The Industrial Revolution

Flashcards reviewing the key concepts of the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

The process by which states transitioned from primarily agrarian economies to industrial economies.

Industrial Revolution

Transition in which goods for sale went from being made by hand to being made by machines.

Proximity to waterways

Efficient and rapid transportation of manufactured goods to various markets.

Geographical distribution of coal

The burning of coal, and Britain had metric buttloads of it buried beneath their soil

Access to foreign resources

Building a massive maritime empire across the world and therefore had access to prodigious amounts of raw materials that were not present on their tiny islands.

Improved agricultural productivity

The amount of food grown on farms increased significantly.

Seed Drill

New technologies like the seed drill ensured that seeds could be planted more efficiently and accurately, which led to less waste and greater harvest.

Potato

Highly caloric food diversified their diets, especially among the impoverished folks in rural areas, and that in turn made them healthier and increased their life

Rapid urbanization

Less people were needed to work the fields, Several cities in Britain were becoming hubs of industrial manufacturing and they were positively starving for human labor. And so that led to a massive rural to urban migration of people looking for jobs, and so these industrial cities grew quick, fast, and in a hurry.

Legal protection of private property

Britain was unique in that they passed laws protecting entrepreneurs who took risks to start and build new businesses in the manufacturing sector.

Accumulation of capital

Largely on account of wealth gained through the Atlantic slave trade, Britain had many well-to-do folks who had excess capital, which is why they were known as capitalists.

Factory

A place where goods for sale were mass produced by machines.

Factory System

Concentrated production in a single location and was powered by moving water thanks to the invention of the water frame.

Spinning Jenny

Operated looms that created textiles way faster than they could be by hand.