The Industrial Revolution: It all began in Great Britain S. Saunders Unit I: Rights and Revolution

Outcome 2.1.1 Know, understand, and be able to explain the new ideas and innovations which led to the Industrial Revolution.

What is a Revolution? A dramatic, liberal change to the status-quo. Revolutions, historically, are violent. However, they do not have to be. The Industrial Revolution was a progressive change to European society through the advent of new inventions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLhNP0qp38Q 4 minutes

WHAT IS INDUSTRIALIZATION? A process in which a society/country transforms itself from a primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services. Individual manual labour is replaced by mechanized mass production Craftsmen are replaced by assembly lines.

Why Britain? New technologies Politically stable and the world’s leading colonial power = colonies are a source of raw materials and a market place for the manufactured goods. Great deposits of coal and iron ore (essential for industrialization). Quality of iron improves Britain had lots of money!

The Agrarian Revolution 1700’s During the 1700’s Britain experienced some positive changes that helped with this new shift in Industrialism. Farmlands had expanded Weather was cooperative for agriculture Transportation had improved New crops were introduced Norfolk four-course crop rotation: Fodder crops, particularly turnips and clover, replaced leaving the land fallow. The Dutch improved the Chinese plough so that it could be pulled with fewer oxen or horses. Transportation infrastructures, such as improved roads, canals, and later, railways Land conversion,  land drains and  reclamation Increase in farm size Selective breeding

English Agricultural Revolution What do you think the immediate impact of these new changes had on society? The improved farming practices and crops dramatically increased the food supply. This reduced the price of food and required less labour to produce. This freed up family income to purchase manufactured goods.

Population Growth The increased food supply = an increase in the population. The British Parliament passed a new law called the Enclosure Movement which fenced off common lands in favour of landowners. Wealthy farmers bought land from small farmers This moved forced many peasants to move to larger towns and cities. The enclosure movement was this: wealthy farmers bought land from small farmers, then benefited from economies of scale in farming huge tracts of land. The movement of the large groups of peasants to the cities provided factories with an endless supply of labour.

Enclosure and Impact on Farms Peasants moving into the cities create a labor supply for factories…..BUT….. Enclosure created larger farms that were more efficient because of crop rotation…. and led to more crop yield and supplied the cities with sources of relatively cheap food.

Entrepreneurship New Inventions Along with the agricultural movement and increased food supply, Britain had a large supply of money (capital), to invest in new machines and factories. Smart entrepreneurs took advantage of the laissez-faire market economy and found new ways to make money without much governmental control. Laissez faire is the belief that economies and businesses function best when there is no interference by the government intervention such as from regulations, privileges, tariffs, and subsidies. It comes from the French, meaning to leave alone or to allow to do. It is one of the guiding principles of capitalism and a free market economy. Jethro Tull and the Seed Drill Since earliest times seeds had always been sown by hand. People who worked on the land would walk over the fields randomly scattering handfuls of grain. Jethro Tull invented a machine which greatly helped to increase the harvest yield by planting seeds in straight lines. Jethro Tull’s Seed Drill

Jethro Tull

Natural Resources Britain had plentiful natural resources that could be utilized to help push this factory movement. The river system allowed for a constant source of cheap energy and also served as a method of transporting raw materials and finished products. Britain also had an abundance of coal and iron ore, essential in the manufacturing process.

Britain’s River system

Markets Britain’s vast colonial empire = outlet for manufactured goods. British ships could transport goods anywhere in the world. Also, due to the population increases and cheaper food the domestic market surged and demand for textiles forced manufacturers to look for ways to increase production.

Question – making connections How can we relate to the shift from rural to urban living in modern day Canada?