Era of technological advancement

”Industrial Revolution” refers to the technological advancement in the West between Mid-18th to late-19th

The advancement brought huge change in the economic and social development.

This period was a key stage of the rise of modern Europe

Here are the following features:

Mechanization

People would invent and use new machine to replace human power and animal power to increase production speed.Therefore, this period is also call “the Age of Machines”

Industrialization

Industry had grown rapidly and surpassed the traditional agriculture (farming) as the main pillar of a nation’s economy

Urbanization

A large amount of farmer moved from the countryside to work at the industrial towns.

Which made the urban population increased and urban area to expand

Mechanization led to Urbanization led to Industrialization

Cause of the Industrial Revolution

1) Rise in population

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the population of Europe grew rapidly, which provide labour for the development of industry and trade.

It also made the local demand for goods increased which encouraged mass industrial production.

2) development of world trade

From the 15th century onward, world trade centred on Europe grew rapidly.

Therefore, the global demand for good increased and in order to meet the global demands for manufactured goods, Europeans introduced new machine and technologies in production

3) Accumulation of capital

European merchants gained a lot of capital from foreign trade and then they largely invested on new machines as well as technological innovations to increase production and earn higher profit

4) Development and application of science

After the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution, Europe had greatly advanced in science.

With the support of merchants, European scientists could be able to apply their knowledge improve the industrial technologies.

Why did the Industrial Revolution start in Britain?

1) Rich in natural resources and large overseas markets

Britain was rich in natural resources such as coal and iron. Also, in the early 18th century, Britain had many oversea colonies which Europe would exploit for their own interest.those colonies provided cheap raw materials and oversea markets for Britain’s industries.

2) The Enclosure Movement

Owing to the Enclosure Movement, many British farmers lost their farmland. They moved to cities and worked in factories. They became the major labour force of Britain Industrialization.

3) Government support for technological innovations

In 1623, the British government passed a patent law to protect the rights of inventors. It also sponsored the Royal Society to carry out scientific experiment which made the scientific and technological had rapidly progressed in Britain.

Major development during the Industrial Revolution

Around 18th century, the Industrial Revolution started in Britain. The textile industry was the first industry to be mechanized. Later, the revolution spread to heavy industries such as iron and steel making, mining and shipbuilding with the invention of the steam engine.

Also, the revolution had spread to other European countries, United States and Japan

In early I.R. ,the invention was mainly focusing on production

E.g. steam engine, power loom, spinning Jenny, clock (weaving machine)

However in late I.R. ,the invention was more likely focusing on the convenience in life

E.g. Light bulb, electricity & oil

1) starting of Industrial Revolution: Textile Industry

In the mid-18th century, British invented and improved textile machine which were usually operated by the worker in the factories. Also, the form of production changed from domestic system (production was done at home using simple hand tools or basic machines) to factory system.

The industrial Revolution started, and gradually spread to other sectors.

2) using new source of energy

Before Industrial Revolution, Europeans mainly used humans, animals, wind and water as energy sources. During the Industrial Revolution, they developed new energy source to drive larger machine for higher production speed and quality

• Early state (Steam Age) : steam power

Steam power was the driving force behind the Industrial Revolution. In the 18th century, Watt improved the steam engine from Newcomen which was widely used in textile production, mining and transportation (steam locomotive) later on.

• Later stage :electricity, oil and coal gas

Although battery was already invented in 1880, electricity wasn’t a major energy source .

In the 1870-1880s, American scientist Edison invented the light bulb and established the world’s first electric power system that provided durable electricity supply. This allowed factories to operate longer hours and increase production.

The Age of Electricity started.

In the mid-19th century, oil was discovered as a high-performance fuel just like electricity that could use to power up machine for production.

In 1865, the United State laid the world’s first oil pipeline and established the oil industry and many European also established oil industry later on.

By the end of the 19th industry, oil had replaced steam as the primary energy source for Industrialization.

Meanwhile, European mined coal for generating steam and coal gas for gas lighting and cooking.

3) Development of coal mining and iron making

Before the Industrial Revolution, the coal mining industry depended on manpower. Beside, people preferred cast iron as an industrial materials instead of high-quality materials like wrought iron and steel due to economic factor

During the Industrial Revolution, people used steam power in mining which improved the production efficiency. Also, the new iron-making technology further reduced the cost of wrought iron and steel which turn them into the commonly-used industrial materials.

4) Improvement on transportation

Before the Industrial Revolution, roads were poor; traditional ox-cart, horse carts and sailing ships were the main means of transport.

During the Industrial Revolution, innovation (mule cart) in transport infrastructure and mean‘s of transport raised transport efficiency greatly.

• Land transport

The “Macadam Road” which was flatter and had better drainage was developed. European invented steam locomotives and started to build railway networks to transport goods and labour. The “Age of Railway” began. With the world’s first car emerged in 1883 (Benz), steam locomotives and cars became the two major means of land transport.

• Sea transport

Canals were built between industrial towns to transport cargoes more efficiently and economically. Europeans also invented and improve steamships to carry more passengers and cargoes further and faster.

5) Advancement in communication

Before the Industrial Revolution, people delivered messages by post which took a long time.

During the Industrial Revolution, Europeans and Americans invented telegraph and the “Morse Code” for military purpose and telephone and also built telephone network for faster delivery of messages.

6) Advancement in medicine

Before the Industrial Revolution, there was little knowledge of social medicine.

During the Industrial Revolution, hygiene was very bad in slums. Then, doctor started to study social medicine. There were breakthroughs in the prevention and treatment of diseases.

• Prevention of diseases

Vaccine against smallpox, cholera and rabies were invented.

[Jenner invented the world’s vaccine which was vaccine for cowpox]

• Treatment of diseases

Pierre and Marie Curie discovered “radium” which was radioactivity and could be used to treat cancer; Rontgen discovered X-rays which allowed doctors to obverse patients’ bodies

• Nursing of diseases

Antiseptic surgery was used which could prevent septicaemia caused by bacteria.

Impacts of the Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution prompted those Western Countries to speed up overseas expansion which gradually manipulated the development of global politics.

1) The rise of modern capitalism

During the Industrial Revolution, people who owned the means of production such as machines and mines became capitalists. They put their privately-owned properties into production and further expanded the production capacity through the factory system and joint-stock companies.

• Rise of the factory system

During the Industrial Revolution, capitalist built factories and installed expensive and large machines then employed many worker to operate the machine to carry out mass production. This mode of production is called “factory system” and it replaced the domestic system and became the main mode of production.

In a factory, the production process was separated into many specialized parts and each worker was assigned to a single part of it. This is known as “division of labour”

As workers repeated their work continuously, they became more skilful in performing their job which helped to save time and improved the quality of work.

• Development of joint-stock companies

Many capitalist wanted to increase their industrial productivity, but the cost of operating machinery and factory was high. Therefore, more capitalist would set up joint-stock companies and produced stocks and bonds to raise capital.

Joint-stock companies allowed capitalists to expand their production capacity and further promoted the rise of modern capitalism.

2) Growth of Industrial Towns

Before the Industrial Revolution, most Europeans lived in the villages.

During the Industrial Revolution, farmers who wanted higher wages moved to live near the factories with their families. This led to the growth of industrial towns.

Their population continued increase and their areas continued to expand.

By the mid-19th century, there were a large number of industrial towns in Britain.

Urbanization first occurred in Britain where the industrial Revolution started. With the spread of the Industrial Revolution, urbanization also occurred in other European and North American countries.

3) Rise of new social classes

Before the Industrial Revolution, there were two major classes in Europe; the nobles and peasants. The Industrial Revolution saw the rise of new social classes:

• The capitalist class:

It included industrialists, businessmen, and owners of factories and mine.

They were rich and could influence government policies.

• The middle class:

it mainly included lawyers, doctors and engineers which weren’t involved in the production process. They accumulated wealth because of their professional knowledge and expertise. They were not as wealthy and influential as the capitalist class.

• The working class:

It worked for the capitalists and earned very little. This group of people were poor and at the bottom of society. The working class was also called the “proletariat”

4) Labour problems an government responses

a) Labour problems

During the Industrial Revolution, the wealth gap between the capitalist class and working class continued to widen. The capitalists were very wealthy whereas the workers had a hard life.

• Low income:

Workers’ wages (per day) were low. Women and children had to work in factories and mines to earn extra income.

• Long working hours and frequent accidents:

Workers had to work about 14-15 hours every day. Few factories or mines had safety measures. Industrial accidents occurred frequently.

• Poor living conditions

Most workers lived in crowded slums in cities. The poor living and sanitary conditions made it easy for diseases to spread.

b) Labour movement and achievements

Worked tried to improve their conditions and wages by forming trade onions. In 1824, the Briti sh government recognized the legal status of the trade unions. Between 1838 and 1848, trade onion in Britain organised the “Chartist Movement” to demand shorter working hours and higher wages. They also demanded the right to vote for every man above 21 years old . They wanted their representatives to take part in government affairs to protect their interests.

Starting from the 1830s, the British government passed a series of acts to improve workers’ conditions, including legislation for standard working hours and prohibition of child labour in mines. Workers’ condition in other countries didn’t prove much until the early 20th century.

Rise of Socialism

a) origin of socialism

Capitalism, cause by the Industrial Revolution, gave rise to new idea.

Some thinkers criticized the ills of capitalism; private ownership of property allowed a few capitalists to control the means of production and exploit the working class for profit

Therefore, they advocated that the means of the production should be owned publicly, and wealth should be redistributed equally, these ideas are called “socialism”

B) Development of socialism

Among the different schools of socialism, the British Owen’s and the Frenchman Saint-Simon’s “Utopian socialism” ;and Germans Engels’ and Marx’s “communism” were the most representative.

Also Engels and Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto together in 1848 which encouraged the working class to overthrow the capitalist class and set up a socialist government

With the spread of the Industrial Revolution, socialism spread to many countries. Marxism (communism) which gained the most attention greatly affected the development of the West and the world.

Further expansion of world trade

After the start of the Industrial Revolution, industry and commerce in Western countries developed rapidly. The Western industrial powers (Britain, France, Germany, and the US) imported large quantities of raw materials from different places (their colonies, trading partner) for domestic production and exported manufactured goods. Improvement in transportation and communication also led to the rapid development of international trade and technologies exchanges.

Economic and colonial expansion of Western countries

The Industrial Revolution strengthened the economic and technological power of Western countries, encouraging them to acquire more raw materials and open more overseas markets. They made use of their supremacy to speed up economic and colonial expansion in Asia and Africa. This new tide of colonial expansion is called “New Imperialism”

By the early 20th century, Western countries had set up many colonies in Asia and Africa. An international economic system centred on the West gradually emerged. However, colonial competition caused many conflicts among the Western powers. The international situation became tense.