The Industrial Revolution Life before and the how and why of the changes

I. Life in Europe Before Rural subsistence farmers public lands = “commons” Small upper class, large lower class, small middle class life expectancy = 40

Ahhhhh…. Bucolic village life!

Life Before . . .

II. Where the Revolution Began England circa 1750 Begins with Agricultural Rev. Enclosure Movement – common lands taken over for large estates = pop. increase No work, villagers go to cities = cheap labor

Enclosed! Enclosed! Enclosed!

III. Why the Revolution Began Mmm! Fish & Chips! Population = 5 million, 1700 40 million, 1900 British movement toward laissez-faire. Joint stock companies Remember me???

III. Why the Revolution Began Scientific Revolution = TECH stuff (most based on water or steam power) England = natural resources: Rivers to run water mills Coal and iron

IV. Production Changes Mass Production – making lots of identical stuff Interchangeable Parts – exact copies, not individually crafted Division of labor - repetitive tasks in factories Mechanization – machines do what was done by hand (bulky machines, move to factories)

In Britain coal mines were close to factories and cities In Britain coal mines were close to factories and cities. In China coal mines were far from factories and cities. How might history have been different if the closest sources of coal available to Britain were, say, in the Carpathian Mountains of southeastern Europe?

Raw Materials exports from agrarian economies to industrial economies New Global Economic Relationships Russia U.S.A. India Egypt Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2002 © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Raw Materials exports from agrarian economies to industrial economies

Textile exports from industrial to agrarian economies Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2002 © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Textile exports from industrial to agrarian economies

V. Problems FAST growth of cities=overcrowding Low wages; child labor; no gov’t oversight (WHY NOT???) Squalid conditions No labor unions Business cycles – wild swings of growth, economic depression, and recovery

Growth of Manchester, England, between 1750 - 1850

VI. Benefits Europe more dominant globally Middle class had HUGE standard of living increases Production of goods goes up, so people have access to great stuff Travel, communication, production all revolutionized