a number of significant changes occurred in britain as a result of the industrial revolution:...
TRANSCRIPT
The Industrial Revolution
A number of significant changes occurred in Britain as a result of the Industrial Revolution:
Changes to AgricultureMassive growth of the economyDevelopment of a factory system
based on machines rather than people
Changes to modes of transportation
Effects of the Industrial Revolution
Revolutionizing the English Countryside
Agricultural Revolution
Consolidate: to combine together two or more things into one
Cultivated: process of loosing up soil and mixing in nutrients to help plants grow
Terms to Define
Medieval times used strip farming – small scattered strips of land for farmingConsidered to be very inefficient
Landowners began to consolidate the small strips into large fieldsA movement called “enclosure”
Larger fields mean less time farming = more profits
Agricultural Revolution
At the same time as enclosures, laws changed to allow common land to be sold to wealthy landownersTook away land from village people who
depended on the land as grazing land for their sheep, as well as for wood, acorns and other loose food products for survival
Many small farmers were negatively effected by the enclosures and were forced to sell their farms to rich landowners for very little
Agricultural Revolution
Enclosures allowed farming to become a business rather than just a way to feed the family
Resulted in new farming techniques as well as new plants and animals
Success of these new farms was the basis of the agricultural revolution as they revolutionized the look of the English countryside
Farming Becomes a Business
Landowners believed better farm animals would bring higher profits
Landowners selectively bred new breeds of animals that were stronger than those of medieval timesCows produced better and
more meat and sheep produced more wool
These animals were expensive to breed and maintain and soon even more farmers were out of business
New Breeds of Farm Animals
As landowners focused even more on profits, they began to invest in better farming technologiesThey understood that making a profit was
dependent on taking some financial risks
Goal for these landowners was to make their land produce more crops for less money They wanted to find ways to lower their cost
of production
New Crops and Technologies
English inventor who tried to understand how soil helped plants to grow
Found that plants grew better when soil was cultivated and enriched with manure
Invented the “seed drill” – device pulled from horses that turned the soil and planted neat rows of seeds
Cut down on seeds lost to birds
Jethro Tull – “Seed Drill”
English lord and politician; also a wealthy landowner
When he retired he focused on making his farms more profitable
Found that by rotating what crops he grew each year, he could produce more of each cropBetter use of the soil; allowed nutrients in the soil
to replenishLeft-over’s could be used as inexpensive food for
animals in the winter
“Turnip” Townshed
As larger landowners became even more wealthy, many small farmers were forced to sell their land to survive but the money ran out quickly
As a result, many families moved to the cities looking for work – led to overcrowded poor sections in many of the main cities
On the other hand, the success of the larger farms meant these larger city populations could be fed
Small Farmers Driven Out
Growing the Economy of England
Economic Revolution
Entrepreneurs: refers to business people who organize, run or operate a business
Regulations: rules put in place about how something can be done
Abundant: lots of something.
Loom: machine used to make strings of yarn into cloth
Terms to Define
After the Glorious Revolution (think back to the English Civil War!), Parliament now included many entrepreneurs from the middle classOrdinary people, including women, were still
not a part of Parliament and could not vote
Two main groups in Parliament:Tories: rich landownersWhigs: represented the middle class
English Parliament
Growing number of middle class in Parliament led the government to follow a laissez-faire economic policyBusiness and industry should function free of
government interference and regulationsCompetition and self-interest would motivate
people to make their industries better which would create a wealthier and more productive economy = benefit society in general
Allowed business owners to keep costs low – allowed them to pay workers as little as possible to increase their profits
English Economics
Britain had a large textile industry – wool from sheep was used throughout the worldBritish wool was considered the highest quality
and was in demand around the worldEnclosures made it possible and profitable to
maintain enormous herds of sheepAllowed cheap and efficient harvesting of
sheep’s woolMassive growth in the textile industry helped
improve the British economy overall A variety of improvements in the textile
industries occurred during the Industrial Revolution…
Changes to the Textile Industries
“Flying Shuttle” Invented by John Kay in 1733Used springs and levers to weave yarn faster on
large looms - yarn could be produced fasterPut one of the original shuttle throwers out of
work
“Spinning Jenny”Built by James Hargreaves in 1764Allowed spinners to do the work of multiple
spinners at the same timeBuilt to reduce the yarn shortage that resulted
after weaving techniques improved - soon used all over England
Changes to the Textile Industry
“Flying Shuttle”
“Spinning Jenny”
“Water Frame”Improved the way yarn was spun – even faster
than the Spinning Jenny
“The Mule”Combined the best features of the Spinning
Jenny and the Water Frame
Once an abundant amount of yarn was spun, improvements to the processes of spinning and weaving yarn continued Led to enormous looms in factories that
required a new kind of power to run…Steam!
Changes to the textile industry
As factories began to grow, so did the need for a more secure power source
First breakthrough – Thomas Newcombe invented an engine that harnessed the power of compressed steam
Second, and real, breakthrough came from James Watts – he found a way to better use the compressed steam from Newcombe’s engineWatts adapted the engine so that it could
power larger machinesWatts effectively solved the problem of how to
power the Industrial Revolution
The Triumph of Steam
Grew with the other changes of the revolution
Development of cast iron – easier and cheaper to makeBecame a massive industry
Led to growth of the coal industry which was used in the production of cast ironCoal was also vital because it was needed to
fuel the steam engineCoal mines were a dark and dangerous place
and workers were paid meagerlyEven so, without coal, the revolution would not
have worked
Iron and Coal Industries
Moving the Industrial Revolution Forward
Transportation
Raw materials: an unprocessed, natural product used in creating items ex. wool right off the sheep or cocoa beans
Manufactured goods: a finished product; usually created in a factory or on a production line
Terms to Define
The massive amounts of goods being produced during the Industrial Revolution needed to be transported around Great BritainFactories also required resources and raw materials
such as coal
Prior to the revolution, transportation systems in England were terribleUneven and muddy roads; no long straight roads
from one place to anotherUse of pack horses and mules limited how much
could be carried in each load; horses also needed water, rest and food (expensive and time consuming)
Growth of Transportation
Turnpike system – way of getting roads built at no cost to the governmentPrivate companies were allowed to build a section
of road and charge tolls (taxes) to anyone who used their roads
Best builder: James Macadam – built roads that were three layers of stone and were sloped from the middle to allow proper drainage
Growth of Transportation
Investors also began to build new canals and waterways to transport goods and peopleCanals were also built to connect larger
waterways
By the early 19th century, there was
over 4000 km of canals across England
Growth of Transportation
New and better roads meant better transportation of goods, people and mail
Improved transportation methods also made it possible to ship raw materials and manufactured goods relatively quickly and cheaperHelped to improve the overall profits of the
country and its people
Benefits of Growth
Transportation continued to improve as inventors began to use the steam engine to build locomotives and larger railway systems
1829: George and Robert Stephenson built a locomotive called “The Rocket”Travelled at the “unheard of
speed” of 39km/hr!
By the mid 1800’s, countries all across Europe and North America had built railway lines to transport goods and people
Development of railways
“The Rocket”
From Farms to Factories
Mechanization and the Factory System
Obsolete: does not exist anymore
Deteriorated: to get worse
Appalled: be filled with shock or horror about something
Terms to Define
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, people produced items in their home and then items were picked up and the people were paid a fixed price for each complete item, such as a spool of yarn – known as the cottage systemAllowed people to work from home and to pick up extra
work such as spinning yarn if they needed moneyUnfortunately, the pay was not very good and prices
were often lowered when there was more supply than demand
With the growth of large factories and large machines that could not operate in houses, the cottage system became obsolete
Cottage System vs. Factory System
Large machines required more space and a secure source of power – something that couldn’t be done in a home
Growth of factories changed the lives of thousands of people in BritainMany moved from the
farms to cities as the growth of factories led to the development of massive cities
Factory Age
Factory system also centralized production – all parts of an item were produced under one roof Allowed owners to lower their costs and to
control every step in production
Factory Age Cont’d
While life improved for the wealthy who benefited from the growth of factories, the lives of factory workers deteriorated rapidly
Many people labored long hours in noisy, dirty and unsafe buildings for very little pay Factory age produced some of the worst
conditions for everyday workers
Lives of Factory Workers
Many of the people suffering these horrendous conditions were children
Many young children were sent to work as families were poor and needed the money and education was not compulsoryMany started as young as 5 years old
Children were particularly useful because of their small size – worked in coal mines digging tunnels or as chimney sweepers
Children were paid even less , worked longer hours and were often beaten by the factory owners
Child Labor in Factories
Working conditions became so bad that during the 18th and 19th centuries, social reformers tried to improve these conditions for workers
Workers also tried to band together to improve their conditions by creating guilds (modern-day unions) but these groups were declared illegal by the governmentRich factory owners in Parliament did want to have
to pay their workers more or hurt their profitsEventually though, the government became
appalled at the working conditions and created new laws called the Factory Acts to improve working conditions
Factory Acts
Children were the first to benefit from these ActsLimited the working hours for children to 12;
reduced even further later onMade it illegal to hire a child under 9 years oldUnfortunately, there were no government inspectors
to ensure the rules were followed and many people worked despite the conditions simply because they needed the money
Attitudes of middle and upper class also made it difficult – believed working class should continue to work as much as possible or else they would be “lazy”
Factory Acts Cont’d
The People of the Industrial Revolution
Society and Culture
Rigid: very stiff or unchanging
Menial jobs: refers to work that was considered servant work; was often very hard physical labor
Terms to Define
Britain had a rigid and complex social structure during the 18th and 19th centuries
Upper Class – known as “Society” – best education, lots of money, considered the “right people to know”
Upper Middle Class – had their own culture and amusements; people worked as professionals (ex. lawyer)
Lower Middle Class – “white collar workers” (ex. store owners or office workers)
Lower Class – people who worked in trades or in a factoryHad their own ranking system: 1)skilled labor, 2)
unskilled labor, 3) casual labor
Social Structure of Britain
Disappearance of the cottage system meant fewer jobs for women Those who stayed in the countryside became servants
for rich land owning families or worked as day laborers on farms
Many women were forced to work in factories in the cities – did many of the same dirty and dangerous jobs as men and were often paid even less
For some women, the Industrial Revolution gave them access to cash which meant independence – did help to improve the lives of some working and middle class women
Women During the Industrial Age
Rapid and massive growth of the Industrial Revolution led to poorly planned cities with large slum areas with no water or sewer systems
Buildings were poorly built and often cramped – one large family per single room
Crime and disease was widespread in these slums
Britain’s Industrial Poor
Britain’s Poor Laws, in existence since the 16th century, remained unchanged and were ineffective
Many families were forced into workhouses – in exchange for shelter and little food they worked menial jobs
Britain’s Industrial Poor Cont’d
Llanfyllin Dolydd Poorhouse – Oliver Twist