriction on working hours. Due to this pressure, a committee was set up by Parliament to interview children and adults about factory conditions.

1833 factory reform act:

The interviews by the parliamentary committee gave evidence of accidents, ill health, beatings and poor treatment of children. Eventually after pressure from campaigners, the Factory Reform Act of 1833 was passed:

No children under the age of 9 could work in the mills

Children between 9 and 13 were to work no more than 12 hours a day

No one under 18 was to work the night shift

Four factory inspectors were appointed to oversee the factory act.

Despite this act being passed, it was difficult to ensure that these provisions were carried out since parents and factory workers often lied about children’s true ages and even if a factory owner went to court, the fine was minimal. Nevertheless, the idea of inspection was now introduced and the situation continued to improve.

Mines and Collieries Act, 1842 - in 1838 a terrible flooding disaster at a cool mine south of Yorshikini led to the deaths of 26 children who had been working underground. The end result was a new set of legislation aimed at improving working conditions.

1847 ten hour act:

This law limited the workday of women and children (aged 13-18) in textile mills to 10 hours a day (58 hours per week), aiming to improve labour conditions and public health by ending excessive hours.

How did the industrial revolution cause social and political change?

Social change: Wealth was now available to new groups of people; a middle class developed that made its money from the factories or investing in new businesses such as the railways. These people had a whole new range of products to buy — in cotton, poetry and iron. People who owned small businesses, professional people and shopkeepers also made more money and benefited from the lower prices of manufactured goods, and the wider range of food now available because of railways bringing in fresh goods. Skilled workers could also earn good money. While some, such as wool combers and weavers were put out of business by the machines, at the same time there was a demand for new skilled trades such as engine drivers, engineers and fitters. Unskilled workers could also earn up to three times the amount of agricultural workers in the north of England, however they could also lose jobs overnight whenever there was a fall in demand. They also had to cope with the appalling working and living conditions.

Political change:

The new towns, which produced most of the wealth of the country, were not represented in Parliament.

There was now a large middle class which by 1830, was paying as much tax as the landowners but could not vote in electrons, the working class had many grievances regarding working and living conditions but could not vote and were not represented in parliament.

The beginning of the 19th century saw violent clashes between working-class people and the government. In 1819, as a result of the ‘Peterloo’ massacre in Manchester, 11 people were killed when the military forcibly broke up a peaceful, mainly working class meeting which was demanding political reform and in 1832 a reform act was passed, which increased the number of people who could vote and gave more representation to industrial towns. (However, it didn’t address the political demands of workers — the great majority of men and women all across Britain could still not vote which lead to working-class people demanding for more reform)

Workers came up with six points they wanted governments to agree to. These six points made up the people’s charter and people who supported these points were known as chartists

Political reform did continue in Britain and eventually most of the demands of the Chartists were achieved.

What was the impact of the industrial revolution on Japan?

internal factors:

The outdated feudal system: In theory Japan was ruled by an emperor, but in practice true power lay in the hands of the Shogun, the most senior soldier in Japan. Japan was divided in four provinces (called han) and each of these was ruled by a feudal lord or daimyo, who owed his position to the Shogun. The Shogun kept isolated from the West partly to make sure that no daimyo ever made alliances with other countries or got weapons from other countries. By 1850, the daimyo were frustrated with the shogunate system, and some were already starting to modernize their armies.

External factors that caused an industrial revolution in Japan:

The Americans were interested in Japan for two reasons:

As the Americans expanded their territories westwards, and Oregon and California became part of the USA in 1848, the Pacific Ocean became a sphere of interest.

It would be very useful if American ships trading between China and San Francisco could take on fresh provisions in Japan before crossing the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Yokohama was nearly 2000km closer to San Francisco than Shanghai.

In 1853, the Americans therefore sent an armed naval mission to negotiate with the Japanese. The mission was led by Commodore Matthew Perry. The Americans impressed the Shogun with their force of steam-powered, ironclad warships with heavy guns. As a result, the Treaty of Kanagawa was signed.

Terms of the 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa:

open up the isolated ports of Hakodate and Shimoda to ships from the USA

allow the American to station a consul in Shimoda

treat shipwrecked sailors well

give the USA 'most favoured nation' status

This treaty was quickly followed by other treaties — with Britain in October 1854, with Russia in February 1855 and with the Netherlands in 1855.

By 1858, the Japanese had been persuaded via the Treaty of Edo with America, and similar treaties with other countries, to open up fully to commercial trade. However, these treaties were unequal. First, they allowed 'extraterritoriality', which meant that foreigners could be tried according to the laws of their own countries if they committed a crime. Second, the Japanese could not control their own tariffs levied on goods coming into Japan; and finally the USA got the benefit of any extra terms negotiated with other countries as it had 'most favoured nation' status.

What were the effects of the 'unequal treaties' on the Japanese?

The unequal treaties had a momentous impact on Japan. First, they led to a change in the political system. The weakness of the Shogun in allowing the treaties helped to bring about the restoration of the Emperor as the source of power in Japan. This was the demand of many influential Japanese. They took as their slogan Sonno Jō, meaning 'Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians'. There followed 14 years of disturbance in Japan, which ended when the Emperor Meiji decided that he would take over all of the powers of the Shogun. In 1868, his reforms were announced that from that time onwards Japan would take its place among the nations of the world, with the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei ('Enrich the country, strengthen the military').

A delegation was sent to the West in 1871 to 'renegotiate' the unequal treaties. Although this was an unsuccessful mission, the delegation's leader now better understood that Britain had become strong through industrialization and that this had happened relatively quickly. This convinced the delegation that the Japanese could catch up.

Japan undertook a rapid programme of modernization that meant that in just 30 years the country was transformed from a semi-feudal state into one capable of winning a war against a European country.

What were the Meiji reforms?

THE MEIJI RESTORATION

The Emperor was too young to rule on his own, but he had some brilliant young samurai advisers. In April 1868, the Emperor signed the Charter Oath. This was an important document of the government's intention to reform and modernize Japan.

The Charter Oath included:

Assemblies shall be established and all matters of the state decided by public discussion

All classes, high and low, shall unite vigorously in tackling the problems of the state

The common people, as well as civil and military officials of the state, shall be allowed to pursue their own vocations and ambitions, so there is no discontent among them

Evil customs of the past shall be abandoned and everything shall be based on the principles of natural justice

Knowledge shall be sought throughout the world, so as to strengthen the foundations of the Empire

THE MEIJI REFORMS

Abolition of the feudal system

Japan's new rulers understood that to modernize they would have to get rid of Japan's medieval feudal system. They needed to break up the power of the daimyo and samurai and strengthen the power of the central government. This would mean creating one army and not a number of powerful private armies, and having one strong government rather than a number of regional leaders.

First, they abolished the domains and privileges of the daimyo. This could have been very difficult — the government had the support of some powerful daimyo that had been part of the force that overthrew the Shogun. The daimyo were also compensated, and many became local governors over their territories. As the daimyo no longer had to pay the samurai, and as they had had their debts written off, many of them became wealthier after the reform.

Second, the government abolished the privileges of the samurai. Their stipends were initially halted and then replaced with government bonds. In 1876 the government proudly held the privilege of wearing swords was forbidden. There was a lot of hardship among the samurai, who struggled to find a new role in Meiji society.

Political reforms

Even though the Meiji Emperor had announced the Charter Oath, Japan was not a democracy. It was ruled by the elites (the most powerful sections of society) however, under pressure at the end of the nineteenth century, the government prepared for a new constitution. In 1889 the Constitution was announced as a 'gift' from the Emperor to the Japanese people.

Key points set down in Meiji Japan's constitution:

The legislature was called the Diet

The Diet consisted of the House of Peers and the House of Representatives

Voters had to be male, over 25, and 15 yen per year taxpayers. This meant between 98 and 99 people in 100 could not vote