Historical Developments

A variety of factors contributed to the growth of industrial production and eventually resulted in the Industrial Revolution, including:

• Proximity to waterways; access to rivers and canals

• Geographical distribution of coal, iron, and timber

• Urbanization

• Improved agricultural productivity

• Access to foreign resources

• Accumulation of capital

The development of the factory system concentrated production in a single location and led to an increasing degree of specialization of labor.

What led to the Industrial Revolution?

• Europe's location on the Atlantic Ocean

• The geographical distribution of coal, iron, and timber

• European demographic changes

• Urbanization

• Improved agricultural productivity

• Legal protection of private property

• An abundance of rivers and canals

• Access to foreign resources

• The accumulation of capital

• Before the Industrial Revolution, most Europeans worked & lived on small farming villages using inefficient methods of farming

  • Farmers relied on the medieval & inefficient three-field system

  • Few farmers experimented with new farm techniques

  • As a result, the food that was produced kept the population of Europe from growing rapidly

• In the mid-1700s new farm techniques led to an Agricultural Revolution in Europe

  • Fences were used to protect large farms (called the enclosure movement)

  • Scientific farming methods like crop rotation maximized farmland & increased production

  • New crops like corn & potatoes were introduced

  • New tools like the iron plow & seed drill made farming more efficient

The Industrial Revolution

• Began in Great Britain in late 18th century (1700’s)

• Drew upon ideas and developments of the Scientific Revolution

• Change in the way of life from rural largely self-sufficient to urban and more specialized.

• Things moved from “cottage industry” of home made goods to businesses in factories

Why Great Britain?

Great Britain had many natural resources including:

• Abundance of coal

• Rivers = water power & means of transporting resources and final goods

• Access to the sea (transportation of goods)

• Skilled & educated workforce

• Population explosion = more demand for goods/services

• Booming economy = more money for entrepreneurs to start businesses

• Stable government which supported economic growth

• Royal Navy protected shipments & the seas

• British political life encouraged commercialization and economic innovation

• Britain’s relatively fluid society allowed for social adjustments/movement without widespread revolution

Agriculture Spurs Industry

• Industrial Revolution was made possible by changes in Western Europe’s farming techniques

  • Use of fertilizer

  • Selective breeding

  • Crop rotation

  • Higher yielding seeds

  • Better farming equipment led to higher efficiency and productivity

  • Cotton gin (Eli Whitney)

  • Seed drill (Jethro Tull)

• These changes kept food prices low and freed up labor from the countryside (more workers for factories in the city!)Combined small fields into large ones (more efficient and required less workers) – called enclosure

Population Growth

• The Agricultural Revolution of the 18th century led to an increase in the population – why?

  • Surplus of food = reduced risk of famine

  • People had better diets = healthier people = population growth

  • Improved hygiene and sanitation

  • Improved medical care

• Great Britain’s population rose from 5 million in 1700 to 9 million in 1800