Unit 7.1 HGAP KBAR

7.1- The Industrial Revolution

Identify the origin of and describe conditions needed for the Industrial Revolution.

-the IR emerged in Great Britain around the 1740s and 1750s. While many historians argue over exactly why this revolution began in Great Britain, there are three main factors.

1- Climate

Britain was famous for having a cool and damp climate, one that is perfect for raising sheep on grassy meadows! This allowed them to greatly expand their textile industry. Before the IR, many textiles were the products of the cottage system, where spinners, dyers, and weavers, worked independently.

2- Agricultural Surplus

If you remember back from Unit 5, the Second Agricultural Revolution began in Great Britain. This country was one of the first to experience the benefits of agricultural surplus, a smaller amount of people had to work on farms, which allowed for a concentrated and expanding workforce, ready to work in large-scale factory systems.

3-Trade Power

Great Britain at this time was the world’s most prominent trade leader. With its strong naval power, it dominated markets and monopolized trade from many regions, leading to wealth pouring into the country. This new wealth provided the capital and energy needed to support various types of innovations, allowing for further investment in technology and productivity.

These three conditions provided an ideal launching pad for the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, the first textile manufacturing originating in the Lancashire district in NW England.

Other things that were needed for the IR include raw materials, like proximity to rushing water, charcoal/ lumber from trees, and later from fossil fuels (Pittsburgh) coke from coal, iron from iron ore, and steel and iron for industrial machines and manufacturing.

Explain the impact (positive and negative of industrialization)

There are many positive and negative impacts of industrialization. Some examples of beneficial impacts include:

Economic growth (primarily shown from shifts in the primary sector to the secondary and sometimes tertiary sector). This led to higher productivity and the multiplier effect, which stimulated growth in other areas.

It created a new class: the working class, often spurred on by urbanization and the creation of social classes. Many of these industrial cities became nodes in production and consumption

There was the development of transportation networks, such as railroads and canals, which facilitated the movement of goods and people, further enhancing trade and economic integration across regions.

It enabled time-space compression, and people’s sense of time didn’t revolve around natural rhythms and the seasons but the uniform and steady 24-hour clock. This led to the sensation of distance had collapsed and time had sped up.

Created a new economic characteristic of capitalism and industrialization: wage labor

This shift fundamentally changed societal structures, as the reliance on wage labor transformed traditional family roles and economic independence, modifying the dynamics of labor relations and social mobility.

Mass production and assembly lines (Fordism)

However, all radical changes are not without negative effects.

The environmental effects were sickening: increases in air and water pollution (especially Co2) darkened the city skies and created urban heat islands as well, due to the factory emissions. This contributed to climate change and the rise of fossil fuels led to unsustainable resource use.

Moreover, the disparity in wealth grew wider, as industrialization often benefited the owners of capital (capitalists) far more than the laborers, leading to social unrest and calls for reform. This situation laid the groundwork for various labor movements that sought to address these inequities and improve working conditions.

People, including children, were exposed to noise and noxious fumes of early factories (damaging lungs)

Industrial cities often had slums, informal housing, and squatter settlements, where overcrowded and dirty residences often spread life-threatening diseases like cholera easily.

This also brought into perspective new gender roles that hadn’t existed. Men were associated with the public workplace while women were seen as the rearer of children and the keeper of the human. These led to women not having the same respect and rights as men, and it took years with the Women’s Rights Movement for women to gain the same rights as men and not be associated as house wives who couldn’t go outside and work.

The need for raw materials spurred on imperalism and colonialism where these periphery countries were trapped into producing raw materials but they couldn’t ONLY buy manufactured products from their colonial/imperial metropoles. The Dependency Theory states this is one of the reasons why many countries who used to suffer under imperalism and colonialism remain the in periphery sector due to mass economic struggles. In this context, the cycle of dependency perpetuates economic inequality, as these nations often lack the infrastructure and resources needed to diversify their economies and compete on a global scale.

Trace the growth and diffusion of the Industrial Revolution.

For a long time, England tried to keep a monopoly on the Industrial Revolution, after all, it was the main reason why they were such a powerful economic and political power in the world. This is why you can easily see how unequal development may result from developed countries’ attempts to safeguard their economic advantages. Nevertheless, it did spread with continental Europe feeling the impact first, such as Belgium and Germany. The United States began this process, adopting railroads in 1850, followed by Japan half a century later. In the early 20th century, Russia and Ukraine experienced modern industrial diffusion of inventions and innovations of the Industrial Revolution.