The First Industrial Revolution Industrialization The First Industrial Revolution

Defining the Industrial Revolution The First Industrial Revolution began in England in the late 18th century. The first industrial revolution is the shift from hand made goods to factory-machine made goods, from farm based to large-scale manufacturing based economies. Circa 1760-1840 These shifts occur in large because of James Watt’s invention of the steam engine. The first industrial revolution is centered textiles, steam power and iron. The Second Industrial/Technological Revolution began late in the 19th century and involve the development of the steel industry and giant corporations.) It is considered to have begun with Bessemer steel in the 1860s and culminated with mass production and the production/assembly line. The second industrial revolution was centered on steel, railroads, petrol, chemicals and electricity. The Second Industrial Revolution saw rapid industrial development.

A variety of factors led to the rise of industrial production Factors leading to the rise of industrial production: Access to foreign resources Cheap labor: factories replace jobs so people take what can get Europe’s location on the Atlantic Ocean Coal, iron and timber An abundance of rivers and canals Effects of industrialization: Demographic changes The accumulation of capital/capitalism Mercantilism Emergence of cities/urbanization Legal protection of private property Worker exploitation/creation of wage labor

Steam and Water Power Forest depletion due to increased ship-building and use for fuel led to innovations such as the steam engine as timber became scarce. Timber scarcity lead to greater dependence on coal and iron. The development of machines, including steam engines made it possible to exploit the bodies of water in close proximity in order to produce more output faster and cheaper. Industrial production was first run by water wheels but was replaced by Watt’s steam engine. As steam engines became more powerful cities were relocated near coal and iron mines.

Factory System The development of the factory system concentrated labor into a single location (the city) thus increasing urbanization AND the ending of labor specialization. Many people left farms and moved to the city to work in factories. They wanted the money that factories paid. Leads to the creation of what Marx would later define as the wage slave. The self-employed are no more.

Decline of Agrarian Ecomomies The rapid development of industrial production contributed to the decline of economically productive, agriculturally based economies. Shifts toward urban centers as this is where the economic opportunities now exist. In the initial stages the standard of living was improved for most industrial workers but as job competition increases wages decrease. Enclosure Acts: British parliament’s seizure of lands owned communally forced relocation into cities.

Spinning Jenny and the Loom Before the Industrial Revolution, clothes were made at home. Afterwards, clothes were made by machines in factories. Often these machines were run by women/children.

Spread of Industry As the new methods of industrial production became more common in parts of northwestern Europe, they later spread to other parts of Europe and the United States, Russia, and Japan during the Meiji Restoration especially during the second industrial revolution. Concepts of free-trade, free markets, and the invisible hand also reinforced the growth of industry.

New Trade Patterns New patterns of global trade and production developed and further integrated the global economy as industrialists sought raw materials and new markets for the increasing array of goods produced in their factories.

Export Economies The need for raw materials for the factories and increased food supplies for the growing population in urban centers led to the growth of export economies around the world that specialized in mass producing single natural resources. The profits from these raw materials were used to purchase finished goods. Emergence of “Crop Monopolization”

Reflection Questions What factors lead to the rise of industrial production? (Historical Causation) Why is crop monopolization/cash crops so essential to the industrial revolution? How are the industrial revolution and capitalism connected? How does this topic relate to the theme of continuity and change? What are defining moments/events/ideas of this period? (periodization)